Mercury begins its underworld journey as it stations retrograde to kick this week off. This Mercury Retrograde (5 Aug) is the second of its cycle this year happening in all three fire signs – the places of inspiration, ascension, impulse and aspiration. Currently Mercury in Virgo is completing the Aries cycle which began in April 2024. Part of this completion cycle involves Mercury moving backwards from our Earth’s perspective, symbolising a journey into the underworld to recreate itself. As Mercury Stations Retrograde this week, you may find yourself contemplating the journey you’ve been on since early April when the current cycle started. Whatever you started then might somehow feel like it’s moving into stagnation. You may be prodded to rethink your ways and consider alternative measures that might help revive your motivation. Your early April intention may need to be revisited in some way as Mercury Stations Retrograde. In this way, this Mercury Retrograde continues the path of the reset which started last week at the Leo New Moon.

Mercury rules over the mind, your message, the movements you make, the details of your life including your tools and the way you apply them in your life. It also rules business, connections and any transactional acts that you undertake. These areas might be affected by delays, disruptions and inconveniences this week, though there’s nothing too malicious behind these. It’s just that you’re mentally changing modes of operation, just like shifting from a high to a low gear in a car. And this shift can sometimes cause some integration issues as you adjust to different speeds and reactions. I often imagine the feeling of a direct Mercury moving to a Retrograde Mercury like the static you hear when you’re in between two radio stations on a dial – a momentary annoyance of fairly insignificant proportions. However, if Mercury is your timelord, this is one of your major milestones for your year. Twists and turns will likely take place and they will probably mark important moments of your year. You’ll need to consult an astrologer to define this more clearly for you.

During the initial retrograde phase, Mercury has a playmate in Venus. Venus enters Virgo (5 Aug) on the same day of the retrograde and they both move together towards a conjunction by the end of the week. Use the Mercury Venus Conjunction (8 Aug) to combine fun, flair and practicality. Perhaps you might use this creative combination to be of service to others. Or, you might find a different way to make otherwise mundane and boring details more enjoyable to deal with. But don’t have too much fun – the sign of Virgo is associated with service, duty and practicality. Perhaps you may find a new way to enjoy your work for this week.

The Sun’s sextile to Jupiter (7 Aug) will also help build some enthusiasm and optimism into a week dominated by the usually, less than excitable, Virgo energy. This could be a good week to strike a balance between work and play, idealism and pragmatism and the big things and little things. In this way, this week brings us the Mercurial nature of flexibility, adaptability and curious exploration. 

Above all, enjoy this Mercury Retrograde phase as I usually do, as it is a great time to experience more magic and synchronicity in your life. There’s a reason why things break down or the internet stops during these times. It’s so that we can remind ourselves to stop and look at the omens of life, our dreams as well as within our bodies. So many things are revealed to us when we return to our emptiness during a Mercury Retrograde. They are the special gifts from Hermes for those willing to receive.

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See you next Sunday for the next installment of planetary news.

Shu xx