Your February Black Tarotscope: Beware, Mercury Retrograde will trip you up

Mercury Retrograde urges us to brake so that we can reevaluate, reconnect and revamp -- usually for things that weren’t working or were left unresolved

Danhy Clermont

Feb 1, 2021

With a moonwalk to rival MJ, Mercury Retrograde is probably astrology’s most infamous phenomenon.

And while The Trickster Planet often causes Gina’s head stuck in the bedrail-sized chaos there’s still a lesson to be had in its first dizzying backspin of 2021.

Three to four times a year, Mercury, the planet ruling all forms of communication, transportation, trade, commerce and moving parts zooms past earth and for three weeks appears to move backward in the sky. During this period, we tend to experience delays, confusion, miscommunication and electronic malfunction. You don’t Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ at this time and are advised not to sign contracts, start new projects, make big decisions or buy any electronics or items with moving parts.

It’s like dealing with Sheneneh — you need to think twice about the language you use when you step to her and even then there’s going to be a misunderstanding. You’re not going to get what you want, and even if you do, she’s going to slow you down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fObSJsRzDbo

But there’s opportunity in getting tripped up. Sheneneh makes you pay attention! What did you say? What did you want? Mercury Retrograde urges us to brake so that we can reevaluate, reconnect and revamp — usually for things that weren’t working or were left unresolved in the first place.

And because it’s in the community-oriented and technologically advanced sign of Aquarius until Feb. 20, this time it’s calling for us to review the way we communicate and relate to our friendships, with our partnerships, and how we interact with technology just in time for a “Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity” themed Black History Month.

For February, I pulled from The Illuminated Playing Card Deck for guidance for theGrio family and received The Two of Hearts/Temperance card. The Two of Hearts represents the deepening of relationships and partnerships based on shared values and shared vision as well as equal give-and-take, mutual respect and harmony.

(Photo: The Illuminated Playing Card Deck)

Temperance asks us to have patience, to plan our long-term goals, to consider all perspectives and blend diverse aspects in order to create synergy. We are being called to reconsider our soul tribe. How do we foster more connections within our global Black community?

How do we honor our shared experiences at the same time that we celebrate our differences? In what new ways can we communicate with each other in this modern world? How do we expand our knowledge of Black culture around the world? And how do we move forward as one large, beautiful, diasporic global Black community?