Mercury Stations Retrograde: Fear Not!

While you may be thinking “uh, oh! When Mercury stations retrograde, he’s going under again, don’t worry! He’s only going there to retrieve your innate inherent subconscious knowledge and deliver it up and into your conscious mind where it can become embedded as true WISDOM.

This time, Mercury, the messenger & the courier of the gods, the trickster, the psychopomp (the spiritual guide of a living person’s soul), is backstroking through the sign of Taurus the bull until May 22.

Since Taurus energy centers around what we truly value in our lives, it behooves us to go deep about whether these values are our soul’s true, inherent ones, or whether they are adopted or adapted from others. No harm in the latter–the point is, as long as what you value is congruous with your deeper spiritual set of values, then it’s all good.

Now, while Mercury is retrograde in Taurus it’s time—as usual–to review, re-think, re-analyze, etc. Further, any disparity between what you value in your external life—be it material possessions, money, jobs, or love of another—and what your soul needs to be truly happy will surface (or resurface) now for review…

Body Check

Because Taurus is such a physical sign, Mercury’s retrograde period from now until May 22 asks us to check in with our body.

Taurus symbolizes archetypally that which we value, or that which pleases us in terms of our five senses—sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste.

How is your body feeling? Where does it need more attention?

This isn’t to say you must run off to the gym and exercise more—rather, it’s about going deep in your meditation, during your lucid dreaming moments, or perhaps into your dreams themselves, and paying attention to the signs and signals your body is trying to give you…

What is it trying to tell you? Is it time to pay attention to the pain in your foot? Is it time to go for the checkup, the mammogram, the gyn, have them check your prostate, your teeth, your heart?

After all, Saturn is retrograde, too. He represents your bones, skin, and teeth—the parts that hold your body together. Mars, also currently retrograde, can affect your head or anything to do with your face or your appearance in general…and Jupiter, though stationing direct shortly (on May 9), asks you always to contemplate whether what you think you want is the same as what your soul truly needs.

And Pluto? Pluto retrograde is the resounding base note to all of these other current retrograde energies. He’s like the outermost ripple in the pond from the stone you’ve thrown into the middle.

He’s the backdrop, the scenery, the overarching sky, the vastness of the ocean all rolled into one–into something we call SOUL, which is what is encased in the all-encompassing physical incarnate body.

Body & Soul

In order to tend to the soul, we must tend to the body; in order to tend to the body, we must tend to the soul…

The soul itself, like my description of Pluto, is the backdrop, the basis, or the baseline to much of the meaning of this lifetime. It goes beyond this lifetime, however, in terms of both before and after.

But the soul inhabits your body this lifetime…so keeping the body healthy is most important now, just as is taking a look at where your values match what your soul truly needs…

Taurus energy, which I know well as a Taurus Sun, is not particularly fond of running and jumping, cross country skiing, or marathon swimming–at least for the most part.

I know I’d much rather lie on the couch and eat bonbons, and when it’s cold drink hot chocolate with marshmallows, and when hot indulge in some nice chocolate or vanilla ice cream with yummy goodies piled on top (or not, for you purists!)

We who carry Taurus energy can certainly get stuck in a limited definition of what it is we value. What we’re really asked to do right now is to juxtapose these limited and habitual notions with what our body really needs to stay healthy and to be our own BFF.

For example, do you need a workout, to get those hamstrings more flexible, to strengthen your heart with some cardio, or to tighten the skin because you’ve lost some weight?

Then it will benefit you to do what’s necessary to enhance your body’s physical health, both internally and externally, so that the external YOU matches the internal YOU.

When you value your body, your appearance, your teeth, skin, and bones, you value the flesh into which your soul has chosen to incarnate. Doing so is part of what makes us all whole as human beings.

What kind of tender loving care we can show our bodies to demonstrate how much we value our physical encasement—the physical flesh and bones that encase our spirit and our soul?

Let’s not forget that Taurean values include the pleasure of touch, so sexual satisfaction is another avenue that may need attention now.

So, too, do any yearnings to express oneself creativity through the arts and the translation of your value system into color, sound, light, and smell (some freshly baked–healthy–goods anyone?) Now’s a good time to let your creative self have at that piano or guitar, dance floor, canvas, camera, song, etc., etc., etc…

The Usual Mercury Stations Retrograde Drill

Do snafus occur—especially around all things communication, i.e., phones, computers, cars, travel, the internet & world wide web, etc.—during Mercury retrograde?

Is it still suggested you don’t make any large purchases, sign any contracts (because the small print may do you in in the end!), launch your new business, or engage in any activities other than those already started?

Of course, and this Mercury retrograde in Taurus will be no exception!

Simply remember however, that it’s difficult for Mercury to perform his retrograde duties when he’s moving forward. He needs this “down time” to travel into the underworld recesses of our psyches in order to locate the gold nuggets buried therein and to haul them up and into our consciousness.

No easy task, wouldn’t you agree? So, while Mercury’s busy with this job, he’s gotta let some things slide…I don’t think you’d want the psychopomp messenger of the gods to multitask while he’s messin’ with your subconscious, do you ?

So, cut him some slack: take the phone off the hook, turn off the computer a tad more frequently than usual, try not to speed anywhere (regardless of whether or not you’re already late!), and just chill…and maybe let your conscious brain take a vacation…

Mercury will take care of the rest, as you take care of your physical body and the concrete world around you…

…and as you know from the frequency of Mercury retrograde periods (at least three times per year!), life will return to “normal” soon enough…

Namaste…