Mercury Retrograde Dates
So you can plan your weddings, trips, house purchase,
job change, c-section births, car purchase,
anything you wish to be permanent:

2008
Done

2009
January 12 – February 1
May 8 – May 30
September 8 – September 29
December 27 – January 15 (2010)

2010
December 27 ( 2009) – January 15
April 19 – May 11
August 21 – September 12
December 11 - December 30

Mercury Retrogrades three times a year for three weeks each time. Mercury Retrograde is a time to process, digest, and organize your life & heed your lessons learned. This is a good time to figure things out, see things from a more internal perspective, work on your core - belief system and decide how to proceed so you can work and communicate more effectively.

This is the time to clean out the closets, organize your files, and throw out the old, give away to charities. But not really a time to move, buy a home, start a job, to buy anything electrical, sign legal documents or get married. Whatever you start in a Mercury Retrograde period WILL not be permanent in your life. Make your decisions wisely at this time.

Mercury is said to be in retrograde motion when, due to our relative orbits around the Sun, parallax view causes it to back up in our sky.

This awkward period begins a few days before the actual turning point (as Mercury slows) and lasts for three weeks or so, until when the Winged Messenger reaches his direct station. At this time it halts and begins its return to direct motion through the zodiac.

A planet is described as retrograde when it appears to be moving backwards through the zodiac. This traditional concept arises in the illusory planetary motion created by the orbital rotation of the earth, with relation to other planets in our solar system. Planets are never actually retrograde or stationary they just seem that way, due to this optical illusion.

Retrograde periods, although often problematic for us earthlings, are not particularly uncommon. Each planet retrogrades, except the Sun and Moon.

Fated Events
As a rule, retrograde planets presage a period of seemingly inevitable or fated events, which relate to their sphere of influence. They present us with a series of events over which we seem to have little or no control, relating especially to the sign in which the retro-gradation occurs. For example, Mercury retrograde in Virgo presents quite different sets of circumstances from those generated when it retrogrades into Leo, you might want your personal chart done to see how this always affects you.

A retrograde period is best seen as a cycle, beginning when the planet begins to slow to a halt before traveling backwards through the zodiac and ending when the planet returns to the point where it first paused. However, during the cycle, the planet's energy is most powerful (and more likely to generate critical events of universal importance) when the planet makes a station, appearing motionless in the sky.

These stationary periods occur near the beginning of the cycle (when the planet first halts as it prepares to move backwards) and midway through the cycle when the retrograde planet slows to a stop before moving forward again. The "direct station" (when the planet halts before moving forward again) is the most powerful and can be used for maximum benefit.

Some astrologers consider that the "Mercury Shadow" begins some three weeks before the actual retro station (when Mercury passes the point of direct station for the first time), but I am more inclined to think that the really noticeable peculiarities begin when Mercury slows significantly, a few days before the retro station. This period of "Mercury Shadow" extends to the Return date, some three weeks after the direct station.

What does Mercury affect?
In general, Mercury rules thinking and perception, processing and disseminating information and all means of communication, commerce and transportation. By extension, Mercury rules people who work in these areas, especially people who work with their minds or their wits: writers and orators, commentators and critics, gossips and spin doctors, tricksters and thieves.

Mercury retrograde gives rise to personal misunderstandings; flawed, disrupted, or delayed communications, negotiations and trade; glitches and breakdowns with phones, computers, cars, buses, and trains. And all of these problems usually arise because some crucial piece of information, or component, has gone astray, or awry.

It is therefore not wise to make important decisions while Mercury is retrograde, since it is very likely that these decisions will be clouded by misinformation, poor communication and careless thinking. Mercury is all about mental clarity and the power of the mind, so when Mercury is retrograde, these intellectual characteristics tend to be less acute than usual, as the critical faculties are dimmed.

The key issue here is one of focus. Mercury's retro phase tends to bring unforeseen changes and blockages, but the aggravation and frustration that many of us experience during these periods is often due to our own inability to roll with the punches. Is this due to our ego-fixation? Mercury sets out to restructure our thinking processes and for many of us this is painful and frustrating. Moreover, these experiences reveal flaws in our internal organization as well as our external planning, which can make us feel foolish and inadequate.

Mercury retrograde, like any cosmic aspect, affects people differently, depending on where it hits their personal charts. Some people actually prosper under a retro Mercury, especially if Mercury is retrograde but otherwise well-aspected in their birth charts. It is also a time when matters begun under a previous retro period will come to fruition or completion as the case may be. Firm decisions that have been previously made when Mercury is traveling normally through the zodiac may be implemented or finalized while Mercury is retrograde without too much worry, for experience shows that this can be done without undue problems arising.

Mercury has ruler-ship of communication and transportation. This covers just about everything in one way or another. When Mercury is retrograde all things having to do with communication and transportation are prone to snafu and breakdown. You will notice during Mercury retros that the incidence of traffic light malfunctions, telephone service interruptions, lost and mishandled messages, city blackouts, general misunderstanding of information, missed connections and other problems in travel, and every other imaginable kind of trouble in these areas rises dramatically.

Try to avoid signing legal documents and opening new businesses during these periods. If it absolutely can't be avoided then go ahead. But be aware that there will almost certainly have to be renegotiation and new beginnings at a later date and be prepared to deal with that.

Avoid surgery when Mercury or Mars is retrograde. Mercury retrograde can mean misunderstandings, mistakes, and confusion. Since Mars in the planet of surgeons, when it goes retrograde surgeons tend not to be at their steadiest or most reliable; they may not be able to concentrate well. Furthermore, Mars retrograde can mean heavy loss of blood. The moon is also a factor when selecting surgery times.

For a personal surgery astrology chart please
email Charlotte Thomas at:

cthomas012@austin.rr.com
Or Phone: 979-966-9556

Click Here: For more information on Moon Cycles.

Quite often during a Mercury Retrograde there will be some rather large earthquakes when a full or new Moon occur, many elderly people will choose to pass away during these times too.

The way to handle these periods is to allow extra time for everything. Try to anticipate where problems are likely to occur and plan for dealing with them.

The most important thing is to keep a good attitude. These periods occur three or four times a year for three weeks at a time. We've all lived through many of them in the past. They are annoying and frustrating but they always go away. You may want to watch these periods for a couple weeks on either side, especially right after one, for the shadow to pass and the planet to pick up speed. Meditate and breathe a lot.