September/October 2009 Cosmic
Mercury Retrograde: Help from the Equinox

by Mark Dodich

Mark Dodich

The three emotional eclipses of summer are now over, and you can certainly take joy in that fact. They represented a "changing of the guard" in that the elemental tone changed from lofty air and passionate fire (think of the Iranian elections) to the incoming energy of earth and water. Feelings passed through hills and valleys of your heart, challenging you to look at self-nurturing needs and emotional boundaries.

This shifting energy brought many deaths of the old guard, including Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett and Ed McMahon, to name a few. You have changed too.

The combination of hopeful idealism and rampant economic fears pulled you apart to get you in touch with your true values and priorities. Now it is time to integrate this new insight into the pragmatic earth plane. Spirituality gets grounded this autumn - and that is a good thing.

Not everyone captured this new insight. Many people got caught up in anxiety and a feeling of being "dazed and confused." Others felt the need to rest up through power napping and intensified dreams. Whatever your story, September will gradually crank you back into high gear.

Begin by rethinking your life during the Sept. 6 to 29 Mercury retrograde cycle. Instead of buying into the fear that your life is falling apart during this communications breakdown time period, think of this natural cycle as an opportunity to organize your new-found priorities and values into a workable system.

Do not judge yourself if you are not where you think you "should" be. Remember that death and destruction Pluto moved into overhaul - everything Capricorn during the past year. It is natural to feel like the earth is not solid below you because you are stepping into new frequencies of energy.

Pluto has not been in Capricorn since the Revolutionary War, and even more major shifts are coming in 2010 and 2011. At times like these, it is good to remember that you volunteered for service on planet Earth. And, this time period is the reason you incarnated (so quit whining).

If you revise your life based upon the zodiac signs that Mercury travels through (and natal chart houses), then you will be one step ahead of the sleeping masses. Mercury gives the illusion of turning backward in the harmonizing sign of Libra. Simply look at where your life has fallen out of balance.

Because Libra is associated with relationships, art, interior decoration, adrenals and kidneys, you benefit by taking time out to work with these issues. Cosmetic home repair or investing time in enhancing all types of relationships is time well spent.

Cleansing your kidneys and giving your adrenals a rest is good for two reasons. Libra rules these parts of the body, so helping them now is highly supported. Also, Mercury moves backward into purifying Virgo Sept. 17 through Oct. 9. Diet, cleansing and stress release are good Virgo ways to help your body.

The same principle goes for your home. An autumn cleaning will help you prepare for even more new energies coming just before Halloween. On Oct. 29, Saturn moves into one of its favorite signs, Libra. The days surrounding Halloween are when the veils between this world and the etheric realm are at their thinnest. You will be highly sensitized to this incoming energy, so do something good for your spirit at the end of October.

Saturn helps you make long term plans. Libra puts your life into balance. Relationships of all kinds become a higher priority. This combination is termed exalted in astrology, which manifests as a sense of good timing that aligns you with the universal time.

The stage for this Halloween shift is being set through the autumnal equinox. A chart cast for the equinox on Sept. 22 at 2:19 PM PDT shows a harmonious Grand Water Trine for the next three months.

You can take advantage of this triangular pattern in the sky by going to the emotional depths to get in touch with what you really need (or no longer need) to feel right with your world. Then you must take assertive action to nurture yourself - talking about your needs is not enough.

Finally - and this is the wild card - Uranus throws unexpected opportunities and challenges into your life, and you must use your intuition rather than logical thought to know the difference between a genuine opportunity and a challenging illusion.

Take advantage of this helpful fall energy by exploring new groups and meeting new people - and know that weird is very OK right now. Of course, you cannot expect all of this exploration to work out, so lay aside expectations for now and be willing to experiment. You will naturally be led to activities and people that are part of the incoming frequency for you, and the rest will fall away.

Mark Dodich has been a professional astrologer and intuitive consultant since 1980. His specialties include natal astrology, relocation astrology maps and seven ray spiritual purpose astrology. Receive his free Astromark newsletter and download a free basic astrology primer at www.astromark.us or call 503-252-1558.