FACEBOOK May 10, 2022
By Erik M Roth of Inspiral Nexus
For the second time this year, on May 10th at 4°51’ Gemini, Mercury is stationing retrograde, between the Pleiades and the star Aldebaran. This happens on the day Jupiter ingresses into the sign of Aries for the first time since 2010-11.
In the Shamanic Astrology Paradigm, when Mercury stations retrograde, it means it is reaching Synthesis and Metamorphic phase of its journey in the sky. It has traveled through several other signs to reach Gemini. This current Mercury cycle began on February 3rd when Mercury last stationed direct in the sign of Capricorn and it will end in the sign of Taurus on June 3rd.
Mercury Retrograde is not anything to fear or worry about in our lives. In the case of Mercury Retrograde in Gemini, it invites a very different form of thinking and helps to summon imagination to the front. It is “out of bounds” kind of mentality where anything goes.
The hold Mercury Retrograde has on our thinking that things or electronic technology won’t work or communication will break down more often is only partly true and usually due to our own perception of what is happening including the limits we’ve placed on ourselves. What is important is that it helps us with creative thought, including solutions beyond what we would normally otherwise think about. Creative thinking is gaining a perspective to a problem, challenge or other issue that may not be resolved by conventional means. It can also help us in our own creative expressions as well.
Mercury is typically retrograde for about three weeks at a time, but this one is 24 days is length, which can happen on occasion. Mercury retrogrades back into the sign of Taurus on May 22nd, just one day after it passes between the Earth and Sun (Mercury-Sun conjunction). Then it reaches visibility again in the early morning sky on May 28th.
A feature of this Mercury station point are the stars of Aldebaran and the Pleiades star cluster, led by Alcyone. Mercury stations nearly halfway between those stars. This powerfully, magical area of the sky has held an allure to humanity for many thousands of years.
The Pleiades, in particular rivals that of the brightest star (after the Sun) Sirius with the greatest amount of stories written and shared across most of the continents and ancient cultures. Mercury in this area of the sky, spending days there, will undoubtedly invoke those stories and perhaps help us forge new ones as we transition from one age to the next in this great Turning of the Ages.