GETTING READY FOR MERCURY RETROGRADE AND MERCURY GANDANTA – Applied Vedic Astrology

EYE ON THE SKY: MERCURY RETROGRADE IN SCORPIO  NOV 25-DEC 15TH

MERCURY GOES RETROGRADE NOV. 25th at 21:39 EST

Everyone cringes at the thought of Mercury retrograde but it is not bad for everyone and gets a lot of bad press.  You all  know about Mercury retrograde so I wanted to share some new things.  First of all if you were born with Mercury retrograde, you are more right-brain orientated and have more spatial orientation and recognize patterns and are not logical.  It will be interesting to observe if during Mercury retrograde you need to be more intuitive rather than logical during the  transit.

Secondary, Mercury retrograde is not bad for every rising sign.   It is most difficult for the rising signs of Cancer,  Scorpio,  Pisces,  Capricorn, Aquarius, and Sagittarius  due to house ownership involving  the 6, 8, 12 and even the 7th  house ruler.   It  actually makes Virgos and Geminis stronger in their physical body but maybe more inward.

Mercury retrograde is happening in Scorpio, an enemy’s house so it can bring up rehashes of arguments and verbal jostling with friends that you thought you settled. You have to watch out for disputes and the Mercury/Mars association in Scorpio for Gemini moon or rising  is a 6th house transit s friend’s house and so be extra careful if you are driving and are running a Mars period.

Mercury transits from the rising sign or the moon are considered good when they are 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10th or 11 houses from the moon or rising sign.  Hence if your rising sign or moon is  Libra, Leo,  Gemini or Aries or Aquarius or Capricorn,  it is considered a good transit.  It is not getting two afflicted aspects which include Saturn at 18 degrees which is exact into Dec. 6th and a wider aspect from Rahu which is at best within 3 degrees when Mercury is at 12  degrees Scorpio on Dec. 15th.   It is impacted by the debilitated Mars as he is the despositor for Scorpio.   There is also a Paravartana Yoga between Ketu in Virgo and Mercury in Scorpio as Ketu  is the co-owner of Scorpio and hence Mercury gets to go back into Virgo and gains some strength.   .

Mercury and Mars by association through Mercury in Scorpio   can   can lead to disputes  and aggressive arguing nature , being too self-centered and ruthless.   Awareness around this is going to be important as debating about who is right becomes an ego-centered event to justify our position and keep us chained to a position and not open to seeing other points of view.  Be open to listening more and understanding and integrating others points of view over the next few months.

So like always, back up your computers early, get your letters and marketing and business dealings done early today,  be redundant about communications and do not assume that your emails and phone messages and texts will get picked up.  Most of  all,  be patient as Mercury is like the Greek god of Hermes and he wants you to laugh when these things do not go right. He is the trickster, so smile and accept and be patient and know it will be over by Nov. 3rd.   For some, those 22 days will seem like forever so smile!!

MERCURY GANDANTA:

The end of Scorpio, 27-30 degrees is called the stinger tale and is in the gandanta which literally means drowning. Mercury  will transit this area in Scorpio for an unusual time from Nov. 21-30th    and this could bring out deep karmic patterns if you are ruled by Mercury ie Gemini and Virgo rising,  It  can be an intense time for transformation.

The end of Scorpio is about letting go of material  and getting read for spiritual transformation in the constellation of Mula.  It can be an intense psychological and emotional time.  The last degree, 29.12-29.59 is the most difficult part of the journey and it happens not until the 2nd pass through on Jan 4th, 2025.  Here there are deep knots that need to be unraveled for spiritual growth to occur. This can be a place where maximum emotional churning can happen so watch the week of Nov. 21-30th.  This is also Pisces navamsha where Mercury is debilitated so you have to rely on intuition as the logical mind may not work as well. Stay on top of meditation and yoga here or you might feel very fragile.  There can be a sense of not being supported and this may be connected to friends as Mercury  is the significator or karaka for friends and relatives. Use this transit to work on deep transformational issues.