First comes the solar eclipse–at an intense culminating degree (29 Aries)–and just a little over 24 hours later, Mercury stations retrograde at 15 Taurus, uprooting this otherwise stabilizing degree.
Thirty years ago, along with several hundred other pilgrims, I took a retreat with walking-meditation master Thich Nhat Hahn. We learned to walk very very slowly, mindful of every step, with little concern for our destination. All that mattered was just the rise and fall of each foot, one at a time. Many times since, that education has paid off. Especially during times like these when Mercury is retrograde during the same weeks as a solar and lunar eclipse. The shorthand meaning? There’s no going anywhere fast.
I vow to remember this in the coming weeks as cars inexplicably slow in front of me. I will hear Thich Nhat Hanh saying “I breathe in, I breathe out,” as every grocery store or theater ticket line I choose moves like molasses in winter. I’ll be understanding when the people ahead of me all seem to be having complicated problems. When there’s no moving quickly, there’s just this delicious choice: Become impatient and frustrated–or deepen one’s appreciation for life. That’s the rich offering of this strange astrological time.
I remember a retrograde story my mother once told me. She wrote: Last year I fell on the ice when I was carrying in an armload of wood. Some logs landed on my dogs and I laid there frozen in place, trying to figure out a way to get up amongst the dogs licking my face. I just began to laugh hysterically while I worried about a possible broken hip and fear of not being able to get inside my house or anyone finding me. Obviously I did manage to right myself unscathed and not repeat my episode that winter. Yet the memory looms as I again set out with armloads of wood and the fear perched relentlessly on my shoulder.
The moral? There are indeed times when if you go too fast, you might wind up on your ass! Our brains want to nap and drift during Mercury’s retrograde. This is a gift, really. We get to float around and see things from a different point of view. Brilliant new solutions to old problems can enter during retrogrades too. But we need to tend this process. Give it gentle time and space. Otherwise–our pushing can lead to the kind of snafus that result from not fully paying attention.
So breathe in, breathe out. And keep your sense of humor handy.
Mercury is retrograde from April 21 (1:34 am PDT) until May 14 (8:16 pm PDT). The lunar eclipse comes in two weeks on Beltane, May 5.
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