Mercury Direct in Scorpio: Dive Deep

“People living deeply have no fear of death.”

-- Anais Nin

Interestingly enough, Mercury started out this particular retrograde phase in truth-seeking and philosophical Sagittarius, and is winding down in secretive Scorpio on November 26. There has definitely been a strong push to search for our truth by digging deep and not accepting “easy breezy” pat guidance or wisdom.

Retrograde periods always ask us to pause and internalize the deeper teachings of the planet that has gone out-of-phase. Mercury-in-Scorpio retrograde had asked us to mine some of the darker depths of our psyche to uncover some long-buried tragedies, treasures and other archaic emotional knots in need of a Scorpio-worthy rebirth.

We’ve been urged to become our own psychologists, detectives and oracles over the past few weeks. We learned that if we cling to the shallow end, we suffer. But if we go beyond the reactive and emotionally ruled responses of the ego and hold still long enough to deepen our understanding, we grow and transform. This is easier said than done, as Scorpio is one of the most stubborn and sensitive signs -- fixed Water --  with the instinct to protect against outside predators and cling to known emotional patterns and responses. There is a great vulnerability in the sign of Scorpio that we desperately desire … and desperately dread.

Finding the strength and steadiness of an embodied vulnerability (by integrating the opposite sign of grounded and peaceful Taurus) is the key to Scorpio’s highest transformation. We have been learning these deep lessons as applied to our thought, speech and communication patterns while Mercury has been retrograding in Scorpio. Do we allow our minds to spiral into negativity, fear and self-doubt? Or do we rise up from the ashes of the destructive chasms of the mind in order to soar in truth and emotional authenticity?

Once rooted in the depths of Scorpio’s penetrating wisdom to go into areas of the mind where angels might fear to tread, we can safely graduate to Sagittarius. This way our high-minded philosophy and truth seeking is steeped in the depths and vulnerability of Scorpio. Otherwise, we end up with dogma, preachiness or bluntness to overcompensate for the repression of the shadowy corners of our beliefs.

We can only be honest with others once we’ve become honest with ourselves, and this takes a commitment to delving into the core of our own psychology and motivation. Mercury in Scorpio can certainly makes things overly complex and convoluted at times, especially while in retrograde. It’s time to get to the truth and lay down our mental defenses. Mercury direct in Scorpio is the perfect opportunity to fearlessly express our deepest emotional vulnerability.