Mercury Retrograde in Gemini-Taurus

by Tom Jacobs

May 7th – 31st, 2009
An Evolutionary View

Even if you don’t know a whole lot about astrology, you’ve probably heard of Mercury retrogrades. They’re kind of the pop phenomena of astrology, a feature that edges over into regular, everyday, “normal” society. They happen on average three times each year, for around three weeks each time, and seem to throw all best-laid plans under the bus in favor of chaos, the breaking of machines and processes we rely on in favor of chaos, and ruining everything else in our lives that’s good…in favor of chaos.

But there’s always an evolutionary point to everything. Evolutionary astrology looks at how people change over time, in a single life and over the course of many lives (if you’re into that sort of thing). So, what’s the possible point of a Mercury retro and the havoc it seems to create?

All planetary retros (and all but Sun and Moon have them) offer the opportunity to revisit some facet of life, some arena in which we’re active. But it’s also about reviewing how we run a part of ourselves. The Mercury function in anyone’s life does include vehicles, business agreements and the assorted gadgets many of us rely on to function. Yet it also is our mental function, the “information in/out” channel of each person, the workings of the mental self. Not just what we’re thinking, but also our mental processes and what interests us.

During the retro, all Mercury-related things will work differently. They have to, they just do. The fleet little planet during this time appears from the Earth’s perspective to be going backwards. But it’s not; it only seems that way from our Earth-bound perspective. The energy in and around us, then, also works differently than normal. The only real trouble with Mercury retros, by the way, is that we don’t always see them coming, and get bent out of shape when things suddenly have to start working differently.

So, things’ll work differently. That’s a given – that’s the only guarantee anyone can give you about a Mercury retrograde period. You’re left with the choice about how you’ll respond to this fact. Will you freak out? Or will you choose willingness to see how your expectations and assumptions about how the world works (SHOULD work) revealed? Will you lose sleep over your car and/or communications gadgets seeming straight out of the Twilight Zone, or will you choose to have more patience and know that things can take more time to get themselves done?

Inside any slowness or difficulty during the retro is the chance to understand things on new levels. Your mind will be working differently…you’ll have the opportunity to get inside some topic or question in new ways, but – here’s the catch – only if you’re willing to take the time to look. Only if you’re willing to see and approach things in new, fresh, or modified ways. Walk around it and see a new angle, see what a new view on it can tell you about it that’s always existed…you hadn’t seen it simply because you’re accustomed to looking in particular ways. You’re habituated – welcome to Earth, the propensity for habituation being one of those standard features that comes with doing the in-a-body/on-Earth deal.

This counts especially for mental processes/assumptions/thought patterns and communications. For those taking a little time and patience, much can be learned about how you work. In essence, you can get a view into your own brain’s wiring. And if you think about that, it’s kind of a rare experience. Normally you’re “on” however you are, trucking along at your desired speed in your desired direction, not having any idea what’s going on under the hood. Mercury retros can reveal a lot about what’s going on under the surface.

Now that the basics of the retro – the call, the opportunity – are clear, let’s hit the signs in question. The retro starts in Gemini on May 7th, and heads back into Taurus on May 15th. Gemini is one of Mercury’s own signs, and Mercury though the lens of Gemini seeks to work quickly and fluidly, and to change gears and directions on a dime, at a moment’s notice. When it begins its retro with the station retrograde, things might seem to be coming to a stand-still. Know that this time is for gaining a new view on and into the normal rhythms of the Mercurial parts of your life. Your relationships with words, machines, and data/facts/information are the big things here.

When something doesn’t work, do what you can to choose to pick another route, another method, another timeline. Nothing needs to be lost during this time, especially your temper! Just pick another way. Get creative. Switch things up. The big note here is just to expect that you’ll have to.

Once we adjust (as much as we do) to the feeling of a Geminian Mercury retro, it’s going to edge back into Taurus. Planets working through the lens of Taurus seek to slow down in order to achieve stability. The goal of Taurus is to develop skills and build resources to ensure survival. Taurus precedes Gemini in the natural zodiac, and a retro planet from Gemini to Taurus can seem to throw a wrench in the works – we’re used to Gemini following Taurus. That’s how it works, first you gather skills and build resources (T.), and THEN you explore the world around you and start flapping your jaw about it (G.).

The focus during the time Mercury is retroing in Taurus shifts from the speed (or slowness) of what’s getting done to our reasons behind whatever it is we’re doing. Taurus corresponds to our value systems, what we feel is most important, and how we prioritize things. What we choose to do with our time, energy and resources displays to the world around us what’s important to us. Perhaps during this retro, after the speed and fluidity of things is gunked up, you’ll get new insights into your reasons for doing what you do in the first place. Revisiting, reviewing, returning – all the “re-”s we hear about Mercury retro times apply here, and can serve us well in deepening our understanding of ourselves and the world we create around us.

Retros, then, are great times to see things in new ways and to clean things up. To revisit what we’re doing and why – again, if we’re willing to have some patience and recognize that everything that’s happening to/around us has the potential for showing us something valuable about who we are, giving us chances to make course adjustments to the Mercurial parts of life, if needed, if desired – and if we choose the patience to see deeper and from different angles.

Peace and patience to you,
Tom Jacobs
Evolutionary Astrologer & Psychic Medium
(213) 925-6019

http://tdjacobs.com/

tom@tdjacobs.com