From @kittykill on Lettuce Craft
It’s easy to panic in the face of Mercury retrograde. However, fear-mongering is not part of my astrology, especially when we’re talking about common planetary transits. Although this current retrograde won’t be as typical as others, it doesn’t mean that we should expect the worst. We can prepare and work with Mercury instead of against it. Think of retrogrades as a spring cleaning; they give us back the time that we spent neglecting ourselves, to review our circumstances and ensure they still remain in line with our values. With two planets and the North Node currently in Gemini, in addition to being in the midst of eclipse season, be prepared to let things end naturally. Don’t force control.
This time around, Mercury retrograde runs from May 29–June 22, with the post-shadow period lasting for about two weeks after. In retrograde, Mercury’s qualities are stunted and present challenges. Expect the usual annoyances like delays in transportation, jumbled communication, and misheard or misread sentences–especially since Mercury is currently in Gemini, the sign that it rules over. It’s best to avoid signing contracts or making permanent or serious decisions during this time due to the heightened potential for mishaps. But if it must be done, don’t be scared! Just review everything more carefully and take more time than you usually would to notice errors in order to ensure complete success. Mercury also rules over siblings, so patterns and thoughts about them, especially when reviewing your relationships from childhood, could be present at this time as well.
From Mystic Medusa
Social butterflies and natural communicators, Geminis know how to start the party and keep it going all at once. They often bear the weight of this high pressure status: how do I stay true to myself without upsetting others? How can I be the life of the party when I don’t always feel up to it? As an air sign, most of these concerns for Gemini stay cerebral and often contribute to negative mental clutter.
For those with personal placements (sun, moon, rising, venus, mercury, or mars) in Gemini, you may be experiencing such themes and thoughts regarding sociability now. Others most affected include remaining mutable signs: Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. The lesson to learn from these old traumas, people, or coping mechanisms popping up now is to recognize how you’ve grown out of them and why they no longer have a place in your life. It’s like renewing a contract with your brain, filtering out thoughts that don’t accurately reflect your reality. Things may feel off, wonky, a little chaotic, and rushed. The emphasis here is to take your time and go at your own pace. Choose your words carefully and try not to immediately react to whatever comes your way. Ignore external pressure from others and do what you need to do to feel more grounded and balanced during this time.
The Lovers card, which represents Gemini, is about duality and taking thoughtful time before making important decisions. From thetarotlady
On June 10, there will be a new moon solar eclipse in Gemini to add a little spice to an already potent planetary cocktail. Until then, continue to let go of things that kickstarted during the full moon lunar eclipse on May 26. Eclipses bring a rush of change along with them, inviting us to take new paths we didn’t previously have the clarity to see. However, remember that this is a good time to review and consider these new paths, but not to quite act on them yet. Once Mercury is direct, or no longer appearing to be moving backwards, it’s a good time to see if your ideas still make sense in reality.
Every transit affects everyone in some way! We all have every sign and planet present in our charts, just placed together in different ways. So next time there’s an urge to slander a particular sign, know that that energy is present in you too! For further insight on how this retrograde will personally affect you, see what planets you may have in Gemini and what house it rules in your chart (the circular ones, please!). My favorite free resource for charts is astro.com, where you can also make a profile and keep your charts saved to review at any time.
From astro.com
Using my chart as an example, I’ve circled the Gemini symbol in red. Gemini rules over my 8th house, one traditionally ruled by Scorpio with themes of sex, death, rebirth, the subconscious, and shared resources. This indicates some sort of strong transformation and reinventing of myself over this retrograde, as well as hidden things in my subconscious coming to light in order to be eliminated. I’m pretty excited about this because it’s only bringing me closer to who I’m meant to be in this life. The more I can let go of, the better.
I used to read about transits and feel my heart drop when I read what others’ interpretations had in store for my sign. But when we can take back the agency over how we read ourselves and the planets, knowing their meanings are not inherently “good” or “bad” but rather here to work with us as ethereal bodies informing our earthly ones, the panic subsides. At the end of the day, you know yourself better than anyone who reads your chart. Your chart does not determine immediate doom in your life. It’s still your life and your choices. But when things feel off and you can pinpoint why and how to help yourself, why not use astrology as a tool?