Dear Georgia
Since you aren't printing the Mercury retrograde info in your column anymore I am a little confused about the station of mercury. Some websites say it ends on November 26 and others are saying Dec 14. Which is it? Don't get it at all. And about what time does it go direct on the 26th? Thanks for your help.
G.T.
Hi G.T.
I actually "do" mention Mercury retrograde -- definitely in my weekly and I often describe its effects in the daily. For this month, I mentioned it in my Nov 4 weekly column.
THE DATES of Mercury retrograde
Mercury is constantly moving forward. But in relationship to planet Earth, about three times a year it appears to move backward (or retrograde).
The reason there are two sets of dates is because Mercury slows down before it goes retrograde; and then after it goes forward, it is still behind the degree it was at when it first went retrograde.
For November 2012 the date are below: (and I give these dates in my Annual Forecasts.)
- Actual retrograde
- Nov. 6 to Nov. 26
- Outer dates
- Oct 29 - Dec 14
Mercury starts to slow down about Oct. 29; and although Mercury retrograde is over on Nov 26, Mercury does not catch up to the degree it was at back on Nov 6, until Dec 14. Capisce?
HOW to USE Mercury Retrograde
There is a chart for every moment of the day. Your changing moods throughout the day will be reflected by the changing charts for you.
Perhaps think of it this way:
You might make a decision when you are sober. Or you might try to make the same decision when you are drunk. The circumstances surrounding that decision are different in each case. Hence, the decision might be different.
It's the same with Mercury retrograde. When we buy something -- we suddenly create a chart of that item with us as its new owner -- whether it is a cup of coffee, a car, a house or a company.
And there is a difference.
If you drive a car off a dealership lot without paying for it, you will go to jail. We all know there is a difference between the car sitting there in the lot -- and you buying the car and now it is yours. Something has changed. Even under the eyes of the law and the government of the land. So when we buy something or make an important decision, there is a shift in our lives. Therefore, WHEN we do these things and the frame of mind we have when we do them does matter.
HOW to SHOP with Mercury Retrograde
Many people think you cannot buy big ticket items during Mercury retrograde. I don't agree. At the time of this writing, I am upgrading my kitchen. My house was built eight years ago and has had a temporary kitchen. Now I am improving the cupboards. In other words, I am going "backwards" and finishing the job I started eight years ago.
I will also get my car repaired (someone backed into the passenger door a month ago). So I will repair an old problem. (Even with a car.)
What I would NOT do is buy anything that Mercury rules during Mercury retrograde. Mercury rules all forms of ground transportation (cars, trucks bikes etc) and it also rules information-related items or items related to communications: computers, phones, cell phones, printers, fax machines etc.
HOW to BENEFIT from Mercury Retrograde
This is the perfect time to finish old projects. Or finish anything on your plate that was already started. It's good to make repairs to things that are broken. (Fixing the past.)
It's a great time to study history or do research into the past or see a counsellor and discuss your past.
It's an excellent to reflect, meditate or ponder profound questions that are also vaguely bouncing around in your head.
We generally hear from and run into people from our past so this is a good time for closure or rethinking that relationship or rethinking how we want to relate to that person.
And it is an opportunity to practise patience with ourselves and others as we are dogged by delays, silly mistakes and misplaced items and minor frustrations Grrrr! "One of these days, Alice. To the Moon!"
Hope that helps.
Georgia
