Retrograde Planets

Most of us have heard of the term “Mercury Retrograde” by now. When a planet is referred to as being retrograde it simply means that when viewed from Earth the planet appears to be going backwards in part of its orbit around the Sun. The following site has a lovely explanation of why another planet would appear to be going backwards when Science teaches us that this is physically impossible. http://www.scienceu.com/observatory/articles/retro/retro.html




On December 20, 2009, Mars went retrograde and will be in that phase of its orbit until March 10, 2010. This only happens for Mars about every two years. The following site has a wonderful description of how this planetary movement affects us. http://www.cafeastrology.com/marsretrograde.html. I’m referring you to these two websites because I’m not an astrologer and so that’s not my focus however the information from these sites is related to what I’m about to share with you.



I only became aware of this information on Mars Retrograde last week. In a conversation with my spiritual advisor, he brought it up as a way to help explain the advice he was giving me. When I investigated it more and read the information on the website in the second paragraph above, it felt like some puzzle pieces were falling into place for me.



Since late December, I’ve really been struggling with creating these blog entries, a slow-down in my business, disturbances of my sleep, a sense of frustration and a general feeling of angst. I really had no explanation for why I was feeling like I was but I could not deny the feelings…nor could I resolve them. I’ve never been one to blame my mood on the movement of planets but to have someone so accurately describe what has been going on for me based upon that movement has really shaken me a bit.



At some level, I’m writing this as a way to help me get what is going on inside written down so that I can process it. On another level I’m writing it because I believe that if this is happening for me, it’s probably happening for others as well. As a Gemini with Leo rising and a Scorpio moon, it would seem that I’m getting the full whammie from this celestial occurrence. Mars rules the sign of Scorpio and the retrograde is happening in Leo. If you read the paragraph for Gemini (again on the second website above) you’ll have a good idea for what is going on for me.



I can’t even tell you how many times in the last month I’ve said to myself “Why bother with this blogging? My life would be easier without doing it and no one would even miss it.” Yet, every time I feel that way I am gently reminded by the Universe that I would be denying my spiritual path if I stopped writing…and so the angst cycle continues. In looking back in my blog at the late December and mid-January posts, I can see where I was struggling then even before I knew about this retrograde event. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve stopped even writing this entry…yet here it is.



If you too are struggling with internal conflicts, I hope this information is helpful to you. I’m sure I’ll get myself sorted out soon and will be back on course so please bear with me during this emotionally challenging time. My heart and Spirit are still engaged with this information sharing but as strange as it sounds to me to say it “the planets aren’t aligned for me at the moment”.



May all your challenges be short lived but may they also take you into a place of introspective healing. That which does not kill us makes us stronger and this retrograde period is no exception.