The 28th is a Good Day To . . . do two things: challenge our notions of the empowerment we think we deserve, and pursue ambition fulfillment via the smartest and most practical avenues possible. Too, Mercury enters Capricorn, turning the mental faculties toward the niceties of process, containment, and ‘the rules’. We may inadvertently favor ‘the establishment’, could potentially shut down communication (especially if it feels dangerous, likely when during this transit the Moon is in Water), and could end up suppressing more radical or inventive thinking–just be aware.
A Good Day To . . . is based on the aspects perfecting on each day, Pacific time.
‘The Tower of Babel’ By Pieter Bruegel the Elder 1563 {{PD}}
The 30th is a Good Day To . . . be aware. Obvious, right? That’s something we’re always trying to do, but today it’s especially important to be conscious of what’s roiling beneath the surface–particularly below the surface of your own mind.
The interweaving of contacts is noteworthy, with a stationary Mercury caught up to and conjoined by Venus in Scorpio, with both opposed Sedna and novile Mars, and then throw in Mercury’s parallel to Pluto. The scenario is one of a becalmed mind filled with a stark and terrible beauty, one that aligns with and reflects our deepest held fears, angers, and hopes, especially those attuned to change, re-birth, and the re-making of our world. Too, this mental outlook rejects the instinctual nature and those things we ‘know but don’t know’; the result may be that rather than this being an entirely contained, individual experience, it is externalized, with other people, circumstances, and events taking on some of the parts. Thinking, then, may be a heavy pastime, one where we chase the same thoughts round and round–or one where we are inspired by relationships, beauty, even financial gain, but find it hard to plot a path forward, so alienated are we from our own instinctual responses, and this is so even as we are moved to act or choose in some pretty amazing, clever, or inventive ways. So, when Merc retrogrades, we may find ourselves in a really good position, without being entirely aware of how we got there! Or we could find we’ve ‘cart before the horse’-d it, and take our revisions from there.
Though Mercury has already stationed for turnaround, it hasn’t happened yet; we have to wait until 2:21 AM Pacific time of the 15th for a technical shift in direction. Merc’s direct motion starts at 4 Aries 46, with Mercury’s first post-direction contacts (other than ones received from Luna) coming on the 25th-26th close together: a square to Saturn in Capricorn and a trine to Ceres in Leo. That leaves a relatively long stretch when Merc is picking up speed and unimpeded (as well as not imposing its own agenda) on anything else. Merc in Aries is about communicating who we are, and what we want, as individuals–so expect a spate of realizing just what it is we want or think, then speaking up, speaking out, followed after ten days or so by giving those ideas solid form, or stopping something we’ve found objectionable (Saturn) in a perfect (that is, balanced) expression of our identity, essence, and authority (Ceres, in all her glory in Leo).
Just hours after technical direction, we see the New Moon in Aries, and in the run up to Merc’s first contacts we see Chiron enter Aries, Sun conjoin Uranus then enter Taurus, and Venus sweep over Sedna and then enter Gemini, from which it sextiles Chiron, both still in 00 degrees–and at that point we see Mercury poised to make his statement. This should bring a kind of progression, a building of energies, that starts with a re-focusing on the sense of woundedness from a Universal one to a personal and individual one. This may prompt unusual revelations about the Self and the identity; things we’ve not seen as wounds before suddenly are, while other hurts we’ve assumed may be exposed as nothing at all. Attention shifts, then, to the material, to nurture, to tending those wounds (and in worst-case scenarios, to feeding them!) Meanwhile, relationships, finances, and our values all take it deep, dipping into instincts, things we ‘know but don’t know’, and into our own ‘blind spot’, in order to reveal the wounds, the ‘true’ state of the identity, and to organize and make sense of what transpired during the retrograde phase. Only then, just before Mercury makes its first aspects post-direction, will we know with any certainty what we should do, and how we should proceed. And that’s the essence of my advice at this time: in spite of the direction, wait–you’ll learn a great deal in those ten days that will have a significant impact on your perspective.
Albrecht Dürer – ‘Wing of a Roller’ 1511 {{PD}}
The Sabian symbol for the direction point perhaps offers a formula: ‘A Triangle With Wings’=elevated balance–not a bad goal, at all.
And now for an update on my dream life. I was in what seemed to be the lobby of an old department store, and as people came through the revolving doors I took it upon myself to decide who could come in and who was turned back. Even in the dream I thought I might be overstepping, but everyone supported me in this role and there were no arguments–everything was decided with my intuition, and everyone seemed to see this as valid. Then I toured the building, which was immense, filled with innumerable rooms, and as I moved through the corridors more and more people came along with me. I returned to the lobby as it seemed that’s where I was ‘needed’. A man sat on an elevated platform; he was in intense pain. I knew him from ‘before’ (which I took to be earlier in the dream). He was Indian, had been a soldier, and had been tortured in the Middle East; he was now severely deformed, with part of his spine sticking out of his back, his entire mid-section twisted. I sat before him and cupped my hands around one of his knees. Between my palms appeared a flow of what looked like deep golden marigold petals, and these somehow took away the man’s pain. Then I woke up (or as they say, did I go to sleep to dream my ‘real’ life?) This seemed to be along the same lines as that last dream I shared, so thought it might be of interest to some.
‘Marigolds and Tangerines’ By Félix Vallotton {{PD}}
Now the astrology. Last night around the time of the dream, the Moon and Mercury were conjoined in Aries in my communication 3rd=intuited information on my role or the actions I should take–communication through emotion (or perhaps empathy). Neptune and Hygeia were closely conjoined in Pisces and smack on my Black Moon Lilith=through dreams what has been ignored or denied is explored, the healthy way shown. t Jupiter trine natal Moon and natal Ceres, forming a Water Grand Trine=a glimpse of my ‘natural’ role/ authority, at expressing a personal, nurturing role, or was it a wee peek at the afterlife (Jupiter is now so strongly associated with death). And t NN is sextile my natal Jupiter, and Ceres sextile and Pallas trine my natal Mars, with t Saturn still within orb of a square to that Mars=addressing the Will, Self-actualization, the life direction; it’s the smart thing to do, though difficult to bring into the reality. t Vesta is square my natal Mercury, and this catches natal Neptune at the midpoint=I must face how I think about what I honor–this message is delivered through the dream life. t Sedna closely opposed my natal Venus=time to treasure what I ‘know but don’t know’, what the instincts reveal, and perhaps to find the value in what has, possibly just until the present, been hidden in my ‘blind spot’. And or all of these interpretations could be followed by a great, big question mark 🙂
Of course, these are just guesses, but it’s fun to look at the astrology and see what it might reveal (or, more often, obscure!) Have a wonderful week!
Oh, the lives of the gods! Jean-Honoré Fragonard ‘The Fountain of Love’ c1785 {{PD}}
Looking ahead a bit, there are two days coming up I wanted to discuss; I would describe them as ‘potent’, and so important to be aware of, if only for the potentials they might bring, and the assists they might offer. This first is March 18th: Mercury will still be direct in Aries, but moving very slowly, with less than a single degree to travel before turnaround. It’s also still within orb of a conjunction to Venus, and both are conjoined that day by the transiting Moon, just coming off the New Moon conjunction to the Sun in Pisces. We also see Merc and Venus (and briefly, the Moon) making semi-sextile to Neptune, a square to Black Moon Lilith, and a trine to the North Node point. What strikes me about this is not just the unusual length of time Mercury and Venus have been together (this happens, once in a while, so isn’t that extraordinary), but that they are at this point together in aspect to two energy ‘points’ and the most nebulous influence we find in the chart. That suggests, very generally, that we won’t have a handle on what Mercury and Venus together in Aries means to us. Willful words and willful wants, the ‘I Am’ controls communications and relationships–and if we consider how uncomfortable Venus is in Aries, almost making for a ‘Me vs. My relationship’ scenario–then we can see any number of ways that we may express out of irritation or discomfort or the need to be heard that could greatly affect our connections and even our income. Add to this that what has been ignored or denied or that enrages is causing friction (Black Moon Lilith by square), and we see how easily this will impact life direction (NN by trine)–and yet it may take some time before we’re completely aware of the way what happens in this window changes our relationships, and our personal trajectory. The 18th does offer a glimpse of what has been impacted, through the emotions or the intuition, but that glimpse is withdrawn almost as quickly as it appears–so pay attention when it comes.
Also notable on that day is the Sun-Earth axis at 28 degrees across Pisces-Virgo, with the Sun closely conjoined Chiron. This suggests the obscuring of our wounds, in spite of the attention we may give them–and leads us into the second day of interest, the 19th. The Sun-Earth axis will have moved into the ‘stress’ degree of 29, and the Moon will make final contact to Uranus in Aries and then move into Void status at around 11:30 AM Pacific time. This promises a period of distress, accompanied by a feeling of ineffectiveness should we try to address our upset–and we may not know what to do until the 22nd-23rd, when the Sun-Earth perfects a T-square to Mars, and we finally see where the problem is (or perhaps, what about our actions has caused the problems we face)–strange, considering this is the day when Mercury finally goes retrograde, perhaps withdrawing the ego’s mental barriers that kept us from understanding, allowing us to review, ‘What should I do?’ (Merc retro in Fire). With Mars having entered Capricorn on the 17th, we’ll likely be oriented toward practical, real-world, modest solutions, ones that will take care of problems once and for all, and this period shows us, if we’re willing to see, just how we’ve contributed to issues, and just what we can do to fix them.
And if you haven’t seen it, I recommend Darren Aronovsky’s ‘Mother!’, a story of the eternal cycle helmed by a Zeusian-Plutonic figure and Ceres-Gaia, with man’s religious follies and god-worship and the destructive consequences of these. It suggests an endless interaction between Nature and her tranquility and fecundity, on one side, and man’s insatiable need for god, and god’s insatiable need to be worshiped, and the destructiveness of these needs, on the other. Approach it all as symbolic, with an acceptance of the characters as fluid in terms of identity and labels, and you’ll have fun picking out their roles from myth, religion, and the Collective psyche.
We may wonder in our own world which side of the power struggle is Jacob, which one the Angel? ‘Jacob Wrestling with the Angel’ by Léon Bonnat 1875 {{PD}}
Merc and Pluto both show up for this meeting in button down shirts, clutching their wallets and pearls, equipment for weighing and measuring carefully calibrated, posture rigid and eyes glazed over with ‘the rules’–they’re ready for business. Mercury has finally given up flight and is headed back to where he left off; he’s ready to talk, to negotiate, to inform, as long as things stay on topic, and he’s aware of the status quo, conscious of the need to deliver the establishment’s message. Pluto is out to change the system, destroy boundaries, and he’s been in this territory for a while; once he’s altered or transformed what is, a strange thing happens: the destructive energy is dissipated, and expressions of power come forward, power that enforces a new set of rules, boundaries, and installs a new authority in place of the old. The question is, where do these two meet in expression? Capricorn gives them both a tone, a background, a set of attitudes to play with, but each carries its own essence, bringing about a kind of chemical reaction that, despite their meeting in the same sign, may bring confrontation.
The root of the conflict may be this: Mercury is messenger of those who hold the reins right now; Pluto, half way through the sign, has already thrown the acid, the Molotov cocktail, and is in the process of taking the ruin of what was and constructing something new from it. That, my friends, is a fundamental conflict of interest. These two come together, and one, the quicker-moving one, is interested in making the argument for keeping things as they are; the other has been at work for quite a while, and is in the midst of creating a kind of re-birth in our ideas of authority, boundaries, and restraint. And both claim practicality, and the health of both personal life structures and those of governments, countries, and large systems, are best served by their methods.
What can we expect? The voice of current power-holders may carefully craft their message, with restrictions on who knows what, meant to keep things static, for safety, for the well-being of all, and of course, to retain power; the agents of change may claim a moral superiority in their very existence, a ‘change for change’s sake’ stance that does not acknowledge the new authorities rising from the ashes, intent on replacing the old, are just as distorted in priorities and viewpoint as the previous holders of power were. In other words, change does not equalize anything, nor does becoming part of the current power structure, because both are intent on grabbing power and keeping it–and when that is the goal, no message will assuage those without influence, and no revolution will make the situation more equitable.
So, what we may witness today are communications that have power acquisition and retention at their core–and this may be played a thousand ways, with harsh or destructive words, transformational ideas, the resurrection of concepts we thought were surely gone, and the obliteration of the old rules–but all of it concealing, one way or another, the power struggle currently at the heart of the Universe. In your own life an awareness that power is behind literally everything we deal with at this time will help reveal the layers of meaning. We need to understand that there’s an intensity to this (thanks, Pluto!) that goes beyond the normal level of power-seeking we see everyday, giving even the simplest exchanges a life-or-death tone that may seem over the top–but if we purge our minds of clutter and propaganda, we see the Truth of what’s being negotiated beneath.
Each of us will hold the key to something special today; for some this will presage the upcoming Lunar eclipse. Detail of ‘Death and the Gravedigger’ by Carlos Schwabe c1890s {{PD-Art}}
This is from the current issue of ECLIPSE; order now to get all three issues that include analysis on the upcoming eclipses, and to receive a new issue each week!
23 April may be a paradigm-shifter, or, at the very least, we will seriously consider altering what it is we want, what we hope to attain. Pluto proceeds in retrograde to trine Pallas, bringing massive power and immense wisdom into alignment, underground; change can happen, much of it ‘out of sight’, guided by what’s wise, and communications will be infused with our truest beliefs. Philosophies may be shared, and transformation visits practical skills; what doesn’t fare well at this time is the personal agenda, the desires and ambitions for the individual. Instead we have a rare day when major change, physical and mental, may occur, with the unusual condition of the perfect ability to transform combining with the perfect realization of wisdom–a unique set of elements that should result in a highly unique outcome–just don’t push too hard for these energies to fit your specific plans–they may end up drawing new ones for you. (Pluto trine Pallas, Mercury sextile Jupiter, opposed hZeus)
Will this presage the first eclipse, which promises to show us how something, some goal or dream or ideal we thought was impossible is, somehow, now within our reach? It may, or it could be its own thing, more focused on the noble aim or betterment for the social sphere than on the individual want, though the eclipse could encompass either–today the emphasis is on the bigger picture, and on our role in making the world, even just a little, a better place. To know if the upcoming Lunar eclipse will be personal or Universal for you, check where it will fall in your natal chart: 1st through 5th House, it’ll be first person all the way, 7th through 11th, your focus will be on the wider world and those in it, 6th or 12th could go either way.
Merc and Chiron meet in Pisces, trine Saturn, sextile Pluto, and square Jupiter, giving us a very specific framework through which to heal our wounds, if we so desire. It’s talk and dream therapy that deals with reality, that is willing to imagine obliterating the causes of our hurt, and that may not be acceptable on the social front. What plagues us may not be an acceptable topic socially: if we break out in hives every time Mom calls, if we call in sick more than we should because we feel we can’t face another power play, if we talk our creative life more than live it, now may be the time when we can turn things around. We may think it’s the exterior that’s the problem, and in strictest terms, it is; what we must do now, though, if we want to re-make our world and heal, is to stop caring about what the social circle will say about us, clean out what’s truly bothering us (and often as not, this is a wounding thought in our own imagination, as much as it is a person or circumstance external to us), and then build from our own ideals a new frame through which to view our reality.
The new ECLIPSE features commentary on Amanda Knox and the Italian Court’s decision to re-try her for the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, and on the allegations surrounding Jane Goodall’s new (now delayed) book, plus the aspect and Lunar hour-by-hour forecast, and More! Subscribe now through April 2nd and receive 2 free months with a 6 month sub!
Is she sleeping or reading, and does it matter? ‘Springtime’ by Monet 1872 {{PD-Art}}
The 12th of October sees only one new aspect perfect, Mercury in sesquiquadrate to Vesta. This could be hazardous, as people may speak, write, or communicate, thinking they’re true to their highest values, but other influences are calling the shots. Placements in mutable signs, or anything ruled by Mercury in the natal chart, may figure in to disruption of communications and skewing of meaning/ thoughts.
‘Paysanne de Frascati at the confessional’ Bodinier 1826 {{PD-Art}}
From the current ECLIPSE:
On the 28th our Mercurial energies are on fire, yet we don’t know it! The urge to communicate is hidden–and that means it leaks out in all kinds of goofy ways. We may channel the urge through involvement with nature, tangling with Mom or authorities, or in negotiations–and this means that all these areas are open to risk, the biggest one being that we might give something away about our own position or beliefs that we’d hope to keep quiet about. Both our inner wisdom and our need to feel unique or to shock will be influencing what goes on–so be very very aware.
This is an excerpt from an article on the Protected Page for ECLIPSE subscribers; to see it all, subscribe!
Typically, Mercury through Aquarius centers us so firmly in the intellectual that we may find feelings a surprise; this time, we see the Moon hits the Aries point when Merc has been in his new sign for only one minute, and that unites the energies by sextile in a potentially meaningful way. With the Aries Point suggesting revelation, and mentality rising to a new level of understanding in the sign of the Waterbearer, we might see some huge ‘Aha!’ moments that bring us clear realization as well as clear and deeply felt emotions. This would be unusual for anything involved with either Aries or Aquarius, where the dominant thrust of ‘I AM!’ Will, aggression, and the alternating compulsion to be rebellious and to process only through the intellect can leave the feeling function adrift, and severely neglected or denied, in a worst-case scenario.
Though this transit has the benefit of focusing the mentality on the Higher Mind, and thus making it much easier to align efforts with ideals, it also urges our minds to write checks our emotions, efforts, and bodies can’t cash, with depletion in all departments often the biggest danger.
Mercury enters Aquarius at 10:12 AM PST on the 27th of January.
And if you haven’t seen it, I recommend Darren Aronovsky’s ‘Mother!’, a story of the eternal cycle helmed by a Zeusian-Plutonic figure and Ceres-Gaia, with man’s religious follies and god-worship and the destructive consequences of these. It suggests an endless interaction between Nature and her tranquility and fecundity, on one side, and man’s insatiable need for god, and god’s insatiable need to be worshiped, and the destructiveness of these needs, on the other. Approach it all as symbolic, with an acceptance of the characters as fluid in terms of identity and labels, and you’ll have fun picking out their roles from myth, religion, and the Collective psyche.
Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY 