Venus in Cancer/Mercury Direct

 Venus Anadiomene by Antonio Maria Esquivel (1806-1857)

For those who need to read and run, here are the stats and facts:

1.) Venus will enter Cancer on Tuesday, August 7 (2012) at 1:44 in the afternoon, UT/+0 time.

2.) Mercury will go direct on Wednesday, August 8 (2012) at 5:41 in the morning, UT/+0 time.
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Since all planetary stations get a ‘station allowance’ window of two days before and two days after the planetary turnabout, this means that Mercury goes on station early on Monday (August 6th) UT/+0 time.

(That's it for the read-and-run stuff)

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As for those with a few more minutes to browse, muse and otherwise contemplate...Mercury is doing it’s ‘turnabout may and may not be fair play’ at 1 Leo. And yes, this is apt as Mercury does represent (among other things) tricks of the mind and therefore the trickery we play on others as well as the tricky situations we get into.

 A painting of Mercury which dates back to

the 14th century (artist unknown)

Is all that heightened because Mercury is in Leo, a sign which though it has the power to be incredibly perceptive often is blind to the necessity to appeal to others in the terms they might react to positively?

Probably yes. And then we add in qualities noted as being associated with 1 Leo, among which are insecurity and all we (or others) may do to cover for feelings of inner anxiety, inadequacy – all that stuff.

With Mercury doing this turnabout with Lust at 29 Cancer adds a real focus…even an urgency to this  issue. The name ‘Lust’ is a little misleading; people tend to think this asteroid is all about carnal desire, forgetting that horoscope points are always a quality in us which we have to manage. Therefore 'Lust’ is about our tendency to lust – which is really about focusing on one thing to the exclusion of others.

At a Mercury station, this combination will for some most assuredly be some sort of revelation (startling or otherwise) that they have been focused on one thing when they should have been focused on another.

It's that trickster thing. Mercury is always a trickster, and the person we are always most likely to be tricking is ourselves…with the medium of the tricking being through mentality.

In other words, we fool ourselves. This differs from denial (if slightly) because denial is about something we can’t see because it would be too upsetting to us to deal with it. Denial has an emotional root where tricking ourselves is merely about ‘I don’t want to!’

And that quality – – is all too commonly Leo.

Another comment on this Mercury turnabout: it’s in trine to the North Node at 1 Sag and in sextile to the South Node at 1 Gemini…with that South Node being conjunct Atropos.

The North Node is always (always, always…) what we should do. And though this North Node at 1 Sagittarius says we should try to see our relationships with our world (and those in our world) on a factual basis (the proof being in the pudding and all that)…despite that, we are far more likely now to want to edit what we see, hear, and who we deal with rather than deal with trial and error or testing the reality of the situation.

Atropos/South Node is a signal that it’s easier to give something up than cope with what it takes to make it right. And with Mercury’s station in a sextile to this Atropos/South Node conjunction (which is exact, by the way) cutting our losses and getting out of something which has had us tied up is an option now.

The question is thus posed by the North Node: should you?

The handwriting on the wall here is that the Nodes – which cycle backwards through the zodiac – are about to change signs. That’s going to happen at the end of August. What will follow is a year-and-a-half (or so) of progress being made only where we risk the right things with the right people. The object will be the increase of satisfaction and self-worth, confidence, realistic recognitions of boundaries-versus-opportunities…all that stuff. So! Are you in position to move ahead developing your capacity to risk not what’s easy, but that which comes hard for you?

Considering that August has only a few cues for such things prior to the nodes changing signs, those who take this opportunity to look ahead and sort their efforts by positive potential are in a good space here.

And then we add in Venus entering Cancer.

No matter where Cancer appears in your natal chart, the idea of this first and most basic of water signs is all about building value – which yes, is related to the idea that Cancer is associated with real estate (‘built’ value in a very tangible form) and our heritage and native experience of family – that which forms our emotional foundation.

 Because the sign of Cancer is the first of the water elements,

it's often thought of as the 'surf zone' - that place where we get

our feet wet...and where in truth we may get tossed about a bit

until we learn to swim. Like the oceans, all things Cancer tend

to have a 'tidal' ebb and flow...so during these next few weeks of

Venus in Cancer, we should expect that there will be increases

and decreases in activity, feelings and motivation.

(photo credit: Kahuroa, December 2002)

Granting that no house, no family/experience of family and no heritage is “perfect” Cancer still always carries that ‘foundational’ building-for-the-future sort of vibe. And when we apply that to the cause-effect lynchpin which is Venus, that gets us to the who am I being and what am I doing to create what I am or am not receiving in – and from life?

Venus in Cancer can be a time to revamp your home, absolutely. Many a DIY project is begun under various Cancer influences. Many a home gets bought or sold under Cancer influences. Nesting is very Cancerian and providing you’re not doing that to avoid what you should be doing, this could be a great time to just be a homebody. Or when you may want to spend time with your family.

Then again, this could be the time to launch a new ‘business plan’ whether in a business, or with regards to a business you want to build. This is an excellent time to get real with yourself about where and how you need to develop your Self or your skill set in order to get ahead in the months to come. In that regard, Venus would represent the ‘laying of foundations’ with Mercury representing the creative effort being invested in Self so as to make you into that ‘winning package.’

So…let’s boil this down to two questions:

1. Are you dealing with problems and paying attention to opportunities?

2. Are you being realistic about what it takes to get where you want to go and have what you want to have in (and out of) life?

The Leo challenge here is not just to dream, but to do. With Leo being the sign of children, that’s a pretty darn good example of this dynamic: it’s easy to ‘make’ a child…it’s a whole lot harder to raise that child and to work at being a good parent.

Get the difference? We all love the dream, the vision, the Leo ‘gosh wouldn’t it be wonderful if…’ but that’s only half of the Leo process. Lions don’t stay strong and magnificent through sitting around on a rock basking in the sun. There is game to be stalked, there are territorial boundaries to be patrolled, there are other lions to be dealt with.

It isn’t all ‘peel me a grape…’ no matter how much we want it to be!

So if you can, enjoy yourself…but challenge yourself a little too. You’ll like yourself better for it – and isn’t that the ultimate goal?