This week, we reached the midpoint of this Mercury Retrograde cycle which aligns with the new moon in Libra. This Mercury Retrograde cycle is incredibly potent and opens a portal to new insights so that we can trust our inner validation, rise to meet our potential and open to a new level of intimacy.
One unique aspect of this Mercury Retrograde is that it is a strong opposition to Jupiter the whole time. The cycle begins with Mercury in Libra in opposition to Jupiter in Aries. Then Mercury regresses into Virgo and Jupiter regresses into Pisces and they maintain an opposition with each other, as they activate these new archetypal energies. It is somewhat unique that Mercury and Jupiter hold the space of opposition for over a month as they do during this Mercury Retrograde cycle.
Mercury Retrograde Dates
The Set Up Phase Began: August 20th, 2022 at 24° Virgo
Mercury Stations Retrograde: September 9th, 2022 at 9° Libra
The Midpoint Of This Cycle: September 23rd, 2022 at 0° Libra
Mercury Stations Direct: October 2nd, 2022 at 24° Virgo
Integration Phase: October 2nd, 2022 at 24° Virgo – October 16th, 2022 at 9° Libra
This Mercury Retrograde Takes Place in Libra and Virgo
Libra is the sign of partnership, intimacy, diplomacy and fairness. Learning who we are through the reflection of others is an important step on our path. More than just the relationship area of our lives, Libra is on an archetypal journey to learn through contrast and establish equilibrium within ourselves and out in the world. It focuses on our expectations, agreements and how we collaborate with one another to achieve harmony in our lives. Libra energy seeks balance between opposing forces. During Mercury Retrograde in Libra (and the integration phase), our relationships reflect back to us what is out of balance in our lives so that we can attempt to reflect, adjust and realign to live authentically. Who do we need to become to open to a new vibration of love? Ultimately, to deepen our capacity for greater love, we need to cultivate more love, connection and compassion with ourselves. This cycle asks us to practice self-love by accepting where we are, honoring our truth and expressing our needs with presence and openness.
Life will show us ways in which we have been living in our comfort zones, and we are now asked to believe in ourselves, trust our instincts and step into the unknown in order to meet more of our potential. Jupiter magnifies where we have settled, what isn’t working and where we are asked to expand. Particularly if we are living from expectations and agreements that are no longer in alignment with who we are, we may feel a strong sense of uneasiness or heaviness informing us where we need to redirect our energies.
Virgo asks us to create proper tools and strategies to integrate our insights so that we can honor our wholeness. We are asked to look shrewdly at our patterns and how we are showing up to care for ourselves. Virgo can objectively assess where we need to implement new routines that are holistic, practical and support us in our daily lives. We understand what is useful, what needs refinement and what no longer serves us. Virgo guides us into deeper connection with owning our values so that the divine can direct us into the next phase of our sacred work.
We Come Into a Deeper Understanding of Our Needs
Both the beginning of the retrograde and the integration phase signify an important time of coming to terms with our authentic needs in relationships. Our feelings act as our intuitive compass to guide us to what we really need. This may be uncomfortable if we find that we have relationships where one or both sides don’t feel heard or they can’t meet the other’s needs. We are asked during this cycle to step into a new vibration of love, one where we can hold space for the other’s perspectives when they are different from ours and honor that their truth and perspective is aligned and resonant with their soul journey. We don’t need to fix or judge the other or compromise our own truth. There is space for all ideas and perspectives and the more we accept and openly listen to others, the more we can connect to our own ideas. This retrograde asks how we handle interpersonal dynamics when we discover that we are not engaging from a shared understanding. The answer will come from deep listening to our intuitive guidance and the level of our esteem that we can engage from in the present.
This cycle is in beautiful tension with Neptune Retrograde in Pisces that is supporting us in waking up to disillusionment so that we can see our reality clearly and come to terms with and accept where we are. This often activates pain and disappointment, if what we see is not where we thought we would be in our lives. Through compassion, acceptance and a willingness to be with what we feel, we can imagine and feel more truth and connection to what we want to create.
The end of this retrograde cycle will square Mars in Gemini. A square is an intense aspect, which often dictates action and wakes us up to something unknown. This aspect offers support to process information and insight quickly and be adaptable to necessary changes. Both Jupiter and Mercury represent aspects of our mind. Jupiter symbolizes our intuitive understanding of reality while Mercury is our logical understanding of reality. Now with this connection to Mars in Gemini (Gemini also being a Mercury-ruled sign), we have more stimulation and processing coming together. It is important to stay grounded and present for all that we are experiencing and not allow our minds to distract us from what is going on.
The Invitation
This Mercury Retrograde cycle calls for deep reflection and recalibration of our current ways of relating. Staying grounded and present for all of it, especially when we feel ourselves swayed to either extreme of our polarity. This cycle brings new understanding and asks us to trust our instincts and intuition to know what is true for us and where we are being guided for our next steps. What isn’t working anymore? What heartfelt truth are we called to share? How do we create more life balance that supports our freedom and individual needs as well our needs in relationships? Where have we compromised ourselves in order to keep the peace? We are asked to be present and honest with our feelings so that we can identify and initiate changes that are sincere and authentic to our soul’s evolution.