It is surprising how many people are familiar with Mercury Retrograde, which has earned an unfairly bad reputation for being the cause of wrecks, failures in communication (electronic or human), and bad business deals. Mercury facilitates communication and like all energy points, it needs a period of rest as well. Think of the times you've gone to your online bank at some obscure hour (Sunday morning at 3AM) only to find that the system is down for routine maintenance. Mercury Retrograde gets so much bad press because we are supposed to slow down and we don't, and that's when and why accidents happen. The suggestion from astrologers to "lay low" during a Mercury Retrograde really has nothing to do with greater danger and more to do with the proper rhythm to employ during this phase, which now is from August 20 to September 11. In the US chart Mercury is transiting the 10th House; the house of public responsibility, business, and large systems (think banking, education, government, military, and corporations). Now is a good time for all large systems to review their books, reflect on their current status, review contracts, and reread documents pertaining to votes of law. Do all the things involving review, reflection, and rest. The same is true where Mercury is transiting your chart.
For the slower moving energy points, beginning with Jupiter, which I will talk about in conjunction with Uranus (because they are currently conjunct), the retrograde phases last longer and have broader and deeper impacts. Jupiter began its retrograde phase on July 23 and will conclude this phase on November 17. It will move back from Aries and into Pisces, suggesting that exploration and expansion need some more time on the "dreaming board" (Pisces) before being put into action (Aries). In the US chart, the 4th House of Family and Culture and 5th House of Creativity and Children will be affected. Essentially the proposed solutions to solve our financial crisis (that is impacting so many families) need review and reflection. We also need new thinking and it needs to be more radical than we realize, which is what Uranus conjunct Jupiter and also retrograde moving back from Aries to Pisces tells us. Uranus went retrograde, after just edging into Aries (less than 1 degree) July 5th, and will not be done until December 5th (well after the November elections are over). Families in the US (4th House) have certainly gotten a shock (Uranus) to their dreams (Pisces) with this financial crisis. Uranus was 15 degrees into its transit through Pisces when the crisis began (1/2008), and now the depth of the shock is sinking in with remaining high unemployment, deflation of home values, outstanding debt, and a long term out look for slow or no growth, and even retraction. As a nation, we won't really feel the Aries push for innovative solutions until March 2011 since the retrograde phase will take Uranus all the way back to 26 degrees of Pisces.
We have another pair of energy points conjunct and retrograde, Chiron and Neptune in Aquarius right on top of the US natal Moon. Chiron started its retrograde phase June 4 and it will last until October 31. Neptune started its retrograde phase May 31 and will remain retrograde until November 6. Chiron deals with the wound we must heal while Neptune deals with our dreams and delusions; these two together are potent for deep, deep spiritual and psychological work and they are moving back and forth over the 3rd and 4th house of the US chart, the very depths of the US soul and activating the soul energy point. This country is filled with idealistic notions, many of which have been achieved and most of which now have been corrupted. This conjunction of energy is revealing that our capacity for bringing a new light (a certain kind of democracy and development of society) to the world has been tarnished by our greed (quite simply, the debt supercycle we face is a fundamental case of living beyond our means). We have borrowed against the future to have more of everything now instead of pacing ourselves within our means. Ideals have been perverted to such a degree that our nation's exalted status (generally speaking) is largely damage beyond repair. We face a new age as the center of the world shifts to China, the only "solvent" country thanks to its dominance in manufacturing. But keep in mind, this conjunction and retrograde energy is also affecting an area in China's chart, and Russia's, and all countries. Personally we will each be getting a heavy dose of depth work involving wound/healing and dream/belief energy. Welcome to the dark night of the soul.
Finally, Pluto is retrograde, and unlike the other four outer planets, it will not cross back over into Sagittarius. The US got a very heavy dose of the "bill collector" when Pluto entered Capricorn in January of 2008. The full disclosure of the over extension (Sagittarius expansion) is still unwinding and will do so for the duration of Pluto's transit through Capricorn (until 2025 ... yes, another 15 years). Pluto is the transformer, the destroyer, and the rebuilder and his next work is in the area of big institutions (Capricorn) in the arena of the US chart dealing with Security and Values (2nd House). We will see a tremendous change in those two areas of our lives as we learn to live with less and must make do with less. If our country had to settle its debts today, we would have to declare bankruptcy and essentially start over again. In some ways, such action would be best and honest, though extremely painful. If we never enter an outright Depression, we will likely experience recurring recessions because Pluto entered Capricorn at a time when large systems are overextended. California and Illinois are precursors to what we can expect when the stimulus money runs out, especially since "no new taxes" is fully the accepted mantra. Services will unwind and superstructures will begin to show bigger fractures than they already have. Too big to fail is usually Plutonian code for "the process for failing has already begun." But this need not be a terrible process, Pluto is also about rebirth and we will need to rebirth civilization over the next 20 years and hopefully we will be able to avoid the choices of the 1910's to 1930's when Pluto entered Cancer and rolled over the US Sun and opposed itself in 1935. During this transit Pluto will oppose the US Sun (2014) and conjunct itself (2022). We will experience the Pluto return for this nation, and all that has been sown in 240+ years will be reaped. Jeff Green, perhaps the leading authority on Pluto, predicts, "On a national level it is interesting to remember that Pluto is in Capricorn in the US chart. The day will come when the United States will 'fall from grace.' One day it will not be the world power that it is today (writing in 1993); it will be one nation among many. This will force a restructuring of the national Soul so that a new collective self-image can evolve. The national sense of security (2nd House) linked with being a world power will have to change as a result of this evolutionary necessity." (Green, Pluto: The Evolutionary Journey of the Soul, 192).
Finally, I want to point out the large triangle or T-Square connecting the one outer planet not retrograde, Saturn (in Libra in the 11th House of Community) in opposition with Jupiter/Uranus (in Pisces in the 4th House of Family and Culture) and square Pluto (in Capricorn in the 2nd House of Security and Values), which itself (Pluto) squares Jupiter/Uranus. We are dealing with a great deal of tension during this configuration and the balance point is in Cancer in the 8th House of Death and Transformation. We must transform and in the vein of caring and nurturing (not rugged independence and "get yours while you can"). It is hard because the point/energy is "hidden" and not active because there is no energy point transiting in the house of the needed activation. Yet the activation needs to happen on our country's Sun, its Life Path and it will also affect our relationships (Venus); how we grow, expand, and teach (Jupiter); how our country communicates (Mercury), and our destiny (Part of Fortune). Exciting times to be sure.
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