Even my assistant, who doesn’t believe in astrology, now is an expert on Mercury Retrograde. The expression “forewarned is forearmed” was never truer than when dealing with Mercury’s retrograde travel time.

So I was pleased to see this article posted in Astrology News:

There is an ancient Roman saying: “Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit.” Called or not called, the god will be there.

Since the god Mercury or Hermes (the Greek equivalent) in retrograde is inevitably going to come a calling, regardless of our best-laid plans, we might as well look further into how to make better use of his regular visits.

“Hermes is the god of the unexpected, of luck, of coincidence, of ‘synchronicity.’ The ancient Greeks would say: ‘Hermes has entered our midst,’ whenever a sudden silence had entered the room, descended on conversation and introduced into the meeting another dimension.

Whenever things seem fixed, rigid, ‘stuck,’ Hermes introduces fluidity, motion, new beginnings – as well as the confusion which inevitably precedes new beginnings.” Arianna Stassinopoulos, The Gods of Greece

New Beginnings
Where are you stuck? Where do you need a new beginning? Mercury (Hermes) in retrograde will be glad to help “unstuck” you and provide you with that new beginning.

After all… Mercury (Hermes) is the archetypal deal-maker and broker within the horoscopic chart, and as such he’ll be more than glad to strike a mutually beneficial deal with you!

Too Rigid, Too Stuck
Yep! It’s often when we’re too rigid and too stuck in our ways that Mercury (Hermes) springs out from behind a bush and reveals himself to us in the guise of a malicious bogey-man.

“… in Hermes we have a figure who signifies a union between an innate tendency on the part of the psyche to create boundaries and define spaces… He signifies the creative instinct at work in the psyche in a particular way.

A specific type of creator god, he is the creator of new spaces. It is in the creation of new spaces, novel spaces, inventive spaces, especially psychologically subtle spaces that Hermes shows his special nature and genius.” From the 1999 article “Hermes and the Creation of Space” by Murray Stein

Spiritual Gold
In her book, The Gods in Everyman, archetypal author Jean Bolen points out that the physical substance of Mercury only adheres to precious metals… thus – metaphorically speaking – the archetypal substance of Hermes can show us the way to spiritual gold…

The Rule of Thumb
When Mercury is in retrograde the rule of thumb is that whatever you do in the area of everyday routines in commerce, commuting back and forth to work, and in one’s communications – it’s not typically going to go as smoothly as you thought it would.

Remain flexible. If necessary, be prepared to “punt the ball.” Have a backup plan. In fact, have two backup plans! Breath deeply. This, too, will pass…