MERCURY IS RETROGRADE from February 6 through the end of the month. On the surface, this phenomenon brings communication mix-ups, technical difficulties, and delays. But by injecting discontinuity into the mental landscape, Mercury retrograde also creates space for big insights and paradigm shifts.
Aries (Mar. 21-Apr. 19)…Your goals are changing, and as you settle into acceptance of what you really want out of life, you’re realizing you may need some new friends. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to walk your path with new people who are glad to let you be you, rather than spending so much energy trying to change the old people?
Taurus (Apr. 20-May 20)…Slow down there, Bull! An important understanding of who you really are and what you actually need in order to “be a success” is trying to break through this month. But you can’t see the new vision if you’re head-down and furiously plowing the same old furrow. Your friends want to help, so ask them to give you notes — and actually listen to their feedback.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)…This Mercury retrograde shows you your personal Big Picture and inspires you to form a new plan. This new vision more closely aligns your career efforts or public image with your spiritual philosophy. It also emphasizes your creativity and your ability to communicate advanced ideas so that even a child could understand them.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)…How are you being supported? As long as you keep giving more in the hopes the others will finally reciprocate, you’ll just get more of the same. Instead, take a good hard look at money and relationships and allow yourself to acknowledge where you’re not getting what you need. There’s plenty out there for you, but you have to claim it.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)…If you could choose all new friends, lovers and business partners, what qualities would you value most? Make a list. Now remember you get what you ask for, not what you deserve. The Full Moon in your sign on the 14th is conspiring to bring new people into your life, including someone with valuable connections. Let go of playing small and step up to your level.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)…You won’t solve your work, health, money or relationship challenge by being more diligent and working harder. What springs you free is a new way of seeing. So many of the rules you’re applying aren’t even valid any more. If you could stop compensating for past failures, you could use your energy to create a life you actually enjoy.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)…Your concept of enjoyment is shifting rather dramatically. You can unleash your creativity and increase your assertiveness simply by allowing yourself to acknowledge all the activities, people and situations that used to please you but no longer inspire. Follow your (current) bliss and watch your anger transform into inspired action.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)…See your ability to be who you want to be in the world as a function of your emotional autonomy. This Mercury retrograde offers you the chance to step off that psychological hamster wheel you’ve been running on since your mom or dad dumped all their crap into you all those years ago. The way up is down and in.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)…A powerful window of opportunity opens this month, enabling you to become aware of and release old, limiting beliefs about yourself and the world. The Universe longs to support you in living out the dream of your life. It’s just waiting for you to heal your thoughts so you can allow in all the abundance it has been holding for you.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)…What if all your ideas about money and success turned out to be more or less arbitrary? What if you really could do what you want in life — and live well doing it — and the only thing holding you back is the belief that you can’t? Or even more pernicious, the belief that for some unfathomable reason, you shouldn’t even want what you want?
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)…One reason life has been moving at such a dreamlike pace is to give you the time and space you need to create a new identity. This new you is less afraid, more creative — and able to not give a damn what people think while remaining passionately engaged with them. Maybe 1 in 50 people possesses genuine, healthy self-esteem. You can be that one.
Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20)…Buy yourself time to rest, dream and live at your own pace. A wellspring of creative power opens at the Pisces New Moon on the 28th. But you can’t use that power until you come to terms with the saboteur inside who is always pushing you to be someone you’re not. Forget fitting in — the world wants your genius, not another unhappy drone.
Thanks so much for sharing your insights with us, DK! Thank you, too, for bringing to light a positive aspect of Mercury retrograde. We often focus on “oh no” and “what if,” forgetting that the Universe is conspiring *with* us, not against us. There are blessings to be found in any situation, if only we will shift our perspective.