Mercury Shenanigans again: April 1
Starting on April 1st, Mercury enters retrograde 2/4 of 2024. This retrograde runs from 27°-15° Aries & will make thrice repeating conjunctions to our Wounded Healer Chiron & double conjunctions with our North Node. Retrograde Mercury will also conjunct both our Sun & Venus once (as it does in most retrograde cycles, so nothing too special there).
The Basics
Mercury, our planet of communication, technology, & travel, is the fastest-moving planet in our solar system. It retrogrades 3 to 4 times every year. This means that Mercury’s retrograde cycle is “business as usual” & isn’t something that should be feared but, it is a change in the energy signature of one of our personal planets, so it’s worth paying attention & of course making adjustments where necessary.
Retrogrades don’t mean that the planet ACTUALLY is moving backward, of course. It is a perspective shift in our perception of the planetary movement through our skies. In this way, our perspectives & perceptions can get a bit twisted during these times and it is easy to miss key details or communicate ineffectively.
During Mercury’s retrograde, Mercury traces its path backward in our skies & it is considered better to go over your work rather than start something new. Mercury passes over these degrees in the sky thrice: the first time during its pre-retrograde shadow, the second time while it moves backward during its retrograde, & again a third time while it moves forward in its post-retrograde shadow. Because of this, we all get the cosmic opportunity to relearn & refocus on certain things that are going awry in our lives.
By looking at the degrees of Mercury’s retrograde & comparing it to your birth chart, you can get an idea of how Mercury’s retrograde cycle might affect you. Mercury retrogrades affect some people more than others. By order of significance, these people are most likely to be affected by a Mercury retrograde: If you have Sun, Moon, Ascendant in Gemini & Virgo, or Mercury closely conjunct (within 2°) to your Sun, Moon, or Ascendant. If your natal Mercury was already retrograde ( in or out of bounds). If the current retrograde crosses over your Sun, Moon, or Ascendant (in conjunction) or makes a square or opposition. There are other examples of this that I can go into, but I won’t bore you at the moment. One can assume that the more of these factors in play, the stronger you may experience the effects of a Mercury retrograde cycle. This isn’t to say that what you experience will be bad or wrong – some people experience a lot of freedom from Mercury’s journey. The more open you are willing to give up control & stay open to the ever-changing landscape of a Mercury cycle, the easier it will be.
The Nitty Gritty
Now that we’ve gone over the basics, let’s take a look at the specifics of THIS Mercury retrograde cycle. Mercury will retrograde backward from 27° Aries to 15° Aries. This puts the stressors of this cycle on the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, & Capricorn) first & then of course fire signs secondarily. Here we can see that we might get dammed up a bit when it comes to focus, forward motion, & motivation (all things that cardinal & fire signs rule). There’s actually a pretty notable lack of planetary aspects with this Mercury retrograde. Mercury will conjunct both the Sun & Venus as it moves backward which almost always happens (very occasionally Venus is already ahead of Mercury & getting ready for a retrograde of her own), but otherwise, we will not experience a single significant aspect to the other planets. What we do see are repeated conjunctions to the asteroid Chiron & the North Node. Moreover, we will experience a major Aries stellium between retrograde Mercury, Venus, Chiron, & the North Node in mid-April.
The asteroid Chiron, often called the Wounded Healer, represents a recurring pain point that must be explored thoroughly to heal. Your own personal pain point can be found by the placement of Chiron in your natal birth chart by looking at its sign & house placements & any aspects it might share with the rest of your chart. Transiting Chiron shows a societal pain point that needs further discovery. This Chiron in Aries transit has been all about the pain of individuality – both in the ways that standing out from the crowd can be hurtful & lonely, but also pain points around where we wanted to individualize, but couldn’t. We each have our own stories about the individualization journey – some of us were forced to conform when we didn’t want to, others struggle with masking, & others still want desperately to fit in but can’t seem to no matter what they try. Your experience with this transit will likely be very personal but it WILL be activated by this Mercury retrograde.
Additionally, Chiron will be closely conjunct with the North Node all through this Mercury retrograde cycle. The lunar nodes aren’t physical objects in the sky. Instead, they are mathematical points that represent the precise area that the Sun, Moon, & Earth must be in relation to one another to create our eclipses. There are two nodes (North & South) that always move around the earth in opposition to one another – because of this you will always find them in opposite signs of the horoscope wheel. When the Sun comes close to these points, we enter eclipse season. However, this isn’t a post about eclipse season exactly (though a large portion of this retrograde will coincide with eclipse season), so I will try to be brief here. In our natal charts, the placements of our North & South Nodes are considered the axis of fate – it is believed that most individuals will move toward the North Node & away from the South (by sign and house placement). On the other hand, the transiting lunar nodes affect where the energy of the collective is pointed – again, towards the North Node & away from the South. Currently, our North Node is in fiery Aries & our South Node is in airy Libra. We can see, in this way, that our attention is pointed towards independence & individualism (Aries, 1st house) & away from relationships & codependencies (Libra, 7th house). Again, you will have your triggers around this transit – made up both by your natal birth chart & your lived experience – that you will have to face during this time.
Chiron conjuncts the North Node exactly at 17° Aries on 3/5 but as both are rather slow-moving, they will still be in close conjunction through this retrograde cycle. Chiron conjunct the North Node is THE healing aspect of the decade – one could say that it is fated that people will be healed during this time. But, keep in mind, Chiron healing is hard work. If you look at the mythology behind the name, Chiron was a centaur with an unhealable wound who went on, through his journey, to become a great healer of his own accord. Chiron carries with it the lesson that healing does not happen in a vacuum; when one heals, all are healed. This transit carries with it the possibility of deep societal healing around the wounds of the sign Aries.
Many would argue that modern Western culture is too individualistic & that we need to return to a society that values community & togetherness. Still, others would argue that we over-focus on the pair-bonded relationship, again, to the detriment of community. Chiron in Aries conjunct the North Node says: yes, &…This cognitive dissonance will be a central focus of this Mercury retrograde cycle as Mercury passes over the conjunction between Chiron & the North Node three times: first in forward motion during its pre-retrograde phase, secondly in backward motion during its retrograde, & a third time in forward motion during its post-retrograde phase. This is something with which we will all need to grapple with during this time.
This lesson, whatever it might be for you and yours, will be highlighted especially in and around 4/19 when retrograde Mercury meets up in exact conjunction with Venus at 17° Aries. It’s worth noting here that Venus is in her detriment in Aries which means that the independent, cardinal sign of action is not a particularly comfortable position for our planet of comfort & togetherness. Libra, the sign in which our South Node currently resides, is the natural space for Venus – in Libra, she would like peaceful resolutions & for everybody to just get along (perhaps even a bit pathologically). In Aries, Venus is the starlet who becomes so obsessed with her fame/flame that she doesn’t notice those that are burning in her wake. A reminder: think before you burn the whole place to the ground. (I’m not saying that it’s not warranted during this time…I’m just saying that you should think it through first)
There is a lesson here and it’s one of independence & interdependence, but we need to leave codependence in the rearview mirror. Toxic togetherness may be highlighted through all of March & April. With one of our two relationship signs involved in this, I wouldn’t count out relationship issues or even breakups during this time. This energy will greatly augment any magic done to remove abusers or other toxic partners from your life once & for all.
We don’t get to choose if we live in “Interesting Times” but we do get to choose HOW we live in them. This retrograde is going to put a lot of stress on unbalanced relationships in particular – especially ones in which one partner would like more space & the other one is seeking control & containment. Where do you need to give up control to let your Others be more free & more themselves? Where do you need to show up better for yourself & ask for more space?
There is some old adage about traveling while Mercury is in retrograde that I find very applicable here: traveling during this time can be very pleasurable so long as you can let go & accept where the road takes you. Expect delays & detours during this time. If you’re all fussed about getting to your destination, you may miss the scenic views & pure joy of the experience of moving more slowly. Mercury’s retrogrades are a time to do less more thoroughly. It is a time of cosmic refinement (Mercury is the ruler of our architect sign of Virgo).
It can also be a time of unfortunate miscommunications (especially involving technology). Packing patience & a heavy dose of empathy can help a lot here. This is the divine right time to check your work twice before you hit “send” & to sit on it for a few days before you pick that fight. This goes double for 4/8 when we will experience a total solar eclipse at 19° Aries (very close to the degree that Mercury & Venus will later meet up).
Healthy human behaviors will always help here: take a break when you need to, keep an eye on your state of emotional regulation, & remember to maintain solid boundaries. With eclipse season & the lunar nodes so involved, this will carry heavy wild card energy along with it so approach it with an open heart and eyes wide open, & you should be fine.
