Retrograde Mercury is a wonderful state that enable you to rethink, revisit a certain aspect of your life and do the necessary corrections, rectifications. And so now when Mercury goes retrograde from 5th Aug to 29th Aug – it is a perfect time for evolving souls, and matured individuals to revisit and re-analyze certain aspects of life – such as past life events, relationship break-ups that happened a few months ago, specific project work, specific matters connected to finances, children or business as such.
From 5th Aug – the rains in India will also slow down. And from 15th Aug – we would experience a moderate rainfall. The retrograde mercury period is a perfect time to work out a strategy or to revisit an existing strategy and make necessary modifications. It is also a perfect time to revisit a specific policy.
Mercury retrograde period is often seen as a horrible time. However you need to understand that it is because Mercury goes retrograde that you get time to introspect. And introspection is possible only when you come across certain shocks of life or certain shortcomings. Every adversity and challenging times make you more wiser. And so to all my close followers I appeal – do not fear Retrograde Mercury – because it is during this wonderful period of retrograde mercury that you get to see the REAL FACE of people around you. It is during the phase of retrograde mercury that you are able to uncover many secrets of life. It is during the phase of retrograde mercury period that you are able to SEE things as they are – meaning you come face to face with the reality of life. And so all the disruption and slowdown caused by Retrograde Mercury is actually a golden opportunity to pause. You should understand the Power of Pause. Mindfulness is a pause – the space between stimulus and response: that’s where choice lies. mindfulness allows you to take a moment to stop and think before reacting to a situation. When something happens (stimulus), instead of immediately responding out of habit or emotion, mindfulness gives you a brief moment to consider your response. This pause provides the opportunity to make a thoughtful choice rather than an automatic reaction. This space is where you have the freedom to choose how you want to respond. Retrograde Mercury offers you this SPACE where you have the freedom to choose how you want to respond.
Reacting is the nature of the mind. A shallow person is very quick to react. A shallow person will quickly react to a video or post by posting an offensive comment and in this process he will expose his or her stupidity to the whole world. However a wise person will never react – he will pause, he will evaluate and then if he really think that it is worth mentioning then and only then he will respond. And so there is a difference between REACTING AND RESPONDING. When Mercury is not retrograde – people tend to react a lot but when Mercury goes retrograde – people get the necessary space and situation that makes them mindful and thus they respond and not react. Reaction is instant. Respond is thoughtful. Always remember the difference.
Leo is a sign of creativity. Sun rules Leo. And without Sun – this universe would have been dead. And so the entire universe is alive because of Sun. All the creations of this universe is based on the all might Sun. And that is why you should always chant the 12 Surya Mantras and also do the 12 Surya Namaskar exercise every day if you want to stay fit and empower your creativity. Always remember – you have come in this human form with a specific destiny – you have something to fulfil, some message has to be delivered, some work has to be completed. You are not here accidentally – you are here meaningfully. There is a purpose behind you. The universe intends to do something through you. And so at the very core of creation – the 5th house Leo Sign is ruled by the almighty Sun – Surya Dev. In Sanskrit language – Aditya is another name for the Sun. And so now as Mercury goes retrograde in Leo – it opens up a window for all creative people to pause and introspect so that if there are any loopholes or shortcomings then they can rectify it as well as they can also enhance their creativity by adding some new elements and ideas to it.
And so now in this podcast I will quickly walkthrough the general impact of Retrograde Mercury on all 12 moon signs.
Aries natives will get the rare opportunity to revaluate their relation with children. If you are single – then this is the time to introspect on the kind of partner you want in your life. This is also a time to analyze your investments and make necessary corrections. Be cautious while communicating with your children or relationship partner. Be loud and clear in your communication so that you are not misunderstood by others. Avoid buying new TV during this period.
Taurus natives will get the rare opportunity to revaluate their relation with mother and dear ones. You may also get the space to rethink about your home renovation as well as getting your vehicle in good shape. If you have been missing your family then this is the time to reconnect and enjoy happy moments with them. This period specifically provides you the space and time to spend with your dear ones. Avoid buying home furniture during this period.
Gemini natives will get the rare opportunity to revaluate your communication style. You will get the necessary space and time to make corrections in your way of communication, and so if you are in a customer facing role then this period may give you certain challenging experiences that would help you to learn certain lessons of life. Travel delays, misunderstandings with siblings or neighbours is possible and so stay cautious and be loud and clear in your communication. Avoid buying new mobile phone during this period.
Cancer natives will get the rare opportunity to revaluate financial strategies and current material possessions. You may recover lost items or money during this period. This is also a perfect time to revisit your diet plan and to start focusing on your food intake. You will become more conscious about money and health during this period. Avoid buying jewelry and expensive gadgets during this period. If you want to buy new glasses then wait and buy after 1st Sep.
Leo natives will get the rare opportunity to work on your personality makeover. You will become conscious of your image in the society and you would start working towards sharpening and enhancing your social image. It is possible that you may indulge in self-criticism. Self-criticism is the act of evaluating and judging one’s own behavior, performance, or qualities with a critical perspective. And so be bit soft on yourself. Nobody is perfect in this universe. Avoid buying new clothes during this period.
Virgo natives will get the rare opportunity to revisit past spiritual practices. During this period you will be able to get enhanced inner reflection. You will get the perfect time to spend with yourself in solitude. Avoid long travels during this period. Delays in flight and problems during long travels is evident during this period. Stay safe and use this beautiful time to reinvent yourself by diving deep into yourself and spending more time in introspection. Some of you may come across certain dreams – but do not misinterpret them. Stay connected with the reality of life. Avoid buying new mattress during this time.
Libra natives will get the rare opportunity to reconnect with old friend and social networks. This period will give you the time and space for revisiting and resolving past social issues. This is a good time to reconnect with your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend if they are available and still interested in you. When communicating with your friends and posting on social media – just beware that you don’t attract problems and litigations. During this time you should avoid buying new car or bike. Wait till 29th Aug because by then Mercury becomes direct.
Scorpio natives will get the rare opportunity to reevaluate career goals and professional plans. You will get the opportunities to refine your work-related strategies. Progress at work place may slow down – but this slowdown is simply to give you an opportunity to re-strategize and to discover certain loopholes and shortcomings that you could now fix and thereby make your business more efficient and profitable in the days to come. Avoid buying or renting new office space until Mercury goes direct on Aug 29.
Sagittarius natives will get rare opportunity to revisit past learning. You will contemplate on the teachings of your Guru. If you don’t have a Guru then you will start searching for the Guru. Long travel trips may cause certain troubles. Try to avoid long travel trips during this period. Be careful with legal matters if you are fighting a legal case. If you are a student then avoid being over-confident – stay realistic. Do not buy any long travel vacation packages during this time. And be respectful and kind towards elderly people.
Capricorn natives will get rare opportunity to reflect on joint finances and investments and thereby gain new insights. This is excellent period for financial planning and debt resolution. Be careful when it comes to paying your taxes. If there is a matter connected to inheritances then it may consume much of your energy in resolving the matters connected to your ancestor property. During this time avoid taking any new loans or credit cards.
Aquarius natives will get rare opportunity to reassess their personal relationship and partnerships. Some of you may even get opportunities to resolve past relationship issues. If you are unmarried and you had made a decision to never get married then now you will again revisit your decision and start thinking towards getting married. If you are married then beware of miscommunication with partners and potential relationship misunderstandings. During this time do not make any new business partnership.
Pisces natives will get a rare opportunity to revisit and improve health habits. You will become more focused towards your health and daily routines. This is a perfect time to rejoin a fitness club and restart with physical exercise. Beware of miscommunication at work place and potential disruptions in daily routines. If you don’t exercise daily then health issues may resurface. During this period avoid buying electronic products.
Overall Retrograde Mercury period provides you all with the rare opportunity to pause and rethink over your past actions and past decisions. It is a time when all your illusions and myths are tore apart and you come face to face with the reality of life. It is a time when your ego gets a break and in the absence of ego – you realize the ultimate truth. That reminds me of a beautiful insightful story of a man who became chakravartin. In India it is believed that if somebody can become the emperor of the whole world he is called a Chakravartin. This man, of whom I am going to tell you the story, became the chakravartin. It is said that when a chakravartin dies â because a chakravartin happens only in thousands of years, he is a rare being â when he dies he is received in heaven with great rejoicings and he is taken to a special place.
In Jaina mythology, in heaven there is a parallel mountain to the Himalayas. The Himalayas are just made of rocks and earth and ice. The parallel Himalayas in heaven is called Sumeru. Sumeru means the ultimate mountain: nothing can be higher than that, nothing can be better than that. It is solid gold; instead of rocks there are diamonds and rubies and emeralds.
When a chakravartin dies he is led to Sumeru mountain to engrave his name on it. That is a rare opportunity; that happens only once in thousands of years. Of course this man was immensely excited that he was going to write his name on Sumeru. That is the ultimate catalogue of all the great ones that have been, and will also be the catalogue of all the great ones who are going to be. This emperor was becoming party to a lineage of supermen.
The gatekeeper gave him the instruments to engrave his name. He wanted a few of his men who had committed suicide just because their emperor was dying â they could not think of living without him. His wife, his prime minister, his commander-in-chief â all the great people who were around him, they all had committed suicide, so they had come with him.
The emperor wanted the gatekeeper to let them all come to see him engrave his name, because what is the joy if you go alone and engrave your name and nobody is there even to see? â because the real joy is that the whole world should see.
The gatekeeper said, âYou listen to my advice, because this is my inherited profession. My father was a gatekeeper, his father was a gatekeeper; for centuries we have been gatekeepers to Sumeru mountain. Listen to my advice: Donât take them with you; otherwise you will repent.â
The emperor could not understand, but he could not even go against his advice â because what interest could that man have in preventing him?
The gatekeeper said, âIf you still want them to see, first go engrave your name; then come back and take them with you if you want. I have no objection even now if you want to take them, but just in case you decide not to, then there will be no place, no chance âĻ they will be with you. You go alone.â This was perfectly sane advice.
The emperor said, âThatâs good. I will go alone, engrave my name, come back, and call you all.â
The gatekeeper said, âI am perfectly agreeable to that.â
The emperor went and he saw the Sumeru shining under thousands of suns â because in heaven you cannot be so poor as to have just one sun â thousands of suns, and a golden mountain far bigger than the Himalayas â and the Himalayas are almost two thousands miles long! He could not open his eyes for a moment, it was so glaring there. And then he started looking for a space, the right space, but he was very much puzzled: there was no space; the whole mountain was engraved with names.
He could not believe his eyes. For the first time he became aware what he was. Up to now he was thinking he was a superman who happens once in thousands of years. But time has been from eternity; even thousands of years didnât make any difference, so many chakravartins had happened already. There was no space on that biggest mountain in the whole universe where he could write his small name.
He came back, and now he understood that the gatekeeper was right not to take his wife and his commander-in-chief and his prime minister and other intimate friends. It was good that they had not seen the situation. They would still believe that their emperor was a rare being.
He took the gatekeeper inside and he said, âBut there is no space!â
The gatekeeper said, âThatâs what I was telling you. What you have to do is to erase a few names and write down your name. Thatâs what has been done; my whole life I have been seeing this done, my father used to say this has been done. My fatherâs father â none of my family have seen Sumeru empty, or any space ever.
âWhenever a chakravartin has come he had to erase a few names and write his own name. So this is not the whole history of the chakravartins. Many times it has been erased, many times it has been engraved. You just do your work, and then if you want to show your friends you can bring them in.â
The emperor said, âNo, I donât want to show them and I donât want to even write my name. What is the point? â someday somebody will come and erase it.
âMy whole life has become utterly meaningless. This was my only hope, that Sumeru, the golden mountain in heaven was going to have my name. For this I have lived, for this I have staked my life; for this I was ready to kill the whole world. And anybody else can erase my name and write his. What is the point of writing it? I will not write it.â The gatekeeper laughed.
The emperor said, âWhy are you laughing?â
The gatekeeper said, âThis is strange, because this too I have been hearing from my grandfathers â that chakravartins come, and seeing the whole story, just turn back; they donât write their names. You are not new: anybody having a little intelligence would do the same.â
In this whole world what can you gain?
What can you take away with you?
Your name, your prestige, your respectability? Your money, your power â what? Your scholarship?
You cannot take anything.
Everything will have to be dropped here.
This how you come face to face with the reality of life – the ultimate truth – when Mercury goes retrograde. However only evolving souls can truly benefit from the Retrograde Mercury period because they take efforts towards their self growth – the focus on doing daily meditations and chanting. They focus on listening more. The Emperor also listened to the gatekeeper’s advice – The gatekeeper had said, âYou listen to my advice, because this is my inherited profession. My father was a gatekeeper, his father was a gatekeeper; for centuries we have been gatekeepers to Sumeru mountain. Listen to my advice: Donât take them with you; otherwise you will repent.â The Emperor listened to his advice and later also thanked him – because if he had taken the Queen, and his family and his army general with him to the Sumeru mountain then he old have been exposed – they would have realized that there have been hundred of Chakravartis before him! So the Emperor was wise person – he was willing to listen to the gatekeeper – I am your gatekeeper – if you are listening to me – you are going to be alright. Think over it – because the season of retrograde mercury is a time to think and rethink.
Enough for now.
Jai Shri Ganesha. Jai Guru.
