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.
Imagine a building that had an original blueprint of glorious
architecture, stunning interior design, unique features. But over time,
we see the effects of wear and tear, of outside influence, of other
people’s contributions. Bricks have been built over the original
sandstone. Rooms have become cluttered. Original wooden floors covered
in carpet. The building we see today is a far cry from the creator’s
vision, and from what actually still exists at the core – were we to
remove the bricks, outdated carpets and clutter.
The combination of all of these retrogrades happening at the same time
are like sending in a bunch of restorers, renovators and cleaners to
bring the building back to its true glory, to what it has really been
all along, this time with even more sparkle and shine.
Let’s
start with Mars. He is all about action, energy and assertiveness. Now,
you might think that with him in retrograde we would have less of those
things than usual. And in some cases, where less is needed, that will
be true. If you need to slow down, if you need to chill out, if you need
to look before you leap into any situation, then absolutely Mars retro
will ensure you do that.
However
if energy is needed in a situation, where there is usually no energy or
low energy, if the waters need to be stirred because they have been
dormant or inactive for too long, if an old issue needs to be brought to
the surface, addressed and cleared out, then Mars will not be shy about
adding some of his fire and ‘get things done’ gusto to the equation.
Mars can come along like the assertive big brother, shake you by the
shoulders and say ‘Snap out of it, here’s what you need to know, here’s
what you need to do, let’s go!”
If
go go go is your usual tempo, then you will likely get some messages to
take a breather. However if standing back is your norm, if being
passive is your uncomfortable comfort zone, if procrastinating is a bad
habit, then you will likely get a very clear insight into how that’s
(not) working for you. Allow yourself to open up to whatever Mars is
wanting to tell you. Much like George in Seinfeld when he decided to do
everything opposite to usual and suddenly found himself succeeding in
every area, so too Mars retro can influence you to do things opposite to
the usual way you express your energy and it may just lead to the
breakthroughs you have been hoping for.
Remember,
a planet is not actually going backwards during a retrograde. It just
looks like it is from our Earth’s perspective during particular times.
It is like when you are overtaking a car. You are both travelling in the
same direction but in that moment of overtaking, the car could seem to
be driving in reverse. All of this retrograding over degrees business is
actually an illusion from our perspective. An illusion with influence,
but an illusion nonetheless which means the energy of those planets are
still present and in effect. It is just the way in which they are
influencing us that is different, due to our temporarily changed vantage
point. Which brings potential for a lot of positive shifting. Seeing
things you wouldn’t usually see. And yes – not seeing things you usually
would which is why the motto during a retrograde is be cautious in
whatever you do/buy/sign. Do your homework. Check out the
contract/car/house inside out.
Speaking
of illusion - how big a role does our perspective play in creating
illusion upon illusion in our life? Answer: A HUGE ROLE.
Our
thoughts, beliefs, memories, subconscious issues, ancestral DNA, social
conditioning and more, all murky the waters of our perception,
influencing what we see on the movie screen of our life and how we
interpret things. Drop certain beliefs, drop certain thoughts, release
certain issues, and boom, the images on your movie screen change.
Sometimes situations literally change, other times the way you see them
changes. The point is: how we see what we see is so often an illusion
based on our cloudy perspective.
Life
events, cosmic shifts and planetary transits come along from time to
time to literally clear our head and sweep away those clouds, allowing
us to see ourselves, our lives, and life itself more clearly.
Onto
Pluto, head honcho of transformation. Pluto doesn’t muck around. If he
sees that something in your life or within yourself needs shifting, he
will demolish or renovate without waiting for permission, without
apology. I see the female equivalent as being the great goddess Kali,
and in these times of the awakening (with a roar) Divine Feminine she is
more present than ever in our lives, especially wherever radical
transformation or Soul awakening is due. I can’t talk about Pluto
without mentioning Kali because it feels like her energy is right
alongside his in any Pluto transit, if not taking the reins herself
while he’s busy making calls to book in demolition experts.
Kali
embodies power and authenticity, and goddess help us in those areas of
our lives where we are not being true to those qualities within us. She
can be ruthless, as is Pluto, and for good reason. We did not come here
to be less than who we are, and if our ‘building’ needs serious overhaul
then you want the best of the best coming in to ensure that happens.
So
while Pluto going forward might activate power within us, Pluto
retrograde will ask us: Do you see what has been activated here? Have
you realized what you have to let go of? Have you accepted what is
happening? Are you letting in the new energy that wants to emerge from
within you?
You may feel
Power as a major theme, confronting the ways in which you are in your
power, and the ways in which you aren’t. You may get clear messages
regarding what you are doing that is sapping your power, and what you
could be doing to give you more power. We are not talking here about
egoic power, rather authentic heart and soul power.
Pluto
loves a good detox, be it physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. So
if you feel compelled to go on a health-kick, release old habits, purge
some issues, go on retreat, do some hard-core healing, go on big
clearing out spree of your house or wardrobe, follow that inner
guidance.
The influence any
planetary movement has on you depends on where it is occurring in your
natal chart. If it’s on, or aspecting, a natal planet or significant
point then you’ll feel the affects more than someone who doesn’t. Some
people might barely feel a blip in their waters, while others will feel
they are jumping on tip-toes through a land-mine filled paddock, just
praying they don’t step on yet another one. The signs that these
retrogrades are occurring in are all listed below. You can go to www.astro.com
to get a free natal chart to see where the retrogrades will most be
affecting you, or have a consultation with an astrologer to gain deeper
insight.
Next we have Mr
Mercury. Mercury Retrogrades every few months, and every few months for a
few weeks we feel the following more than usual: issues with phones,
computers, electronics, communications going haywire. On a positive
note, we might get a second chance of communicating with someone where
things didn’t go well the first time around, or we unexpectedly bump
into someone from our past and get some closure or receive a message
that helps us on our path. You’ll hear a lot to not sign any contracts
or buy anything electronic (including cars) during a Mercury retrograde.
Go with your own gut feeling with this. There are some people who
purposely sign contracts during retrogrades because they know they will
more than likely get the opportunity down the track to re-negotiate.
The
thing with retrogrades is, there is no such thing as a ‘one rule fits
all’. One person’s ‘in reverse’ healing remedy may well be to pause and
take stock, while someone else’s might be to rev up once and for all. If
you are on a roll with something and it starts slowing down, or
obstacles or delays keep coming up, it’s handy to know “Okay, we are in a
retrograde period. This is happening for a reason. Let me take a closer
look here. Or let me relax a bit while things go slower than I
anticipated.” Likewise if you are on a roll with something, and it keeps
rolling, and it is flowing, and it is lighting up for you, and the
momentum is carrying you forward with green lights all the way, don’t
read an astrology article and think “Oh no, I better stop all this
forward motion, a planet is retrograde!!” That retrograding planet may
well be the boulder pushing you along. As with anything, keep tuning in
to your own inner truth: How does this feel? What am I feeling guided
(from within) to do? Is this lighting me up?
Jupiter
will be first cab off the rank to move into direct motion on 9 May
after having been in retrograde since just after New Year’s. Jupiter
rules good fortune, expansion and abundance so if you feel like those
things have taken a while to kick in during 2016 so far, you might start
to see a turnaround once Jupiter does. It has been a good time to have
an extended period of pondering your New Year’s Dreams and Goals list
for the year ahead. Jupiter retrograde may have really urged you to get
clear on: What areas of your life do you want to see expand? Where do
you want to see positive growth? What needs to shift/change/acted on in
order to make that happen? Where are you ready for your next level, and
what ceilings are you done done done with?
If
you are reading this thinking this seems to be a lot of
pondering/shifting/clearing all happening at once you are right, it is.
It feels like a major period of Karmic Cleansing and Purification. Well,
any day from now into the next few years is that! But here we have a
very condensed 4-5 months where it feels like a lot of people will go
through a huge amount of profound, lasting shifts.
A
lot of the stuff that will come up for us will do so via the mirror of
other people. So if someone or something is particularly triggering us,
that is a fantastic opportunity to ask ourselves: “What am I feeling
here and why?” You might realise that this person is really owning some
energy that deep down you wish you could own – and the retrograde is
here to tell you, you can, and now is the time to own it! You might
realise, I don’t like this behavior I am seeing and my opportunity here
is to finally honour my truth/self-value/feelings and walk away from
this situation/person/relationship/job.
Sometimes
in the spiritual scene people will put up with things a lot longer than
necessary because they think they have to stay to ‘get the lesson’. It
is great to have the conscious awareness that we learn things from
everyone, and yes definitely we learn some of our most significant
lessons through some of our most challenging, difficult situations.
However, if a situation is repeatedly using and abusing you, or a
pattern keeps repeating itself via different people, it is safe to say
that ‘the lesson’ has probably appeared and re-appeared many times. At
some point, it is okay to say: “I have learned what I had to learn here,
and now my current, new lesson is learning when to walk away, learning
when to let go.”
Finally,
Saturn who is in his first month of his 5 month retrograde. Saturn is
the father of the zodiac. He loves discipline, commitment, hard work,
structure, stability and support. He is the foreman walking around the
building site making sure the foundation is strong and everyone is
working according to the right codes of practice. During retrograde, he
might make some people feel restricted because he doesn’t just let you
go forward with a song in your heart, on a wing and a prayer. He, like
any good father before setting their child free out into the big, wide
world, will want to make sure you know how to take care of yourself
especially financially, materially and structurally.
Whether
you have your own business, work for someone else, or are a
work-at-home mum or dad running the family and household, retrograding
Saturn will want to know your house is in good, running order, pardon
the pun. How is your day to day routine? Is everything running as
efficiently and productively and feasibly as possible? Are there
financial or energetic leaks anywhere, draining you or your business or
family? If a part of the brickwork doesn’t look sturdy enough to hold up
over the next decade or so, Saturn will ask you to rebuild it, brick by
brick. Wax on. Wax off. It can be tedious work but you will see the
fruits of your labour as time goes by.
So
there we have it, a whole lot of re-adjusting taking place over what is
essentially a relatively short period of time in the grand scheme of
things. Dealt with consciously, this can be a really rewarding time
where you feel more and more connected to your truth, or at least are
aware that things are happening to get you connected.
Dealt
with unconsciously, there can be a whole lot of projection happening,
with unowned emotions and issues flaring up, manifesting as anger toward
others and erratic behavior. If you feel strong emotions coming up in
you, take a big deep breath before exploding onto someone else.
Know
that people who are resisting the rise of their inner truth will go
into drama. Unless absolutely necessary, (eg protection of someone’s
wellbeing if they are in immediate danger) it is wise to not get caught
up in the middle of someone else’s karmic
explosion/resistance/demolition process/purge. If you find yourself in
the midst of drama check in with yourself to see what feels right be it
to listen without judgement, walk away until they calm down, or just
observe without getting emotionally attached to the ‘story’ being played
out.
All of our stories are
right now attempting to be unraveled, like balls of wool that have been
in tight balls for a long time. Attaching to stories and illusions that
are in the process of unravelling will only create more knots and make
the whole process take longer.
It
would be really beneficial at this time to take some time to meditate
each day. For myself I’m finding night time just before going to sleep
works best. Sometimes it’s only a few minutes, other times it goes on
for much longer. Length of time doesn’t matter. It’s mainly about
closing your eyes for a few moments, and breathing in and out at least a
few times. It gives your body, mind and soul a chance to stop, get back
to its centre, and regain perspective on everything it has experienced
and absorbed that day.
You
don’t have to say anything special or consciously go through any
particular process. If the only thing you do is just close your eyes and
focus on your breath, you can trust the wisdom of your body, your soul
and your subconscious to do what needs to be done.
How are you all feeling?
Mars Retrograde: April 17, 9 ° Sag – June 29, 23 ° Scorpio
Pluto Retrograde: April 18, 17 ° Cap – Sep 26, 14 ° Cap
Mercury Retrograde: April 28, 23 ° Taurus – May 22, 14 ° Taurus
Jupiter Retrograde: Jan 7, 23 ° Virgo – May 9, 13 ° Virgo
Saturn Retrograde: March 25, 16 ° Sag – Aug 13, 9 ° Sag
© Dana Mrkich 2016
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