The weekend's wonderful weather (yes, autumn weather, I am officially de-pooled)
kept me unplugged, so this week it will be dailies rather than a
weekly. We'll kick off the dailies with this post on Mercury retrograde
in Libra - which begins TODAY!
A central idea of the
newly developing quantum thinking is that we live in a participatory
universe. There is real evidence that our attention and choices are what
attracts/forms our material reality out of the vast potential of the
quantum soup. Scientists long ago learned our world isn't so much solid
things, as the energy that makes up those solid things. More recently
they have learned our world is not JUST
energy, but data, held together by webs of information, strung
like our summer patio lights and creating the structural framework of
our universe.
(which is where astrology comes in, although science hasn't caught onto that part yet)
So, when planet Mercury, ruler of data/information starts moving backward (from our view here on Earth) it is always important to PAY ATTENTION.
"We may not be responsible for the world that created our minds, but we
can take responsibility for the mind with which we create our
world" — Gabor Maté
On MONDAY, at 1:20AM ED, Mercury, after getting all the way to 25 degrees Libra (and we thought we were almost done with all this relationship stuff),
decides, um, not so fast folks, let's re-think this
relationship/fairness/balance stuff. He turns around. Time to re-think,
re-examine, re-visit, re-vise.
You know the Mercury retrograde drill.
We ignore a retrograde Mercury at our own risk. Trying to plow ahead re-gardless
will not work - likely we will have to do whatever 'new' thing we are
doing now all over again anyway. It also won't work to stand still and
try to wait Mercury out. We must move our ideas, projects, conversations, etc, through the process of the retrograde period.
With
Mercury in Libra - this "review/re-do" will be focused on our
relationships/partners, what we project onto other people, our need for
balance, our ideas about fairness and justice, our contracts and
agreements. Libra is an air sign - we are meant to re-think things. Minds will change.
Mercury's
station means the only planets in direct motion now are Venus and Mars.
So, there is a hell of alot of momentum drawing our attention backwards. What did we miss? What needs to change?
A maybe good (and definitely complicated)
thing is Mercury in Libra is answering to Venus, who is in Scorpio
answering to Mars who is in Libra answering to Venus. This doesn't help
Mercury reach his home energies (Virgo or Gemini), but it does help Venus, Mercury's dispositor during his stay in Libra, have some access to her own energy.
Although she will have to go through Mars - take action, get angry, initiate, etc - to reach it.
This is reminding me a bit of last fall's Mercury retrograde (and I think 2019's, too)
where we went from Scorpio to Libra, because although Mercury stays in
Libra during the entire retrograde this year, Scorpio is pulled into our
story through Venus - and you might notice in the list of the following
aspects Mercury will make, a couple of his important repeat aspects are
with Scorpio's co-ruler Pluto and he will finish up after her/his
retrograde when he is in Scorpio.
So, the whole "we
aren't getting out of here alive" thing applies this season, too. Which
probably sounds worse than it is, but that's kind of the point with
autumn anyway, I guess.
Here's a rundown for the astro buffs:
9/27 - Mercury stations retrograde, 10/1 - Mercury squares Pluto/opposes Eris
10/3 - Mercury trines Jupiter, 10/5 - Mercury inconjuncts Neptune
10/8 - New Moon in Libra conjunct Mars, 10/9 - Mercury conjuncts Mars
10/12 - Mercury inconjuncts Uranus, 10/16 - Mercury sextiles Venus
10/18 - Mercury stations direct, 10/24 - Mercury inconjuncts Uranus
10/30 - Mercury inconjuncts Neptune, 11/2 - Mercury squares Pluto/opposes Eris
11/6 - Mercury (in Scorpio) sextiles Venus, Mercury inconjuncts North Node
11/10 - Mercury (in Scorpio) conjuncts Mars, Mercury squares Saturn
Mercury's first aspect after his retrograde station is FRIDAY - a tricky square to Pluto (retrograde in Capricorn, and the modern ruler/co-ruler of Scorpio)
and opposition to Eris. Notice Mercury will repeat this aspect again, a
month later, with BOTH Mercury and Pluto direct. The square is
tension/a space of crisis - verbal power struggles, obsessive thinking, manipulations, jealousy, intense conversations - something can feel like all or nothing/life and death.
The opposition to disruptive Eris might speak of unpleasant truths/conversations/information we really don't want to deal with.
One thing to keep in mind is the Pluto/Eris square is ALREADY in play and not going anywhere (all through 2021 and 2022), Eris is a disrupter. The Goddess of Discord/whistleblower. Eris catalyses
vital changes in our lives/reveals what is hidden in the system. Squaring, well, um, death (Pluto) as she is now - is an evolve or die aspect.
This isn't a new situation (and
if you have cardinal planets near 24 degrees you have no doubt been
tossed into situations where you are being required to state your
truth/take your power back), but maybe now we are seeing it/talking
about it/Mercury steps into the energy and makes the Pluto/Eris square a
cup of coffee. He brings it home. He makes it personal.
(
the
Moon will be in Leo and sextiling the Sun and Mars (both in Libra) on
Friday, so the way through this square will be the Leo sextile - our Leo
house, brave, loving, generous, following our heart. Honesty will be
the best policy, hiding won't be an option.)
Mercury's follow-up aspect is a trine to Jupiter (who, keep in mind is retrograde, too) which might ease us into something more optimistic/bigger or
return our sense of faith/hope, but is just as likely to exaggerate our
fears around whatever Mercury retrograde square Pluto and opposed Eris has dug up. Which way this leans is up to us.
Then Mercury inconjuncts Neptune (yes, also retrograde)
and maybe it feels like a relationship/conversation/information is
literally drowning us. It's us or them/sink or swim. Something's got to
give. Keep in mind, Mercury is retrograde. This is not the time
for big decisions - it's the time to be RE-THINKING/RE-VISING. Let
Mercury do his job. Big decisions during Mercury retrogrades often toss
babies out with the bathwater. We don't need to ditch our partner (probably not anyway)
or turn away from all information to save our sanity, but we do need to
look at what the relationship/information is ALLOWING US TO SEE.
OK
- by this time, as we near October 8th-9th, we will be building toward a
New Moon in Libra conjunct Mars with Mercury applying and catching up
with Mars a couple days later. Venus, ruler of this lunation, is still
in Scorpio and now we have four planets answering to her. Pluto
will station direct at the time of the New Moon, and remember Pluto is
the modern ruler of Scorpio. This is a powerful/energized new beginning -
keep in mind Mercury is still retrograde - by now we are clearer on
what we want/what we have to do to get what we want/what needs to go.
Mars will make things active/passionate/maybe angry - expect fireworks.
Avoid the passive-aggressive bullsh*t. We will talk about this in depth
as we get closer.
A few days later Mercury will
inconjunct Uranus - some give and take/rocks and hard places with
change, our money/resources/the future. The
conversation/information/relationship shifts. Finally, Mercury sextiles
Venus - OPPORTUNITY. By now, Venus is in optimistic Sagittarius (Sag ruler Jupiter is direct) and trining Chiron (healing).
Restored
faith/expansion/luck and healing via our relationship/balance/fairness
story-line that has been RE-WORKED. Now I am not saying all's well that
ends well, but a transit that starts with a square to the planet of
death and ends with a smooth sextile to benefic Venus (ruler of this whole journey) while she trines (brakes off) healing Chiron, can be counted on to produce SOMETHING OF VALUE.
Two days later, October 18th, Mercury stations direct.
Sometimes
here is where a situation flips around. Our thinking changes. Once
Mercury is direct the re-considering/re-doing time is ended. Things
start moving forward. We choose. We decide.
(sometimes
we have to make important decisions/choices earlier on and that is OK,
too - we just do the best we can with this, knowing things are still in
flux and will change. The choices/decisions won't be rock solid until
after Mercury stations direct.)
On November 4th, Mercury reaches 26 degrees Libra and finally starts covering new ground.
The
retrograde, through us, has done its job. What have we learned from our
journey back and forth through 10-25 degrees if Libra? About us? About
our partnerships/relationships? About what balance means now? Fairness?
Justice? Beauty? Here is where we start walking a new road. Here is
where we are moving on.
I hope something here is helpful. We'll talk more about this as we move through it.
Something
else to keep in mind with Venus in penetrating/take no prisoners
Scorpio, is that although Mercury in Libra will be wanting to keep
things cordial/balanced/polite with Mercury answering to Venus, this
smiling 'til our face cracks thing won't work out so well. It will be
like pouring pink paint on a problem and call it a Barbie dream house.
Venus will insist we go deep, get to the bottom of things, not let those
sleeping dogs lie (
yes, the metaphors are killing me, too - I'm sorry, I can't stop).
We might try to stay at the 'slap a smile on it' surface of things, but
there will be something niggling at us that won't let that happen. Or
the people around us won't.
BUT even after saying that, it will pay to keep in mind that we have Mercury, Mars and the Sun in diplomatic Libra right now.
Nice guys will finish first (we might have to be dragged into the mud before this is all over, so be it, all those micro-organisms are good for us anyway).
Social civilities/being kind will feel good, too.
xo all
artwork by the talented
Natalya Amirova
