Mercury Retrograde 2023- the new retrograde paradigm
Mercury Retrograde has gained a reputation for being a time of chaos and confusion, where everything seems to go wrong. But what if we told you that Mercury Retrograde can actually be a time of growth and transformation?
In this guide, we'll explore a new paradigm of Mercury Retrograde and how it can be an opportunity to elevate your mindset, access your authentic voice, and take advantage of better travel and technological opportunities to support your highest good.
Mercury Retrograde 2023: Upleveling through the practical support of the Earth Signs
Mercury retrograde in 2023 begins with the April retrograde in Taurus. Retrograde periods typically occur about four times a year, and in 2023 they will all occur in the Earth signs of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. As you embrace the new paradigm of Mercury retrograde as a time for up-leveling your mindset and accessing more of your authentic voice, you will be tasked with making practical upgrades. This means changing tangible support structures in your life, setting boundaries with people, and physically doing things that may stretch you! You will be asked to get hands-on with your life so you can elevate it wherever each of these retrogrades is trying to take you.
Don’t worry, I have a free Daily Transit Calculator that shows you exactly how each Mercury Retrograde is working on your life individually!
My secret for LOVING Mercury Retrograde?
-- working with the shadow periods!
Usually Mercury transits are moving so fast that they are a missed oppertunity learn a deeper "lesson" of a transit. Although they may spark important conversations, news, or insights, their impact fades quickly.
However, when Mercury Retrograde moves over one of your natal planets and hits it three times within about two months, you get to go deeper into those energies in a way that a normal Mercury transit would not allow.
A lot of the chaos caused by Mercury Retrograde, which may seem like a hassle without meaning, is actually there to help you move into a new level of expression!
Mercury Retrograde 2023 Dates
-- with the shadow periods
Mercury Retrograde in Taurus:
Pre-Shadow Begins: April 7, 2023
Retrograde: April 21 - May 14, 2023
Post-Shadow Ends: June 1, 2023
Mercury Retrograde in Virgo:
Pre-Shadow Begins: August 4, 2023
Retrograde: August 23 - September 15, 2023
Post-Shadow Ends: September 30, 2023
Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn (with a dip into Sagittarius):
Pre-Shadow Begins: November 26, 2023
Retrograde: December 13, 2023 - January 1, 2024
Post-Shadow Ends: January 21, 2024
Why should you care about the shadow periods?
The period of up-leveling begins before a Mercury retrograde during its shadow period, which occurs before and after the retrograde. During this time, Mercury covers the same degrees of a sign that it will backtrack through during the retrograde.
This results in three direct hits of a Mercury transit to one or more of your natal planets. These transits enable up-leveling of your mindset, allowing deeper access to your voice and communication.
The transits you experience in the shadow periods before and after the actual retrograde are your wake up calls to what you need to work on, and your "test dates" to see if you've mastered the lesson & up-level available to you during the retrograde!
The Pre-Shadow Period
Mercury is beginning to move over the degrees that it will later retrograde through. This marks the first of three Mercury transits during the retrograde period that you'll experience.
During this pre-shadow or first transit, you receive a wake-up call. You get your first hint that a certain issue is ready for you to tackle, elevate and up-level. On the day of this transit, the conversations, issues, and insights that you have become incredibly important.
If you want to know where to look for these transits, I highly recommend tuning into the Free Daily Transit Tracker for the shadow and retrograde period.
The Retrograde Period:
This occurs when Mercury is retrograde and moves over one of your natal planets by transit. It will be the second time you've experienced this transit since Mercury entered the shadow period. This is typically the most intense moment where your issues are brought to the forefront, giving you valuable insights, ideas, and guidance on how to work towards a higher good.
Remember that retrograde means reworking, reorganizing, reestablishing, redoing, and restoring. This second event provides guidance on how to prepare for the final direct hit in the post-shadow period.
The Post-Shadow Period:
This is the moment when Mercury retrograde has ended, and most people are breathing a sigh of relief and thinking, "Oh, goodness, I survived again!" But this is what I like to call the "testing zone." In previous hits of the transits, you were alerted to the issue and given some ideas on how to correct any imbalances so that the energies could work in your favor.
In this final direct hit, which is strongest on the exact day of your mercury transit, you're given the up-level test. This means that if you master this lesson by following through on the insights you've been given in the previous transits, you've up-leveled, and you won't have to learn this cosmic lesson again! Whoo!
The lessons can come in many forms. It might involve having a conversation with less heated interactions, sharing your work or voice on a grander scale instead of trying to perfect it, or taking action on an insight that you had instead of waiting for the right moment.
To understand how a Mercury Retrograde is affecting you, use the Free Daily Transit Calculator to view your Mercury Transits during the dates listed above!
This tool shows you where and how Mercury is impacting you and highlights the specific days when it does so, aka the dates you want to mark down in your calendar and pay attention to! 😉
