Sarah Varcas – April 2017 sees an increase in retrograde activity, with roughly half of the month (9th – 15thApril & 20th April – 3rd May) featuring four retrogrades. This is something we’ve not seen since September 2016 and is a celestial pattern which invites us to retreat, revisit and reflect.
The month begins with Venus retrograde in Aries (since 4th March) and Jupiter still retrograde in Libra (since 6th Feb). Relationships are an on-going focus, including those with the wider world which may demand bold compassion in defiance of the egoic mind that divides into friend and foe.
As Venus retrogrades into Pisces on 3rd April, personal need is eclipsed by the dissolution of boundaries that separate me from you and them from us. Many current challenges demand that we find new and creative ways to live in a world that threatens to split into warring factions at the drop of a hat.
Venus invites us to soften around the edges of individuality and separation, to embrace our own divinity and prepare to use it as a balm upon the world once she turns direct on 15th April. Only through right-relationship with oneself can we forge constructive connections with others, providing all parties a voice whilst allowing for nuances of difference and self-determination. If we continue reacting rather than reflecting and defending rather than responding, we remain in the mind-set of ‘me against the world’, further cementing the tyranny of ego over essence.
Dana Mrkich – For the first time in a decade, we have 5 planets retrograde at the same time. You might be reading a lot about how this time is all about pausing and not being able to get much done, but actually from a Soul perspective this is going to be a hugely productive time. Whenever a planet goes retrograde, it offers an opportunity to review, re-visit, remember, re-wire, re-do, re-claim, release.
Sarah Varcas – Mercury stations retrograde at 1:44 am on 19th May GMT, and remains in its own sign, Gemini, throughout its retrograde passage. Practically speaking, this is an inquisitive Mercury, seeking information and answers, reviewing events of the past three months, wondering about relationships and connections with others and generally taking stock and sorting through unfinished business. It efficiently clears the decks of outstanding matters, enabling positive progress in the months to come. Of course, that also means current misunderstandings will need to be addressed in the coming weeks whether we like it or not! It may be a hassle at the time, frustrating our desire for progress, but if we commit to sorting through the chaos and getting things back on track now we’ll make up what felt like lost time, in due course. If, however, we try to battle on, ignoring the increasingly obvious signs that something somewhere is going awry, we can be absolutely certain that once Mercury turns direct again we’ll wish we’d listened better to its warnings and done what was needed back then!