Mercury Busts Out of the Retrograde Shadow, and Things Pick Up Speed

So mooooooo-ve it!

Photos: Willow

We are now gradually moving out of the edgy, mental stress and challenge indicated by an extended square between Mercury in Aries and Saturn in Capricorn. 

Messenger planet Mercury was retrograde in Aries from March 22 to April 15, forming three squares to Saturn in Capricorn during its transit of Aries (the final one April 25), and this indicated a complex and somewhat stressful start to spring in the northern hemisphere.

(Not to mention below normal temperatures in locations worldwide. Chiron on 29 degrees Pisces, the degree associated with the last day of winter, coincided with a winter that didn't want to end!)

We're now moving forward, but we've certainly been required to work for it every step of the way.

Communication and intelligence planet Mercury is putting the pedal to the metal as it breaks free of the Saturnine hold that has added challenge and hard work and strategy and complication and complexity to our fresh, spring plans. 

Mercury busts out of its retrograde shadow at 16 degrees Aries on May 3 and moves out of orb of the square to Saturn, now retrograde, in Capricorn by May 5.

This indicates a strong propulsion forward, and we must be prepared for it. After biding our time and working through challenges and making adjustments to the delayed timing indicated by Mercury retrograde and Mercury square Saturn, we must now be ready for things to take off quite quickly! The connections we're making, the conversations we're having, and the information we're sharing are bringing us onto new ground. The territory we have been striving to reach is about to get here fast, and this brings new challenges and requirements for successful navigation. 

Mercury in Aries will move into a particularly cardinal-dynamic period on May 12 and 13, as it forms a square to action planet Mars at 28 degrees Capricorn (May 12 at 6:30 a.m. PDT) and a conjunction to revolutionary Uranus at 29 degrees Aries (May 13 at 3:50 a.m.).

The Mercurial action around this time indicates particularly potent movement, as Mars will be just inside its retrograde shadow at 28 Capricorn at the time of the square (returning to these themes again in late August). Uranus will be in the final minutes of the sign of Aries at the time of the Mercury-Uranus conjunction, ahead of the Uranus ingress of Taurus on May 15. 

The Mercury-Uranus conjunction at 29 Aries is actually the last non-lunar aspect to Uranus before it enters the sign of the bull. This indicates the potential for mental breakthroughs, hot ideas, and startling/exciting realizations as Mercury and Uranus conjoin on the potent anaretic degree of Aries. The Moon will also be in Aries on May 13, forming a square to Mars in Capricorn and a conjunction to Uranus, and this amps up the potency of these aspects. We're fully immersed in the drive into new terrain. 

We can expect big, bold movement around this time, especially movement that we have been working for throughout the Mercury retrograde process. Some breakthrough moments are indicated as we break new trail and hit our strides.

However, there is also an indicator of some "peak stress moments" hitting around these times, as well. 

Mercury moves into grounded Taurus on May 13 (5:40 a.m.), immediately following the "too hot to handle" conjunction to Uranus at 29 Aries.

Mercury transiting Taurus indicates that a bit more of a mellow mindset is possible in the last two weeks of May, and this comes as a relief after the extended stress and charge of the Mercury in Aries retrograde in square aspect to Saturn in Capricorn. 

A nice, stabilizing trine between Mercury in Taurus and Saturn Rx in Capricorn occurs on May 18, and these two bodies are working together from much more harmonious angles. This earth trine should soothe some of the frayed nerves and raw mental states following the hard-angled cardinal energies we've been navigating.

May 18 also appears to be a fortuitous date to plant a garden! This date follows the 24-degree Taurus New Moon on May 15 and will involve Mercury in Taurus exactly trine Saturn Rx in Capricorn, as well as the Moon quite comfortable in its domicile of Cancer.

If one is planting according to the lunar cycle, it is said that plants that grow above ground should be planted between the New Moon and the Full Moon. Plants that grow underground should be planted from the Full Moon to the Balsamic Moon. The Moon in a water or earth sign is considered fortuitous for planting, and Moons in air or fire signs are said to be less fortuitous. 

So the Taurus New Moon on May 15, the day of the Uranus ingress, provides an official opening into Gardening Season 2018 (except for you lucky people who can garden almost year-round).

I generally plant my gardens intuitively, when I have the time and energy to plant, as I'm sure most people do these days. I also don't generally plant the above ground plants and the below ground plants at different points in the lunar cycle. But since the astrology seems to be lining up nicely, I may pay a little closer attention to it this year.

It's been a long haul, friends, but as Mercury burns its way into new degrees of the zodiac as of May 3, we're over the hump. 

Happy Gardening, and enjoy the warm and sunny weather!