Mercury Retrograde May 2022

Retrogrades of the trickster planet Mercury are one of most misunderstood astrological transits.

So let’s break this one down:

Mercury Rx is NOT a time when all technology for sure breaks down, nothing works out, and everything is bad. It is NOT a time when you can’t make any plans or move forward in any way.

Simply, this is a time to focus energy inward rather than outward. Our capitalist patriarchy doesn’t love periods of rest (and times that aren’t conventionally “productive”) so this transit gets a bad reputation.

However, rest and retreat are radical acts of rebellion in a world that begs for constant forward motion. Mercury Rx calls us forward into a new earth, one that honours the cycles of death and rebirth. This is a time of YIN or feminine receptive energy, not YANG forward movement.

Retrogrades ask us to look back, not forward. This means that the actions we take may be aligned with the lessons of our past.

This retrograde journey began May 10th in Gemini, it’s ruling sign. This makes this particular Rx a powerful one. Look at your chart to see what house Gemini is in, and what planets you have there, to get clues about what lessons this Rx has for you.

Gemini knows that the truth can be slippery and each one of us has our own version of it. This retrograde invites you to overcome your indecision and inner conflict.

Are you being fully honest? What needs to be said, but is being withheld? What truth is asking to be spoken?

On May 21, Mercury made it’s cazimi with the Sun. This transit illuminates our retrograde homework and brings clarity to the lessons we are learning. Pay attention to any insights you received on this day.

The next day, May 22, Mercury transited back into Taurus. Mercury in Taurus illuminates the area of our chart that Taurus occupies, which is receiving special attention this year. With the North Node in Taurus since January 2022, Taurus is receiving a massive upgrade.

Check to see what house Taurus occupies in your chart and what planets you have there. This part of your chart and life is experiencing massive expansion this year!

The North Node in Taurus calls us to embody radical sovereignty and self reliance. Through a deep love for our bodies, the Earth, our pleasure and ourselves, we become quantum creators of our material reality.

As Mercury moves into Taurus, we are faced yet again with our own limitations and self sabotage. We are our only limit.

The South Node is in Scorpio, which brings us into the depths of our most human shadows: themes of self-destruction, addiction, codependency, possessiveness, jealousy, sexuality wounds and our darkest traumas lie in the depths of Scorpio’s underworld.

In order to embrace all that the North Node in Taurus beckons us toward, we must face, embrace and love these parts of ourselves.

Mercury retrograde through Taurus is another pivotal moment in that journey.

With Saturn in an ongoing square to the Nodes and now Mercury as well, we are faced yet again with a powerful choice:

To go back into our trigger, our reaction and our patterns…

Or to move forward in a new way. To choose sovereignty.

When Mercury stations direct on June 3, he will be close to the North Node, but square Saturn. The decisions we have to make in order to create a new path forward will not be easy. But if we choose, we can use this moment to powerfully leap towards our visions + dreams.

In the meantime, Jupiter has entered Aries and Mars is soon to join. On May 29th the two will meet up in the sky providing us with massive potential to create something new.

The energy and momentum will be powerful, but remember to revise the details and perhaps hold off on any bold undertakings until Mercury stations direct June 3.

On May 30th we have a beautiful New Moon in Gemini. Stay tuned for an update about this lunation and tips on how to work with it’s energy.

While Mercury remains retrograde and invites us to re-examine our lives and learn from the past, this doesn’t mean we cannot move forward on anything in our lives.

The energy of this time is simply unpredictable.

Expect the unexpected. Getting too attached to how you think things will go is the best recipe for disaster. Instead, how can you trust that when things don’t go to plan, there might be something even better in store?

Not knowing what will come next is a medicine of its own. Surrendering to the mystery is deeply healing under these skies.

What unexpected miracles would you be available for if you released your grip?

Big love + cosmic blessings,

Hannah Schultz