As most of you know, Mercury is definitely Retrograde.

The Retrograde was initiated this past Thursday with Mercury in Pisces in a tight connection to Neptune... some challenging areas to be aware of during this period of time are self-delusion, understanding what you want to understand rather than what is actually being communicated, excessive sensitivity, and feeling victimized. Areas of strength to operate within are your spiritual practice, allowing your imagination free reign, and connecting to your intuition and your sense of empathy and compassion.

As Mercury moves back into Aquarius on the evening of Valentine’s Day, it will be opposite the Full Moon in Leo. Think about that for a second – the Full Moon in Leo will be trying to come to balance with a Retrograde Mercury. Hhhhhmmmmm. Add to the mix that the Sun, Moon and Mercury are all connecting to Saturn (in a challenging configuration) and to Mars (easy flow) and you get a bit of a interesting mix of energies. My take is that we could get a little fixed in our attitudes and perhaps come up against that same emotional mindset in someone else… perhaps with a few fireworks. The point though may be to illuminate somewhere you’ve been stuck and, one way or another, help you out of it.

For those born between 1957 and early 1962, this Mercury Retrograde is going to transit across your natal Chiron – or get very close to it. If you know the house of your natal Chiron (it’s going to be in late Aquarius or early Pisces) that will help you navigate. Look to that house and how it’s aspected to other natal planets for areas due a bit of mending and restoring.

Wherever Chiron is, it’s to do with your karmic wound – and this Mercury Retrograde trigger could bring stuff up around that wound – maybe offering opportunities to talk about it, heal it, review it – or provide you with chances to help someone else with their wounds. When these issues come up, don’t flinch and push them back down. The beauty of Mercury R is that really fantastic material can arise from the deep psyche and the unconscious self. Take advantage of that.

Remember that Mercury Retrograde is a time for the “1-step back” part of the natural “2-steps forward, 1-step back” process… so take the time to review, reflect, and refine what you’ve already put in motion rather than being in hot pursuit of something entirely new.

Relax! This is nature’s gift telling you to slow down and engage in your internal navigation… there’ll be time for pushing forward again soon!

THE STATS: This particular Retrograde began Thursday, Feb 6, 2014 with Mercury at 3 degrees of Pisces and will run through Fri. Feb. 28, 2014 with Mercury going back to 18 degrees of Aquarius. The shadow period, that 16 to 21 day period after the Retrograde when Mercury is making its way back to the point where it first started its backwards trek, ends on March 21, 2014.