A Drama in Three Acts: Act Two and Act Three

Last time I went into some depth, using a hypothetical example, about how transiting Mercury retrograde is like a drama in three acts (at least for some of us). I drew the curtain up on Act One and explored it. Now let's explore Acts Two and Three, continuing with the same example.

Before we go curtain-lifting, though, let's review a few crucial bits about the example that I'm continuing to use here...

1. We're supposing here, for the sake of illustration, that in your particular birth chart, you have Mars in Sag in your 7th house. 
2. We're also supposing that Mercury is currently drifting through your 11th house... and squaring off with your natal Mars.
3. Between February and April of this year, transiting Mercury appears to first move forward (direct) through much of Pisces.... then appears to move backward (retrograde) through that same territory... and then once again appears to move forward (direct) through it. (This third point is true. It's a fact--NOT something that we're supposing here.)

Now, then... 

Let's Lift The Curtain on Act Two 

To interpret Act II of this transit (that is, of transiting Mercury in Pisces in your 11th house, squaring off with your natal Mars in Sag in your 7th house), consider the emphasis or focus that is associated with whichever way the transiting planet is moving. 

In Act I, transiting Merc had been in direct (or forward) motion. During that time, the emphasis was on how you'd respond to the dance between Mercury and Mars (*see my earlier entry) in terms of how you acted--in ways that another person could see or hear. 

Now, in Act II, transiting Mercury is in retrograde (or backward) motion. The dance continues, but now it happens more inside you. 

Maybe you mull over issues that were raised during Act I. 

Maybe you think about what you learned, or heard, or said, or wrote then. 

Maybe you think about you might say or write later. 

If "external" events happened quickly during Act I (a duel? a chase scene? a musical number?), then Act II could seem quieter by comparison. 

Maybe the plot moves forward more slowly, or there's less action and more reflection, more talking (whether talking with other characters or talking to yourself). 

During this act, subtle realizations, or breakthroughs, or other shifts inside you may occur independently of what's happening on stage around you. 

As all (good or bad) acts do, eventually Act II ends...

... And That Brings Us to Act Three

To interpret Act II of this hypothetical transit, notice how the plot shifts again.

Maybe the act is really happening more overtly, more concretely now.

If some significant observable change occurred during Act One (a music number? an encounter with an adversary?), then Act Three may feature a reprise of that musical number or another encounter with that adversary. 

On the other hand, if tension and pressure (for some change to occur) increased over the course of Act One and Act Two, but no observable change happened by the end of Act One, then the tension may break now, in Act Three.

Maybe you (the protagonist) finally stands up to your arch enemy. 

Maybe you finally get your comeuppance after burning one bridge too many.

Maybe you finally acknowledge that another character isn't so perfect or so horrible after all, and you work out a truce between the two of you. 

Life Is Anything But a Never-Changing Broadway Script

I've written a  neat little story here of a drama in three acts, to suggest how Mercury direct, then retrograde, then direct again might trigger change involving your natal Mars. 

Life, however, is much more unruly and messier than a Broadway script. 

Don't be surprised if all the change happens in Act One. If you've been primed by other, more significant transits for change and now Mercury comes along, it could happen like that. 

Or don't be surprised if not much happens until Act Three, or you find that the whole play was a cliffhanger, begging for a sequel, because so much that might have happened, hasn't happened yet. 

The pace of change in an individual's life is not neatly explained by time frames, such as when Mercury changes direction. It's much more fluid and mysterious than just sticking to your lines, in a script that never changes. 

Coming Attractions

And now, with that, I'm hereby wrapping up my discussion of Mercury retrograde and implications for people in Group #1 (at least, for now). 

Now (in future blog entries), I'll turn my attention first to people in Group #2, then to those in Group #3, and finally to people in Group #4. 

(Group #4, by the way, includes all of us.)