Astrology Lessons from Mercury Retrograde

Mercury went direct on August 11, after a 3 week retrograde. Vanessa had written a blog about the upcoming retrograde, and I wrote one questioning my excitement for it.

The further I connect with myself and my birth chart, the less I fear Mercury Retrograde. It's not that MR doesn't have it's challenges. In fact, there were a few where Vanessa or myself could do nothing but laugh and say "this is so mercury retrograde".

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In the July 10th blog, Vanessa wrote:

Mercury is the part of us that thinks, communicates, and learns. We all have an inner parrot, an inner gossiper/roaster, a calculator, an inner note taker. This is the logical, fast paced part of our brains. Mercury represents that activity inside of us. When Mercury is in the microwav... ah uhm! I mean... retrograde, we can notice a gradual slowing down of all these mental functions (aka the pre-shadow that started on June 30th), which leads to a full stop (aka Mercury goes retrograde on July 17th), and a subsequent 3 weeks of "backward or inward" thinking (all the way from July 17 to August 11th)."

This retrograde wasn't without it's challenges, but I had the tools to navigate this time. The wild tech issues were out of my control. How I was feeling also was out of my control. But how I dealt with these challenges was in my control.

I am currently going through a separation - the ending of a 10 year relationship, 8 year marriage. To say it's the best thing for me is an understatement. Once we made the decision to separate and I got over the ego part of it (wah wah I failed at my marriage), a weight lifted off my shoulders. The cloudiness of who I was began to dissipate. I gained clarity in who I am and have been slowly becoming the version of me I longed to be, but felt unable to for so long.

Happiness isn't linear. You have to be able to ride the waves

After 6 months (almost) remaining in this home, the decision was made last week (at the very end of MR) to move. At the time of separating I didn't have the capacity to pack things, declutter or look at places to live. Now I am so excited to rid of the old, embrace the new and find a place for me and my two kitties that isn't so out in the boonies. Despite living in Calgary, I am on the very edge, far from everything and put a lot of miles on just to do anything. As Vanessa wrote in the aforementioned blog:

Mercury in Leo is expressive, daring and loud. The fire energy of Leo gives the planet of the mind a lot of color and desire to shine with our creative ideas and expressive personality. It can be a moment of shining with our voice, however that looks like."

Leo is in my 10th house - area of public image and career.

Knowing me, like truly knowing me, this makes sense. But that version of myself is the version I hid for so long. Mercury going retrograde during this season was a great opportunity for me. I could feel myself gaining comfortability in who I am and being more open to expressing myself and my creativity.

Though the 3 weeks of MR weren't met without challenges, there were a couple things that I did that really helped:

• I had a mini reading with Vanessa, talking about my current feelings and chart. It was HUGELY insightful and I can't recommend booking with her enough.
  

• Reminding myself that I am FREE to be ME. It's impossible for me to not give an eff about what people think of me, but it is something I'm getting better with. The older I get, too, the less I care.
  

• Journaling on the thoughts that were trying to hold me back. This allowed me to make so much forward progress and silence those gremlin voices telling me I'm not good enough, etc.

Overall, life is hard. Not always, but there will always be tough moments. Astrology won't change that. It won't tell your future and it isn't a quick fix. Instead, it helps you to understand who you are and how to navigate life with the tools and knowledge about yourself you deserve to know.

The key though is having the dedication to stick with those tools. People expect "instant fixes" and that is just not life. If you want to be the version of yourself you desire to be, you have to be willing to ride the ups and downs and reflect constantly, even when that reflection is uncomfortable.