Having enjoyed a spell of all traditional planets in direct motion, within the next month three of the classical planets turn retrograde. These are, in order of occurrence:
Saturn, 23 May at 13 Aquarius 31
Mercury, 29 May at 24 Gemini 43
Jupiter, 20 June at 2 Pisces 11
Oh no! Retrogrades right as the first hints of global normalcy return? Yes. And every year both Jupiter and Saturn retrograde within the perfectly synchronized organization that is the clock of our solar system. This is nothing new. This is nothing to be feared. This is something that benefits everyone to know, to keep in the hip pocket of awareness, and to proceed doing life as usual regardless of and mindful of the implications of those retrogrades.
Saturn, first to turn about, represents the mundane in top to bottom manifestations. If you’re waiting for a go-ahead on a work project from a honcho, or if you’ve submitted your best work to an editor, publisher, contest organizer, the smooth flow could hiccup a bit. If you thought you submitted absolutely brilliant work to a person in charge of getting your work out to the masses, that person in charge, more than likely will kick back your work for revision(s).
That’s a good thing. Editors are the best friends of writers and creative content providers. No matter how many times you look over your creation before submitting, personal subjectively naturally prevents complete clarity in your reviews. Someone else reads your words and filters through their psyche and they may or may not come up with the resulting idea you intended. When questioned, consider the process of interrogation that of perfecting the message - not criticism.
So too, punctuation is a bugger. It’s so easy to misplace punctuation, or worse, work with an editor with no fondness for the Oxford Comma. It’s easy to have verb tense shifts or lack agreement between subjects and predicates. Saturn retrograde asks for praise for those who collaborate to increase the quality of your best efforts and promote mass understanding... as Aquarius implies... despite retrogrades and the revision they inspire.
Speaking of the Aquarius placement of Saturn, there are a few notable black holes at the degree where Saturn turns retrograde, including the first black hole theorized. The Sumerians some thousands of years ago documented this point in space. Amazing, right? Since Saturn turns at this degree, he offers a hint of what lies beyond that event horizon, over the next hill, around the next bend. Only a glimpse... a quick foreshadowing look of trends to come and where collective interests will settle when Saturn returns to this degree next January.
Glimpses gained over the next week can lead to productive outcomes that perfectly align with the marketplace next January. Be mindful and recognize mercurial moments when they appear.
Wait, Mercury’s going retro, too? Yes. This particular retrograde will be unique because Mercury rules Gemini. The blither and blather associated with dropped thoughts, lost messages, misunderstood communications stands as more likely to occur in this retrograde - mostly because of a logjam of mental scrambling of priorities and facts. Such expectation does not imply a person should bury their head in the sands of Saturn for the duration of this retrograde. On the contrary... there is the need for impeccable attention to detail, and prior to communicating, perhaps filter your communication outside of your brain before transmitting. Give that e-mail an out loud read before hitting send. Have a document to review? Make a PDF copy and read that. The slight change of view that occurs between a PDF’s and a word processor’s page view stands as just enough to find things normally missed.
Other things you can do: make lists and keep track of where you put them. Prioritize those lists. Keep in mind that what you mean may not be how the receiving party “hears” the communication. Pick clear words, articulate in the most concise means possible, and stay engaged long enough to ensure the other party “got” what you meant.
With this particular Mercury reversal, keep in mind that words have charge. A word that is benign in your mind could trigger an unexpected reaction in those taking in your communication. Keep in mind that others believe what they believe. When others disagree with you this particular retrograde, ask them to help you understand the logic sequence that led to the conclusions they hold. This effort for understanding minimizes the urge to convert others and inspires trust and respect going forward.
During Mercury retrograde, the Earth-Sun and Mercury align. There is a profound daylong effort to throw light on all real world matters for a clarity smack dab in the middle of the retrograde. This next time the connection forms on 11 June. The alignment of these solar system bodies organically spews clarity, conciseness and given agreement on philosophical basics, renders more positive affirming responses from the world at large than might be expected.
In a month Jupiter retrogrades. He’ll move from Pisces, back into Aquarius, which indicates he seeks a recollection of the original intention to do good for the world and for oneself. While this time may feel as if opportunities recede and slip away, that’s not the case. Actually, Jupiter retrograde fortifies all ideas and inspirations with additional improvements as well as enhancing the consciousness behind the source material now propagated. Jupiter retrograde works to add that missing piece. You know, that thought that appears as soon as send is hit on an e-mail or as soon as a letter is dropped in a mail box.
Remember, retrogrades cull, hone, enhance and when done with serious and dedicated review and contemplation, they resubmit revisions to the world - a world that shifted in receptivity during those retrograde eras.
In October, both Jupiter and Saturn turn direct in Aquarius a week apart. Think of it, in five months time, receptivity to the new and progressive and evolutionary, no matter how far-fetched, exceeds all expectation. Does this portend better results than currently imagined? The way to find out is to have a horse in the race and skin in the game.
Sure people may be so busy going places and doing things because they can now that this pandemic thing wanes. They can’t be bothered to read your best offering in the moment. That’s okay. As much as Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury retrograde, they always turn direct again... and in theory the restoration of prograde motion will be way more receptive.
Stay creative. Develop all content and ideas, even if behind the scenes. Petition the planets to know the windows of greatest collective receptivity and pull your symbolic triggers.
More soon!