In a recent episode of Ghost of a Podcast, Jessica Lanyadoo talked about Mercury retrograde as a natural part of Mercury’s cycle, and the framing of it struck me. We often talk about retrograde motions (especially Mercury’s) as being backward and as such, somehow fundamentally wrong. It makes sense, because from our perspective it does look like a planet moving retrograde is moving backwards, and things relating to that planet will turn on their head, not work out or we’ll have accidents or misunderstandings galore. But I think this framing - that this backwards motion is a natural part of the whole cycle - can help us see it in a different light. It’s a bit like the old nordic circle dance, vikivaki, where people dance in a large circle, taking two steps to the right, then one to the left, then two to the right and so on. The one step to the left doesn’t ruin the dance, in fact it is what makes it a dance in the first place - otherwise it would just be walking in a circle. Similarly, the regular retrograde motions of Mercury, or any planet, are integral to the ongoing themes of those planets.
This isn’t to say that retrograde times can’t be difficult, or that I haven’t also shaken my fist at the heavens at the annoying, sad or infuriating events that happen during those times. But simply blaming those events on the stars is futile, and it misses the point. After all, the movement of the stars only reflect things that happen down here on Earth. I know it’s easier to blame the stars, because they are so completely out of our reach that we could never hope to change their course, whereas human issues like capitalism, racism, war, selfishness and lack of healthcare only seem out of our reach. Capitalism, a system that thrives on selfishness, inequality and hoarding resources only for the privileged few, loves to pit different groups of people against one another - blame the immigrants, or Muslims, or homeless people, or queer people, etc. etc. While blaming the stars at least doesn’t force us to push another marginalised group in front of the bus, it does uphold the status quo and further hides the real source of our issues behind a façade.
The movement of the stars doesn’t dictate exactly what will happen, just as what we do doesn’t dictate how the stars move. And yet, as above, so below - the stars are a mirror to our actions. We still have a choice to react to what happens around us, and while it certainly feels cathartic in the moment to curse Mercury’s retrograde, or the Full Moon, or Saturn, that should never be our only reaction. Instead, we can look at the astrology as a guideline to how to untangle those issues so that we can find the actual source of our problems. For example, for me, many of the issues I experience around Uranus (and there have been plenty of those for us all in the last four years, and this last week in particular) are around my physical health. Blaming Uranus can feel cathartic in the moment when I’m stuck in bed, aching all over, but in reality I know that the fault lies with a society and medical system that doesn’t listen to the concerns of women and non-binary people, and the systematic impoverishment of public healthcare. And while neither of those present a problem I can individually solve, the latter presents a more tangible problem that I can have some effect on with the help of my community.
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