MERCURY RETROGRADE IN ARIES 1st April 2024

Adjusting The Heat Level

Yes, it's that time again - Mercury is going retrograde 1st of April. I still don't get people's fascination with Mercury Retrogrades but hey, at least Mercury gets some attention on its journey through the year. Usually, other planets seem more appealing or at least more exciting than the messenger. Which I find a bit sad, because, after all, communication is the basis of civilized human life. Imagine you couldn't speak or write and share yourself with the world? Imagine you couldn't hear - it would be a very lonely life.

Mercury in Cardinal Fire represents the inspired message that HAS to be spoken, even if it ruffles a few feathers. Or is met with resistance.

The inwards movement of a retrograde planet invites us to reflect, rethink, and reassess. In this case, to reassess the volume or amount of fire we communicate with.

Is our message uninspiring and lifeless like a damp cloth somebody has left in a bucket?
Is our message scorching and blazing like a wildfire, sparing nothing and nobody?

As a collective, maybe it is time to adjust the heat level when it comes to what we speak and think about. In some areas, we might need to speak with more courage, become louder, and more passionate. Putting a bit more Oomph into what we have to say. And making our desires and inspiration known. In other areas, we might need to turn down the dial a little bit.

I see so many heated discussions about trivia, whereas really important topics are not spoken about. It sometimes looks like the majority of people make more fuss about celebrities and which Zodiac sign they hate the most than the state of the world.

With this Mercury Retrograde in Aries, we have the perfect opportunity to go inward, muster all the courage we have, and come out again with vigor. So we can address even uncomfortable topics head-on first. And take a loud and clear stand.

Photo: Moja Msanii | Unsplash

MERCURY IN CAPRICORN 1st December 2023

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬⁣

Mercury entered Capricorn - Cardinal Earth - on Friday. After communicating based on Fire, we are in the Earth realm again. Bringing more grounding and practicality to our communication. ⁣

Mercury is not only about our communication but in general, how we perceive information and process stimuli that come our way. With an earth Mercury, we might find ourselves wanting more practical tangible explanations and experiences to understand things. Exploring everything with our hands and common sense. ⁣

The Cardinal energy will give it a touch of straightforwardness - cardinal signs are fast and direct, they do not like to wait around. So communication, just because it is in an earth sign, does not mean it will be super slow. Earth is the slowest element, but since we are talking about Cardinal Earth, it is still somewhat uncensored and fast. Just more expressed by practical doing instead of logic, excitement or emotions. ⁣

Initiating things is also one of the cardinal facets, so we might initiate more conversations and address things that need to be spoken about pragmatically. Capricorn appreciates a no-fluff approach, that is realistic and and constructive.⁣

We have finished the visionary fiery Sagittarius style, now it's time to ground Mercury into reality. By making practical decisions and creating tangible conversations in the next couple of weeks.


Photo: Priscilla Du Preez | Unsplash

MERCURY IN SCORPIO 22nd October 2023

Mind Probes

Mercury is moving into the watery sign of Scorpio today.

The archetype of Mercury describes how we perceive and process information. How we communicate and think. And also how we learn new skills.

Scorpio as fixed water loves emotional security. Which is why this sign likes to keep their emotions private, only sharing them with a few select people and only after they gained enough trust with them. The water element is about imagination, intuition, and emotions and holds great sensitivity and empathy. The fixed mode describes Scorpio's modus operandi: intense and reserved.

Therefore, we could be more reserved the next couple of weeks, when it comes to communicating our emotions. Intense emotions might occupy our mind.

But our minds might also become very imaginative, and we could find ourselves having more access to intuitive hunches right now. A Scorpio Mercury is one of the best BS radars you can get. This fixed water mind can see straight through any tricks or masks.

The flipside of Mercury in Scorpio is a paranoid mind. Seeing threats that are not real. The Scorpionic mind can become so distrustful, that everyone and everything is potentially the enemy. Something to be aware of, especially in the collective.

One way we could use this energy productively is by intellectually investigating our deepest inner selves. By sending probing questions deep down into our emotional reservoir, collecting valuable data, and bringing it to the surface. It's the perfect time to ask yourself some very uncomfortable questions, to assess your inner landscape:

When sitting all by yourself, what emotions come up? If identifying emotions from scratch is difficult, you could print out a list with challenging emotions, like sadness, anger etc. And then read through the list, ticking off the emotions that resonate with you at that moment. Then go into an investigation: "When did I start feeling this way? Who made me feel this way? What happened that made me feel this way?" Becoming aware of buried emotions is the first step to releasing them.

Photo: Rene Bohmer | Unsplash

MERCURY ENTERS LIBRA 4th October 2023

𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬⁣

Mercury is moving into Libra today and if you follow my posts for a while, you will know what that means: unfiltered words. We, as a collective, can hone the skill of asking curious questions, initiating conversations, and straight-talking truth now.⁣

I feel this shift is gently preparing us for the Libra eclipse later this month.⁣

Libra is Cardinal Air: fast thoughts and uncensored words are part of this energy. Sometimes the thoughts and words tumble out too quickly and then we drop a bomb without realizing it. This just happened to me the other day, I guess my natal Mercury in Libra was already syncing up with Mercury on its current path towards Libra.⁣

So until the end of the month, when Mercury moves into Scorpio, don’t be surprised if you encounter and deliver more truth bombs. ⁣

The good aspect about cardinal air is a certain purity and innocence that comes with it. Libra asks questions because they are genuinely interested. They want to connect on a verbal level and find out what YOU are thinking. Curiosity is the fuel. They also generate a thousand ideas per minute – not all of them will come to fruition though. Some things just have to be said and then the energy is gone and it’s time to wander off to the next mind-stimulating thing. ⁣

⁣For the next couple of weeks, maybe pay attention to the way you speak and think. Can you speak with less of a filter? Think of the way a child speaks - before they get censored and every fiber of thinking for themselves gets educated out of them.⁣

⁣Can you connect to others on a more curious child-like level? And be able to receive another perspective? You don’t have to take it on, you can still do You in the end. But try to get into a curious inquiring state every time you meet a stranger (or friend!). ⁣

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰: 𝘑𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘺𝘴𝘰𝘯 | 𝘜𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩⁣

⁣

MERCURY IN CAPRICORN retrograde from December 29 2022 until January 18, 2023

From December 29 2022 to January 18 2023, Mercury moves retrograde through Capricorn, asking us to slow down and pause.

When a planet goes retrograde, it just means the planetary quality is internalised for that period of time. The planet seems to go backwards on its journey through the skies.
As with any retrograde phase, you can take breaks proactively to prevent being pushed and shoved into a reflective pause during this retrograde – or not.    

With Mercury being about how you communicate, receive and process any kind of information (speaking, writing, learning), the retrogradation is the natural phase in the cycle where the thought process is internalized. The underlying lesson with Mercury retrograde is NOT teaching us to do regular data back-ups of your laptop (although that could be useful anyway), it is rather a time to reflect, reconnect, review and revise.

Themes of Mercury include:

Communication (speech, writing), perception, facts, thoughts, processing & understanding stimuli, dexterity, speed, movement, co-ordination

Because Mercury is in Capricorn, this time is about becoming the architect of your life. Especially being in charge of your mind and learning how practical thinking and processing stimuli fully with your body can help you with that.

Guiding questions for the Mercury retrograde phase

💭 How effectively do I communicate with others?

💭 Do I integrate the information & stimuli I receive or am I on to the next thing very quickly?

💭 Am I clear in what I want from my life? Or is my mind too cluttered to receive that information?

💭 How adaptable and flexible am I when it comes to co-ordinating something?

💭 Should I take more time to process the day or find a better approach to do so?

💭 Do I expect others to go along with my perception of the world?

💭 Do I act prematurely, based on a snippet of information that I just got?

💭 Is there any agenda when I reach out and connect with others?

💭 Which practical steps can I take to become the CEO of my mind?

💭 Are my ideas realistic and actionable?


This Mercury retrograde phase will hopefully bring you insights on how you want to build your life in future – with focus and a clear mind.

PS: I highly recommend a social media detox for this time 🙂

Photo: Unsplash/ Ashim Silva