Run for cover! (Really, just kidding.) Mercury will turn retrograde tomorrow, February 23 in Pisces; it will station direct on March 17. Since Mercury is so slow-moving, the effects of this retrograde period could potentially be felt for a few weeks afterward (until the end of March). I’ve stated many times before that Mercury retrograde is truly not to be feared. While periods of Mercury retrograde are not ideal times to begin new ventures (and you should be extra careful with details of communication, travel, and finances), they are still powerful times of “re:” renewal, reflection, re-doing, recovery, etc. This is a time to use the powerful planetary energy to the fullest.

While watching HGTV with my husband last night, there was a show featuring a young couple trying to purchase their first home. The home they picked out had a price tag of $259,000; they offered about $240,000 and asked for closing costs. The seller's counter offer was a staggering $258,000 and no closing costs. She'd only budged a mere $1,000 on her asking price. The buyers countered at $245,000 plus closing costs, and again the seller came back with $258,000. She hadn't moved an inch. When the couple then offered $249,000, the seller asked for some time to think about the offer. A few weeks later, the offer was accepted. When the purchasers asked why it had taken so long for the seller to

That crafty trickster Mercury has again gone retrograde, this period (entirely in Capricorn) lasting from December 26, 2009 through January 15, 2010. Perhaps it is because the new year is just days away that this particular retrograde period I'm focusing on rebirth and renewal. Mercury retrograde is synonymous in popular culture with a time of messy communications, lost items, frazzled travelers, and altogether, frustration. But while Mercury retrograde may provide us with an inconvenience or two, it also gives us a time to step back and re-evaluate our lives. That's right. However harried Mercury retrograde has the potential to make us, it provides us with a valuable time of "re."

Please welcome guest blogger Sharon Leah to Guided by the Stars! Sharon works with Llewellyn's Calendars and Almanacs in our Production department. Mercury is in apparent direct motion again after being retrograde nearly all of September. Did anyone breeze through this retrograde period unscathed? The winged trickster tagged me. I purchased a new domain name for a Website on September 28 (one of the worst days to conduct business, because Mercury was almost stationary). The domain remained in limbo for several days before it became active on October 2. While Mercury was retrograde, it slid back into Virgo, where it drew attention to the details of life, and we spent three weeks