A discussion on Mercurys ingress into Scorpio "The Great Detective"

"Call me crazy, but Mercury retrograde doesn’t scare me. In fact, I may be one of the few astrologers I know who actually looks forward to those three weeks in every Mercury orbit when we here on this planet end up with a ringside seat to the most famous of cosmic optical illusions. Yes, illusion, because, as most of us already know, that’s what Mercury retrograde is. A three-week celestial “psych” in which Mercury, the astrological planet of the mind, cleverly messes with ours by appearing to travel backward in the sky.

"Strange things may happen when a seemingly small, neutral planet such as Mercury turns retrograde. Usually, in consulting their astrologers, clients have already learned that this period does not favour starting new businesses, purchase of new cars and computers, and that they should be ware of all kinds of problems in communication, traffic and travels. Naturally, at the time when Mercury is retrograde, the telephone keeps ringing and on the other line a panicking voice keeps echoing information which we astrologers already consider classic cases.

"The archetype of Gemini is concerned with the issue of integration into the environment as a survival necessity. The environment reflects the dynamics of life surrounding the soul in a particular time and space. This archetype is mutable by nature, which reflects the reality that life is built on a holistic foundation, meaning that every single component of life invariably relates to every other one. As a result the life of the individual is part of an enormous chain, and the individual learns to consciously integrate in that chain.

"If you have any interest in astrology at all, know an astrologer, or simply travel through astrology sites on the web, you know what a Mercury retrograde is!  We hear so much about it…we worry about when it is coming, how long it will last, and what in the world will happen to us this time!  First hand experience and awareness through the years can only serve to testify to the power of this little fast moving planet and his affects for us here on Earth.

"There is much more to Mercury than is usually taught in astrological textbooks. Mercury is said to be the symbol of the mind; but this term "mind" covers a multitude of mysteries, and Mercury can be seen to represent a variety of processes and functions in the personality, especially as the latter is developing beyond the normal range of activities familiar to the average cultured individual of our day and age.

"In the usual kind of geocentric astrology no distinction is made between the two kinds of conjunction of Mercury and the Sun, except that at "inferior" conjunction Mercury is retrograde, while at "superior" conjunction Mercury is direct. In heliocentric astrology the situation is quite different, because an inferior geocentric conjunction of Mercury and the Sun means that the Earth is conjunct Mercury, while a superior geocentric conjunction indicates that the Earth is in opposition to Mercury.

"Mercury disorders are the nervous disorders, both physical and mental, from neurological disorders where disease affects the brain and nervous system disturbing its normal function, to situations where the ill health is more of a mental nature, disrupting the nervous state of the individual.

"Energy medicine works with the subtle interconnections between mind, body and spirit, both to restore and to maintain the dynamic equilibrium between these complexes. Homeopathy and flower essences are two energy medicine modalities that work with the energetic fields of the body and are particularly effective in subtly adjusting the nervous system to affect the physiology of the body.

"When a planet "goes retrograde" it gives the appearance of moving backward through the Zodiac. Naturally this is an optical illusion, but it has an effect nonetheless. Due to the angle from which we view it's orbit, it will appear to slow down, become stationary, then go in reverse. After a time (depending upon which planet it is), it will again slow down, become stationary and move forward.