This is a slightly edited re-print from the a June 2013 issue of ECLIPSE.

When considering our own personal trajectory in life, when trying to measure that thing we call ‘progress’, we might think of the way theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg put it: he stated that the more sure we are of where a particle/ object/ person is, the less certain we can be of that particle/ object/ or person’s velocity (speed of movement). When we are very sure of our position, it may actually feel that time has slowed or stopped; we know where we are, and it seems like things will never change. On the other hand, if our life is in tumult, it may feel as if we are hurtling into the unknown; things change far too quickly, and we are hard pressed to adjust.

Undoubtedly, what we want is to feel we are growing and evolving, and it’s true we can’t get to our destination without first knowing from where we’re starting; but, we can be too focused on pinpointing our position, on constantly measuring where we are, looking for the most minute signs of progress, and so essentially, using our energy to stand still–and it logically follows that the more we concentrate on dissecting our current status, the less energy we have available to move ourselves and our goals forward. We must cultivate an awareness in balance, a knowing of where we stand at the same time we are putting our core energy into manifesting our expressions in the world in intended forms.

Is it ever appropriate to be, with all respect to Heisenberg, very very certain of our position, and so very uncertain of our movement or progress? Yes, the Dark Night of the Soul is one such time, as is any hard Pluto transit, or any transit of Neptune, to the personals of the chart or to the Ascendant (Sun, Moon, Merc, Venus, Mars, the asteroids, and sometimes Jupiter, depending mostly on what he rules natally); Saturn hard to the Sun may also call for such intense Self-assessment, and Uranus transits can bring the need up suddenly, with the advent of an accident or shock, or the sudden ‘modernization’ of our world, and the transiting Moon touching our Pluto or Ascendant ruler or Sun can bring such moments, though briefly (with Secondary Progressions to or from the Moon providing an extended experience like this). There are points when we would be wise to turn all our attention inward, to assessing our place and our relationship to our world; the trick is knowing when this is appropriate, and when it is simply Self-indulgent.

If astrology tells us anything, it’s that we are meant to live within cycles, exploiting energies at the correct time in order to receive the most benefit; this is one of those times. With Mercury currently retrograde, we are gifted with the ability to process feeling and intuition more easily than when the Trickster is direct. It’s a time to get the mind out of the way, to listen to the Soul and answer its need for beauty, relationship sustenance, and to fine tune one’s association with what one values, including one’s products that carry value for others, and in doing so, we’ll find out a great deal concerning what, and who, we care about.

See the forecast for the 13th here–