Well I may as well tell you now, I’m into Astrology. And by “into Astrology” I mean it’s a hobby, and by “hobby” I mean obsession. I know just enough about it to be dangerous, and I would love to learn more. I follow the daily/weekly/monthly transits pretty closely and love seeing how they play out in everyday life. One of the big transits you often hear about is a “Retrograde”, especially Mercury. A planet is said to be “Retrograde” when it appears to be stopped (stationed) then moves backwards. Each retrograde is surrounded by a shadow period. A time right before and after the retrograde where it’s speed is significantly slower than normal. But planets don’t actually move backwards, it’s an optical illusion. All of the planets orbit at different rates, when they pass each other, it looks as though the planet is moving backwards across the sky. It is like riding a train and when a faster train passes you going in the same direction, you briefly feel like you are moving backwards. Mercury is the most well known retrograde, and is infamous for causing mishaps of all kinds, particularly with electronics and communications. The retrograde of any planet will have a particular effect on the prevailing energy, and more specific individual impact depending on placement in a person’s birth chart. Retrogrades can cause some chaos. But they can also bring clarity, as they are a time for “RE”. Re-thinking, Re-visiting, Re-doing, Re-evaluating, Re-flecting, etc.
I may as well also tell you now, like any respectable Princess, I have a Prince Charming, aka PC. What we have is pretty unique and awesome. I can’t think of a word that truly captures the connection we have. I am grateful every day that he is in my life even though our relationship is a roller coaster. A giant, scary, loop de loop roller coaster that is at times thrilling and exhilarating, and at other times terrifying and makes me motion sick. 
We both have fairly complicated divorce situations that are not resolved and we both have emotional and psychological wounds that haven’t healed. PC is the most emotionally intelligent guy I have ever known, he is super sensitive, caring, intuitive and fairly emotional. But despite all of this, at the end of the day PC is all GUY. Most of our ups and downs, or “drops” on the roller coaster, have been a result of his intrinsic “guy-ness”. The past year has been amazing. I wouldn’t trade a second of it, even though it wasn’t always easy. Despite his “guy-ness” I believe in the connection. And I can stand by this belief because I have amazing friends, a well stocked liquor cabinet and good prescriptions!
As I was buckling in for another “drop” on the roller coaster over the weekend, it occurred to me that Mercury had just gone retrograde. It got me thinking about some of the bigger “drops” we have had over the past year, and I realized most happened during a retrograde.
These “drops” typically occur when things get a little too much for one of us. Usually him (due to the “guy-ness”). Some of the “drops” have coincided with other major astrological events, the Cardinal Cross was not good to us, but the overriding theme is the Retrograde….
- Mercury (planet of communication) went retrograde Friday, and down we went.
- Mars (planet of war, action and masculine energy) was retrograde March through most of May. We were in a long drop for much of that time.
- Venus (planet of love and relationships) was retrograde through January and February and Mercury was Retrograde for 3 weeks in the middle of that. Complete malfunction of the roller coaster.
- Mercury was retrograde in October/November of 2013, that was one of the first drops.
You may think Astrology is all hocus pocus. Maybe so. But I see it as a valuable way to prepare for the prevailing energy. And in this case, it helps me to plan accordingly for retrogrades. Because I have determined that PC goes retrograde along with the planets. He stations and slows down and things get off kilter. We have time to RE-flect and RE-adjust. Then things spin in harmony once again.
The Universe According to Snow White 