Mercury (in the sign of Taurus) enters its retrograde phase on April 17, 2010 and continues until May 11th. Taurus, ruled by Venus, is the commander of the second house of the Zodiac, our values and resources. We come face to face with our issues around money, the current unit we use for resources. I say current unit because, who knows? Maybe someday resources will be based on something quite different than coins, paper and portfolios. Mercury retrograde in Taurus is a good time to review our financial situation and our budget. Watch for mistakes in accounts. Keep a close eye on spending. Taurus also rules what we value. We may find ourselves reconsidering what is important to us. What we thought we needed, well, maybe we don’t really need it. Mercury in Taurus is inconsistent with impulsive purchases. Most people will be cautious in their spending while Mercury goes through Taurus.
At a core level, Taurus and our second house have so much to do with our self-worth. Since both Venus and Mercury are traveling through Taurus at the moment, maybe we are re-visiting some issues about our self-worth. In our culture it’s natural to think that our worthiness is connected to our bank account. However, in the current state of financial and social unpredictability, it might be wise to contemplate our self-worth without money in the equation. While Mercury is in this retrograde phase, consider reviewing your self worth. What are your true and real resources? I’m suggesting the intangible ones and as well as the tangible. Maybe your resources include resourcefulness (somehow I always have what I need); support from family and friends; a home that is paid for; flexibility; the smarts to handle all kinds of crises; the ability to nurture/feed yourself and others on a shoe string; or some ability that is always in demand for an exchange (massage therapy swapped for computer help). With Mercury retrograde we are invited to meditate on our self-worth; our value to ourselves and to others; and our resources (concrete and intangible).
On the bigger, macro level, Mercury retrograde in Taurus (a ruler of money) certainly points to what is happening in Washington, D C. Goldman Sachs is accused of possible past fraud (retrograde Mercury brings up stuff from the past) and Congress struggles to figure out how to control the Big Financial Beast, the banking industry. Mercury retrograde in Taurus suggests we are returning to this issue to resolve it in some way. Do not expect any solution during this retrograde time, but maybe we will begin to redefine our collective values about our financial institutions. What are banks for? Who do they serve? Do they have too much power in the marketplace and in Washington? Regulation, no regulation?
Finally, Mercury is the ruler of communication. Whenever Mercury is in its retrograde period we are challenged to be clear in our communication. As astrologer Raymond Merriman has pointed out: what is spoken or intended and what is heard and what is understood are not always the same. Good advice. We need to repeat what we said. We need to repeat (feed back) what we heard! Some people have reported that the Mercury retrograde period felt like it started before April 17th, for example getting dates and times mixed up and equipment malfunctions. If these retrograde occurrences are not connected to Mercury, then think about it this way: we are overwhelmed with so much to keep track of. How can we get it all correct? How can we remember it all? When Mercury is in Taurus we expect down to earth thinking and communication (it is what it is). We do not like to have to take so many factors into account when Mercury goes through Taurus. Taurus is a fixed (keep things the way they are) sign. Mercury in Taurus means our thinking wants to stay fixed. Yet the world around us is demanding we be flexible and open to changing how we think about life. It’s a big job for Mercury in Taurus.
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