Mercury Retrograde in Sagittarius – 25th November

By Zoe Hind 25/11/2011

Mercury Retrograde is one of the most infamous phases in Astrology.
Mercury, the planet of communication and mental alertness goes ‘out of sync’ 3 times a year for a period of roughly 3 weeks. When Mercury turns retrograde (appears to be traveling backwards from our perspective on Earth) things can get a little unpredictable.

Main effects are:
λ    Travel plans going awry – Cars break down, flights are delayed, trains are missed.
λ    Computers, printers and servers crashing.
λ    Electronic communication – be careful when texting and emailing that you send the right words to the right people.
λ    Paper communication – post can easily go missing during this phase so delay any important parcels or chose recorded delivery.
λ    Contracts – this is notoriously a bad time to sign contracts. Delay if you can until September and if you can’t delay – check the small print.
λ    Secrets & gossip overheard and bringing unexpected knowledge to the fore. Watch what you say and don’t take anything you hear to heart.

This time Mercury retrogrades mainly in the sign of Sagittarius – the Teacher.

As well as all the features above, we will see an increase in blunt speech. Sagittarius arrow flies straight to the target and as Mercury retrograde is a time of verbal mishaps, we may see some truths come to light, one way or another.

This may manifest most obviously in the arena of government and last time we saw this alignment, ministerial papers were being lost in public and the Wiki leaks story took over our screens.

Travel is also in the mix and looking back we saw a channel tunnel train stuck underground, 12 hours queues at Dover port and airport strikes over the holiday season.

All this said, there is a lot of fun in the air if you do not take things too seriously. There is a quizzical, sometimes surreal aspect to all the goings on. Look out for chance meetings, especially with old friends reappearing in your life, and college reunion invitations.
This is a great time to revisit projects already started and especially revise for exams as education is paramount now, we can complete studies and release our energies through positive channels.

The start and end dates (25 Nov and 15 Dec) are often the most mixed up of all. It is also best to allow a small buffer zone each side – 5 Nov through to Dec 31 – to be on the safe side.

Wherever Mercury and Sagittarius are in your chart, will show you where you need to be on your guard.
If you are born with Mercury retrograde in your chart, you may have an advantage. Your insight and intuition will guide you where fact and logic are failing.
The emphasis is on all forms of communication.
There’s an old saying – We have two ears and one mouth - and this is the best time of all to realise and apply that ratio.

Astrology by Zoe Hind – www.astrozo.com