What Mercury Retrograde Means (for You) with Fi Russell

It’s that time again – Mercury is going retrograde and things are going to get wacky. But if you want to have a better sense of what that actually means and how it might impact your life in particular, we are here for you!

In this conversation with astrologer and energy worker Fi Russell, they walk me through what the heck Mercury retrograde means, why the sign it’s going retrograde through matters, and how to look at the implications of each retrograde in our personal charts.

I left feeling a lot clearer on at least one big component of astrology, and I hope you do, too! This shit is way too complicated to take on more than one bit at a time.

Also! I’ll be taking a season break over the coming Mercury Rx. So, I’ll see you back in April for more adventures in claiming your joy.

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Listen wherever you listen to podcasts!

Connect with Fi

Follow them on Instagram @Venus.aura

And check out @PsychicSister where you can book in-person readings with them here in Portland

Resources, References, and Links

Check your chart! I like the Chani Nicholas app/website for ease of access/explanation.

Retrograde: the period of time when a planet appears to be moving backward in the sky. It impacts the areas of life which that planet rules.

Shadow phase: period of time before planets enter actual retrograde. Things can start going wonky (or still be wonky) during this period, though it won’t be as acute.

Astrological houses: the twelve areas of life that are impacted by the signs and planets in your chart. The placement is determined by your rising sign, which is always in your 1st house of self-identity and is the sign that was on the horizon at the moment of your birth.

E.g. Because my rising sign is Aquarius (1st house), Aries rules my 3rd house (of communication, daily rituals, siblings, and extended family). 

Here’s a link to the full breakdown of the different houses on the Chani Nicholas website.

So, for the upcoming retrogrades, check which houses these signs govern in your personal chart to learn what areas of your life will be especially impacted.

Mercury Retrogrades of 2025:

• March 14 – April 7 – in Aries/Pisces
• July 17 – August 11 – in Leo
• November 9-29 – in Sagittarius/Scorpio

Transcript

Note: this transcript was generated by AI. Please forgive any malapropisms and misspellings. It’s the robot’s fault!

[01:24] Hello, my dear. It is March of 2025, and Mercury is about to go retrograde.

[01:43] And if you’re listening to this episode, you at least have some curiosity about what the hell that means and what it might mean for you specifically.

[01:52] I have been fucking around with astrology for a few years now and realized that although I do sort of have some sense of what it means, I wanted to actually understand what the hell it means when Mercury goes retrograde.

[02:05] And so I invited Fi, Russell, they them pronouns,

[02:11] and all around wonderful. Woo, woo, human,

[02:15] Fi does tarot, they read your aura, they do energy healing,

[02:22] and they also fuck around with astrology. So we got together and sat down and had a conversation about like, what is a Mercury retrograde? And how can we understand how it applies to each of us individually?

[02:35] Because while any given Mercury retrograde is gonna fuck with technology and communication, broadly speaking,

[02:43] it’s going to impact each of us differently depending on where the sign that it is going retrograde through lands on our specific chart.

[02:56] You’re going to hear Fi and I talk about that a whole bunch in a minute,

[03:00] but that’s the gist that we’re dealing with.

[03:04] And I feel a lot more empowered after having had this conversation to prep for each Mercury retrograde. It tends to go retrograde three times, sometimes four times a year. And for this one specifically, I am going to take a season break.

[03:21] I have been going strong since September. This is official episode number 36, but I wasn’t using numbers for some of the episodes, so we’re probably at closer to 40. And it’s time for me to take a break because breaks are how we restore and revive and sustain our energy for the long haul.

[03:42] So I am going to be taking the next month or so off after this episode and then I will be coming back to you sometime in April surprise with really juicy content for season three and to celebrate a full fucking year of this podcast, which is so awesome.

[04:02] So buckle up, take good care of yourself for this Mercury Retrograde as always and forever.

[04:12] Pause when agitated. Practice restraint of pen and tongue.

[04:17] Sleep on the email or the text message or the whatever before sending it and we’ll all get through this older and wiser.

[04:34] You’re just, you’re like an all purpose.

[04:37] Fi Russell: I am Woo.

[04:38] Cate Blouke: Yeah, Human. That’s what I try to be.

[04:42] Fi Russell: I do the woo woo.

[04:47] Cate Blouke: Okay, so Fi, I have called you here today because Mercury’s about to go retrograde.

[04:57] Fi Russell: Yes.

[04:57] Cate Blouke: And what I know about that is that it fucks with technology and communication. And so I’m going to take a season break on the podcast during Mercury Retrograde, which seemed appropriate.

[05:09] Yeah, yeah. But we’ve been wanting to get together for a while and I was like, oh, let’s talk about that. Because you know about astrology, among many other wonderful woo woo things, which makes me deeply happy.

[05:25] So I don’t understand or super care about the science of how planets work and why it appears to be going backward.

[05:35] Like that’s what all these Mercury retrograde. Here’s the explanation. Like the important thing is that it appears to be going backward.

[05:41] Fi Russell: It does. And it’s in its shadow phase.

[05:43] Cate Blouke: Okay, so what does it mean for it to be in its shadow phase?

[05:50] Fi Russell: We can kind of think of the planets going in their shadow phase as like their little visitation to the underworld. And they’re just like taking a little break and hanging out with everything that is in the subconscious.

[06:03] Cate Blouke: Okay. So that, yeah, they’re taking a mental health break.

[06:06] Fi Russell: They are. They need to be in a shadow. It’s like it’s the rest period for them. And that’s why like the mother and the father, the sun and the moon, they don’t go into retrograde ever, but all of the other planets do.

[06:19] And it’s kind of a call to slow down because the Planets themselves are slowing down. So in those areas we need to also kind of align ourselves and chill out.

[06:30] Cause they’re taking a break, so we should take a break.

[06:33] Cate Blouke: So when planets go retrograde and they all do it, they all do.

[06:37] Fi Russell: Outer planets go into retrograde more frequently and they all do it at different times. Mars, it goes into retrograde every two years. Venus kind of does the same. Mercury, we see it happen like every three to four months.

[06:51] So it’s like almost every quarter, but it’s every third. So they all go in and out of flux of taking a little break.

[06:57] Cate Blouke: Yeah. Oh my God, everybody needs a break. Even planets,

[07:02] Even the planets nap. Oh my God, this is great. Rest has been a topic for me of late, as I think has been met with many of us because fucking.

[07:12] So a bunch of planets were retrograde at the start of 2025.

[07:16] Fi Russell: Yeah, yeah, it was, it was. Mars retrograde was the big heavy hitter. And then we also were dealing with Jupiter in retrograde. And then all the planets are direct for like a couple of days now.

[07:29] Like we have a little break.

[07:30] Cate Blouke: We found the window right before it is right here, right here, right now at the very end of February before you lovely humans are gonna get to listen to this. But maybe like think back like a week ago you were having a good time.

[07:41] Fi Russell: Yeah, you were having a great time. This week the sun is shining, we’re all good.

[07:47] Cate Blouke: But Mercury is gonna go retrograde on March.

[07:51] Fi Russell: So it stations retrograde on March 14th.

[07:54] The pre retrograde shadow starts on February 28th.

[07:58] That’s it sort of disseminating into the underworld is what you refer to as the shadow period.

[08:04] Cate Blouke: Is that its backpack?

[08:05] Fi Russell: It’s like packing its bags to go to the underworld.

[08:08] Cate Blouke: Yeah, it’s like heading down in that direction.

[08:11] Fi Russell: And then the end retrograde shadow is its journey back.

[08:14] Cate Blouke: Yay. Yay.

[08:14] Fi Russell: Okay, so yeah, it stations retrograde on March 14, which will last until it stations direct on April 7.

[08:23] Cate Blouke: Okay, so like end of March, beginning of April, Mercury’s full on retrograde.

[08:30] Fi Russell: Mercury’s in the microwave again. So communication is going to be really fun, funky for that period.

[08:37] Cate Blouke: And that’s because Mercury rules communication.

[08:40] Fi Russell: Mercury rules communication, intellect, technology.

[08:45] It’s a lot about how we intake things. So it does really hit those auditory receptors with the communication and then also what we intake and read informatively.

[08:56] Cate Blouke: Okay, so is it more about our internal experience of communication is what’s getting scrambled?

[09:02] Fi Russell: Basically?

[09:03] Cate Blouke: It’s not so much like that. What I am saying is the issue. It’s that what I’M hearing how you process it, how other people are potentially hearing.

[09:10] Fi Russell: So it’s kind of like Mercury retrograde is a really good idea to think of like a processing delay, like where it’s not super good to take anybody super seriously because they’re also kind of processing and filtering out their feelings.

[09:25] So it is a good time to like kind of clarify what you’re feeling because everything is just slowed. But it also, if it’s chaotic, it’s probably a lot of conversations that have been needing to happen for a really long time.

[09:38] And Mercury going to the underworld is the time for them to come out.

[09:43] Cate Blouke: Oh, okay. So it’s like stuff that’s been on the back burner. Even if this isn’t like the ideal time for it to come out your mouth, it’s probably going to come out your mouth because you don’t have the best filtering.

[09:55] Fi Russell: Exactly. And that’s kind of the point of retrogrades is like, well, if it’s been on the back burner in this department, it’s going to like come to the surface and you’re going to.

[10:04] It’s a processing period and figuring out what you actually want and what aligns with your being technology gets really screwy.

[10:14] Cate Blouke: Yeah, it does. Like my computer always, always like there’s just wonky shit that happens.

[10:23] Fi Russell: It gets really upsetting. I don’t really know how to explain that one, but I just know like if it’s a.

[10:29] If the Mercury’s in the retrograde, everything’s going to be a lot slower.

[10:32] Cate Blouke: Yeah, yeah. Okay. So Mercury rules, communication. We’re just coming out of a Mars retrograde and Mars is all about action.

[10:43] Fi Russell: It’s authority, action and like directly what we’re passionate about.

[10:48] Cate Blouke: Right. So if any of you. I had. I was in a big depression pit in January.

[10:54] I don’t think I was the only one. There’s a lot of global shit going on. But that was a contributing factor, I.

[11:01] Fi Russell: Think, was that also that grotesque rise of authority that we saw. And the masculine demeanor, honestly was a really good showing period of what Mars retrograde can really do. It’s just like authority to overextend itself and take over is a really common thing to see during those periods.

[11:21] Cate Blouke: So now that we’re out of Mars retrograde and Mars is direct again, what does that mean?

[11:29] Fi Russell: It is time for us to take action. Like in those periods it wasn’t super great to make big life decisions like buying cars or houses and all of those things. Like no big purchases, no committing to super big life changing Things and like now it’s kind of time to accept those back into our lives and reintegrate it.

[11:49] So things are a little less aggressive on, on like the outside level, but they honestly, they should have just kind of like reignited on the inside level. And like our passions, it’s like fully the time to reimmerse in them and to start taking action and doing the things now.

[12:05] Cate Blouke: Yeah, so that’s the good news is that Mars is now correct. So now it’s like, let’s take some action everybody. We had to go be in our stagnant stasis holes. Yeah, whatever that looked like.

[12:17] And now. And now we may be feeling a bit more wind on our sails. Just in time for Mercury to go retrograde.

[12:23] Fi Russell: And let’s not also forget Venus is going retrograde on March 1st.

[12:28] Cate Blouke: So what does that mean for us?

[12:30] Fi Russell: Venus retrograde is a time for us to evaluate our interpersonal relationships. And that label doesn’t just go to romantic. That is our friendships and anybody that we really do pour love into, it’s time to evaluate those and how they serve us and where they feed us.

[12:46] It’s also where glitches in those areas can come up. And also with Mercury retrograde,

[12:51] you could expect to get in some fights with your lover.

[12:54] Cate Blouke: Yeah,

[12:55] there could be some communications challenges. But what I heard at the top of this conversation is just that like it’s going to be the stuff that’s been below the surface.

[13:05] Fi Russell: It’s the things that have been on the back burner. It is the below the surface, it is the conversations that have been needing to be had and they will just like they’re kind of going to all erupt and it might feel chaotic, but honestly, if you’re able to just hone in and realize that this is just everything coming at once,

[13:22] you can just slow down and pick out what you need to address and then go on that journey of figuring it out. Because also again, these retrogrades are our reflection period and our processing time.

[13:34] So it’s really good to get in touch with what you want. We do see a lot of breakups during Venus retrogrades. But again,

[13:41] you will talk to the partners and they’ve been wanting to break up for a very long time, usually mutually. So it’s just things are happening in the way they need to.

[13:50] It’s kind of like the moldavite effect of like if you need it, it is gonna just. The universe finds a way.

[13:55] Cate Blouke: Yeah. What about those of us who aren’t partnered? Is Venus retrograde a bad time? To, like, try to start dating or.

[14:04] Fi Russell: No, but it’s. It’s.

[14:06] Cate Blouke: It’s gonna be wonky.

[14:07] Fi Russell: It’s gonna be wonky. And it’s a time where you need to really evaluate if you’re ready to advocate for yourself in, like, that strong, direct way that you need, because that’s what’s going to be.

[14:18] It’s going to be an overthinking time for single ones and ones who are contemplating relationships. Yeah. Don’t get too stuck in your head about it. Like, spend a little more time communicating.

[14:30] Cate Blouke: Okay. So it’s not the time to be like, let me do a ton of journaling about what I want in a relationship necessarily.

[14:38] Fi Russell: Not exactly. No. Like, it. It is the processing, but it’s not the processing to overthinking pipeline. You know, it’s a. Processing in a way that’s beneficial for yourself.

[14:49] Maybe a couple pages, but not the.

[14:51] Cate Blouke: Yeah, but not the whole journal.

[14:52] Fi Russell: Right.

[14:52] Cate Blouke: So don’t get the, like, whole book and try to go through the whole thing during the Venus retrograde. Okay, cool. Yeah. So like, treating it as a beach vacation as opposed to a, like, mental health breakdown.

[15:04] Yes. Retreat. Okay. Okay, cool. So that’s kind of like the overview of what it means when shit goes retrograde.

[15:12] Fi Russell: Yeah.

[15:13] Cate Blouke: Planets also, when they go retrograde, are like, going retrograde in a particular sign.

[15:21] Fi Russell: Yes.

[15:22] Cate Blouke: What does that mean? And how does that work?

[15:27] And we’ll just stick to Mercury. For the sake of sanity in this conversation, I was gonna say that not everyone.

[15:32] Fi Russell: Way too many things.

[15:33] Cate Blouke: Yeah, yeah.

[15:34] Fi Russell: So planets going retrograde.

[15:37] At the moment that they go into retrograde, they are in a sign for this next Mercury retrograde. It’s in Aries. So the retrograde starts in Aries, and then where people kind of talk about it going backwards.

[15:50] What it’s going to do is it’s going to go back into Pisces. So it’s half of the retrograde will be in the sign of Aries, and then half of it is going to be in the sign of Pisces.

[16:00] And when the retrograde ends, it’ll stay in Pisces and it’ll have to move forward again back to Aries, which it certed in.

[16:08] Cate Blouke: Okay,

[16:09] so the zodiac, I’m just having a moment of like, okay, wait, I need to slow myself down here to fully understand. Right. So the sky is divided into 12 quadrants.

[16:19] Right.

[16:20] Fi Russell: Like, that’s what the zodiac is, essentially.

[16:22] Cate Blouke: Yeah, essentially. And so that’s why planets are perpetually, like, moving through those 12 signs, because planets orbit and are Always moving. Okay.

[16:35] Fi Russell: So they’re orbiting through the signs. And so like, Mercury has already made its way through Pisces. It is stationing in Aries. And the retrograde will make it move back into orbit.

[16:45] Yeah, back in orbit into Pisces.

[16:47] Cate Blouke: Okay.

[16:48] Fi Russell: Which is what we see happen with every planet, every retrograde. And it always goes backwards in a sign.

[16:54] Cate Blouke: Right? Okay, so Mercury moves through signs fairly quickly. Mercury’s gonna go into retrograde in Aries.

[17:04] Fi Russell: Spicy Aries.

[17:05] Cate Blouke: Spicy Aries. So what does that mean? So we’ve already established when Mercury goes retrograde, it’s going into the underworld. So communications are gonna go into the underworld. What is the relationship between sort of what’s going on with our communications and the sign that it’s going retrograde into?

[17:22] Fi Russell: So with that, the nod there is to kind of look and see what that sign governs in your own chart.

[17:30] Cate Blouke: Okay.

[17:31] Fi Russell: And whether it hits your direct Mercury or not, you can kind of look at the theme of the house. So instead of looking at where your Mercury is, you’re going to look at what house rules.

[17:41] Aries rules in your house.

[17:43] Cate Blouke: Okay, great. So, okay, sweet. What the fuck are the houses to ask you, like the big question?

[17:50] Fi Russell: That’s a huge question.

[17:51] Cate Blouke: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, well, but. All right, let me hear. Let me. How about I explain it to my understanding of a non astrologer, and then you can, like, correct me.

[18:00] So there’s 12 signs. There’s 12 houses.

[18:04] Fi Russell: Yes.

[18:05] Cate Blouke: And our little natal, our little star chart determines kind of the starting point of.

[18:17] Fi Russell: Of the houses.

[18:18] Cate Blouke: Of the houses.

[18:18] Fi Russell: Your rising sign.

[18:19] Cate Blouke: Yeah, so whatever your rising sign is in your first house. Yep. And so that’s why we all have fucking magically different, very complicated astrology charts. Right? Yeah.

[18:32] And so even for people who are in a generational sign. Right, so for like Pluto, which changes signs every, like 20 years. Yeah. Everybody will have Pluto in a particular sign.

[18:49] Mine’s in Libra.

[18:51] But because the house system starts from your rising sign, which changes every like two hours or something.

[18:59] Fi Russell: Every hour?

[19:00] Cate Blouke: Every hour. Okay. And this is why you need to know what time specifically you were born is in order to determine your rising.

[19:07] Fi Russell: And it’s also to determine then what your house structure is.

[19:10] Cate Blouke: Yeah, exactly. Okay, Right. So like, all us fucking millennials either have our Pluto at the very end of Libra or the beginning of Scorpio or in Scorpio, but what house that falls in changes depending on, like, the time of day that you were born and all of that shit.

[19:26] Okay?

[19:26] Fi Russell: Yes. And what houses in is how it Directly affects your life.

[19:30] Cate Blouke: Mm. Right. So the Aries. So the houses are the different areas of our life.

[19:35] Fi Russell: Exactly. And they’re. You can look at the houses and look at what planets are in them to see the kind of subtle themes of what sign rules that area of your life.

[19:45] Cate Blouke: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So I’m having a moment of like. Oh, my God. I now understand why when we, like, look at our charts, like, the astrological signs are on the outside and then there’s a circle on the inside with all those 12 numbers.

[19:59] Yes. It’s. Cause the, like, 12 numbers are the thing that moves.

[20:02] Fi Russell: Yes.

[20:02] Cate Blouke: It’s like a little.

[20:04] Fi Russell: That’s the thing that makes it confusing.

[20:05] Cate Blouke: Right? Yeah. I’m making hand gestures right now of, like, spinny wheels. Okay, cool. So great. I just explained that to myself, and I know a little bit more about this shit than I thought I did.

[20:16] So when we’re talking about a Mercury retrograde,

[20:22] it’s not as important to look at where Mercury is in our chart.

[20:28] Fi Russell: Exactly.

[20:28] Cate Blouke: It’s important to look where the sign that Mercury’s in retrograde is in our chart.

[20:35] Fi Russell: Yes.

[20:35] Cate Blouke: And what it rules. Okay. So for me, Aries rules my third house, which is like.

[20:43] Fi Russell: That’s your communication house.

[20:45] Cate Blouke: Oh, no. Okay.

[20:46] Fi Russell: So it’s the house that Mercury actually naturally rules. Okay.

[20:50] Cate Blouke: And for you, it’s the first house.

[20:52] Fi Russell: And for me, it’s the first house.

[20:54] Cate Blouke: Which is all about personal identity.

[20:56] Fi Russell: Yeah. It’s what you project to the world and how you see yourself as well. Cool.

[21:01] Cate Blouke: So everybody who’s listening, go look at your chart and you’re gonna find out what house Aries is in.

[21:08] Fi Russell: And then you’re also gonna look at what house Pisces rules.

[21:11] Cate Blouke: Okay. Right. Cause it’s gonna also be.

[21:13] Fi Russell: Because it’s gonna retrograde into Pisces, but.

[21:15] Cate Blouke: We’Re gonna start with Aries.

[21:16] Fi Russell: We’re gonna start with Aries.

[21:17] Cate Blouke: Okay, cool. So for me, it’s in my third house of communications.

[21:20] Fi Russell: For you, it’s in your first house of self identity.

[21:23] Cate Blouke: Okay, so what does that mean for each of us, respectively?

[21:30] Fi Russell: So for you, you’re gonna be questioning your communication a little bit more, and it might cause some of those overthinking tendencies that we were talking about earlier of it’s just gonna be evaluating how you communicate.

[21:43] And if that is honestly effectively communicating what you want to bring to the world as well. And like, if those align for me, I’m going to be questioning my self identity.

[21:54] A. And since my Mercury is also in that house,

[21:59] it’s gonna make my Communication a little janky and I’m probably gonna get a little stuttery for a minute there. But it’s just that direct hitting line of how do I present myself to the world is really gonna be what’s in question for that.

[22:14] And that’s what the point of looking at the houses is and figuring out what kind of theme this retrograde is going to rule for you.

[22:22] Cate Blouke: Okay. So it’s like, it’s like the sub theme. So it’s like communication is the broad, like communication. Because that’s what Mercury rules.

[22:31] Fi Russell: Yeah.

[22:31] Cate Blouke: Mercury communication means communication is going to be wonky and then the house that.

[22:35] Fi Russell: It’S in is how it’s going to hit you personally.

[22:38] Cate Blouke: Yeah, yeah. So if Aries is in somebody’s like ninth house, what would that mean for them?

[22:46] Fi Russell: That is the house where you’re kind of aligned with your higher self and your spirituality. So it is going to be like questioning what you buy into and what you intake and also what kind of information you do want to start intaking and connecting to your higher self.

[23:00] It’s gonna be a real evaluatory period of what you’ve intaken so far.

[23:05] Cate Blouke: Okay.

[23:05] Fi Russell: Yeah.

[23:06] Cate Blouke: Cool.

[23:07] Fi Russell: Yeah.

[23:08] Cate Blouke: So I’m feeling like a little bit hopeful after going through all this stuff because, you know, usually it’s like, oh no, Mercury retrograde. Great.

[23:17] But it sounds like it’s a period of questioning of like an opportunity for reflection.

[23:27] Fi Russell: It is.

[23:28] Cate Blouke: And that if we’re more consciously aware of it, maybe we’re like a little better prepared to pause before popping off at the mouth. Especially in these particular areas.

[23:44] Fi Russell: Exactly. Yeah. That can really help set yourself up for success during the retrograde and not just fall into the chaos of it all. Yeah. Because we’re almost like fear mongered of, oh no, all the microwaves are going to explode.

[23:57] Mercury, Mercury’s in retrograde. But it is just an opportunity for reflection and it is about how you handle it honestly and how you go about it.

[24:07] Cate Blouke: So it’s going to start retrograde in Aries and then it’ll be retrograde in Pisces as well. So for this particular Mercury retrograde, we want to be looking at both houses.

[24:18] Fi Russell: Yes, we want to be looking at the houses that rule Aries and also the Piscean houses, because that’s also where it’s going to end and then launch back off from.

[24:26] Cate Blouke: Okay, cool. I feel like I have a much better understanding of what the fuck is going on and what to pay attention to with a Mercury retrograde.

[24:36] Thinking about Mercury in general,

[24:41] where it falls in our personal chart. Like, where my Mercury is,

[24:49] impacts how I communicate. Is that.

[24:53] Fi Russell: Yeah, yeah. That’s what directly governs how you speak and communicate.

[24:58] Cate Blouke: Okay. And so mine’s in Capricorn. And so that means what?

[25:05] Fi Russell: Capricorn is the. It’s a little bit stricter, more masculine themed houses, and it deals a lot with structure and karma and what you want to bring into, like, the business world and what you want to innovate there.

[25:20] Cate Blouke: Yeah. So the fact that I’m like, have a podcast. I’m like, oh, like, let’s have some communication. Be part of, like, what the fuck I’m doing in the world.

[25:28] Fi Russell: Exactly. Yeah. You’re creating that strong structure for yourself through your communication.

[25:33] Cate Blouke: Yeah.

[25:34] Fi Russell: Cool. So that really aligns for you.

[25:35] Cate Blouke: Yeah, yeah. Where’s your Mercury? So your Mercury’s in Aries.

[25:38] Fi Russell: My Mercury’s in Aries.

[25:39] Cate Blouke: What does that mean for you?

[25:42] Fi Russell: It means I kind of fuck around and find out.

[25:44] Cate Blouke: Oh, yeah, right. So communicationally, you just sort of like, let me take some action and see what happens.

[25:49] Fi Russell: Exactly. Like, communication is because it is in that self identity house. It is very much, much who I am, and so I care a lot about it,

[25:58] but it is very brash and it is just kind of what it is, and it’s all on the surface, so.

[26:05] Cate Blouke: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laying it all out there.

[26:08] Fi Russell: The mouth can get me in trouble sometimes.

[26:11] Cate Blouke: Yeah. Okay, cool. Yeah. I think for me. So I’ve been interested in astrology for a really long time, and it’s so goddamn complicated.

[26:22] Fi Russell: It’s really complicated.

[26:24] Cate Blouke: Yeah. Which is why I love talking to astrologers, because, like, y’all have, like, spent a lot of time learning.

[26:33] Fi Russell: It’s a lot of time.

[26:34] Cate Blouke: Yeah. Yeah.

[26:36] And so my hope with this episode is that we all left being with a better understanding of Mercury retrograde and a little maybe baby bit understanding of.

[26:46] Fi Russell: Like, the houses and the like and how it affects.

[26:49] Cate Blouke: Yeah, the little wheel now makes sense to me. And I think I’m just, like, inviting myself and anyone listening, like, one. One planet at a time.

[26:58] Fi Russell: Yes. One thing at a time. One planet, one placement.

[27:02] Cate Blouke: Yeah.

[27:02] Fi Russell: Take it in. Baby steps.

[27:04] Cate Blouke: Right? And just, like, thinking about, like, where this directly impacts us.

[27:10] So looking ahead, we have two more just. Is it just two? So sometimes Mercury goes retrograde four goddamn times in a year.

[27:18] Fi Russell: Yeah.

[27:19] Cate Blouke: 20, 25. We’ve got three. We only have three coming up on the first one, which is why this is timely. But if you’re listening to this later, it’s the.

[27:27] Fi Russell: It’s also gonna be Timely.

[27:29] Cate Blouke: Yeah.

[27:30] Fi Russell: So we’ve got a Mercury retrograde stationing July 17th and then it’s gonna station direct August 11th and this one is gonna actually fully just be in the sign of Leo.

[27:42] Cate Blouke: Okay, so Leo is the next one.

[27:45] Fi Russell: Yeah. And then it’s gonna station retrograde on November 9th and then it’s gon on November 29th. So we actually have it all in that one month there. And that’s going to be from Sagittarius back into Scorpio.

[28:01] Are the signs that it’s going to rule then?

[28:04] Cate Blouke: Okay,

[28:06] so communications. Yeah. So when you go off to your little chart and you’re like, okay, I’m going to look at Aries and then for July it’ll be Leo.

[28:15] Fi Russell: It would be what house Leo rules.

[28:16] Cate Blouke: And then for the third one, it’s. It’s what do you got going on in Sag in Scorpio. Yeah, yeah. And those are gonna be your little communication vacation reflection times.

[28:28] Fi Russell: Exactly. Not the end of the world.

[28:30] Cate Blouke: Yeah. On those particular areas of your life.

[28:36] Fi Russell: Right? Yeah.

[28:37] Cate Blouke: Cool.

[28:38] Fi Russell: Yeah.

[28:39] Cate Blouke: Awesome.

[28:39] Fi Russell: You can set yourself up for success easily.

[28:41] Cate Blouke: Yeah. I feel more empowered.

[28:45] Fi Russell: Good, good. You should.

[28:47] Cate Blouke: Yeah. Right? That knowledge.

[28:50] Fi Russell: Yeah. It’s the awareness and then you’re set.

[28:52] Cate Blouke: Yeah. Yeah. Oh, Fi. This has been such a delight. And for any of you listeners who want to talk to Fi about astrology or get a tarot reading or talk about your aura or any number of wonderful wooful things,

[29:08] you can find them at Venus Aura on Instagram and those will be in the show notes and you can book a session with them and they’re great. I’ve done it.

[29:18] They gave me a very poignant tarot reading,

[29:21] but we had to narrow what we were going to talk about today for the sake of sanity for everyone.

[29:29] So my favorite question to end on is, Fi, what brings you joy?

[29:36] Fi Russell: An abundance of things. I feel like right now I’m finding a lot of joy in seeing like the spring blooms push up and watching nature come back from the winter.

[29:49] Cate Blouke: What makes you just like vibrantly joyful.

[29:53] Fi Russell: Talking really in depthly about astrology? Just like nerding out and getting really complicated. Yeah.

[30:00] Cate Blouke: Isn’t it great to talk about our special interests?

[30:02] Fi Russell: It is.

[30:04] Cate Blouke: Well, thank you. This was deeply mutually self serving then, because it really was.

[30:11] Fi Russell: I’m happy to teach you.

[30:13] Cate Blouke: Awesome. Well, thank you so much.

[30:18] Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please help me grow the podcast by subscribing, leaving a review and sharing it with anyone you think would benefit from hearing it too.

[30:29] Your support means the world to me. If you’d like to get updates about new episodes, posts and offerings, please visit settlingisbullshit.com to subscribe to my newsletter. You can also find information there about working with me one on one to build your most amazing life.

[30:44] Cate Blouke: Until next time, remember that I believe in you and that you are awesome.