It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar
and seemingly secure ~ to embrace the new.
But there is no REAL security in what is no longer meaningful.
There is more security in the adventurous and exciting,
for in movement there is life,
and in change there is power.

Uranus Retrograde

     Uranus is usually the planet of sudden and unexpected events. This is consistent in all aspects of life, nothing is excluded from possibly being affected. When it goes Retrograde, it usually means that those sudden, unexpected events are more internal than external. Sudden insights, unexpected emotions, major shift in consciousness. These can have a positive or negative effect. The goal of such disruption is to separate us from our routine or normal way of discerning what's useful and relevant and what no longer is. It helps us to see things in a "new" light and hopefully, enables us to take a new direction. Again this is inner-directed. So it would be a new way of expressing our sudden emotions; or a new way of reacting to our sudden insights about ourselves and our world - take action rather than just acknowledge the insight. You can suddenly make connections where you couldn't before. This is all for your Highest good. The Universe is trying to redirect you. There is a sudden turn on the Path you've been on for some time now.

     That can be unsettling for some and exhilarating for others. It can make you feel alienated from all that you have known to be true thus far, what has now become ineffective at making you feel safe and secure. Some people react awfully to change, but change occurs nonetheless. So you might as well relax and see where you're led. This is the current energy surrounding all of us on a global scale. We are being forced to find new ways of connecting to ourselves and eachother; new ways of doing things we used to do manually that took very long times to produce, now use technology (ruled by Uranus) to produce the same thing with lightning speed. Quality versus quanitity - how are you living? As dual beings, I think we must find a way to do both. Know the difference between what aspects of life require more time and care to produce and using technology in a way that serves us for the purposes it is most useful. There are some things a computer was never meant to do and it has become a toxic mimic of many things. It's all part of the grand scheme of things. Get used to it and adjust accordingly ... and get excited about it. This doesn't have to hurt.
      This is a deeper expression of what I've been saying for years now, you have to find a new way to do the same old mundane things. There is no more time for deciding what's what or how to do that - NOW you have recently been thrust into a "do or die" level of pressure to produce results. (And likely, the most pressure is coming from within.) Or a sudden, drastic shift of some kind takes your life (and mind and heart) in a completely new direction. You had the last few years to experiment and try things and see what worked, now it's time to test what you've learned which may mean taking more of a risk than you may be comfortable with and this energy triggers that feeling.
      It's time to put your systems to the test - are they serving you, your current goals and your Highest good? You are being stripped of all old habits and ways that you tend to fall back on like a crutch during challenging times. Uranus will kick that crutch out from under you and break it in half. All to teach you that you have to find a NEW WAY to walk and get around in life and deal with challenges a whole new way. The old defense mechanisms will fail you at this time in order to force you to come up with new ways of coping with the shifts in your world. This is our "learn to like change" exercise. If you do not learn to embrace change with enthusiasm and faith then change will just drag you along anyway which is a much longer, harder road to travel.
      It's time to create a new system - a new system that accommodates who you are TODAY - not who you were when you first created it. Are there any systems for your every day life that could be improved upon? and made more effective for who you are and what you're trying to accomplish today? Consider your Self as your dream car - and it's time to upgrade to the new model ... it has all the reliable, useful and relevant parts of the old model (you) firmly rooted ... along with the newly added improvements that make a more effective entity. You have already started the new system, whether you're conscious of it or not. During this Retrograde period, go deep within and check your "systems" - physically and metaphysically. This is a great time to connect with your own potential - who are you TODAY? who do you want to be? Start BEING THAT!! Whatever it is you visualize for your Self, find a way to practice it on some level so that it becomes "real" to you. (As you grow in consciousness your definitions of "real" will change accordingly.) It's a great time to design your new life and then work on the steps to manifest it physically. Do you have a blueprint in mind? Start drawing it out - don't try to shape it right away. During the Retrograde, you just want to facilitate the flow. Get ALL your ideas out and on paper/computer/canvas/whatever your medium, allow the flow like an old faucet turned on, the rust comes out first. Later, good, clean, clear creations will come out of you and then you can start thinking about what to do with what you have (and who you are).

Mercury Retrograde

     The planet Mercury is mostly associated with all forms of communication and information transmission. When it appears to be going Direct, communications go as well as can be expected from the considered source. When it is Retrograde, there are some things that should be avoided if at all possible. Signing contracts, one or both parties may change their minds, some small, but pertinent, detail may be overlooked, there could be deceitfulness from one of the parties involved. Starting projects that rely on mechanical devices or communications. They tend to break down or not perform up to par during these periods. Communications and all things mechanical can go haywire.

      The positive side of a Mercury Retrograde, is it gives you a chance - well forces you to really - go within and re-examine various aspects of your life. This is a good time for almost anything beginning with "re" - re-evaluating, re-doing, re-arranging, re-building, re-covering, re-discovering, re-viewing, re-peating, re-newing, re-storing, re-pairing. It appears I could go on here, but you get the gist. Basically, it means two things: (1) you must communicate more internally, with the Self and (2) you must go over things with a fine-tooth comb, looking for anything you may have overlooked to begin with. That's the opportunity of Mercury Retrograde, you get re-check the details and correct things before they're too big to fix, hopefully.
      You get a chance a few times a year to check in with Mercury and see if YOUR systems are all communicating properly. This should be welcomed not resisted. This is a good time to review and revise your goals, go back over all that you've attempted and see if there is anything you missed initially. This is a good time to reflect on how you would LIKE to express your Highest Self; how you communicate with your Self and others; what you are a "voice" for. It is good to back up all computers and do regular maintenance on your car for good measure and consider the down-time, a "back up" of your internal computer.