Mercury is retrograde starting the 10th of December, 2010 at 5 degrees Capricorn. Then the messenger retrogrades back into Sagittarius on the 19th. Mercury will cover degrees in Sagittarius to 19, before going direct on December 30th.
Wisdom & AuthorityMercury in Capricorn slows the mind to its most thorough, and internalized. We say more in fewer words.
Capricorn is considered the pinnacle of the natural chart, but its seagoat totem hints at its plunging too. There can be highs of feeling the accomplishments (the highs) and lows, as in "life is hard, a struggle."
What life arena (house) and planets are under stern review. As we know, Capricorn is Saturn-ruled, so there's a sense of purposeful drive in the air and lodged in our beings. Keep in mind, Capricorn deals in the dense physical, and many find it hard to stay grounded these days.
Mercury can actually be our ally, to bring us down to Earth. That's why it's heavy-duty, and it's easy to feel stuck. Like something important is embedded in the caverns of the psyche, and struggling to come out! Keep the faith in the process, though it may be slow going. Patience, trust, and a philosophical outlook help.
The messages of Mercury are intensified by aspects to Mars-Pluto and the N. Node. Even the stuckest life issues can be excavated and examined. It's timely for reviewing our personal path to mastery, or getting what we want in life. Much is dislodged, and the artificial coping mechanisms can be seen and released, so we get to more fulfilling ways of being. Here are some possible themes:
- Considering career options, but not necessarily making big moves.
- Deep healing that boosts your constitutions -- immune system fortifying.
- Dealing with home structural issues (plumbing, electrical, the foundation).
- Taking another look at your relationship to authority.
- Letting go of superficial kudos that aren't satisfying, and buckle down to go after a deeper sense of accomplishment.
- Looking at where you're defensive about "what you know."
- Eye-opening engagements with people in authority -- bosses, advisors, loan officers.
- Seeing established icons, public authorities, "experts" with different eyes.
Knowledge & Questing
Mercury in Sagittarius alters how we travel, and could cause some delays with planes, trains, automobiles. Just in time for the holidays -- wow -- there could be diverted or missed flights, and even more accidents due to "not paying attention." This amps up the desire to be there, now....but remember the sage advice of many an astrologer, to give yourself extra time to get where you're going.
Sagittarius is the sign of journeys, but Mercury's roaming in retrograde is more of the mind. A wonderful time for following new fascinations, in books, film, music. Inspiration could come from unexpected sources. The impulse to learn is concentrated and inward, for long nights of inquiry into 'fields of study.'
After the retrograde in Capricorn, the move into questing Sagittarius puts you on the hunt. It creates a searching vibe, and sense of following inner promptings and 'signs.' Since Mercury retrograde is a fated time, you might experience more serendipity. These are clues from the universe about your path. Look to the life arena (house) and planets it contacts for likely themes.
- Planning travel or a great escape.
- Considering new paths of study, learning, training.
- Drawing close all your most alive sources of inspiration.
- Looking at pathways of expansion, growth, challenge.
- Building endurance physically, through movement.
- Revisiting other cultures, lands, possibly considering move or travel.
- Coming to a new understanding of matrices of power, law, higher education, finance, government.
