A reader on my Facebook page asked a really good question:  “how does [Mercury retrograde] work with a New Moon and we are supposed to start new things??”

Mercury retrograde periods are more appropriate for reviewing, re-doing, re-visioning, and renovating than for initiating something new.  This is an assimilation phase.  New Moons are times of new beginnings, because the Moon cycle begins anew when it conjoins the Sun.  So we have a bit of looking forwards and backwards at the same time.

There is a concept called Sankofa in Ghana in which we must look to the past to learn about the future.  I have written of this and the god Janus in a New Year post a few years ago.  The god Janus similarly looks both backwards and forwards at the same time.  

At this time of new beginnings under the Virgo New Moon, it’s important to remember the retrograde pull of Mercury which keeps our  attention from wandering too far into the future.  Virgo is more about planning than actually taking action, which fits in nicely with the retrograde Mercury phase.  Planning, creating new ideas that look to the past (Mercury Rx) and take from it only those things that work and eliminating the rest (using the discrimination of the Virgo New Moon).   Following our duty to others, putting aside ego for the sake of service, creating a temple space for our physical body – these are good Virgo things to plan and create and gradually put into action once the plan is fully baked.