Don’t Confuse Mercury Transit With Mercury Retrograde
While astrologers have been shaking in fear over Mercury retrograde, astronomers have been excited over the 2016 Transit of Mercury. Keep in mind that Mercury in transit and Mercury in retrograde are two separate concepts.
On Monday (May 9), Mercury passed in front of the sun. You can only view it if you have a powerful telescope, like the one that NASA uses. Astronomers have advised people to not look directly at the sun that morning when the transit in Mercury was taking place. We’re able to see Mercury crossing the sun only 13 times over the course of the century, which is why it was such a big deal yesterday.
Both astrologers and astrology fans are also excited about this day, but for a different reason. This is around the time that Mercury’s transit coincides with Mercury being in retrograde. When Mercury is in retrograde — or reverses its original orbital course — strange things take place on Earth, according to astrologers.
Mercury leaves the sun’s disk in half an hour! (2:39 pm EDT) Check it out on https://t.co/F2DCjn2jov pic.twitter.com/5H6m8frKKY
— NASASunEarth (@NASASunEarth) May 9, 2016
Latest views of today’s #MercuryTransit show the planet passing in front of the sun from @NASASunEarth:https://t.co/1yXs5ykQPh
— NASA (@NASA) May 9, 2016
Does that mean the transit in Mercury has anything to do with Mercury being in retrograde? Not so, says NASA representative Karen Fox. She said that “the retrograde illusion does not affect the view across the sun.” She explained further in a recent statement.
“The way Earth moves in relation to the sun and Mercury can change the way the transit path looks depending on where you’re viewing it from on the ground. In the fixed plane of the sun, however—as NASA viewed it through the Solar Dynamics Observatory— Mercury’s path is always straight.”
Have you experienced any problems with your electronic gadgets this month? Have you been feeling sluggish or weirder than usual? It may have to do with the fact that Mercury is in retrograde. In fact, there were five planets in retrograde up until yesterday, according to Complex.
Between April 28 and May 9, five planets were simultaneously in retrograde, causing hell on earth, in layman’s terms. This is the first time in 10 years that five planets have been in retrograde, according to astrologer and author Stefanie Wess. What it means when a planet is in retrograde is that it’s moving slower than usual. If you are lucky enough to observe one of the planets, it will look as it’s moving backwards.
Jupiter, Mars, Pluto, and Saturn have been making us feel funny for the past few weeks. Fortunately, Jupiter has finally ended its own retrograde as of Monday, May 9, which means only four planets now are in retrograde.
The most troubling one out of the bunch is Mercury, which has an effect on communication and technology. During Mercury retrograde, people are advised to hold off on starting anything new such a relationship or a work project, and to not buy anything new such as a new house or new electronics.
This is the time you should be reevaluating your life and your future, reuniting with people from your past, slowing down your thought process, and taking care of your health. Some recommended ways to “reset your buttons” involves meditating, journaling, working out, or making a doctor’s appointment.
Fortunately, Mercury won’t be in retrograde for too long. It will end on May 22, but astrologers still highly advise people to not start anything new until June. How are you surviving Mercury’s retrograde?
Now that you know that Mercury in transit and Mercury in retrograde are two separate concepts, check out the following videos about the 2016 transit of Mercury.
[Photo Courtesy of HelenField/Shutterstock]
