Working with this Mercury Retrograde
This Mercury Retrograde is in the sign of Taurus and is all about money matters! Mercury Retrograde is a good time to reflect, reassess, and mull over matters related to the sign and area of life where that sign shows up in your chart based on your Ascendant sign.
Mercury last retrograded in Capricorn from December 29, 2022 to January 19, 2023, so roughly around the new year. Connecting the two retrograde cycles, while Capricorn is business oriented, Taurus is about the money.
Maybe this current Mercury retrograde, you need to revisit a decision that you mulled over related to business. This could literally be a career decision and/or a decision about your business, or depending on your Ascendant sign, the area of life where you approach and handle things in a business-like way. This Mercury retrograde is about getting the financing together to actualize that goal you set around the New Year.[1]
While Taurus is about money in the most basic sense, Taurus is really about seeking material security through self-sufficiency, getting and keeping the tools you need to earn your keep, so to speak.
Additionally, with Uranus in Taurus since 2018, the area of life where you have Taurus has been experiencing huge shifts and transformations, radical reworkings and reorientations. You might notice that you’ve had to open up to and accept new things in that area of life that you never thought of or even considered in earlier periods of your life. This Mercury retrograde is an opportunity to reflect on those changes and how best to finish up the Uranus transit that will end in 2025.
Also, Jupiter will go into Taurus May 17 right as Mercury finishes its retrograde. Jupiter will provide an opportunity or spark of inspiration in that area of your life. This retrograde is a good time to pay attention to what’s brewing (and what has been brewing), so that when Jupiter the benefactor moves into Taurus, you’re energetically ready to receive those Jupiterian gifts.
Cookbook Journaling Exercise (Best to use your Ascendant sign, but Sun signs will also work)
Prompt
Mercury is asking me to reflect and mull over money matters in (Taurus house) in order to actualize a plan set in motion at the beginning of the year around (Capricorn house). I have already experienced radical shifts and reorientations in (Taurus house) since 2018. By reflecting now on these shifts, I am open to receive an opportunity in my (Taurus house), starting at the end of this month and throughout the next year.
Summary of House Topics
1: personal presentation; personal presence; appearance; personality; self showing up in relationships with others
2: resources and values; money; earning your keep; having what you need
3: communicative projects; media; urban environments; reading, writing, and learning; taking in information; navigating your environment
4: family of origin; fulfilling home life; private sphere; physical and emotional home; place of belonging
5: creative projects; joy, fun, pleasure, and hobbies; romance; relationship to children
6: daily routines, habits, and responsibilities; self improvement; health, diet, exercise; pets; work life
7: one-on-one relationships; partnerships; self reflected through others
8: shared resources and investments; created families; emotional interdependence; debt, taxes, inheritance
9: higher knowledge; wisdom; travel; religion and philosophy; foreign places
10: career; a secure place in the world; personal mission in the world; public self
11: aspirations and humanitarian ideals; social life and social connections; collectives
12: retreats; places of isolation; letting go of ego; lasting legacy; hidden or obscure forces
House with sign on the cusp: Taurus, Capricorn
Aries: 2, 10
Taurus: 1, 9
Gemini: 12, 8
Cancer: 11, 7
Leo: 10, 6
Virgo: 9, 5
Libra: 8, 4
Scorpio: 7, 3
Sagittarius: 6, 2
Capricorn: 5, 1
Aquarius: 4, 12
Pisces: 3, 11
How to use the cookbook
1) Find your Ascendant sign
2) Find the house that has Taurus and Capricorn on the cusp
3) Fill out the journal prompt based on the description of the houses
4) Get creative and reflect on how these themes show up in your life
Example for a Cancer on the Ascendant:
Mercury is asking me to reflect and mull over money matters in my social networks, friend groups, collectives, or larger social aspirations in order to actualize a plan set in motion at the beginning of the year around partnerships and one-on-one relationships. I have already experienced radical shifts and reorientations in social groups, social beliefs, and broader social networks since 2018. By reflecting now on these shifts, I am open to receiving an opportunity in my social networks, starting at the end of this month and throughout the next year.
Note: This is a very general guide, using whole sign houses for simplicity and usability. If your chart is more accurate using a different house system, it is very possible the themes described do not completely resonate with you.
[1]Mercury will retrograde during Virgo season as well and will be about the labor, practical steps, and attention to the details of your plan
