That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds with that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One thing.
– HERMES TRISMEGISTUS in The Emerald Tablet
It may seem as though magic is involved when planets appear to stop in the sky and then move backward, but it’s not magic. This phenomenon occurs because planets in their own orbit around the Sun are at times closer or further away from Earth, as it also travels around the Sun. A similar phenomenon occurs when cars pass each other. To passengers in the faster moving car, the other car seems to be moving backward. In reality, the planets never stop or go backward. Their apparent backward motion does seem to affect Earth’s passengers, however, as that which is below (all things here on Earth) corresponds to that which is above (retrograde planetary motion).
Mercury will be retrograde in Leo from July 27 – August 18, 2018. It joins five other planets in retrograde motion.
- Retrograde Mars in Aquarius through August 26
- Retrograde Saturn in Capricorn through September 5
- Retrograde Neptune in Pisces through November 24
- Retrograde Pluto in Capricorn through September 20, and
- Uranus will be retrograde in Taurus (and also Aries) August 7 through January 5, 2019
Retrograde motion is considered an interference with a planet’s normal functioning; it’s actions are less predictable. Retrogrades signify reversals, delays, and cancellations. Obviously, retrogrades don’t bring everything to a screeching halt. Nor do they impact every human in the same ways. But just pause for a moment and reflect on the implications of having six of nine planets moving in retrograde motion at the same time. (The Sun, Earth, and our Moon are never retrograde.) Briefly:
- Mars signifies “impulses toward action,” energy and passion in the pursuit of goals; competitive drive; excessive force; feeling angry or aggressive
- Saturn signifies “responsibilities” related to work and real-world concerns; structures (buildings, time, schedules, boundaries); maturity; constricting forces; boundaries and separation; enslavement to the past
- Uranus signifies “impulses toward freedom, breakthroughs, originality,” individuation and independence; inability to cooperate or compromise; unwillingness to work within structures; fanaticism; hubris
- Neptune signifies “yearning for connection,” imagination; sympathy and compassion; escapism; confusion and deception; false notions of security
- Pluto signifies “processes of destruction and renewal,” rebirth, regeneration, and transformation; purging; evolutionary forces; brutality; obsessiveness
Take a moment and reflect on what you see and hear going on in your personal environment, among your friends, and on the world stage. Do you have the sense that many people and things have been pushed way beyond what is considered “normal?” There is a lot of reevaluation going on in many different arenas. The energy to review, reconsider, redo, reevaluate, resist, reorganize, recharge, refresh, etc., is STRONG and the will continue to grow in the weeks and months ahead. The changes won’t come about easily, but they will come.
The good news is that the benefactors of the Universe, Venus and Jupiter, are not on the retrograde list. Venus is direct in Virgo and will be moving into Libra August 7/8, depending on the time zone where you live. Jupiter is direct now in Scorpio.
- Venus signifies “impulse toward love and friendship,” harmony and pleasure; the forces of attraction; as well as vanity, social pretensions, shallowness, and self-indulgence
- Jupiter signifies “impulses toward doing what’s right,” growth and expansion, optimism and tolerance; generosity and acceptance of others; as well as inflation and excess, arrogance and sense of entitlement
It’s not known whether Hermes Trismegistus, which means “Hermes the Thrice Greatest,” was a real person or someone invented by the Greeks. He is given credit, however, for the Emerald Tablet and is thought to have lived long before Moses’ time. Hermes is the guardian of astrology and alchemy, the seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination. Hermes is synonymous with Mercury.
Retrograde Mercury
Mercury signifies “impulses toward thought and communication,” perception; teaching and learning; movement and transportation; metal habits; the mind separate from emotions; nervous over-stimulation. When Mercury is in a fire sign (Aries, Leo, or Sagittarius), thoughts can turn toward “rising above” and “separating from.”
What you think matters
In every moment, you are sending and receiving thoughts. What you think brings about your present and future circumstances; your thoughts also affect the world we live in. While you’re not a magician in the traditional sense of the world, you are a co-creator of everything that happens, or doesn’t happen.
There is no way to predict what will specifically happen to you during the current season of retrogrades. I will say though that the likelihood is VERY HIGH that you are now or soon will be feeling the energy of one or more of the retrograde planets. As you reminisce, review, renegotiate, revise, reformulate, renew, recharge, restructure, rebuild (notice that there’s a theme here), please consider carefully what your thoughts and actions mean today and in the future. Live intentionally, because you are in charge of you and what you do.
