All You Need to Know about 2013"s Mercury Retrograde
Shadow and Release
The shadow period is before the retrograde, when Mercury is in degrees that will be part of the cycle. The release period is when Mercury is out of retrograde degrees completely. The shadow time is one of foreshadowing; the days up to the release bring many ah-has.
February 23 to March 17, 2013
- Shadow: 6 Pisces, February 9th
- Retro Station: 20, Pisces 23rd
- Direct Station: 6 Pisces, March 17th
- Release: 20 Pisces, April 7th
- Shadow: 13 Cancer, June 10th
- Retro Station: 23 Cancer, June 26th
- Direct Station: 13 Cancer, July 20th
- Release: 23 Cancer, August 4
- Shadow: 2 Scorpio, October 1st
- Retro Station: 18 Scorpio, November 6
- Direct Station: 2 Scorpio, November 10th
- Release: 18 Scorpio, November 27th
All three of the Mercury retrograde zones in 2013, are in water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces). Mercury in water has a filter of feelings. So a retrograde in water signs adds the power of authentic emotion to what we're saying, perceiving, picking up by vibes.
This is one way to see how a retro recovery, can enrich our lives. If we've denied how we really feel about a person or situation, Mercury re-aligns us with that emotional intel. It's a great time to rediscover personal meaning, in life experiences, through memories, impressions, serendipity. This retro also inspires us to share what's in the depths, with others. A water sign Mercury turns its wheels on moods, so spend time in places that have atmosphere, are somehow magical, evocative.
The imagination finds a groove with the right music or cinema, a book or friend, time in the wild or in a state of alert daydreaming.
Mercury Retrograde in Pisces
February 23rd to March 17th: The first waves come with Mercury in mutable Pisces, the sign with door always flung wide to spiritual realities. That makes this a super magical time. The perceptive faculties pick up a wider range, if you're open and clear. It pays to spend more time pondering life's mysteries now, and the bigger picture.
Mercury retrograde is when things happen that feel fated, and "what are the odds?" Like thinking of a friend, and then seeing them in the next moment. In Pisces, be alert to reminders of that capacity to know, to sense what's ahead and who is in your orbit. This is a time for the seemingly miraculous, and shifts of consciousness.
Other phenomenon: powerful animal-human communication; a picture goes viral and moves people beyond words; a 'sign' from a beloved who has passed over; an experience of oneness in nature; an encounter with a stranger that's tender, a show of common humanity; a voice rising for the helpless; being lost at sea.
Mercury in Cancer Retrograde
June 26th to July 20th, 2013 Mercury in Cancer (retrograde) takes us into original waters -- the feeling waves of family, home, Mother, native land and culture and safety. The past may be worth a second look -- for understanding, meaning, healing.
Close friends or family circle back into our lives, perhaps to continue a soul conversation that was left unresolved. Here we trace an emotional matrix we've carried with us, back to its roots, and in doing so, there's freedom. Cancer is a sign that's challenged to come out of dependency, and to overcome habits of reacting to others. It's a sign of mastering moods, and the force of cardinal water, to initiate ideas - to move people. This can be a time of tracing that lineage of feeling, and finding treasure there, as it's integrated.
Other phenomena: going back home (either by necessity or on a quest); hearing from lost lost relatives; looking at patterns in a parent-child relationship; picking up impressions in a house (lingering energy, "ghosts," other eras); edit your historical novel; re-envision/remodel your home.
Mercury in Scorpio Retrograde
October 21st to November 10th, 2013: Mercury in Scorpio retrograde comes in the dark of the year, when the veil between worlds is thin. An ideal time for the divination arts, as psychic senses are on alert. It's also for composting the material of the inner landscape, resting, and letting the alchemy of the cauldron stirring work its magic.
A big theme that can arise now is sexual bonds, that sometimes become psychic ones that are hard to cut. Issues of power, and being held by someone's energy surface. This cycle is one for cord cutting, and reclaiming boundaries that have grown too enmeshed. It's one for reconsider what has a hold on your attention, and sharpening your scythe, to let go once and for all (or at least, at a deeper level).
Other phenomena: Sexual trauma comes out, to be reexamined, and perhaps expressed; Exorcising demons that have invaded your space; Discovering tools to deal with psychic attack; Mastering your domain (your mind and energy) and undoing/unplugging from mind control programming; healing wounds around sexuality.