In a word – terribly. Mercury Retrograde hit the cusp of my Fourth House – the house of all things related to home and family. I’ve been trying to sell my house for ages and WOW! Last month – too good to be true – a cash buyer materialised like the answer to my prayers. Then, a few days after we had agreed terms – there was a Solar Eclipse.

The eclipse was in my Third House, widely trine my Sun/Neptune conjunction, with it’s square to Uranus affecting my Twelfth House. Now that’s not necessarily a good thing – if something’s coming at you that trine means it’ll be quick and there won’t be a damned thing you can do about it. So, I’ve been waiting (hoping to dodge a bullet) and watching over my shoulder…Clearly the wrong direction with Uranus about!

A few days later my partner became ill. A lingering infection resistant to all antibiotics became a major health issue and I rushed him to hospital where hopefully the medics could at last diagnose what was wrong with him. He spent the weekend there and came home again – still no firm diagnosis but with his health heading in the right direction.

I mulled it over – that episode definitely seemed to fit the Solar Eclipse’s symbolism – I had to take control when my partner could not. Maybe Mercury retrograde had something to do with family responsibilities – or then again maybe not. It was hard to tell.

However, today being the Full Moon – I received the bad news. My house sale fell through. I had so much pinned on this. Fresh start, bills paid and a new home. I had started clearing out years of accumulated junk, felt relieved that I would be able to pay off my mortgage and was looking forward to being able to finally relax after a horribly difficult year where I’ve had to deal with serious illness, bereavement and financial worries.

Genuinely, I feel floored. My immediate reaction was despair. What do I do now? I feel the universe has finally beaten me into the ground and I’m at a loss – yet, astrology tells us these are exactly the moments where our inner strength is forged. As a Scorpio I should instinctively know that. It is always darkest before dawn.

So, all I can do now is admit defeat. Let go and surrender to powers greater than mine. In a couple of weeks, on August 1st, Mercury retrograde will resume forward motion and by mid-August will have completed its second shadow phase. By then, life will be able to move forward I hope. Until then I’m going to have to focus only on the things I need to do – and decluttering is never a bad thing.

My future plans will have to be reconsidered. I currently have no idea what I’m going to do. I hope that the same universe will offer me some inspiration so the way forward becomes clear. Whatever the grand plan, however it comes into view – I have nothing left but faith. I hope it’s going to be strong enough.

If you have been affected by this particular Mercury retrograde and solar eclipse – do share. I would welcome hearing about your own experiences.

Update: As Mercury Moves Forward…

So, Mercury – still in shadow – moved into my Fourth House again – and guess what? Some people who viewed the house couple of months ago came back unexpectedly (thanks Uranus) and started making all the right noises. Then yesterday – 14th August – they disappeared, dashing my hopes once more.

So, today Mercury moved out of the shadow phase and I had a long chat with my estate agent to plan the way forward. In true ‘reflective after the Mercury Retrograde’ style maybe I need to accept the housing market is what it is and get real about it. What a Mercury Retrograde it’s been!


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©Sara Shipman 2019

Picture Credit: Image by Kevin McIver from Pixabay

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