Hi, I'm Louise. I'm an astrologer and therapist in Exeter in the UK.

Most of my ramblings will probably be about astrology, but I'm also interested in psychology, alternative therapies, hypnotherapy, Focusing, consciousness, meditation, Integral (Ken Wilber), and the work of the Institute of Noetic Sciences.

If you want to see the astro-clock - where all the planets are right now - go to the very bottom of the page. *Note: I'm studying a lot at the moment, so I apologise for any delays in updating the blog. I will be back when I have more time. More regular updates, if shorter, appear on my Facebook page, which you can reach from the tab above. Greetings to everyone who stops by :)

Sunday 21 August 2011

Can you visualise 'retrograde'?

Mercury is most of the way through its retrograde period now, in the fire sign of Leo. It goes direct again on the 25th August. 
We've had the usual computer go-slow problems, delayed post, wireless network signal constantly 'weak'. Oh, and one of my appointments postponed twice

I'm re-reading Erin Sullivan's Retrograde Planets - it seemed appropriate use of retro Mercury time. Meanwhile I've been trying to recreate retrograde motion in my head. I'm not very good at that, and since other people might not be either, here are some videos I've found online that might help. Actually, I'm a bit nerdy and enjoy watching them anyway: bonus! 


Above is a video of Mercury's retrograde motion in 2011, created with the software programme Redshift, by Robert Van Heeren.  


Venus: this is a link to a website which shows Venus retrograde. (Scroll down the page to see the animation.)

Keep in mind that both Mercury and Venus orbit between the earth and the Sun, and are known as 'inferior' planets, whereas Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are all beyond earth, and called 'superior' planets. The apparent backward motion (retrograde) is different for each group.

Mars: this is a link to a website which shows Mars retrograde.


And above is an animation, including explanation, of the retrograde motion of a superior planet (on the outside of the earth from the Sun) - in this case Jupiter, back in 2008. This is Redshift again.

Which house is Mercury currently retrograde in, in your chart? With Mercury retrograde in Leo, we can get stuck somewhere in our creative process whatever that may be; we can be anxious for inspiration to come. Erin Sullivan states, in relation to Mercury retrograde in fire signs :
"In her book Creation Myths, Marie Louise Von Franz deals extensively with this concept of play. She states that the unconscious intent underlying depression is to bring the consciousness down into the nigredo, into the darkness of the unconscious, in order to release the creative spirit."
Perhaps this is a time for incubation for our creativity, and it could be important to allow ourselves to play now, without expectation. 

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