MERCURY RETROGRADE IN SAGITTARIUS

Mercury is about to go retrograde! Tomorrow (Monday November 25th 2024) at 6:42pm Pacific Time, the “Messenger of the Gods” will station retrograde at 22 degrees of Sagittarius. Mercury will appear to move backward in the sky until December 15th, when it’ll station direct at 6 degrees of Sagittarius. If you have any planets in your birth chart near those degrees, you’ll get an especially strong dose of mercurial energy around those dates.

Mercury retrograde gets a bad rap in astrology and in pop culture, being one of the most well-known and overly sensationalized astrological events. But this planet goes retrograde several times a year, lasting only a few weeks each time. And you may not know that we already have several other planets currently in retrograde (Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus and Chiron).

As a personal planet, Mercury’s retrogrades do tend to affect us more concretely than the deep, obscure workings of the outer planets. As Steven Forrest describes it, mental Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun, similarly to how our thoughts and words orbit closely to our egos. This is the planet that rules perception, communication, language, and movement through the immediate environment. So Mercury retrogrades are famous for logistical mishaps and bungled commutes, miscommunications and misunderstandings. Our Mercury-ruled relationships with siblings, neighbors and friends may be particularly affected. And with Pluto - the planet of destruction, transformation and rebirth - now in the technological sign of Aquarius, we can expect more malfunctions in technology than usual (which you may already have noticed in the last two weeks of Mercury’s pre-retrograde shadow period).

I find that most problems during Mercury retrograde happen when we try to simply plow ahead with business as usual. If you’re the type of person who tends to leave things to the last minute or not give yourself quite enough time to get to a destination, that might normally work out for you - but it’s likely to fall apart during a Mercury retrograde. This is a time to slow down, plan ahead, double-check details, and be ready for unexpected snags. Some people are under the impression that they should barely do anything during a Mercury retrograde. But you can still travel, sign contracts, or make major purchases if you need to - just make sure to carefully read the fine print and think things through, rather than rushing or forcing anything.

As Mercury retraces its steps in the sky, it’s revisiting degrees of Sagittarius that it’s already covered in the last couple weeks. This invites us to reflect, reminisce, and revisit, rather than constantly focusing on pushing forward. Retrogrades remind us that progress is nonlinear; sometimes we need to review, reassess, and perhaps even redo some of our previous work. This could also be a time to work on repairing mercurial relationships that need more attention in our lives. As Jessica Lanyadoo says, retrogrades help us make sure that we’re not going too fast too far in the wrong direction before we course-correct.

However, this is easier said than done in a late-stage capitalist culture. We’re encouraged to race headlong through our days, never having enough time to pay the bills and care for others or ourselves - and certainly never being encouraged to rest, reflect, or question the status quo. In a society so disconnected from the seasonal cycles of the earth, we’re expected to work and produce value at an equally high rate throughout the whole year. But nature reminds us that we need downtime, because nothing grows at a constant pace. We’re now in the darkest part of the year (here in the northern hemisphere), and just about everyone I know is feeling very tired, especially after the time change a few weeks ago. The truth is that we simply need more rest, more sleep, more quiet time - and so Mercury retrograde is right on cue.

Have you ever taken a day off or a vacation that wasn’t relaxing at all? Perhaps you worked hard all week leading up to it, longing for the peaceful rest and calm of your time off. But when it rolled around, maybe you ended up spending it in a way that you didn’t really want to. Perhaps you said yes to something your heart wanted to say no to, allowing others to saddle you with unnecessary responsibilities or expectations. Maybe you ended up working and stressing yourself out even during your downtime. Or perhaps you felt guilty about resting, which corrupted your precious free time and prevented you from relaxing, or pushed you toward unhealthy escapist behaviors in a desperate attempt to simply shut off your overactive mind. Such are the pitfalls of an improperly used Mercury retrograde, a waste of this cosmic vacation. We could come out of this period feeling rested and refreshed - as long as we maintain awareness and intentional boundaries.

While Mercury is in retrograde, it’ll square first Neptune and then Saturn in Pisces, giving us a reality check and helping (or perhaps forcing) us to realign our boundaries. A trine to Chiron in Aries will add a healing flow to our reflections, and an opposition to Jupiter in Gemini will help expand our perspectives.

According to traditional astrology, Mercury is in “exile” in Sagittarius, since it rules the opposite sign of Gemini. Regardless of this archaic concept, I think that a Mercury retrograde in this sign is actually very appropriate. Sagittarius wants to see the big picture, understand the big patterns, ask the big questions about life’s meaning. It’s about realigning our perceptions, questioning our beliefs, broadening our horizons, and shaking up our stagnant routines. This is the sign of sitting on the mountaintop or going on retreat: perfect Mercury retrograde activities, whether literal or metaphorical. Of course, the expansion of Sagittarius has its shadow sides too: imperialism, colonialism, conquest, “manifest destiny.” As the US empire continues to wreak havoc on the rest of the world, we have a responsibility to reflect on this too - especially during Thanksgiving, that tragic reminder of the oppression and violence against indigenous peoples.

Use this Mercury retrograde portal to reflect on how you can contribute to a better world. Journal and look back on the last couple weeks. Prepare for the new year ahead, a new presidential administration, and a new 20-year astrological era of Pluto in Aquarius. Reflect on the area of your life represented by the house of your birth chart that Mercury is retrograding through in Sagittarius (especially the station points of 6 and 22 degrees). For a one-on-one deep dive into your birth chart and its interaction with this retrograde, book a reading here. May we all use this cosmic vacation for the best!