Once more, the dreadful Mercury retrograde is set to start. Mercury retrograde, though feared by the majority of us, is a normal occurrence in our universe and offers us just as many benefits as it does drawbacks. Mercury is the planet that stations retrograde the most frequently, doing so three times this year for periods of three weeks each. We may create opportunities for realignment and inner growth all year long if we learn to navigate these periods appropriately.
Mercury looks to be moving backwards in our sky, but he is actually forward motion. This is the first thing to comprehend. The fastest-moving planet in the solar system, Mercury completes one orbit of the Earth every 88 days, or up to four times a year. Similar to when a car passes another, slower going vehicle, as he passes us, it creates an optical illusion. The quicker car looks to be temporarily moving backwards before completely overtaking the slower car. The same effect that causes Mercury Retrograde also causes this.
Mercury is the planet that governs all of our technological and information exchange systems, as well as communication. The portion of us that quickly assimilates knowledge and transmits it to others is ruled by Mercury. The regular flow of energy is reversed as he retrogrades. Instead of flowing freely to others, ideas and thoughts sometimes seem to get trapped in our heads. The same thing happens when we communicate digitally: email servers crash, social media platforms have glitches, and our standard methods fall short of our expectations. Undoubtedly, it may be a frustrating moment. Speaking, writing, and even producing art might be challenging for us. The energy seems to become caught before bursting through chaotically, confusing everyone, like a sling shot. Here are some suggestions to assist you get through this period and actually use it to improve your environment rather than make it worse.
In This Article...
What does the word “retrograde” mean?
An optical illusion known as a retrograde happens when a planet’s orbit perfectly lines up with our own. From our vantage point on Earth, planets appear to be slowing down and going backward, but in reality they do not defy physics and reverse their orbit. It’s comparable to how, while we’re driving, a bus in the lane next to us could suddenly seem to drive backwards when the pace and timing are just right.
Retrogrades are thought to represent a time of reflection, reappraisal, and reimagination in the domains of life that the planet rules.
How do we become affected by the retrograde?
What occurs and how does Mercury’s retrograde phase impact us? Many proponents of astrology think that the retrograde motion starts a cycle of bad luck, but what does it actually mean?
Mercury retrograde is an optical illusion, which implies that from our vantage point on earth, it appears as though the planet is travelling backward. Astrologers think that disruptions in electronics and communication during this alleged backward motion could dampen everyone’s summer attitude.
Find out what Mercury’s retrograde means for you, how to use its power, and anything else you need to know about it here.
What does Mercury going backwards represent spiritually?
Mercury must be in retrograde has evolved into a sort of catch-all explanation for why everything in our life have gone awry. The Murphy’s Law of astrology basically applies here: During this planetary phase, anything that may go wrong will. At least, that’s how we talk about it frequently. But what does Mercury going backwards actually entail from an astrological perspective?
When Mercury appears to move backward in its orbit, it is in retrograde. The fact that Mercury orbits the sun in 88 days as opposed to Earth’s 365 days causes this optical illusion to happen more than once a year. Astrologers believe that this planet’s spheres of influence can move in the wrong direction as a result. Emily Ridout, an astrologer, interprets that indicates difficulties with communication and travel.
She says, “In mythology, Mercury is the winged messenger of the gods.
Because we use our intelligence to communicate via writing, spoken word, email, contracts, agreements, etc., this imagery alludes to our intellect. The planet closest to the sun is linked to sending messages and using transportation (i.e., transportation). Therefore, a Mercury retrograde is not the cause of your toaster breaking this morning, even though it might cause you to argue with your significant other or delay your train.
Retrograde energy: What is it?
The physical and energy interaction between the Earth and a planet alters when that planet’s velocity reverses backwards. It represents to us a receding action and a retreating of energy on an energetic level. In the region of our lives that that planetary archetype represents, it creates an inverse flow, causing the energy to start flowing inward rather than outward. (Not just Mercury, but all the planets are subject to this behavior/law.)
What spiritual work does Mercury do?
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The use of metallic mercury (also known as elemental mercury) in religious rituals and folk medicine is occasionally allowed.
It is most frequently offered under the Spanish term “azogue,” while it may also be found in ethnic shops or botanicas that specialize in spiritual and religious goods under the names “vidajan” (Haitian/Creole) or “quicksilver” (English).
People who follow faiths like Esperitismo, Santeria, and Voodoo may carry mercury in pouches, wear it as a charm or necklace, ingest it as a liquid or capsule, scatter it for protection around a child’s bed or inside an automobile, or burn it in candles of devotion.
Other civilizations and religions might engage in spiritual practices involving mercury or items containing mercury.
Potential Risks: Mercury exposure, even at low doses, can have harmful consequences on health.
People who sell metallic mercury in stores or use it in spiritual and religious rituals are frequently exposed to high levels of mercury vapor over an extended period of time and risk catastrophic health consequences.
People should get in touch with their state’s environmental agency right once if there is a mercury spill to get advice on how to properly clean it up and dispose of it.
If someone has been exposed to mercury vapors, they should get in touch with their local poison control center or public health authority.
Recycling/Disposal: Due to its toxicity, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies elemental mercury as a hazardous waste.
Because of this, it is advised that elemental mercury and objects containing liquid elemental mercury be disposed of properly at domestic hazardous waste collection events and submitted to a mercury recycler for reclamation.
The use of elemental mercury is not prohibited by law, but numerous states, including Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, have placed restrictions on its sale and distribution.
According to the Federal Hazardous Substance Act (FHSA), which is required by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, labeling of dangerous household products, especially those containing elemental mercury, is necessary (CPSC).
However, a large portion of the distribution and sale of elemental mercury for ceremonial and religious uses takes place in secret.
People have even been known to sell azogue from their houses in rare cases.
There are numerous instances of neighborhood initiatives run by local environmental and public health agencies that offer outreach and education to people who utilize metallic mercury for religious and cultural purposes.
In the “General References” section at the bottom of the page, you may find links to these specific outreach and education initiatives as well as other helpful data.
Purpose: According to Indian tradition, worshipping the parad destroys one’s sins; according to Hindu belief, sins are erased by touching a Parad Shivling.
To ward off evil spirits, the solid parad balls (also known as mercury balls) are threaded and worn around the neck as a necklace.
Wearing these parad beads (such as parad mala or parad goli) is also thought to improve sexual arousal and help regulate a number of illnesses, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and asthma.
Indian statues made of solid mercury are used in homes and temples to ward off evil.
Mercury-containing products are ubiquitous garbage, including parad figures (such as Indian idols, Parad Shivling), jewelry, and parad beads.
These items should be disposed of at facilities for home hazardous waste and delivered to a mercury recycler for recovery.
Statutes and Additional Information: These products are typically imported into the United States from India and are permitted there.
The sale and distribution of these kinds of items with additional mercury are yet restricted in several states.
A novelty item is a “mercury-added product intended primarily for personal or household enjoyment or adornment, including items intended for use as practical jokes, figurines, adornments, toys, games, cards, ornaments, yard statues and figures, candles, jewelry, holiday decorations, and footwear and other items of apparel.” according to the state members of the Interstate Mercury Education and Reduction Clearinghouse (IMERC).
As a result, parad figurines and jewelry are considered novelty products with added mercury, and as such, sales of these items are restricted or outright prohibited in many states, including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
The following links are generic resources that provide details on the use of mercury in ritual or spiritual practices and different kinds of religious goods with mercury added:
Information in General Regarding Mercury’s Use in Religion:
Effects of Mercury on Human Health and Potential Risks:
Regulations for Mercury Disposal:
Mercury Used for Religious Purposes: Outreach and Education Campaigns:
Phase-outs of Mercury Products, Sales Bans, and Exemptions:
Spill Clean-up Instructions:
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/toxics/sources/cleaning-up-elemental-mercury-spills.html
What does retrograde in the birth chart mean?
ICYWW, a planet is said to be “retrograde” if Earth is orbiting it and it looks to be travelling backward from our perspective. All of the planets go through retrograde motion, but Mercury is the most prevalent and feared because of his numerous three- to four-yearly retrogrades, which frequently result in what Kavanagh refers to as “Mercury mischief.” “Every year, the larger, outer celestial bodiesincluding Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Pluto, and Chironmove backward for a significant amount of timetypically four to five months. Every alternate year, closer to Earth orbiting planets Venus and Mars go into retrograde.” She continues, “The sun and moon never go backwards.”
When a planet goes retrograde, its energy is effectively partly blocked from the outside, making it harder for living forms to express themselves there. Ambi Kavanagh is an astrologer.
What does it signify if your natal chart has one or more retrograde planets? Consider it a karmic lesson you must learn in this lifetime. It’s not all terrible news, and the chart doesn’t seem particularly bad either, according to Kavanagh. “When a planet is retrograde, its energy is effectively partially blocked from the outside, making it harder for the life areas that fall under its purview to express themselves. The soul of the chart holder opted to take on physical form in order to receive more profound lessons about the aspects of life that particular planet rules.”
How do reverses function?
A change in the planet’s apparent motion through the sky is referred to as retrograde motion. Because the planet doesn’t actually begin to revolve backward, it is not REAL. Because of how the planet and Earth are orbiting the Sun and their respective positions, it only seems to do so.
The planets typically go through the sky at night from west to east. This is known as retrograde motion. Perversely, the motion alters, and they now traverse the stars from east to west. We refer to this motion as retrograde. After a brief period of retrograde motion, the motion returns to becoming prograde. Within the context of a solar system that is centered on the Sun (heliocentric), this seemingly odd behavior is easily comprehended. In a heliocentric model, retrograde motion is explained by the fact that it happens roughly when a planet moving more quickly comes up to and passes a planet moving more slowly.
The graphic below illustrates how the planet Mars would appear to move in both prograde and retrograde motion. Keep in mind that this is all a result of the Earth’s orbit moving across space more quickly than Mars does. Therefore, the motion seems to go through the pro-retro-pro cycle as we close in on and eventually pass that planet in its orbit.
This effect is something you can see for yourself. Start off by standing next to a friend. Ask a friend to advance carefully. You now go forward more quickly. Consider how your acquaintance is moving in relation to you while you watch them. They initially walk away from you before appearing to be walking backward as you pass them, even though they are actually still traveling ahead.
What does the relationship term “retrograde” mean?
You may find yourself and your partner bickering or discussing old difficulties because Mercury retrograde has a tendency to bring up concerns from the past. That’s not to imply that a breakup is imminent because of retrograde, but it is definitely cause for alarm because couples do suddenly split up during this time.
What activities are prohibited during a retrograde?
Ellen Bowles, an astrologer and co-author of Astrology SOS, claims that “we can have technical or mechanical troubles, and our wires can seem crossed in all our channels of communication.” “Planetary retrogrades are occasions for everyone to stop and think. We are being advised to slow down and double-check the details when Mercury is retrograde.” The urge to meticulously examine every last aspect extends beyond the three to four weeks of the retrograde period itself. The same guidelines for what not to do during Mercury retrograde also apply during this time, which lasts for a week or two before and after the actual retrograde. This period is known as Mercury’s shadow phase or “retroshade.”