Mercury Retrograde 20 August – 12 September
Posted on 21 August 2010
Three times a year the planet of communications, travel and bright ideas stops in its track through the heavens and goes backwards for three weeks, signalling a period when phones fail, software crashes, important documents end up in the bin, someone steals your parking place, and you discover you have left the house without your keys.
Of course, Mercury never does retreat, any more than planet Earth. It’s an illusion generated by the comparative speeds of planetary orbits, exactly like sitting in a train being overtaken and feeling you are going backwards.
Nonetheless, astrology, in its perverse way, insists that perceptions of celestial events count, and retrograde planets (they all seem to go backwards periodically apart from Sun and Moon) are useful indicators of time frames.
Hence the next three weeks is reckoned problematic for new initiatives, start-ups, opening your art gallery or the like. Life must go on, of course, but don’t expect definitive answers for the next three weeks and if you are unveiling your new collection of etchings, double check your invitations have actually been sent. Likewise, double tag your luggage and ensure your passport is up to date.
An election held under retrograde Mercury – like the UK’s recent general election, the current Australian election or the ‘hanging chad’ election of George W. Bush in 2000 – is unlikely to yield a definitive result. Haggling usually results – maybe Australia won’t know its new government for weeks.
Under Mercury retrograde the clock crawls and tasks often ask to be done twice. On the other hand – and there is always another hand in astrology – the next three weeks is ideal for any activity to which you can attach a ‘re’ prefix: re-organise, re-evaluate, re-vise, re-position, re-pair, re-new, re-invigorate. You get the picture.
As B.B. King so eloquently put it: ‘Reconsider Baby’!
On another note, in the ancient world Mercury was reckoned to be a trickster, swindler and thief as well as the imparter of wisdom – hence Mercury retrograde is also good for dis-information, putting people off the scent and other impish tricks. Obviously you won’t be part of any such antics…be wary no-one is conducting them at your expense.
Mercury resumes forward motion on 12 September at 11.08 PM GMT.
September forecasts up next week.
20 responses to Mercury Retrograde 20 August – 12 September
Ah! at last I can breathe again – again.
It’s not easy to breathe under water at the best of times, but maybe
those are on the way!
Thank you for your hard work Neil, and for your generosity.
Hey Neil
Thanks for the Sept scope!
I’m Taurus with Libra rising.
I apparently have Uranus in the 8th house from January, I’m currently going thru a relationship crisis.
Is it true things will be easier when this happens in Jan?! x
Whether one uses your Taurus Sun or your Libra ascendant, Uranus cannot be in your eighth house now or for some considerable time. I think late September and early October is when you’ll decide things with your partner, one way or another. You have the Sun coming over your Ascendant – always a moment of clarity – and Mars opposing your Sun, which is a time for sharp judgments.
Hey Neil,
When is Sept forecast coming please?
Kind Regards
Signe
As they say in Jamaica – where it seems to be Mercury Retrograde more often than elsewhere – ‘Soon Come’.
Saturday in this case.
Neil, will you be posting the September forecasts soon? Please!
Hi Neil!
Optimistic about September, looking forward to The Jupiter Factor, which usually bring me something. Is your forecast coming up today? (Is murcury messing with your laptop again?!)
C
I laughed when I read this post. I’ve been travelling through many countries and have had many internet problems – beginning on the 21st.
This Mercury retrograde business….there seems something random about whether or how it attacks one personally. I think it’s very easy to read everyday snarl-ups as significant although they can happen at any old time. On the whole, you point out Merc retro and I feel, phew, this is a time of calm and often accretion of good results when awful,jerky things don’t happen. But I know bad things have happened to other Virgos – and to other people – seems part of the rich tapestry of life-type events rather than a pattern though.
Well, I at least have been enjoying life since 20 Aug. Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness – mostly. Come 12 Sept things will surge forward at too high a speed probably and communication will certainly be of the essence (I’ll start teaching again).
I DREAD Mercury retrograde!!! This time round (so far) I’ve had a two-day loss of the internet (which is crucial for my work) and a major mess-up by the bank, and a friend’s apartment has flooded in two different places!
This time last year I moved country and – with Mercury retrograde once again – I had no internet connection for a whole month, and very limited mobile phone access.
In another particularly painful time, both cars stopped working, as did the dishwasher and washing machine. And 6 lightbulbs blew.
Am wondering if I should take a holiday on Mercury next time round – would Earth retrograde be as bad???
Hi Neil,
We have to be honest, we have found it very upsetting that you have moved from weekly to monthly updates.
As a people who often questioned, if not criticised all things sun-signing, you changed our opinion with your consistent, intelligent and without-doubt accurate insights.
We have suggested before that we would pay for your weekly updates and hope you will consider this option please?
Though excited by the additional update today, and waiting eagerly for next month’s….. we can’t hide our disappointment that it is not more frequent.
Neil! We miss you!!
Re-submitting
Hoping mercury retrograde induced you to monthly
& that you too will return from hols & realise you can give/earn more
(jolly reading tho the updates are too…)
Thanks
This is really useful – thank you. I know to double check arrangements etc when Mercury goes retrograde but hadn’t appreciated the “other hand” counterside. How helpful.
thanks neil – didn’t realise mercury was retrograde during the election. interesting!!!
Oh yes the miscommunication has already started in a major way. I think I should hide under the duvet for the next 3 weeks….!
just returned from a challenging day at work delighted to see email from Neil Spencer, slightly disappointed not a Stars reading however info on mercury very apt as today was a stagnant “re”day only another 20 odd days to go thanks Neil
Dear Neil Spencer – thank you so very much for this “extra” – it’s amazing how often we imagine to be secure when Mercury is playing up… – well done for the alert!
Very best wishes to you and yours
li
I subscribed for a weekly horoscope, not a crappy paragraph of general nonsense.
I am now unsubscribing.
Dear Neil
Many thanks for the bonus Mercury ret up-date. Again very timely and revealing.
I would like to add my voice to those who are urging you to set up a paid daily or weekly reading. I too have stopped buying the Observer. I never really had time to read much of it but damned if I was going to miss you weeklies.
Take care
Alastair
A sort of general horoscope-better than nothing! As a Pisces,
I like it a bit more specific-could you go back to the old
days Neil? Thanks, Petra.