July begins with the planet Mercury retrograde. The speedy little messenger will turn direct on the 9th. These times are commonly thought of as periods to rethink, revise or refine matters pertaining to communication, ideas and planning (but there's more to it than that). Mercury's retrograde period is just over 3 weeks in duration. The typical calendar year usually features 3 Mercury retrograde periods. This month, we'll address the Mercury retrograde phenomenon for its evolutionary importance.

There is nothing inherently negative in astrology. A modern approach views all planets, signs, houses, aspects, etc. as having useful functions when ultilzed effectively and consciously -- and we can apply that here. However, Mercury retrograde has a bit of a public relations problem. It's one astrology term that has made strides in entering the popular lexicon -- so kudos to Mercury! However, it is often used in ways that cast the retrograde period as something to be feared, tolerated and endured -- thereby ignoring the real purpose for it.

Most of the time our communication funciton is on autopilot. We effortlessly speak our minds and take in enormous amounts of information and data like a magnificent processor. How often do we really stop to carefully edit and check our sources? How much do we question ourselves and others? Do you ever stop to consider that cognitive processing resembles a gerbil on a wheel? Mercury retrograde times are appropriate to slow the brain down and see how much we get caught up in logic in this mystical universe.

The common experience during Mercury retrograde is to notice appliances failing, mail not reaching a destination or a general inability to connect with others. "I thought you said 6pm for dinner, sorry I missed you!" Mercury retrograde watchers notice these uncanny occurrences, and observation does suggest a marked increase. BUT WHY?

I have increasingly come to the conclusion that left-brain reason and insistence on utility can be a trap -- especially for the Western mind in a fast-paced world. We become attached to our thoughts, our methods, our need to find order in things. The universe is going to teach us that we must relax this function to be able to connect with intuition, wonder and other non-linear functions. We can approach Mercury retrograde periods as times to cleanse the mind of its pollution. The gift or purpose is not to apply more logic to beat it, rather it's to learn how to complement the thinking function with greater insight, depth and perspective. These are fertile times of the imagination. Whatever appliance failures you may encounter are metaphors that the internal cognitive wheels are also fallible.