(Source:Wikimedia Commons)

(Source:Wikimedia Commons)

Hello everyone.

In this series we’ve been exploring retrograde motion and how it occasionally causes a planet to cover the same ground three times:  the first pass in forward motion; the second pass in retrograde motion; and the third pass over the same territory in forward motion again.  What is the purpose of revisiting where we’ve been, and in particular, what is the purpose of the current retrograde cycle of Mercury? 

What did we miss?

We noted in the last post that a retrograde planet is like a backpacker who covers a portion of a trail, turns around and walks back to a certain point, and then turns around again and retraces her steps to the furthest point reached before.  She passes over the same section of trail three times before she reaches new ground.

Why do you think our hiker turned around in the first place?  She may have felt she missed something along the way.  Or the weather may have been just too forbidding to proceed any further.  She may have forgotten some essential tool.  She may have fallen ill and needed to recuperate before going further. 

The purpose of retrograde motion is similar.  So I looked at the current Mercury retrograde cycle to see what it could tell us.

Saturn/Pluto square, again!

What I found surprised me, but it shouldn’t have.  The major astrological signature of this year is the square between Saturn in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn.  You can read more about this important aspect in the “Saturn/Pluto Square” category at the right.  The long-lasting transit of Pluto in Capricorn is reflected by the current financial and economic crisis and the exposure of sordid secrets in government, business, the military and other national and global institutions.  This year Saturn in Libra is presenting us with a challenge:  as these structures fall, are we willing to build new ones based on the Libra values of fairness, equity, and diplomacy?

These massive societal trends affect our lives, including our business lives.  Even if you have managed to avoid a direct impact of this harsh square, I’m sure you know people who have not.  Many of our neighbors, friends, and clients are struggling and attempting to form alliances of cooperation to share the burdens of the time.

Mercury coming and going

Mercury made direct contact with this Saturn/Pluto square in early December.  You may remember a moment when practical realities hit home, when you realized Christmas sales were not going to be what you had hoped, or a client cancelled a major contract.  Or perhaps you accepted a client or position that you really didn’t want, in order to deal with the necessities of the day.   Or you made a decision that was a partial fix but not a full solution.

Then Mercury moved on and your mind moved on with it until the day after Christmas when Mercury began its retrograde period.  And where will Mercury travel in its retrograde motion?  Right back to the Saturn/Pluto square!  Once was not enough.  Our planning and thinking processes need to take another look.  Like our backpacker, we missed something, something important for us to notice.  And we don’t want to move forward until we recognize what we missed.

On January 15 the square will be right in front of us again, just like it was in early December.  I think we are being given a second chance to take this Saturn/Pluto square seriously!  We will be dealing with it for most of 2010 with the second exact aspect forming on January 31. 

Wait, wait!

Mercury is saying, wait, wait, there’s something more to understand.  Since it’s Mercury, the messenger of the gods, listen for your message around January 15 in the form of news, a sales conversation, or an enlightening dialogue with your IT support or your bookkeeper. 

With Mercury in Capricorn, serious business planning is particularly favored so once you get the message, sit yourself down and do some planning.  Consider enlisting a partner to please Saturn in Libra and get it in writing.  That’s what I’m going to do.