Sun and Mercury in Aquarius

 Shadow Dexterous Robot Hand holding a light bulb

(Richard Greenhill and Hugas Eilas of Shadow Robot Company, January 2007)

If you’re a regular at the blog (aka Ye Olde Astro-Blog), you’ve heard me refer to Aquarius as a ‘funny’ sort of sign. Part of that comment is literal – Aquarian influences in the chart often show up our humor...and our quirks. And it's not just planets in Aquarius which counts here...you may have an Aquarian 6th house with no planets in that house and tend to be funny at work. Or be a comedy writer.

Then again, Aquarius is also known for insight. And for anarchy. Aquarius is a sign of systems and breakouts, of discoveries, contributions and income.

In other words...it's what goes in and what comes out which typifies the 'Aquarian' thing. And since anything going 'in' or 'out' indicates a change, that sense of 'the moment of change'...however that change happens, however it is defined, the energy which creates that change is the Aquarian bit.

Where does this come from? Well, let's start with the idea that Aquarius is co-ruled by Saturn and Uranus. Saturn represents the status quo, or the figuring out what to do...and Uranus represents the change. The leaping off to something else, The innovation, inventiveness or taking what is 'stopped' and making it 'go.' 

So yes, humor is Aquarian. It's not just the spontaneous 'eruption' from a quirky, funny mind, it's the 'eruption' of laughter as a response. We go from life going along as its going along - and then something funny happens.

That 'change of status' is Aquarian. And the more unusual, the more we could say the quality of the humor is Aquarian because in pushing the boundary it too alters the status quo.

At least theoretically. And since Aquarius is an air signs, and air signs are all about ideas and theories, that works too.

But as we see with all ‘dual ruler’ signs (there three of them, the other two being Pisces and Scorpio)…there are those who do ‘Part A’ of the sign equation but not ‘Part B.’ Or maybe they’re all about the ‘Part B’ quality, but they can’t be bothered with ‘Part A.’

When Aquarius works well, its represents a focus on our individuality and our ability to function as an individual as part of the whole. Or the world. Or your family. Or in your social, societal group, your workplace or wherever. The whole theme of the Aquarian/Leo polarity is that we all have something special, unique and individual to offer, and that we need to develop that (Part A) and then put it into practice as an offering in the world or group (Part B) which then fulfills the energetic which is the polarity and generates a positive response which validates us and supports our going farther with being the individual we are.

And thus the cycle starts all over again.

Particularly in today’s world we see people wanting the freedom, the acclaim, the validation, the income which is associated with Aquarius. But not everybody is willing to do the work which earns that. Andy Warhol, a Leo with a prominent Mercury/Pallas (Leo-Aquarius) opposition absolutely understood this trend, summing it up in his famous comment about ‘everybody getting their fifteen minutes of fame.’

Andy Warhol and Tennessee Williams on the SS France in 1967

(photo courtesy of: Library of Congress Prints-Photographs Div James

Kavallines, NY World Telegram-Sun staff photographer)

The difference between the flash-in-the-pan and the lastingly successful person is exactly the Aquarian question. Are we willing to be the person who gets well received, whose contributions to the group are accepted and well rewarded, who continues building on that thing they do, they know, they are which is so special and unique?

With Aquarius, the 'plus' is universalism, the minus is segregation. The plus is options, the minus is the dictate. Contributing, integration and doing your part is the plus, irresponsibility, elitism, segregating by group and any kind of fantaticism is the minus.

Aquarius isn't about everybody getting along. It's about everyone having options and carrying through on their commitments. Aquarius is the system which works, be that your brain staying in gear, a nation's economy being broad enough to allow everybody access and functionality or the kind of acceptance of each thing and the possible value of life's mix-and-match innovations which in the world of cuisine is known as 'fusion.' 

This all becomes focal and important as we come to an interesting date on the calendar – January 19th. On that Saturday, first Mercury…then the Sun…cross into Aquarius. Mercury will make its ingress at 7:26 in the morning and the Sun gets there at 9:53 p.m. in the evening…but if you’re in the UT/+0 time zone, both things happen on Saturday, January 19th.

But that gap does have a few side notes. The actual conjunction of the Sun and Mercury occurs on the morning of Friday, January 18th (which would be late on the 17th for anyone in the Americas or eastern Pacific zones). That conjunction occurs at 28 Capricorn.

Given that any true conjunction of Mercury and the Sun tends to manifest as the sort of mental ‘fusion’ which can be brilliant but also leave us unaware of details or even our Self, this means that we will have begun dealing with ‘over-focus/under-focus’ problems as far back as January 10th….and they’ll continue going in and out of phase until the Sun and Mercury separate by orb on January 24th.

(Now you know why I posted that notice back on January 9th…)

But the actual conjunction on the 18th, as noted - that occurs at 28 Capricorn, a degree which is all about dependability, standards, responsibility…and how we deal with the difference between being willing to take responsibilities on and carry them out.

Not everybody is good at both, right?

28 Capricorn being known as a degree known for taking the job on, to have the Sun and Mercury conjunct here suggests that some of us may not think everything through before we say ‘yes.’ Others of us will be so involved in what we’re doing or our own way of thinking that we may totally miss how we’re affecting other people. Or maybe how we’re selling ourselves short.

Or even how we may be over our heads.

However…by the time that the Sun reaches 0 Aquarius late on the 19th, Mercury is already at 1 Aquarius. So if we’ve taken on too much, or made a mistake, or miscalculated in some way, the error will show up quickly.

Okay…so it’ll show up on the weekend, which my dad was oft heard to say is ‘typical.’ He was in movie production, and it never failed that edits, challenges, nasty memos and the occasional lawsuit would turn up late enough on a Friday that he’d be stuck waiting through the weekend to do anything about anything.

That did however, give him time to think. And maybe that’s the plus of this one-two Aquarian entrance. Whatever we’re involved with, whatever we’ve taken on…or maybe even ignored…this pair of weekend transits give us time to catch up with ourselves and think things through so that we can be most effective and productive.

For some, this will be a weekend of blowing off steam. Or leaving everything at the office.

Even Earth blows off steam...witness this fumarole at
Namafjall, Lake Myvatn, Iceland

(photo credit: Bruce McAdam, July 2008)

The idea here is all about doing what needs to be done in the right way so that when all is said and done, we ring the bell, prompt the smiles and earn that just reward which makes it so much easier to try, try again.
Mercury being Mercury, it’s transit of Aquarius will be pretty swift. Mercury enters Aquarius on January 19th and exits Aquarius on February 5th (UT/+0). That’s just over two weeks.

The Sun enters Aquarius on January 19th and takes its normal sweet solar time transiting this most worldly of the air signs, moving on into Pisces on February 18th. With Mars already in Aquarius (until February 2nd) and Venus due to enter Aquarius ON February 2nd, this is a very (very) Aquarian time.

Friends, making our way in the world and knowing who we are means more than ever now.

Plus there is that Aquarian humor thing. I once told somebody that I’d be telling jokes on my death bed. Her answer? Thank goodness.

She’s an Aquarian. And yes, I laughed!
.
.
.