2022’s first Mercury Retrograde begins at 10 degrees of Aquarius on January 14th through February 3rd, 2022. As Mercury begins his backward (not literally, but illusionary) journey, he will be conjunct Saturn and squaring Uranus in Taurus. This challenging aspect forces change often due to events outside our control. The square brings the potential for power outages, Internet disruptions, icy conditions, heavy winds, and unexpected occurrences, especially when Uranus stations direct on January 18th.
Saturn involved brings restriction and limitation as he battles the rebellious Uranus, who seeks freedom and higher consciousness. With Mercury retrograde and Saturn in Aquarius, there are themes of friendships, groups, hopes and wishes, technology, the future, acquaintances, networking, experimentation, online exchanges, and professional communications. With Uranus in Taurus, this brings lots of change around our money, values, resources, and feelings of safety and stability.
On January 25th, Mercury will join the stellium in Capricorn with Venus Retrograde, Mars, and Pluto. The communications become less abrupt and more professional, thorough, and according to the rules. Be sure to have your ducks in a row by this time in your work and business, as the retrograde will shift the focus back to authorities, your reputation, work performance, business, vocation, and building a legacy.
During the retrograde, it would be good to ask yourself these questions: Are you in the right network? Do you have the right connections to expand your business or to find a new income stream? Are you in the right work environment (that you could change when Mercury’s post-shadow phase ends on February 24th)? One that values your efforts and shares your mission? One that feels rewarding more than draining? Do your friends support your ambition or efforts to change? Or do you need to put yourself out there and find new people?
Other Considerations
Because this retrograde involves themes of finance and electricity, it may be good to have some cash on hand or some food and supplies stocked just in case. It would be wise to start getting serious and disciplined (Saturn) about learning (Mercury) and using your connections (Aquarius) to find new ways of making money or obtaining resources (Uranus in Taurus). We also have the North Node in Taurus, so the weight is heavier in favor of stabilizing our income for the next 18 months in general. Consider taking a course in alternative finance or entrepreneurship.
As Mercury is the ruler of speech and communication, his square to Uranus may also bring the sudden urge to give someone the cold, hard, Saturnian truth. This is where we put our foot down about our boundaries within business and friend groups. On the other end, we may feel restricted with what we need to say and frustrated that it isn’t coming out. But this is more likely the case if we fear what the repercussions there may be from speaking this needed truth. It may be better to do in person or over the phone, though, as written communication is so often misinterpreted. Also sleep on it and make sure to ride out an emotional wave if needed.
On the grander scale, this square could also come in the form of something that is out of our control, such as more attempts at censorship. Using alternative uncensored social media platforms and browsers like Brave or Duck Duck Go if you don’t already is advised. Also consider that Jupiter and Neptune both in Pisces right now, which can bring higher rates of deception, fraud, and shady activity. So it may not be a bad time to update passwords and make sure you are secure in terms of your private data using a service such as LastPass to create strong passwords.
Overall, there are lots of themes in this retrograde around revamping our careers, finances, and groups we exchange ideas, goods, and services with. Find your people who share your values, future hopes, and wishes, ambitions, and band together with them—even if online for now—so you have support on your quest to a better living despite what the control system has in play for us. To live as if you have already won is to render the enemy powerless.