Mercury Retrograde September 2015 – It’s Not Fair

Mercury stations retrograde at 18:09 (UT) on the 17th September 2015 at 15°LIB55′.

In mythology, Mercury had an access all areas pass as he carried messages between the Gods and humankind. The heavens, earthly realms and Hades were all open to him. Symbolically, Mercury’s story is about making connections between our inner world and outer world; between our unconscious mind and conscious mind. It’s only through making these connections that we can come to truly understand.

In normal day to day life, we tend to function on a conscious level (or so we believe). We perhaps pay little attention to the unconscious thoughts that filter up through dreams, Freudian slips, mood states, reactions and responses and body language which all speak of deeper things. We live our lives by the clock, having little time to reflect and that’s where Mercury comes in. The Mercury retrograde period asks us (and sometimes forces us) to stop to reassess, to think, to pause for breath before we utter that next thought. And sometimes it’s frustrating because we need to catch the bus, get to work on time or hear the answer we want to hear but Mercury reminds us that there is cosmic time as well as human time. He reminds us of the bigger picture.

In your own chart, look to the house where 15 Libra falls as this will clue you in as to where you are asked to slow down and check in with yourself. The stationary days are the times when the retrograde is at its strongest and when we are most likely to make mistakes or experience delays. Generally, it’s advisable to avoid making major decisions, commitments or sign contracts during this time however we can’t always put life on hold because Mercury is retrograde. Sometimes the best we can do is duly consider our options and scrutinize important papers before signing on the dotted line.

With Mercury stationing retrograde in Libra, we are looking at how we relate. Issues around relationships come firmly into focus, as does general themes of peace, harmony and balance. In the retrograde chart, Mercury is sextile to Venus, emphasizing where we have an opportunity to reconnect in a positive way. But Mercury is opposite obstinate Uranus and square to stormy Pluto, this retrograde period may be peppered with cries of ‘It’s not fair‘. Couple this with the fact that Mercury will also conjunct Black Moon Lilith who is herself dancing around the North Node, we start to get a picture of a pissed off Lilith trying to hammer the point home to Adam who keeps trying to shout her down with “stop twisting my words!“. And we all know that conversation didn’t go too well. The retrograde chart also contains the giant Jupiter-Neptune opposition which would far rather be living the dream than dealing with the reality. Sometimes, knowing how wonderful everything could be makes real world difficulties in the here and now even harder to swallow. Pluto in staunch Capricorn will require us to get real.

Mercury will already have squared Pluto whilst in the shadow period build up to the retrograde. The second square to Pluto on the 24th September could indicate a particularly tense period. Generally Mercury in Libra is associated with smooth talking but the square to Pluto can make this insidiously manipulative. It reminds me of slippery politician speak, especially as Mercury will also quincunx evasive Neptune on the 30th September.

The difficulty with this retrograde period is that it taps into issues of trust. How much we trust ourselves and how much we trust others. Suspicions may run high with the square to Pluto and it would be wise to bite your tongue and listen closely to what is being said before reacting. The challenge is to go beyond immediate reaction and get down to real roots of your feelings and responses. Whilst the square to Pluto may be tense, it is also a very insightful aspect that pushes you to explore those darker reaches of your mind with uncanny perception. Note that as Mercury will revisit this square to Pluto in direct motion, some of these issues may not see resolution until the 22nd October. It’s worth bearing in mind that Pluto has way more clout than Mercury so somewhere along the line, something has to change in order for peace to reign.

Mercury stations retrograde on the Sabian symbol :-

After A Storm A Boat Landing Stands In Need Of Reconstruction

This descriptive Sabian puts us on notice that the first square to Pluto before the retrograde begins may perhaps be a stormy one. However a storm clears the air so if conflicts erupt, it’s necessary for that energy to be seen, recognised and acknowledged, even if it is uncomfortable.

The Sabian symbol shows us that we can use this retrograde period to put things back together again and taps into the regenerative qualities of Pluto. It may be a case of fixing our thoughts to allow us to see the true power of our minds.

Mercury’s conjunction to the Sun on the 30th September takes place on the Sabian symbol A Blazing Fireplace In A Deserted Home highlighting the need to be present, to be with yourself. The blazing fireplace is your inner flame, your inner light, the place where you can easily discern the difference between truth and lies. It may also be necessary to address issues of loneliness which can arise in relationships just as much as it can within those who are single.

A sextile between retrograde Mercury and Saturn on the 6th October could help us to really start to work with this retrograde. There’s an opportunity to communicate more effectively.

The station direct occurs on the Sabian symbol :-

In A Collection Of Perfect Specimens Of Many Biological Forms, A Butterfly Displays The Beauty Of Its Wings, Its Body Impaled By A Fine Dart

Positively speaking, this Sabian could help us to acknowledge that during this Mercury retrograde period we learned something which will have lasting value to us. For some, it may be recognising that things can change, especially those that have been stuck in certain patterns for far too long.

But for others, there is an element of caution here. Mercury has still to complete the third and final square to Pluto. The negative manifestation of this Sabian is that there’s a danger of falling back into the same patterns just when the real work was beginning; of shying away from the truth when the truth gets too painful; of holding on when really we should be letting go.

But Pluto will remind us that change is necessary, whether we like it or not, whether we think it’s fair or not. Life is a continual process of transformation. If we can allow this process to happen, that is where we can re-establish true harmony based on trust and bring peace to our minds.

You may like to check out my previous post Mercury Retrograde through the Houses

Mercury Retrograde September 2015 Dates

28th August 2015 Mercury enters the shadow zone
17th September 2015 Mercury station retrograde
24th September 2015 Mercury square Pluto
30th September 2015 Sun conjunct Mercury
6th October 2015 Mercury sextile Saturn
9th October 2015 Mercury station direct
24th October 2015 Mercury exits shadow zone

Painting – ‘Butterfly’ by Andy Warhol