Mercury plays a role in the upcoming New Moon Solar Eclipse on April 19, 2023. Although Mercury does not aspect the New Moon, it is in relationship with the lunation’s ruler Mars in Cancer by a harmonious sextile from Taurus. Mercury sextile Mars can signify an “idea diarrhea” of sorts: lots of talk, suggestions and intentions. Go-getter Mars is a powerful shot of Ristretto stimulating Mercury’s themes of commerce, communication and mental processing. In a sextile to Mars, this Mercury wants to take action and get the business ball rolling.
In addition, Mercury is on its way to Uranus, a destabilizing force that can surprise us with breakthrough, breakdown and sometimes both. Interestingly, as Mercury advances towards Uranus, he begins to slow down. In fact, Mercury never makes it to Uranus. In the early morning hours of Friday the 21st, Mercury stations retrograde just two degrees away from Uranus in Taurus.
Given what we know about the potentially snappy New Moon Solar Eclipse, backing up to review might actually be a course correction. All the action in Aries would have us sprint right now. Ideas are swirling and everything is moving quickly—maybe a little too quickly. There’s a generalized impatience in the air. The steadiness and stability-seeking of Taurus acts as an antidote to the rush of Aries.
Just twenty minutes after the eclipse, the Moon moves into Taurus. The Sun follows on April 20th. An image that comes to my mind is applying a soothing stem of aloe vera on a sunburn. The focus turns towards peace, relaxation, harmony and enjoyment—all themes of a Venus ruled sign. Mercury’s retrograde could very well be looking for ways to make an experience more enjoyable and less frenetic which ultimately brings more stability and security.
Dates
- Mercury stations Retrograde on April 21st at 15°37′ Taurus
- Mercury stations Direct on May 14th at 5°51′ Taurus
- Mercury clears his shadow when he passes 15°37′ Taurus on May 31st
- Mercury catches up to Uranus on June 4th
We may be excited to move forward on a project, relationship, experiment or self-related opportunity. Yet before we take the leap, it would be wise to inform our Aries with the slower, more practical pace of Taurus. As the saying goes: “Measure twice, cut once.” It will serve all of us to remember these words as Mercury is retrograde.
Finally, Mercury retrogrades three times in 2023. Each retrograde occurs in an Earth sign. 2023 is a year we’ll be reviewing, rethinking and re-doing our needs for stability, security and accomplishment while striving to remain flexible and open to perspectives different than our own.