Friday, January 14th at 5:41 a.m. CST Mercury began its retrograde phase. We may still feel the energy of the new year urging us to initiate a new chapter and create new goals, yet our focus shifts and calls us inward. In some ways, we may feel like we are moving counter-culturally. If we resist and attempt to push forward with our agendas, we may find we hit roadblocks that necessitate a new approach or a rewrite of our plan.
When Mercury goes into retrograde, it means we have to slow down and be present to what life is teaching us. It is our collective and personal time to rest, recharge, and refuel. Retrogrades are a chance to reflect on our circumstances, re-examine conditions, and evaluate how to move forward.
By consciously working with Mercury retrograde cycles, we can develop a stronger connection to intuitive insights, stay present to what is awakening in us, and stay connected to ourselves as we navigate the months ahead.
Since December 29th, we have been in the setup phase of Mercury retrograde, and just a few hours after this phase began, Mercury aligned in the sky with Venus retrograde. This reveals crucial truths about relationship boundaries and roles. Venus has unveiled some of our blind spots and shown us where we have been in unconscious relationship dynamics, requiring us to get real about our responsibility, what we truly value, and what we ultimately want to commit to long term.
Mercury in Mythology
Mercury’s mythical role is to be the messenger to the gods. He generally did not act on his own but rather at the order of another god. Zeus frequently sent him to deliver dreams and messages or to travel with a mortal to keep them safe. Mercury is one of the few mythological figures that could go into the Underworld and return. Most beings that went to Hades never made it back, and the ones that did had to negotiate a deal to come back out. Mercury is one of the few gods who can exist in both the mortal and eternal worlds, and he embodies both conscious and unconscious thought. He works as a Soul Guide to travel into the Underworld and deliver a message.
During a retrograde, Mercury sends us a message by bringing something previously unconscious to our conscious awareness. The message is usually related to the archetypal themes of the signs Mercury is retrograding in.
In 2022, there will be four Mercury retrogrades, the first three of these will begin in Air signs and conclude in Earth signs. The movement from Air into Earth is an opportunity to connect our visions and ground them into concrete form. Throughout the year, we will be in a process of implementing our concepts and ideas in ways that are practically realizable and tangible.
Retrograde cycles are times of shadow work. We awaken to unconscious parts of ourselves. This Mercury retrograde guides us deep into the Underworld. Mercury squared Eris just before entering the setup phases, activating the ongoing Pluto/Eris square. Throughout this Mercury retrograde, Mercury will conjoin Pluto three times. It’s a powerful time for therapy, shadow work, and inner work since we have the Lord of the Underworld in a long conversation with Mercury during this retrograde cycle. Our communication takes a serious turn. We shed layers to clear what no longer serves us in order to connect to more of our power.
Archetypal Themes of This Mercury Retrograde
Mercury will remain in Aquarius until January 25th, allowing us to evaluate our connections to like-minded individuals, groups, and organizations and restructure our communities to better support our vision for the world. This may be our political systems, our society, community regulations, and governments. Do the rules and regulations of society honor all individuals equally and support the whole ecosystem? What are the aspects of your life that you need to carry forward into the future and what should be left behind? We are asked to transcend and include what best supports society and where we are headed and release the parts that no longer serve us.
Aside from that, we have the opportunity to discover our inner genius, what makes us truly unique, and look at ways we sabotage fully stepping into our medicine and offering it in service to humanity. Once we become aware of our patterns, we can make necessary adjustments to align with our Aquarian vision.
Mercury returns to Capricorn on January 25th, allowing us to reassess our long-term ambitions and how we wish to show up in the world. Capricorn represents the roles we play in society, as well as the systems and structures that support and anchor that world. This is a powerful time to assess our roles and whether they are authentic to us or a response from our conditioning. With the connection with Mercury to Pluto, our relationship to power is amplified. Are you using communication and your abilities to empower others or take them down? We may see the misuse of power in the shadow of communication, capitalism, government, and patriarchal institutions. Hidden correspondence and communications may be revealed. Feelings of failure and restrictions and limitations may be magnified to inform us where we need to take more responsibility to build an authentic structure. Notice what needs more stability and commitment in your life to achieve long-term, grounded happiness. This Mercury retrograde invites us to get radically honest about the ways in which we give our power away so that we can align with sovereignty.
Mercury makes a sextile to Chiron three times throughout the retrograde. Chiron in Aries amplifies our relationship with identity and invites us to reflect on the ways in which we may be holding onto a perception of ourselves that prevents us from progressing. Perhaps connecting to a specific identity was vital for our healing at one point, but now we are asked to grow in a new way, and holding on to this way of perceiving is a roadblock to transformation. Chiron in Aries reminds us to trust our instincts and inner knowing to lead us in initiating the necessary changes required to evolve. This is a crucial moment to evaluate how our actions affect others and reflect on what we have learned from our experiences. This assessment offers essential guidance we can implement in our next steps on the journey.
Chiron in Aries also asks us to examine our relationship to our masculine energy and how we assert ourselves and advocate for others. Do you recognize anger to be intuitive guidance? (example: a boundary has just been crossed.) Do you project your anger onto others, go to battle, and become confrontational, or do you hold it under the surface until it transforms to resentment? Healing dialogues and breakthroughs arise if we are willing to be present and curious about patterns and our unconscious reactions to others. Our conversations may now uncover deep layers of the adapted strategies we learned in childhood that helped us survive. Our ability to be compassionate and willing to hold space for these parts of ourselves that helped us at one time can provide vital insight to ignite our growth.
Mercury Retrograde (RX) Dates:
Setup Phase: Began 12/29/21 at 24° Capricorn
Mercury Stations Retrograde: 1/14/22 at 10° Aquarius
The midpoint of the Cycle: 1/23/22 at 3° Aquarius
Mercury Stations Direct: 2/3/22 at 24° Capricorn
Integration Phase: 2/3/22 at 24° Capricorn – 2/23/22 at 10° Aquarius
Significant Mercury Retrograde Aspects:
12/28/21: Mercury square Eris – stations direction within one degree
12/29/21: Mercury conjunct Venus RX in Capricorn
12/30/21, 1/28/22, 2/11/22: Mercury conjunct Pluto in Capricorn
1/9/21, 1/18/22, 2/23/22: Mercury Sextile Chiron in Aries
2/3/22: Mercury goes Direct, standing still on Pluto
2/24/22: Mercury Aquarius squares Uranus Taurus
Working With the Trickster Archetype
The Trickster is one of Mercury’s archetypes. At times, the Trickster plays with deception and illusions. He or she uses these tools in order to impart a moral lesson. Life brings us synchronistic situations to meet the Trickster in the areas of our lives where we are resisting change. The Trickster enters in order to initiate growth and development, and he can appear to us during life transitions. In Native American mythology, the Trickster takes the form of a coyote. He, like humankind, is earthbound, yet he continually strives to transcend this fate.
Mercury retrograde has traditionally been associated with confusion, delays, miscommunication, and technological breakdowns. People frequently get quite superstitious about what this represents—such as we can’t sign contracts or make life decisions. While there are times that messages will be misconstrued or technology will fail us, the main reason to pause is that there is more information being revealed during the retrograde that will inform our choices and decisions. If we feel as if the entire world is against us, and we need to hide under a rock until the retrograde is done, we are not connected to the deeper meaning and the invitation of the cycle.
A more conscious approach to engage with the cycle is to lean into archetypal themes, intuitive hunches, and unconscious aspects that want to be revealed. When we resist working with these themes we activate the Trickster archetype and witness more of Mercury’s superstitious and apparently fated side play out. When communication or technology fails, it’s frequently a warning that we need to slow down, tune in, get in touch, and connect in a different way.
Working With Mercury Retrograde
To connect to higher consciousness, consider the themes of your Aquarius-ruled house. Rather than assessing information, how can you intuitively perceive deeper meaning and understanding? Where have you been afraid to step into your uniqueness? What is your role or the unique gift you can offer to better humanity?
Examine the themes of your Capricorn-ruled house for a comprehensive view of how Aquarian ideals might benefit from being grounded in Capricornian responsibility. Where do you need to build a better foundation? Where do you need to take full responsibility for your circumstances and life? Where is life guiding you toward deeper commitment to build your future vision?