Mercury Retrograde 2012–Beware The Ides of Mars

On Jan 23, 2012, Mars begins his journey retrograde at the last degree of Leo. He decides to journey back to Regulus to take in the royal scenery one last time before the end of the great 5,125-year Mayan Long Count cycle.

Saturn peeks over the fence to glance at Swati on February 7, and decides to have mercy on the constellation–for now. Saturn, will then make a long retrogressive journey backwards for a rendezvous with Mars at the brilliant star Spica(Chitra) on August 14. 

There explosive conjunction will be the bell that signals the last few chapters of 2012-that is when I am told my beloved sea monkeys will take their maha Samadhi. Om namah seamonkey.

Many of you are probably familiar with the shloka, “When Mars is retrograde in Leo, and Saturn is retrograde as well, a third of the world will perish.” There seems to be quite a few versions of this shloka floating around, but I can never find mention of the sage it is derived from. Basically, Saturn should not be in certain specific signs to fulfill the passage. Luckily for the world, Saturn retrograde in Virgo and Libra, while Mars retro is in Leo is exempt from the bad juju of that particular shloka. But it still leaves one question unanswered. Why were the sages so concerned with Mars retrograde in Leo?To heat things up even more, Mars will be the closest it gets to the Earth throughout all of 2012 on March 3.

 The incredible mathematics outlined in Kepler's Astronomia Nova include brilliant calculations of the oppositions of Mars.

On March 11, Mercury begins his retrogression cycle in a debilitated state. The hyperactive wunderkind will then cross backwards into Aquarius to become ensnared in a staring contest with Mars. Between April 2-4, Mercury will crawl to a halt, entering briefly into a stationary opposition with a slowing Mars. Adding more instability to the combination, Mars will be casting a malevolent aspect on Mercury the whole period as Mercury retrogrades out of, and then transits-direct back into his sign of debilitation (Pisces). All of these factors make this one of the most challenging Mercury retrograde cycles that can occur. A debilitated- retrograde Mercury, aspected by a fired-up triple-pitta Mars. My prediction:  someone somewhere is gonna get cursed-out big-time.

The last week of March is a time to contemplate all of your battles. Be they weight loss, financial, or emotional. The last week of March 2012 is an opportune time to reflect on and audit the nitty-gritty reasons and patterns that are behind all of our struggles and battles. It is one of the best times to create a battlefield sketch of all your conflicts–internal and external; and determine how you will fight, or end those conflicts.

 From March 23 through April 3, an interesting pattern that you do not see all that often colors the night sky. All the malefic and neuter planets will be retrograde, scattered throughout over 180 degrees of the zodiac, while the silver and gold planets (Sun, Moon, Venus, Jupiter) will all be direct, spanning the other half of the zodiacal hemisphere.

In other words, retrograde Saturn, Mars, Mercury, and Rahu will be scattered from Leo to Pisces, while the Sun, Moon, Venus and Jupiter will be placed from late Pisces to Cancer. In one half of the zodiac all planets move forward, on the other half of the mandala, all the planets will be moving backward. Kind of like the dynamic that contrasts progressives and republicans.

Unfortunately, this points to a major world crisis involving the concerns of many nations occurring in the last week of June, first week of July.

                                                              Yantra creation Mavis Gewant

For all you Leo Ascendants, It will be a time of secrets. Secrets between mothers, siblings, neighbors, children, students, and lovers will be a huge theme throughout this transit. If you have any difficulties with this period you can buy my book “Why Big Bad Leos Need to be Petted Like Little Tiny Putty Cats”.

For you Aquarianic Lagnas, don’t get caught having sex in a church or anything like that. Basically, don’t get caught with your hand in the nookie jar. Watch for scandals at work or in public places. Tread lightly at work and don’t offend your boss or clients. You can also read my book “ Why Aquarian Lagnas Need to eat Indian Food 24/7 to stay Grounded so They Don’t Float Away to Saturn”.

 The first fortnight of February and April will bring incredibly cold temperatures. Unreasonable freezing weather will attack southern regions not accustomed to having chilly temperatures. There will be damage to crops sensitive to cold. Oranges may not fair well. Regions of the Middle East that never get snow will get a fair share of the fluffy stuff.

Mid-April will bring biblical rain, wind and flooding.

Look for some heckling attacks from surprise places in the equity markets, and expect a 100-150 point correction in the S&P (1500 Dow) in March. Markets will likely rally in April and then encounter an even steeper correction in the last week of May–first week of June.

You will be hard-pressed to find a shloka that treats three retrograde planets in the sky lightheartedly. Especially, when those grahas are Mars, Saturn and a compromised Mercury.


Luckily for the world, The great Guru, Jupiter
will be shining his gracious light on Mars and Saturn, nullifying what would otherwise be a cataclysmic year in history.

Om Kraam Bhaumaya Namah