Mercury Retrograde in Gemini/Taurus: Carving Out the Right Mental and Verbal Boundaries in Highly-Divided Times

Communication and intelligence planet Mercury stationed retrograde this morning in its own sign of Gemini. Mercury will go retrograde from 4 degrees Gemini to 26 degrees Taurus from May 10 to June 3, 2022. 

Mercury will station direct at 26 degrees Taurus on June 3 in a conjunction to the North Node of the Moon at 22 degrees Taurus and in an opposition to the South Node of the Moon in Scorpio.

Mercury entered the retrograde shadow (the degrees to which it will return during the retrograde period) on April 26. This makes the period from April 26 to May 10 particularly juicy, as we will be going back over the conversations, communications, and connections we've experienced during that period of time. 

The movement of the winged messenger indicates a period when we are gathering bits and pieces of information to shore up, support, and fortify our perspectives. This is a transit and retrograde where we're strengthening ourselves in our ways of thinking and our worldviews, connecting with others of like mind. But it is also a time when we're putting the right boundaries in place so that we can maintain congenial social relations with those who hold mindsets and views that are very different from our own.

We're backtracking now, working to put new mental and verbal boundaries in place in our societies and social relations that align with the shifts, changes, and upheavals we've experienced in these areas over the past couple years. We're learning how to more successfully "play to our crowd." We're learning about which topics we can discuss with which people and also which topics are better to just leave off the social docket altogether. Mercury retrograde is a more contemplative time when we're more careful and moderate about the words we put out into the world.

Gemini is a sign related to duality or even to multiplicity. Because Gemini is a sign related to the gathering of information, opinions, angles, and perspectives, it is a sign that can accept and operate within two or more realities at the same time. 

The reality on Planet Earth at the moment is that we are very divided along lines of perspective, thought, and opinion, and these divisions (many being intentionally manufactured and inflamed) are having some nasty effects in our societies and societal interactions (Gemini).

There is an ongoing attempt to enforce certain top-down ideas, information, or ways of thinking on the whole of humanity, and of course, as Gemini knows, this will simply not work. We have never fully agreed on this planet - except maybe when we agree to disagree. Aside from the very basics, human beings have never come to a purely homogeneous way of thinking, and as long as we maintain biological human status, it's unlikely that we ever will come to this state.

This is part of what we must accept and successfully work with during this Mercury retrograde in Gemini/Taurus and beyond.

We're looking to create rock-solid boundaries that will withstand and contain the contentious and hyper-charged energies of the times. Maintaining respectful mental and verbal boundaries is our challenge, but we are being tested mightily on this front during the Mercury retrograde process. 

We are in the midst of a quite-unsettled eclipse season, which began with a New Moon at 10 degrees Taurus conjunct Uranus on April 30. We're now moving to the peak point of the lunar cycle - a Full Moon total lunar eclipse at 25 degrees Scorpio on May 15 that will occur conjunct the South Node of the Moon at 22 degrees Scorpio. (This lunar eclipse will be visible throughout most of Canada.)

The South Node of the Moon in Scorpio is an astrological indicator of the highly-charged emotional and psychological subtext of the times. It contains all the molten lava, the trigger points, the battle lines, the places where things can get very ugly if we aren't oh-so-careful and respectful of the "enough's enough" points. 

There is also a caution, however, about attempting to eliminate (Scorpio) certain information, perspectives, or awareness simply because it is uncomfortable. The Scorpio terrain exists, and it is important. Attempting to amputate, sever, bury, deny, or censor the underlying Scorpionic realities will simply not work. The strong influence of the Scorpio South Node indicates that these attempts will backfire. With the South Node of the Moon in Scorpio activated under a Full Moon total lunar eclipse, karma is an even bigger bitch than usual...

We're creating the right social boundaries with a full awareness of societal reality, including the differences and divisions. Pretending these differences and divisions do not exist will create a very weak and shoddy social foundation, indeed - one that will not support successful societal relations over time.

So we're looking to create the right boundaries while acknowledging and respecting the points of contention and division. With the Sun, North Node, and soon Mercury in Taurus, there is social value beyond the sticking points. People, relationships, and society are valuable, and this must stay at the forefront. We're looking to preserve and reinforce the social fabric that supports us all while respectfully acknowledging the points where we are very much on different sides of the fence.

Mercury stationed retrograde at 4 degrees Gemini this morning, and the Sabian Symbol for this degree is:

A Radical Magazine or Publication, Asking for Action, Displays a Sensational Front Page

This symbol speaks of a charged mental environment, along with the necessity for potent information that spurs action. Information is flying around fast and furious within this charged environment. The Mercury retrograde station activates this degree of Gemini for an extended period of time, and the energy and themes indicated by the Sabian Symbol are then drawn into the entire Mercury retrograde process. 

The Sun and Mercury Rx form a conjunction at zero degrees Gemini on May 21.

Mercury then re-enters earthy Taurus on May 22 where it will remain until June 13. The movement back into slow-and-steady, security-conscious Taurus indicates a requirement to properly ground the charged energy so that we can continue to re-build (Taurus) rather than destroy (Scorpio) our social contacts and social lives. 

Mercury will station direct at 26 degrees Taurus on June 3, and the Sabian Symbol for that degree is:

An Old Indian Woman Selling Beads and Trinkets

This is a much more mellow symbol, a more grounded symbol. It indicates the congenial relationships of local commerce and their importance in creating stability, regularity, and routine. It also indicates the ability to carve out our own terrain, our own niche, within the broader society and marketplace.

We don't all agree. This is plainly obvious. But we've never all agreed. Our divisions have been intensely inflamed over the past two years, but they are nothing new. 

We've found a way to get along in the past despite our wildly different ways of thinking, and this has most often involved respecting the rights of human beings to hold their own thoughts, perspectives, and opinions and to live by their own worldviews. You don't infringe on me. I don't infringe on you. 

Carving out and reinforcing this respect might be a more challenging process than usual under current conditions, but this is some of the work being laid before us during this very charged Mercury retrograde and eclipse season. 

You might disagree with the way I think. I might disagree with the way you think. This is OK. This is the way it's always been on this planet. The problem comes only when one group of people feels it can force its views and ways on another group of people. 

That's where the boundaries and respect come in, and these are things we must very carefully tend as we navigate highly-charged and highly-divided social scenarios. With the North Node in Taurus as our guiding North Star, we're attempting to find the points where people can be comfortable in each other's company, despite differing views. 

Again, finding the societal comfort zone within the current conditions is a challenge - a bigger challenge than usual - but it is also the most successful path through. 

If we cannot achieve the right boundaries, the right space, and the mutual respect for differing views, some of our social contacts could be coming to their natural conclusions at this time, but the primary goal is to build successful, mutually-supportive, and boundaries-conscious social frameworks if this is at all within our power. 

We will defend the right to hold and to live by our own views if necessary, but in general, we're moving away from a state of constant battling (South Node in Scorpio) and into a state of easier social stability and comfort (North Node in Taurus). This is necessary for our mental and emotional health.

Mercury will re-enter its own sign of Gemini on June 13, leaving the retrograde shadow and moving into new mental territory and more grounded mindsets on June 18.