At least this time when it pivots, Mercury is not alone. Uranus is also poised for a backslide, turning Retrograde on Friday, the 13th, just ahead of Mercury's reversal on Saturday: a double whammy Retrograde station. (Station is the term for the apparent stopping point when planets change direction in the optical illusion of retrograding.)

Uranus is the planet associated with sudden change, rebellion, surprises and the unexpected. When it touches your chart, it sparks inventiveness, increases intuition and helps you identify and tout your uniqueness. It indicates what happens to the masses. Unlike Mercury, which spends just a few weeks backtracking, Uranus does it for four-and-a-half months. It will still be retrograde when Mercury does its next U-turn on Election Day. Yeah, you read that right. We have that to look forward to in November. More on that closer to the time.

Meanwhile, this summer Mercury makes a very nice connection with Uranus three times as it goes back and forth. They are a third of the sky apart, called a trine, on July 4, July 25 and August 18. Around these dates, commerce (associated with Mercury) could spike (with the jolt from Uranus), people collectively (related to Uranus) could be more vocal (Mercury rules our voices), and there could be improvements in communications technology (Mercury affects communications and Uranus rules technology). They are both traveling through fire signs, turning up the volume on enthusiasm and activity. You can use their combined energy to present your original ideas, learn a new technological skill or be a spokesperson for a group. As they both retrace their steps, you might return to something along these lines that you have done before.

Mercury has a special relationship with Uranus. Both are associated with brain functioning, Mercury more for the thoughts we think and Uranus for the impulses that leap between synapses. Uranus is said to be a higher octave of Mercury, resonating with it but at a higher frequency. Uranus is kind of like Mercury's crazy genius big brother.

Mercury is retrograde from 12-1/2 degrees of Leo down to 1-1/2 degrees of Leo. The backwards thinking or repetition of Mercurial activities that its retrograde signifies will affect you if you have natal planets in that degree range, whether in fire or air signs (receiving positive connections) or in fixed signs (receiving challenging links). These degrees relate to people with birthdays from July 24 to August 4.

If you do not already have my Cheat Sheet outlining the elements and fixed signs, you can download it for free from the Information Booth at my website (see link to the left). You can also download the free 2012 On a Page that shows the planets' retrograde dates and degrees. These handy tools are incorporated in Janet's Plan-its calendars.

This retrograde will end on August 7, but its effects will still be noticeable as Mercury moves forward again across the degree range that it backtracks through. That will take until August 22.

In addition to linking with Uranus three times, Mercury repeats a favorable relationship with Jupiter this summer. Jupiter is cruising through Gemini (one of two signs Mercury rules). Mercury in Leo is two signs away, a friendly position called a sextile, having nothing to do with sex but rather meaning a sixth of the zodiac circle apart. This occurs on June 29, July 24 and August 22. Near these dates, their blended energies are good for education, travel, legal matters, internet commerce. However there is always a down side to every up side, and here it is the tendency to overestimate a situation, to brag or stretch the truth. At the second date, Jupiter and Mercury are both in positive relationship with Uranus simultaneously as well, indicating an unusually lucky time frame. Jupiter opens doors and relates to good fortune. Melded with the unexpected feature of Uranus, expect happy surprises. Mercury's involvement suggests beneficial news is on the way. This will also be a powerful time for positive visualization to act as a magnet to attract what you want into your life. Well, this combination is not exactly divine intervention but it is a fortuitous planetary opportunity.

What might seem a bit more like something heavenly beyond your control comes from the triangle called a Finger of God that Mercury forms three times with Pluto and Chiron. These two slow heavenly bodies are hanging out in a long-term positive sextile from 2011 to 2015. As the heralds of transformation and healing, respectively, their mix aids improvements across the board during a time when we sorely need to rebuild so much that is broken. Mercury is positioned across from their midpoint, turning their sextile into a Finger of God July 4-5, July 24-16 and August 18. The Finger of God pattern often points to situations that take twists and turns and send us on a detour, but when we get to the altered destination, we realize it is exactly where we were supposed to go, as if we had been steered there by an unseen benevolent hand. So when weird things happen this month or next, withhold your judgement or complaints and see where you end up and what you learn along the way.

You may have noted that some of the Mercury Retrograde connections took place on July 4, our nation's birthday. Anything that occurs at one's birthday has a ripple effect over the coming months. You might like to watch the July episode of my cable TV show, LOOKING UP, which discusses the USA's birthday chart for July 4, 2012 and what it shows for the upcoming year.

To find out how the current planets affect YOU, contact me to schedule a personal reading.

There is an old saying that things happen in threes. With the back and forth of planets in the retrograde process, interplanetary connections frequently repeat three times, as we have discussed here. We could speculate that retrograde repetitions may have been the origin of the notion that things happen in threes.

Speaking of threes, this week is the third (and final) Friday the 13th of 2012. As on the first two, I will be on an online radio show discussing Friday the 13th alongside numerologist, Lois T. Martin. Tune in at 11 am EDT or listen online afterward: Joyce Barrie & Friends. That is, unless the nasty summer cold I'm currently coughing my way through prevents me from speaking. Let's hope not!