With the Sun currently transiting through the sign of Libra and
one of the main purposes of this energy being to find balance and harmony
in relationships and partnerships, it seems like an excellent time to pull out
the Cosmic binoculars and look ahead to address something I have been
alluding to in several of my recent blogs ... that would be what I have named
the upcoming "Personal Planet Retrograde Flip Flop" which I will be
referring to as PPRFF from this point forward to save some excessive
typing !!! ... the Universe will be placing each one of us on a steep learning curve in the "school of life" particularly in reference to the way we think and communicate, romance, partnerships and relationships, personal values, finances, and our personal initiative over the next 10 months ... this sequence begins on October 1st with Mercury
entering its final shadow point for 2013 and concludes with Mars exiting its
next retrograde zone on July 21st, 2014 ... when Mercury kicks off the
PPRFF on October 1st, the Universe will bestow us with the beginning of a personal planet retrograde
sequence that goes in the following order - Mercury, Venus, Mercury, Mars then
Mercury ... these three planets are considered to be the "personal"
planets as their energy tends to reveal behavior characteristics that make one unique ... the Sun and Moon are also in this group but they never go retrograde ... the following is a general idea of the timing of their retrograde
periods during the PPRFF ... each retrograde period will be addressed in more detail later as
they actually begin ...
To start with, every planet, no matter which one that is involved in a
retrograde journey, goes through a period of influence ... it begins with
the approaching backward energy making itself apparent, the actual
retrograde period where the energy is indeed moving backwards, and then the
energy turning back into forward motion as the planet moves back to the
point where it began its retrograde period ... these point are
respectively referred to as :
SHADOW POINT - the planet, still in forward motion, reaches the degree where it
will end its upcoming retrograde period
RETROGRADE PERIOD - the degrees and sign, or signs in some
cases, where the retrograde takes place
EXIT RETROGRADE ZONE - the degree and sign where the
retrograde period began to which the planet has now returned to
and is passing over ... considered by some astrologers as the planet
returning back up to full speed ...
Shadow points aren't always thought of as being that detrimental, but they
often will produce some kind of energy or event that appears to foreshadow
what the upcoming retrograde period will involve ... the retrograde period is
the actual time where one should slow down and be careful as to actions being
taken especially in regard to which particular area of life the planet, and the
sign it is retrograding in, rules or exerts its energy over ... if you've
had a natal chart done then you will get an even better idea as to where this
backward energy will present in your life for you to deal with in regards to the house or houses it occurs in, natal planets it aspects, and natal planets the retrograde planet crosses back over ... once the
retrograde is over the planet has now resumed forward motion and in most cases
it is not a problem to proceed with what needs to be addressed in your life,
but one just might want to be somewhat more cautious until the planet exits the
retrograde zone ...
Even though this sequence will cover approximately 10 months, there are no
days when one of the personal planets won't be in a shadow point or moving back in forward motion to
exit a retrograde zone, but there will be some days when there will not be
a personal planet retrograde ... these days are :
10/1 - 10/20
11/11 - 12/20
2/1/2014 - 2/5/2014
5/20/2014 - 6/6/2014
7/2/2014 - 7/15/2014
... after 7/15/2014 there will not be a personal planet
retrograde or preparing to take its next retrograde journey until September
14th, 2014 when Mercury enters its shadow point in advance of its final
retrograde period for 2014 beginning on October 4th, 2014 ...
The following is a brief description of the general effects of a Mercury,
Venus or Mars retrograde period ... as mentioned before, they will be dealt
with in more complete detail later as they occur ...
MERCURY - Mercury goes retrograde 3 and sometimes 4 times a year ...
it governs our thinking and how we communicate naturally governing the 3rd
house (Gemini) of the horoscope ... it also governs the 6th house
(Virgo) thus making its retrograde period a time when work and health
issues arise especially in regard to the sign or signs it takes its
retrograde journey in ... as a rule, communications are going to be challenged both to and from others -
partnerships and relationships often hit the skids during these periods ... it
is NOT a good time to make major purchases - especially cars, a big NO-NO -
that goes double for USED CARS, computers or anything that involves electronics
... purchasing homes can end up producing unforeseen problems and even the
contracts can have unexpected difficulties along the way or at closing
especially if the closing takes place during the retrograde period .... it is
not a good idea to enter into contracts or start new jobs as they will most
likely not pan out and end up becoming dead ends ... and weddings, well I know
it takes a long time to plan a wedding and some of them will just have to go on
as planned, but if you can avoid a wedding in a Mercury Retrograde - DO IT !!!
VENUS - Venus goes retrograde roughly
every 18 months for a period of about 6 weeks ... Venus
naturally governs the 2nd house (Taurus) which addresses money, how
you earn it and how you spend it, as well as personal values ... it
also naturally governs the 7th house (Libra) which addresses face-to-face
partnerships and relationships ... during a transiting Venus
retrograde, old lovers or friends may resurface - some hoping to reconnect
while others are only in and out for "pass and review" so to speak
... relationship issues, both personal and professional/ public and private,
come to the forefront thus causing all types of contracts and partnerships to
be reconsidered especially if they have become difficult or challenging ...
this is also a time when our personal values get reconsidered - both material
and spiritual - to see if they still make sense or need adjusting somewhere ...
the main purpose of a Venus retrograde is to reconsider relationship and
acquisition needs as these change over time for all of us ... it becomes very
important during this time to get in touch with ones present values, wants and
needs, and to become clear about exactly what you want to attract ... it's NOT
a good time to purchase "luxury " items if you can wait because when
Venus stations back into direct motion you might well find yourself thinking
"Why did I spend THAT MUCH on something I really didn't need or
want", or you may simply feel you did not get the anticipated value for
what you spent your hard earned money to purchase ... often in a Venus
retrograde money can become low and scarce and we could also end up having
to spend money we hadn't counted on spending, but in some cases one may end up
getting money "coming back" to them from one source or another!!! ...
it is not usually a good time to begin a new job if you can wait because you
may never get the money you expected out of the job, and the job might not pan
out down the road for some reason ... that being said, unfortunately as a Venus
retrograde can indicate the "tightening of the purse strings",
salaries could be cut back or the job may be terminated for one reason or
another ... we also tend to become a little less sociable and often forget our
manners ... ABOVE ALL ELSE, weddings are most certainly a huge NO-NO
as this is the planet which rules romance, love and affection - do you really
want that energy going backwards on the day you say "I Do" ???
MARS - Mars goes retrograde roughly every 22
months for about 9 - 10 weeks ... Mars naturally governs the 1st house (Aries)
which addresses not only the way we individually project
ourselves out into the world but ultimately our desires,
drives, ambition and personal energy ... during a Mars
retrograde we have to evaluate what it is that motivates us and we
have to determine if we are on the correct path to achieve our goals,
and if we are doing what we should be doing to get there ... Mars
retrograde periods are time for all of us to adjust our actions and aggressive
instincts to ensure that our intent is accomplished ... this often includes
going back over previous actions and having to redo them or let them go in
order to move forward ... old resentments and personal issues that haven't been
resolved in the past have a tendency of resurfacing during this period which
yields an awareness that the time has come to develop new strategies and
approaches for dealing with issues, anger and learning assertiveness ... it is
often said that during a Mars retrograde we may become somewhat less
"warlike" and that our energy can hit a lull to the point where it
seems our get up and go truly got up and went !!!!
The following are the actual
dates of the upcoming personal planet retrograde periods in case you would like
to mark your calendar or make a note in order to be prepared ... and for the
sake of once again saving excessive typing these are the following letter
abbreviations to note the period of the particular retrograde ... SP = Shadow
Point ... RX = Retrograde Period ... ERXZ = Exit Retrograde Zone :
MERCURY -
SP : 10/1 ... 2 degrees Scorpio
RX : 10/21 - 11/10 ... 18 - 2
degrees Scorpio
ERXZ : 11/27 ... 18 degrees
Scorpio
VENUS -
SP : 11/20 ... 13 degrees
Capricorn
RX : 12/21 - 1/31/2014 ... 28 -
13 degrees Capricorn
ERXZ : 3/4/2014 … 28 degrees Capricorn
MERCURY -
SP : 1/22/2014 ... 18
degrees Aquarius
RX : 2/6/2014 - 2/28/2014 ... 3
degrees Pisces - 18 degrees Aquarius
ERXZ : 3/20/2014 ... 3 degrees
Pisces
MARS -
SP : 12/26 ... 9 degrees Libra
RX : 3/1/2014 - 5/19/2014 ... 27
- 9 degrees Libra
ERXZ : 7/21/2014 ... 27 degrees
Libra
MERCURY -
SP : 5/22/2014 ... 24 degrees
Gemini
RX : 6/7/2014 - 7/1/2014 ... 3
degrees Cancer - 24 degrees Gemini
ERXZ : 7/15/2014 … 3 degrees
Cancer
Now you have a basic idea of what to expect over the next 10 month period in
regard to the backward motion and resulting influence of these three
planets ... transiting retrogrades affect everyone because the energy we feel from the retrograde planet is "different" while it is, so to speak, moving backwards ... it doesn't mean it is all doom and gloom and something that should
be dreaded ... sometimes a retrograde period may come and go with side effects
barely noticeable while other times it could prove extremely challenging ...
but that of course is going to depend on where you are in life and what is
going on around you ... for those born with any of these planets retrograde
in their natal chart, I sometimes have found these clients seem to navigate
these often choppy waters with less stress and aggravation ... and you have to keep in mind that these
particular energies aren't the only ones producing influential energy down here
below ... there are always many different energies in play
"upstairs" at any given time which results in the
universal energy affecting one through transits around their natal chart,
progressions to their natal chart, solar returns, lunar returns and a vast
array of other cosmic influences which can usually be deciphered for you
by an astrologer ...
Though we all will probably experience some kind of effect from the
ensuing PPRFF, those that may be more sensitive to it include Scorpio,
Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Libra, Gemini and Cancer born as these are the
actual signs in which the respective retrograde periods will take place … Gemini, Virgo, Taurus, Libra, and Aries may be equally as sensitive to these
retrogrades as these three are your ruling planets : Mercury = Gemini and
Virgo, Venus = Taurus and Libra, and Mars = Aries …
Ultimately retrograde periods are simply Universal time outs put in
place to slow us down and give us the opportunity to get back in sync
with the Universal rhythm thus making them thought of as global wake-up calls ... so why try to swim upstream in a raging current … go
with the flow - adjust and adapt … and, most importantly, in trying to
determine what is going on around you due to planetary energy interplay and influence,
and as nothing is set in stone, it is always a good thing to keep in
mind a phrase my astrology teacher, Lyn Hammond Gray, used to stress
over and over, from the very first day of class : when synthesizing the overall astrological energy at any given
moment in time, always remember to consider this possibility - "MODIFIED BY WHAT ???"
"Everything must change ... nothing stays the same ... everyone must
change ... no one stays the same ... "