Retrograde Planets - Mercury, Venus and Mars

Did you experience a lot of grief around the recent spate of Mercury retrograde through Aries and Pisces?  That would have been from around 12th March to 4th April 2012.  I thought the cosmos was having a bit too much of a laugh when things went wrong with my computer, my mobile phone, our land line AND the TV!  If something to do with communication could go wrong, it did go wrong.  So I said prayers to the astral God of Communication (Mercury) - and, guess what, they slowly started to go right!

I really don't believe that the astrological deities are cruel though.  When Mercury is retrograde it pings those words starting with 're' - review, reverse, return....  I should have returned my mobile to Orange when it first started going wrong; it turns out it is still under warranty with Sony Ericsson and I was advised I could return it to the manufacturer to be fixed.  Nonetheless, I've been thinking about upgrading my mobile to a smart phone - time for a review!  As for the TV - well it needed retuning, of course, because of the digital upgrade.  And why did I feel it so keenly?  Well, the Sun in my chart is in a sign that Mercury rules (with the idea of the planets as 'deities', they 'rule' over certain domains in the chart...in this case the domain of Virgo).

Not all that occurs in relation to retrograde planets is painful, though, particularly at the point where they change direction and go forward again!.  A client had several things go right for them soon after Mars recently turned direct - around 14th April 2012.  Why, especially would that matter for them, though, when their Sun sign has not much to do with Mars or Virgo, the sign it was in?  Well, my client's rising sign (aka the chart's Ascendant) is Aries and that is one of the signs that Mars traditionally rules.  So, if the zodiac on your chart's Ascendant - your 'rising sign' is governed by the planet that has gone retrograde (appearing to be backward in motion) or indeed direct (appearing to be forward in motion) you're probably going to feel it extra strongly.

The next big change of this nature that's coming up is Venus retrograde in Gemini, from around 15th May to 27th June 2012.  So, yes, Sun Geminis will feel it, as will those people with other personal planets or their rising sign in Gemini.  But anyone with a Venusian planet rising will likely feel it too - that is, if the sign of Taurus or Libra was in the Ascendant at your time of birth.  Ditto for anyone with the Sun, Moon or personal planet such as Mercury, Venus or Mars in Taurus or Libra in their birth chart.

Questions or comments? Let us know....!

Celestially yours,