Mercury Retrograde in Virgo: The Virgin separates the wheat from the chaff

The sky is falling!  Oh way, nope, it’s just Mercury in retrograde!

If you have a rudimentary understanding of horoscopes, you know that retrogrades are usually dreaded.  In the world of astrology, a retrograde means that a planet appears to be going backwards – it really isn’t, but its movement gives that look – because it is in said position, energies of said planet tend to get a little on the wonky side.  In this case the offending planet is Mercury which governs, among other things, communication.  Unlike the Saturn retro, which laid the wood to our thought patterns, habits, and lifestyles in an effort to get us to take a long, hard look at life and Pluto; which likes to makes us get our act together from the ground up (and in some cases, force us to dig a hole to lay a new foundation), Mercury’s four retrogrades a year affect mostly mundane things which, left unattended or to chance, can blow up into huge headaches.  All the stones, cleansing, Epsom salts and oils won’t stop Mercury from doing its job.

With all that doom and gloom spoken, it’s easy to get seriously down on this little guy near the Sun.  After all, Mercury retros are the time when data breaches happen, comm failures with cell phones and the internet are widespread, contracts and agreements are either incomplete or broken, and people simply say cross or errant things they otherwise wouldn’t.  The question we must ask ourselves is this – what is Merc really trying to achieve during a retrograde?  I have an idea based on what my guides are telling me this evening, and it may surprise you.  Of course, bear in mind an idea IS an opinion, and not always what suits you - follow your own heart and soul as needed.

The idea is quite simple – slow the hell down and be mindful.

In our rush-rush, round the clock, on-demand world, Mercury’s retrograde is a quasi-forced vacation for our conscious mind.  We can’t stop Merc from doing the backstep, so let’s look at what we can do to minimize the low-vibe stuff and amp up the high-vibe:

Don’t fight it.  A Mercury retrograde is actually one of the best times of the year to take a step back and really assess.  If you are in the midst of a contract negotiation, this is the time to take a break, look over the numbers and clauses and check, recheck, and check one more time.  Mercury forces accountability in all communication, and a retrograde is when rushed communication often results in mixed messages or foul ups.  If you are about to get on your lover for a poorly worded message, take a step back and ask yourself how you would feel if they did the same to you.  Anything Mercury governs take a deep breath, slow down, and pay special attention to.

Breathe.  Yes, everyone says “deep breath, deep breath” to the point we want to take these apparent Jupiter-infused wannabe Sagittarians, pulled them on their own bowstring, and launch them up Capricorn’s hiney.  (Please forgive the astrological humor...chances are it was way off). This is the problem – they have a point.  A  Mercury retrograde is the chance needed to catch our breath, step back, look at what’s going on with what we say, how we say, and what our intended-versus-received meaning is.  This is “the time” to practice thinking before speaking.  If your motto is “hashtag zero filter,” rent one.

Ground out.  Grounding during any retrograde is important, but Mercury’s retros can get pretty annoying, especially when it’s in either Gemini or Virgo.  These particular retrogrades make an ordinary Mercury backstep feel like your falling a proverbial cliff.  Anything which ordinarily happens is amplified a bit more than normal based on what that sign governs, but there’s an endgame.  By grounding out, you connect with the Earth and, since Mercury is going through an earth sign at the moment (Virgo), the effects and lessons learned will be more intense in a beneficial way.

Exercise Patience:  This is the time where you need to be diligent, careful, cautious and, above all, bite your damned tongues!  You want to get a good job, take someone’s advice and follow it to the letter.  You want to figure out a solution to your problems, sit back and let the solution come to you.  Barreling ahead during a Mercury retrograde, especially one in a sign it rules, is like driving a new car on an unpaved road at 70 miles an hour.  Sure, you’ll get it done and have fun doing it, but you’re gonna bang shit up and void your warranty.  Patience, young padawan, patience.

Now, onto the subject of how Mercury is going to affect relationships (because who isn’t caring about if they can have the person of their dreams?)  This is the time for reconnection, but not necessarily romance.  Don’t break out the Adele songs or the sappy love notes during this time – odds are they will not be received very well, if at all.  This is a time to look at practical matters – supporting an old friend in a job interview, providing advice for a family member who you haven’t talked to in ages, or revisiting a project you put on hold for whatever reason.  This is the time where revisiting, reassessment and reconnection is good, mostly because it allows us to measure where we’ve come from and where we are going.  Above all, avoid major contract decisions with a loved one, such as a lease, home or major purchase – contracts get FUBARed during this time.

Now, a word about Virgo here.  The Virgin tends to get a bum rap as it is – prudish, cautious, and plodding.  What most people don’t know about Virgo is that, being the female sign in the zodiac, she’s got a bit of “bitch” to her.  This comes out during a retrograde, and Mercury’s retrograde takes that bitch and adds about ten tons of “slap” to it.  Here’s the funny party – this is a good thing!  Think about it; if Virgo is the sign of order, neatness, and service, then a Mars retrograde in Virgo means we are going to make sure everything is in order in our lives, all our communication is nice and neat, and we are serving ourselves better in order to serve others.  Otherwise, Virgo is gonna break out her wheat stalks and start flailing at us in a serious way and, anyone who’s ever been slapped with wheat knows, that stuff can leave a serious welt!  Virgo knows what she’s doing, so let her do her job with Mercury’s retrograde.   You might be surprised how much you learn.

Now that that’s out of the way, a quick word about the retrograde as far as love goes and, of course, the soulmate search for many.  This is the time to look at yourself, and who you are.  Holding yourself to a higher standard, not allowing anyone to walk all over you, and what you are willing to accept is part of this retrograde’s mission.  This isn’t just about performance, it’s about standards.  Are we holding ourselves to too high a standard, not high enough, or just right.  Mercury’s retro into Virgo forces a serious fine tune of our relationships so we are looking past our ego, our hurts and slights, and realize that, in the end, everyone teaches us a lesson, no matter how painful it is.  Unrequited love teaches us to see what equal love is; abusive patterns teach us what we must refuse to accept; and communication snafus teach us how to be tender and forgiving for the most mundane foul ups.  That’s the beauty of Virgo – she points out the flaws in the plan, but also serves to show the way to fix it and prevent future occurrences.  She finds the narrow way out.

That’s all for now.  Have a great week, be mindful and keep the faith and discernment flowing.

A word about parasitic behaviors

Social media has been a hotbed for groups and activity dedicated to lightworkers, introverts, intuitives, empaths and those who consider themselves "awakened."  It has also attracted scores of individuals who are using such claims to take advantage of those seeking answers, and acting with parasitic intent.  Many wish to brand these individuals with labels such as "borderline," "narcissists," and "dark."  This has created a de facto civil war within said groups, and are leading genuine lightworkers and teachers to leave in droves.

The rise of energy parasites preying on these communities have turned them from safe zones for empaths and lightworkers to collaborate and practice their craft into a hunting ground.  So many newly awakened empaths are confused by their abilities, their sudden sensitivity and desire to find who they really are, they are now vulnerable to those who see them as easy targets for feeding on high-vibrational energy.  Bear in mind a few things; low-vibration individuals with good intent are not a drag on high-vibration individuals but, rather, present an opportunity to mutual education and vibration raising.  Those who are of low vibration but choose to stay there, and simply "feed" off the energy of higher vibration individuals, those are the ones who must be avoided by fledgling empaths and lightworkers, as well as those who have chosen to cede the duty of astral combat to others,  and remanded to the ability of those who have experience in confronting such darkness.

Placing labels on others is exactly what is desired by those in darkness - it marginalizes those who may not be of low vibration, but simply struggling to awaken, refusing to accept their destiny, or afraid of what they can do.  Many individuals in low vibrational fields such as Western Medicine, politics, banking, and the like who would otherwise be high vibrational individuals are afraid of being marginalized, isolated, or worse.  These are people who we must support and protect, and we must continue to facilitate their advancement.  We are, truly, all in this together.  Calling one a "narcissist" or similar merely serves to divide, when we must all begin uniting.

Please, be well, and continue to keep the light spreading.

A word about Twins and it's not what you think

During meditation we often get signals, messages from a variety of sources.  I've received messages during a meditation from everything ranging from an angel to what looked like an oversized loaf of bread.  Still, I take each message seriously enough to think about it.  Today I received a messages from someone in my meditation which can best be described as "clarifying."

My guides have been a bit annoyed at me of late.  I haven't been listening to them.  Now I am, and what they have to say is quite interesting.

The notion of Twin Flames, Twin Souls, etc is not a con-artist ranting, but instead the attempt by our own minds to put in a 3D box that which cannot be.  People who say that twins are "bullshit" or "don't exist" miss the bigger picture.   It's not that they don't exist, it's that those who did the "buy in" (myself included)  missed the essential message.  That message is that we are all, in the end, merely looking for answers and our own individual truth.  We can't rely on one person to bring that to us.  We can't rely on one person to be the "cure all" for the problems which ail our soul.  When we do that, we open ourselves up for manipulation by those who really are con-artists and manipulators.  Some would even argue go so far as to call these folks narcissists but, as narcissists serve no purpose but to ingratiate themselves for their own self serving purpose, that argument is a bit heavy handed.  Still to put all our eggs in one basket is both hubris and risking our own development.

So if we meet someone who meets the "checklist" criteria of a twin, what do we do?  Do we push them away, do we engage that?  The answer is that we treat them as we would anyone else in our lives - case by case.  Everyone who comes into our lives has something to teach us, and the lesson isn't always pleasant.  Sometimes it's the ecstasy of learning what we love in the bedroom, sometimes it's the need to hold ourselves accountable because of a lost job.  Sometimes we even get to see what about us we don't like, and see our own hypocrisy in action when we complain about the actions of another towards us when we behave the same exact way.  There is no set formula; the universe decides who to present to us at the appropriate moment.  It is up to both parties to choose if they are right for each other as a friend or lover.  Often the parties are in agreement but, many times, they are not.  Some of us cling to a notion which is false by justifying it as something other than what it is.  

Let me be clear - anyone who is supposedly your "sacred" will NOT mentally, emotionally, or physically abuse you.  They will NOT take you for granted.  Instead they will CHERISH you for what you are, warts and all.  You could be an adulterer, depressed, angry or broke. If you treat them as a cherished person and they return that love, they are sacred.  That's it, that's enough.  If they aren't, move on.

It doesn't matter if they aren't ready or you aren't ready.  If the two are TRULY meant to be together, the universe and Divine WILL conspire to unify the pair when the time is right and choices are made.  Otherwise, forgive yourself for being blinded by the kitten and unicorn thinking, and get back to the gritty and HIGHLY REWARDING work of you that is at hand.