The Spiritual Significance of Mercury Retrograde

The last thing I want to do is write about anything tied to a specific date that no one will care about in a month or two. As much as I try to avoid this, I have to say I am experiencing writer’s block now that we are in the shadow of the upcoming Mercury Rx. What is this shadow you may ask? It is the two-week period before and after Mercury goes retrograde. It is traditionally a time when nothing works the way it should. Communications break down, so on and so forth.

I am not going to get into the scientific explanation of why Mercury appears to be moving backwards when retrograde. You can find that information in just about every article there is about Mercury Rx. Honestly, I am not really interested in that. I always skim over that part. What I do want to discuss is the spiritual meaning of Mercury Retrograde.

When Mercury is retrograde, we are forced to turn our energy inward. Maybe “forced” is too strong a word. In any case, communications break down, e-mails are lost, computers develop glitches, cars break down, flights are delayed, all kinds of things happen in order to slow us down and encourage us to focus on our inner world rather than the outer. Of course, a lot of people resist this influence as we live in a very outer oriented world, which demands our attention and participation. Those who go with the flow usually have an easier time and better experience.

“Whenever a planet moves retrograde, it is a time for inner listening and reflection. The most well-known retrograde cycle is of Mercury… just stop, look, and listen. Frequently, Mercury retrograde brings insights and new information that is helpful to your decision-making, thus the advice to hold still and wait. Once Mercury moves direct, you can use this new information to your advantage.” - Nicholas Theo

While we can make a list of things that Mercury rules such as communication, transportation, and everything related to these, it is the more spiritual dimension that I am interested in. In mythology, Mercury is the messenger of the Gods. Mercury spent his time traveling between Earth and Mount Olympus playing the role of the divine messenger, delivering messages between humans and the Gods.

Another name for Mercury is Hermes. Hermes is not only a messenger, but is also a psychopomp. In mythology, a psychopomp is an entity that escorts the spirits of the dead to the underworld. In some religions, the psychopomp is seen as an angel of death who carries the dead up into the heavens.

Hermes leading the spirits of heroes to the depths of Hades - Stanisław Wyspiański

” Classical examples of a psychopomp are the ancient Egyptian god Anubis, the deity Yama in Hinduism, the Greek ferryman Charon and god Hermes, the Roman god Mercury, the Norse Valkyries, the Aztec Xolotl, Slavic Morana and the Etruscan Vanth.” - Wikipedia

In relation to this discussion about Mercury Rx, it is the Jungian concept of psychopomp that is most fitting. According to Jungian psychology, “the psychopomp is a mediator between the unconscious and conscious realms. It is symbolically personified in dreams as a wise man or woman, or sometimes as a helpful animal.” - Wikipedia

Mercury symbolizes one’s ability to connect with one’s higher self. Mercury Rx sets us up, and encourages us to go deep and commune with “the Gods.” It invites us to slow down and think about what we are doing. It forces us out of auto-pilot and makes us pay attention to whatever we need to be aware of at the time. If we allow this process to take place, we are likely to have an easy time with it and gain something of value. If not, well, expect the car to break down.