We have a Full Moon on Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 7:45pm PDT that is very potent and will have effects for many of us that last for more than a year. But first, I want to speak about the Mercury retrograde cycle that we are in and won’t end until next Saturday, April 23, 2011. It is always interesting to see how Mercury retrograde periods can cause some delays, even in the most dynamic of situations. We can be bursting with enthusiasm, optimism and the excitement that comes with wanting to manifest a new dream or just get started making something new happen, but it’s just not quite the time. That’s how it is going to be for us for just a little longer.
Mercury Retrograde
We are in the depths of this retrograde period and I’m hearing story after story about people’s experiences. I’m having some of my own as well. For me, this retrograde has included becoming focused on how to get the right medication that does not have horrible side effects. It’s been quite a battle with many changes, most of which made matters worse, and at times, things seemed hopeless. Right now, something new and very different is being tried with better results. The process may not be over though as we still have 6 days to go, but there is some improvement. Also, I’ve noticed that I am not having a hard time communicating with people I am close to and with whom I really need to speak, but it’s completely different with people who I want to talk to, but who I don’t know yet. It seems to be impossible to get a hold of someone who is new to me. This is not surprising because new relationships are hard to develop while we are in the middle of a Mercury Retrograde. What we need to do instead is focus on areas that need to be reviewed and the people with whom we already have a relationship.
This is a time to really observe what is coming up for us, what is disturbing or bothering us and to deal with it in a straightforward and direct way. This period is about confronting what is. My thought here is that what this retrograde does is force us to get to the root of something that has been dangling or avoided much to our detriment. We often can let things build up or maybe we don’t express something because we think that it’s not that big of a deal, when in fact, it is. Something festers so that when it does come up, it can come up suddenly, fiercely and erupts without our being able to express it in a constructive manner.
For some people, this may have already occurred while for others, there remains a lingering set of unresolved matters. But what makes this time so important is that it is accompanied by a very potent Full Moon that will push us to act.
Aries-Libra Full Moon
As I’ve often written in previous articles, the Full Moon period, which has been growing for the past several days, is concerned with bringing things to a head. It is a time of culmination or fulfillment and may result in a revealing of something that was born at the New Moon or in this case, which began in the last month or even earlier. But since it is ‘surrounded’ by the retrograde Mercury, what may be emerging now is that which we have been reviewing, looking at and realizing. There are very important things to see here, and we cannot act until they are fully seen. This is what tells us what to do. A Full Moon can create a huge urge for action once we know what we must do. Since the polarity of this particular Full Moon is an Aries-Libra one it is likely to concern itself with relationships and the need to balance one’s own needs with the needs of another person.
Just because we are seeing more clearly now doesn’t mean that what we are seeing is pleasant or comforting. What we do know is that we must not let time go by before we act on what we know we must do. For some, this period is not going to be as intense as what I am describing, but the theme is a common one that can be seen in many different ways. Also, once Mercury does go direct, we will really need to ‘hit the ground running,’ as is often said. By then, we should know what to do and have prepared for getting started on it.
So, while you may be chomping at the bit, don’t worry, your time will come and it will come soon. Also, this Full Moon has a conjunction between Mercury and Mars, which is great for opening to new ideas. It can help us jump start our thought processes and amp up our desire to learn and express what we are thinking and wanting to do. The energy can be super-heated right now in whatever area in which we have become interested and engaged. You can love the desire, but remember also that enthusiasm can wane just as rapidly as it came on. So, if what you are interested in is a passing idea or thought, it’s fine to just fire away with passion, but if you believe that what you are considering right now is more than a passing fancy, you may want to also remember that one cannot learn it all at once.
The Sun enters Taurus on April 20th, so things will start to slow down a bit then, but only a little as we are going to have several planets in Aries for the next few weeks.
As always, I hope some of our readers will want to share some of how they are experiencing this Full Moon and Mercury retrograde, so please feel free to reply to this article.
Hi Jim,
Mercury in retrograde has been hitting me quite hard, especially in the last week! My husband and I were suppose to go up to Mt. Shasta to see my parents new place and help them a little with unpacking. As time got closer to leaving we both got extremely busy in our work and even though that was a blessing, I found out two days before we were leaving that the doctor I work for was also going out of town the same time we are headed out of town and needed me to cover any patients that needed some help. So instead of going 800 miles north and then spend maybe one day and head home real quick, we decided to head to Santa Barbra and camp for two days and go hiking with our dog for the first time.
The funniest part of all this is that on Sat. evening, after my work, I came home, packed, and was slowly losing my will to leave with all that was happening, but somehow made it on the road. We were heading to Santa Monica to pick up dinner, when we realized that we forgot to pick up our camping gear (such as sleeping bag, stove, cookware, water, etc.), so we turned around, went to our storage, got the stuff and finally hit the road!
Once we got to Santa Barbra it was around 9pm and of course we couldn’t find a campground next to the beach, so we went to a rest stop, slept for an hour then Tim decided to get up and drive us a little further away from the traffic and lights. We ended up right where I wanted to take him without him even knowing where he was going! The wind blew us around all night, but in the morning we were in Heaven!
We decided to stay there at different campgrounds and enjoy the beauty. At the rise of the full moon we were at a place called the Lookout in Los Padres National Forest, and there was another couple that showed up right as the sun went down and the moon was coming up! I found out from the woman that she was drawn to this area while driving from the Bay area to Arizona for work, now she is looking for property in this area and the man she was with was her agent who lives in San Ynez and has backpacked all over this forest and gave us some wonderful places to visit!
So everything turned out well and my experience was great, I am a little sad to be back in the thick of busy life here, but know that I can always return to the woods and my soul will sing again!
Love and light Jim,
Tessa
To Jane:
It will be great to meet you, Jane. We can look at transits, progressions and the coming Solar Return. Give me a call so we can set up a time to get together.
Best wishes,
Jim
Yes, good article~ so love how you keep us all in the loop~ personally, am doing a perfect retrograde project. Attending a restorative yoga teacher training on the weekends and catching up with myself during the week. Have been offered the “perfect’ car, but am stalling until this retrograde is over. Or, question here- should all transportation deals that come up during the retrograde period be avoided? even after forward movement.. of the trickster~
Live in Costa Rica, visiting Los Angelos and heading out on the 26th. Good timing. Jim, am going to contact you for the solar reading… since my birthday is in July, wonder if we should do it for the year coming up?or a combo?
Blessings, bliss and “reality”
Be well and in good health, Jim. I am anxious to see how this time continues to move us toward the elements where we belong. I sense a slim ray of hope & that’s enough miracle to rest in for now, even with all the super-heated energy & desire & what-not.
Well this certainly explains a lot. I can see it in so many areas of my life.
I am also trying to make some changes in health and medication, as in going the more holistic route as opposed to just blindly following the normal medical pushing of more drugs.
I finally made a break-through last night with something important I’ve been trying to write for a while and make a decision about going mainstream or remaining independent.
Thank you for helping to explain so much.
All the Best,
KT
Amen to all of this. For me, the hardest part in all of this is that my partner isnt open to all of this available wisdom – regardless of its origin. From conventional paths of looking inwards and examining the self to the more ‘unusual’ such as astrology, he just isnt interested on a consistent basis. I think this is often the case with men and I regularly notice that there are far more women than men commenting in these pages. Wishing patience and wisdom for all…
Good article Jim being an Aries right now, this whole thing is changing my life but yes, the retrograde has def slowed it down a little & also making me review relationships especially in the last week. My solar return put the sun jupiter conjunction on my descendent axis, but saturns opposing it so…I’m just taking it slow & am ok with it.
Thanks for being so open about medication. I find that most people won’t speak about this, as so many others are against using medication at all. You make it easier for all of us.
My big issue right now is relationships. I’d like to resolve some things, being realistic about what to expect and realistic about what I can handle. We’ll see what happens in the next few months…
As always – great info…in my case, I am in a 2month relationship with a much older man than myself – I am 58…we have known each other for 2 years but as buddies…with an undertone of romantic interest…we began something towards the end of February..I feel very close to him and he to me…but I realize having been divorced for 20 years…that I need a chunk of time to myself…this weekend circumstances were such that we didn’t see each other…I did my thing, he did his…and I feel really ok with this…it was a relief from the intensity..
I have also realized that there are some issues that are coming up..I don’t want to settle into anything…( he has hinted around) I am also feeling like I want to do some things that he can’t afford…being retired he is on a very fixed income…I don’t know what to do…I’m going to wait until Mercury Retrograde is over with….until broaching some of this..for clarification…So that is what I”m experiencing…
Wonderful article, it fully applies to the process my family and I started about two months ago. At this full moon pic, what I am trying to do is bring everything that is happening not as a casualty event but as a causality event for our spiritual grow.
Astrology some how make me bring the unconscious to conscious and it is been transforming my vision in many aspects of my life.
Thank you Jim from this odd astrology student and from the bottom of my heart, love ya! 🙂