Riding April’s Mercury Retrograde
Photo by Gaetano Cessati on Unsplash
2024 is well underway, and our first Mercury retrograde is upon us!
Most of the time, Mercury zips through the zodiac at quite a clip, and Aries energy (the spark of a match to light the fire!) is a perfect companion for this love affair with speed. But this time around the celestial circle, Mercury has something else in mind. As I write, from our visual perspective on earth, Mercury is “slowing down,” with plans to stop in its tracks on 4/1 at 27° Aries. From there, it will mosey backwards all the way to 15° Aries, where it will “stop” again and redirect itself on its forward trajectory.
Read on for a three-step “Quick Start” guide to personalize the impacts of this collective cosmic moment.
Riding the Retrograde Wave
Retrogrades are a visual experience from our position on earth – which makes planets appear to move backward in the sky. Popular descriptions of “retrograde time” coincide with this surface-level visual experience, associating it with mishaps, glitches, rescheduling and miscommunication.
These themes do NOT mesh well with our capitalist world – they’re basically the antithesis of a cultural focus on forward momentum, growth, active, productive “you can sleep when you’re dead” energy.
But alas – natural cycles persist. We all sleep. We all take time off work. We all get sick. We all experience loss and setbacks. And each of these moments play a critical role in our path forward, and our overall ability to function as humans.
Astrologer Erin Sullivan describes Mercury Retrograde periods as necessary REST times:
“instinctive mental 'downtime'...associated with re-doing, re-thinking, re-organizing, re-associating…Just as we recognize [the regulatory mechanisms of] days, years, and seasons...so we should recognize the ordering mechanism of Mercury Retrograde. Natural states of rest [reflection & processing] are to our advantage. To be able to predict and utilize these states is a powerful aid to greater consciousness...allows the individual to reclaim power that has been subordinated to the organized, external world timing. We then acknowledge [the value of] both awareness and attention."
Thinking of retrogrades in these terms normalizes their occurrence, and empowers us to give value to these experiences – which in turn allows us to reclaim our power and agency in moments that may feel “out of control”.
As Sullivan puts it: “This process is as natural as sleep is to waking”.
If we return to our pop culture descriptions, we can use this foundation to find value in the perceived problem.
Pop culture says miscommunication – we hear an opportunity to reflect on a potential misalignment between yourself and the person or situation. Rather than jumping to blame Mercury for the miscommunication – we own our responsibility in the situation and use it as a growth point.
Pop culture prickles when things get rescheduled or have to be re-done during mercury retrograde. But we have all likely experienced this as a gift at some point or another. Often the result of a second go-around is stronger and more grounded than a first try.
Mercury Rx in Aries: 4/1 - 4/25
Imagine with me.
Pretend you’re one of the youngest siblings in a family of many, many kids (Mercury). Over the years, you’ve learned to be a trickster, since getting attention in the midst of such a bustling crew is a Herculean task. You’ve figured out how to use your relative invisibility as a launch pad into the spotlight, setting traps, playing pranks and taking risks in order to be seen.
Now imagine you’ve grown into an excited 16 year old. You have the chance to go visit one of your older siblings at college — the one who is deeply independent, spontaneous, and fun loving — your fellow risk-taker (Aries). Usually, you feed off each other’s fuel. You’re adept at keeping up, and don’t expect much support from your fiercely independent host. You’re just happy to be along for the ride.
But upon arrival, you have to admit you’re feeling run down, like a cold is coming on. You hate the thought of missing out on the fun. Your older sibling isn’t changing their plans, they’re full steam ahead, prodding you to do the same: “Come on, when will you have this chance again?!”
So you have a choice: ignore the clear signs that they need rest and try to keep up – or take care of yourself by holing up in their dorm with some chicken soup while everyone else goes about their merry revelry.
When Mercury goes retrograde in Aries, we are confronted with similar energetic dynamics. We will likely receive signs that point us toward pause, rest and reflection, but the energy of the moment (Aries: Beginning of spring! Let’s get this party started!) makes a compelling argument to keep on moving.
If we choose to ignore our need for rest, we may find ourselves in some of the dicier territory of Aries (and its ruler, Mars) — being overly assertive or aggressive at the expense of ourselves or those around us, acting impulsively without considering consequences, or prioritizing speed and forward momentum over all else.
But if we choose to rest and reflect, we can channel the more constructive Aries energy of the brave pioneer. We conquer our FOMO and reap the rewards, finding ourselves the beneficiary of Aries’ deeper wisdom: deep awareness of one’s will, desires and needs, and the courage to prioritize self above social pressures.
Quickstart Guide: Personalizing Mercury Rx in Aries
Astrology is generous. It not only gives us the tools to track the ever-changing quality of collective time, but our personal birth charts also act as a road map for personal orientation and navigation. Thanks, Cosmos!
Here are three quick & dirty steps to explore how the current Mercury retrograde may manifest in your personal lived experience.
Locate: Find Aries in your chart
Learn: Find out which topics/areas of YOUR life will be activated during this Mercury Rx
Reflect: Ride the retrograde wave!
LOCATE
The first step is to find which “house” (i.e. one of the 12 slices/divisions) in your chart contains the sign Aries.
Good news – you can go to astro.com to cast your chart for free*! All you need is your birth date, birth time and location of birth.
*Note: For this exercise, you need an accurate birth time. I also recommend running the chart using the Whole Sign house system. To do this on astro.com just click “Extended Chart Settings” → “Zodiac and Houses” and choose “whole signs” from the House Systems drop down menu.
Once you have your whole sign chart in front of you, look for the Aries symbol — and find the number at the base of the Aries segment around the inner wheel of the chart.
LEARN
Now that you’ve located the Aries house in your chart, the next step is to get a sense of what topics/areas of life may be front and center during this Mercury retrograde cycle.
Referring to the table below, find the number of the house where Aries falls in your chart and review the topics listed to the right. These are the areas of life related to this part of your chart.
This is incredibly valuable information to have! Rather than the super broad descriptions of Mercury related to any and all communications, perceptions and negotiations – this information narrows your frame of reference to the specific areas of life which have the potential to be most affected for YOU.
For example, if Aries falls in the 7th house of your chart, the spectrum of Mercury retrograde energetics (miscommunications, glitches or slow downs that encourage one to pause, rethink, revise and restructure) may be most obvious in your close, one-on-one partnerships (marriage, business, clients, etc). If Aries falls in the 10th house of your chart, these energetics might be more pronounced in your career, public image or with parental or authority figures in your life.
REFLECT
As noted above, Mercury retrogrades are necessary and valuable moments in our cycle of life. They invite us to reflect on our communications and perceptions, especially in regards to the topics of the house where the retrograde is occurring in your chart. Some overall reflection exercises to consider:
What is going on in my life right now related to the topics of the Aries house in my chart?
Are there any aspects of these areas of life that jump out as needing some attention? Pause and reflect on what feels stuck or like it has outlived its usefulness.
How can I thoughtfully utilize the energies of the three stages of the retrograde (see below) to lay solid foundations for the next three months?
Harnessing the Retrograde
The beauty inherent in cycles is their constant movement. The entire retrograde period is a ~3 week portion of a larger ~3 month cycle. And while sometimes things feel like they’ve come to a halt during retrograde times, as we move through these weeks the cycle doesn’t actually STOP – it continues to unfold.
Here are some dates to help orient you:
From 4/1 - 4/11 we are in the final days of the last 3 month cycle.
This is truly a time to go inward and reflect. Make conscious and intentional time to embody this energy. Being open to surrendering and letting go can open up the space for what is next. Thinking of a caterpillar entering a chrysalis is a great image for this moment. It’s life as it knew it is over, and it is instead focused on building a container for its transformation into what comes next.
4/11 is the official start of a new 3 month cycle.
In the context of the butterfly metaphor, this is the moment after the caterpillar has fully disintegrated into what are called imaginal cells (yes, the caterpillar’s body literally DIGESTS itself from the inside out! It uses the same juices that it used to digest food to break down its own body! Wild! It becomes a pile of undifferentiated cells that have the capacity to become any type of cell – think stem cells in humans).
It is at this moment when the imaginal cells are ready to start building their new structure. This moment will set the tone for the next three months. While the ultimate unfolding of events is far from clear at this time, recognizing the importance of this as a new beginning can help us be more conscious of the seed that is being planted for us to cultivate in the coming months.
From 4/11 - 4/25 we are in the first days of the new cycle.
New beginnings are exciting, I get it. But I think we can all agree it would be a bad idea for the caterpillar to jump the gun and exit the cocoon before it has taken the time to fully restructure (remember, right now it is essentially a pile of goo!). This parallels the restraint we would do well to exercise during the latter half of the Mercury retrograde cycle – when we spend time reorienting and restructuring ourselves, creating strong foundations for our butterfly moment at the direct station.
So while this may FEEL like the time to act, keep in mind that most successful action requires some planning and preparing. Consider this your permission slip to pause and plan. When Mercury turns direct on 4/25, you can get to work.
2024 Mercury Rx Dates
I’ve laid out a chart of all the 2024 Mercury retrograde periods, including their degrees. Wishing you a rich period of rest & reflection!!
Interested in exploring how an upcoming retrograde may impact your chart? Click here to book a session or free 15 minute discovery call to learn more about our offerings.
Want more? Check out our deep-dive into Reimagining Mercury Retrograde blog to learn:
Why Mercury retrogrades have a different “feel” than non-retrograde time.
How Mercury retrogrades impact our shared, collective experience (i.e. we’re all in this together!).
How to deepen our understanding of Mercury retrograde, in order to consciously engage with any personal challenges or opportunities that may arise at these times.