posted November 21, 2008 12:07 AM              

I've heard the best way to learn is to use someone else's chart besides our own, because we are too close to our own to be objective. So I am working on my on again-off again boyfriend's chart, who is a Virgo Sun/Gemini Moon and Asc.

I progressed his chart to exactly 40 years, his age today, and saw that he has Mercury in Retrograde conjunct natal Venus in his 5th. The progressed rx ends January 2009. I looked up how long Mercury was in retrogade for his progressed birth time, and after doing the calculations, I figured that this retrograde lasted "21 years" in the day to a year method. So it started when he was 19 and will end this January.

What happened to him 21 years ago? He was entering his first marriage, to a woman that would later cheat on him with several of their friends behind his back! He was devestated. The marriage ended as soon as he found out about it, but he has not been happy or content in the home and romance arena since. He went on to marry again, too quickly (as Virgos are said to do) and that was an unhappy marriage that recently ended after a year of seperation.

So now that his progressed Mercury has retrograded all the way back to his Venus in the 5th, and will go direct in his prog chart on January 26 2009(directly over his Venus), I am hoping that this will mean he will finally get some closure on the romantic issues he has experienced. Mercury conj Venus in your progressed chart is supposed to mean that you finally figure out what you want and need in a lover (or so I've read). So maybe that will bring a culmination to the darkness and confusion he has experienced in relationships, and be a new beginning of sorts for him.

Am I interpreting this correctly? I am just going on the assumption that retrogrades in the progressed chart operate the same as a regular chart, but just take a little longer.

posted November 22, 2008 01:28 AM            

Secondary retrograde planets affect the person through actual, concrete life changes found in the house ruler ships and the physical health.

When a planet goes retrograde by progression, the apparent orbital movement of the planet has reversed, and the planet now retreats back to the same degrees of the zodiac that it has already traversed. This creates two effects:

1.) The area of consciousness represented by the planet has undergone a transition from "outer-referencing" to "self-referencing."

2.)Earlier experiences in life that occurred while the progressing planet was in direct motion will now be revisited for the sake of review and understanding while the progressing planet moves through those same degrees again.

When natal planets change orbital direction by progression, either from direct to retrograde, or from retrograde to direct, people experience a subtle yet profound shift in their interior selves. Shortly after the progressed station as the planet begins zodiacal movement, their lives begin to change outwardly, probably because of the synchronistic relationship between the condition of the inner self and its relation to the world.

posted November 14, 2023 03:32 PM            

My Merc turn RX when I was 28. I was about to have my Saturn return. Initially there was an overwhelming desire to make sense of the past. Merc rules my 8th and 11th, because it is in a stellium and the next planet conjunct it is Moon, the focus of my revision was family, specifically my roots.

Lifelong I had been questioned by other East Asians as to my parentage. When I was young, this would happen at least once a week. I grew up “defending” what I could not explain. Someone I was close to notes that I had a Caucasiod skull where the shape is narrow and the nose bone and brow ridges are prominent.

This period saw me look into family history and do all sorts of calculations of genetic contributions. I went from only knowing and identifying as one race to identifying as something else as well, in the process upsetting closeted bigots who were close to me. It was an alienating time but I’m glad I found out who genuinely liked me.

I did two DNA tests but it brought me no closer to the WHY.

My Merc goes into second station when I turn 49. It will go direct when I turn 52. This and from the age of 47, Merc will be in the 1 degree. It will be in the same degree for a total of 6 years!!!