Astrology for the Week of August 21 - Mercury Retrograde Coming Up!

Mercury Retrograde is often the first thing people learn about astrology, after their Sun sign. Mercury rules communication, young people and transitions from one state to the next. Mercury likes data, whether it is communicating facts or organizing data. Is it any wonder that our youth-oriented society, with its dependence on communication devices and computer analytics is very responsive to Mercury?

And that isn't just the case now. Ben Franklin organized a dandy post office system pre-Revolutionary United States. (Delivery of information). He was also a printer, disseminating the written word. Progressions of Mercury in the US Chart correspond to the development of the telegraph system. And the telephone was an American invention. So was the smart phone.

Mercury begins its retrograde motion onWednesday, August 24. It will station and go back to direct motion on September 16. However, there will be a residue of Mercury mix ups lasting until Mercury emerges from its shadow on September 30. At that time, Mercury will pass the point at which it went retrograde. Business as usual resumes.

Any planet that goes retrograde is in apparent backward motion from Earth's perspective, going over ground it had already covered. It is a very good time to reconsider, re-evaluate and figure out how to revise actions taken when Mercury was in direct motion. It is a great time to look at situations with the Virgo power of discernment and see, really see, what is going on. It is not a time to move forward without that period of review...acting rashly can result in keys being lost, missed appointments - things that may seem like a major fiasco, but more often to be minor molehills, that served to slow you down. It isn't a good idea to sign a lease or buy a big ticket item -you often find that you did to understand the deal or find your tastes have changed when Mercury goes direct. But if you must buy big or travel during the retrograde, make sure you fully understand the details.

Venus has been retrograde in Leo since July 23 and won't go direct until September 3. A retrograde is a retrograde, so most of the above paragraph applies. However, the sign is in the romantic and creative sign Leo and the planet is Venus, the ruler of relationships. This is still about going over old ground for a second look, but the terrain is relationships and romance, not communication. An old flame may return to finish some unfinished business. it might last, but often is resolved and gone as Venus resumes direct motion. Things that were hidden or secret get dug up. (like the revelations that have come out via the former President's legal woes.)

Putting the Mercury and Venue retrogrades together says that the first time round, we missed something. Old secrets are uncovered, old communications are under greater scrutiny. Relax, sit back and take the chance to learn something new from something old!