Mercury Retrograde Playground

Each year, the planets give us three opportunities for reflection, restoration, and renewal, when the Messenger of the Gods, Mercury appears to travel backwards in the sky. Of course it does not really turn and reverse its orbit, but we get this effect because the Earth and Mercury travel on different pathways around the Sun. 

In pop culture, we hear a lot of bad news associated with this particular transit, with warnings not to sign contracts, book travel, start new jobs or relationships, and to make sure you backup your data. But it is pretty impractical, when you think about it, to just put everything like this on hold for several months each year. It’s also not necessarily going to have the same impact on all people, as some people have more or less relationship to Mercury. It also varies within each cycle, because of the exact position Mercury begins in and how far back it retraces its steps.

Mercury Retrograde Playground Overview

The Mercury Retrograde Playground takes a totally different approach! 

We view these times as opportunities to reflect, to reconnect with our internal rhythm(s), and to re-member who we are as beings. 

You can use this time to: 

• Consciously renew your connection with natural rhythms of the planets and your body 
• Explore the built-in retreat space offered in this recurring time for reflection
• Discover the potency of meeting each feeling and sensation as it occurs
• Learn how to work with the planets rather than feeling they are working against you

Intention for the Playground

Mercury Retrograde provides the antidote to the very challenges that it often gets blamed for. By delving into the Mercurial Realms you will begin to know this planet better than you ever have before and will find keys to unlock its mysterious impact. 

As the messenger of the Zodiac, Mercury longs to play word games and share other simple pleasures in a back and forth manner. I invite you into the playground to find new ways to play with this quick-moving planet wherever you find it in your own life and chart. This is your invitation to reclaim access to the hidden realms that are just below your own surface. 

What’s On the Playground?

Call them toys, tools, games, or practices. These are the things we will share to help expand our growth in the Mercury Realms. 

Chart Magic

We will explore natal charts to find out where Mercury resides in your chart. This will help you begin to understand why Mercury has the impact it does on your life, and how to work with Mercury rather than feeling it works against you. 

Transit Moves

We will spend some time looking at how this particular Mercury Retrograde is moving, and where it is going so you can get in sync with this fast-moving and energetic body

Word Play

Mercury is the Messenger of the Gods, so he loves to play with words. Expect journal prompts, poetry, and a deep investigation of the potency of words. 

Exploring Shadows

Mercury is one of the few Gods that can travel easily between the realms of the gods, humans, and the departed souls of the underworld. Expect an exploration of archetypal elements, embodied experiences, and an opportunity to inhabit different aspects of your existence when you come play in the Mercury Retrograde Playground! 

Embodied Play

What good is it to meet the planet that can travel between the realms if we don’t do so ourselves? We will journey with Mercury into and back from the underworld realms through movement, meditation, and sound. 

What’s Included? 

• Journal prompts, delivered weekly
• Telegram thread for shares
• Playlists for dance breaks
• Embodiment practice suggestions, including altar settings
• Tight container holding, boundaries, and safety for sharing 
• Live Calls & Recordings*: Opening Celebration on November Sunday November 26th at 2pm to 3:30pm (90 min); Bi-weekly Check ins (60 min each); Closing Celebration on January DATE (90 min) 

Price

• $450 is a total steal! I already know this, but this is the price that came to me and which I have shared verbally. If you feel moved to pay more, by all means you may. 
• $900 is the benefactor rate. You already know that this is going to be a great course, and you want to help Jay & Sharon grow their practices. 
• Payments can be made to JAY PAY PAL, ALCHEMY STATION VENMO WHATELSE 
• You may join through the midpoint of the container (DATE) and will gain instant access to all pre-recorded calls and container materials. 
• No refunds, but if you are dissatisfied with the container we want to know about it and help you get the most from it that you can. Please communicate with us 

FAQ’s

Why Does Mercury Move Backwards in The Sky? 

Each planet, Mercury included, travels a pathway, or an elliptical orbit around the Sun. All the planets, Earth included, travel in the same direction but have a different length and a different shape. So it ends up working a little bit like when you are in a car, traveling at the same speed next to another car, and the speeds the two vehicles are moving at change and you look out the window and it suddenly seems like the other car is traveling backwards on the highway. 

This is how a planet can appear to move backwards from our vantage point on the Earth. Since the constellations of the zodiac are arrayed around the Earth, as we sit here at home watching the planets move, we see them travel through the constellations. This is how Mercury can begin its retrograde period in one sign, then move backwards, with the degrees of the sign decreasing, until it passes into the sign prior to it in the sequence. 

Why Does It Last So Long and What Is a Shadow Period? 

The number of days that Mercury actually appears to travel retrograde is generally about three to four weeks. We count the entire time that Mercury spends in the degrees that are involved in this transit. It is really easiest to illustrate with an image, so I will refer you to a specific illustration of the model. But I will also try to describe it with words. 

By looking at the patterns of the stars and planets, we can predict their travel so we know when Mercury will begin its retrograde journey. The point at which it appears to slow down, stop, and turn backwards is called “stationing” and we know that after the planet stations, it will travel back to a specific degree in the sign it just passed through. 

So in order to look at the full experience of any retrograde cycle, we want to actually start the process before the retrograde station happens. We want to begin at the point when the planet starts to travel the path it will repeat in its retrograde journey. 

Think of it this way.

Mercury is going to drop its wallet while walking on the path, and it’s going to happen at 22°10 of Sagittarius, on November 25th, 2023, at 7:25 am ET. 

But, Mercury is not going to notice it lost its wallet until it gets to 8°29 of Capricorn on December 13th, 2023, at 2:09 am ET. So this means Mercury has traveled all the way into Capricorn, one of the last three signs in the Zodiac, before it sees it has to go back. So at that moment, it pauses, and appears to travel back on the path, retracing its steps until it finds the lost wallet. 

Once it gets back to that degree—22°10 of Sagittarius, which happens on January 1st, 2024, at 10:07 pm ET, Mercury will pause and then turn direct again. We remain in the shadow phase until he re-emerges on January 14th from the point at which he turned backwards on the path. 

Wait! Are you Saying Mercury Retrograde Is a Good Thing? 

What I am really saying is that Mercury Retrograde is inevitable, and if we choose to follow the stars we are choosing to acknowledge these periods of backward motion. And furthermore, because we have found associations between the planets and our human mythologies, we can read the movements of the stars as if the mythological figures are acting them out on our behalf, which perhaps they are. We can then consider what it means when we are made to reconsider things, when reviews happen. We can maybe begin to shift our focus from constant growth and expansion, to a balance between growth and reflection. We can use the times of repose to strengthen ourselves for the times of forward motion. The universe already gives us predetermined times across the calendar year to pause, to retreat and reconsider our priorities, our goals, our desires, and our intentions. That is the idea we are working with here. 

Who Is Mercury and Why Should I Care? 

Mercury is known as the Messenger of the Gods. The names in Astrology we use are from the Roman mythologies, which are in turn from the Greek, which are significantly derived from the Egyptian. I relate primarily to the Greek Pantheon because of my own personal bias, but I enjoy looking at the layers of meaning that come in when various differences are made known. I also enjoy finding the overlap with Gods and Goddesses from other systems. For instance, I see a lot of connection between Mercury and Loki from the Norse pantheon due to the trickster aspects both share, although Loki brings a malevolent style that Mercury does not. 

The reason I like to look at these other systems however stems from a belief that these characters emerged from something fundamental to humanity, across cultures. I believe that our understanding of one can be enhanced by knowing others in related realms. This is also a reflection of my one Mercurial nature.

Mercury is known for his winged shoes that carry him between realms, and his ability to move about and communicate. While male, he has an androgynous aspect, as well as the ability to travel easily between the known world and the underworld realms of Pluto. A statue of Mercury sits atop the gilded roof of Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, a symbol of local travel, communication, commerce, and modernity. THAT ALSO GOES UNDERGROUND

When he goes retrograde, it is said that areas of life governed by him are subject to review or reconsideration. The popular stereotype is that travel plans get messed up and computer problems occur. My own experience is different, and at least for me, I can say that Mercury has a huge influence on my chart. He is my chart ruler, which happens just because my rising sign is ruled by Mercury, but there are probably infinite ways to interact with Mercury, and part of the journey is about discovering your personal relationship with this mythological figure and planetary force.

You’re invited to the Mercury Retrograde Playground!