Mercury in Taurus

 Mercury - a statue by Francois Rude

When Mercury enters Taurus on May 9^th at 5:14 in the morning (UT/+0) we will all move into a somewhat more serious mode. Not depressed - serious. Instead of thinking in terms of what life can be or could be (or what we wish it was), we’ll be thinking more in terms of what it is and what it needs to be in order for us to feel like we’re at least headed in the right direction.

Life is interconnected. It’s all a continuum - that’s the meaning of E=mc² (or as the ancient Maya used to say, inlakech). Over thousands of years, astrologers have watched the skies and watched human beings (we assume they mumbled dastardly things from time to time, but little of that got into the written record)…and they noticed not an overlap, but a connectivity of influences. It’s not quite ‘the ankle bone is connected to the shin bone’ sort of thing, but it is an understanding that there are patterns and harmonics to life - from which arise the idea of sign rulership.

I know people (astrologers, even) who think that astrology is willy-nilly and that anything can be made to sound like anything you want it to. That’s not true. The reason why metaphysical research goes on is because sometimes you try to fit the square peg into the round hole and it just doesn’t work. The smart person (or astrologer) goes to find the round peg.

I make no claims about the others.

In this case, the connective Taurean harmonic is Venus - ruler of Taurus and Libra, signs which are all about the quality of our life. In Taurus, we recognize our qualities, and decide if we like ourselves. (If we don’t, hopefully we work on it.) In Libra, Venus represents the quality of that we put out into the world (said ‘quality’ being a reflection of the Taurean Venus) …and according to that quality of Self or the qualities of our work, we create the ‘cause’ which generates the ‘effect’ from others…and in time, the like attracts like principle of who we end up spending our time with. If we don’t attend to some lack of quality we see in ourselves, we can bet we’re going to attract others with a similar lack of quality in themselves …as those are the people who - to put it as blatantly if gracelessly as one Taurus male I know put it with regards to himself, those are the people who will ‘who will put up with’ us.

Mercury enters Taurus

(Aries Wheel - Location not Specific) 

We can change that at any time. And as a matter of fact, this is about as good a time as any for changing things about yourself - the ‘quality’ of your life or how you live.

Actually, it’s a better time than many…particularly if life has been ‘telling’ you of late that you have some issues with personal ‘quality.’

Question: What makes this a better time?

Answer: Venus is about to go retrograde as of May 15. 

Retrograde is the classic time when you can’t get things done ‘out there’ …which metaphysically says it would be the time to deal with stuff on the inside. The planet (Venus, in this case) is on the other side of the Sun (from Earth) when it’s in retrograde. So the Sun (life) is getting in the way of ‘your making a connection’ to whatever the precept represented by that planet is.

With Venus, we would guess appreciation in any form. It may be money, it may be love, it may be just the warmth of laughter or cuddles. And even if you’re getting the money (which is possible) or getting the love or sharing the laughs…they really don’t satisfy like they usually do.

That’s the retrograde quality. More money, more love, more laughter isn’t going to ‘hit the spot’ because, believe it or not, you’re not available to be loved or appreciated or to feel worthy and valued. Venus retrograde is simply like that.

So as Mercury enters Venus, it’s beginning to stir up all that intuition. With Venus at 23 Gemini at the time when Mercury enters Taurus, this is a back-and-forth self-feeding cycle (Venus rules Taurus, Mercury rules Gemini) astrology calls a mutual reception.

 Venus and Mercury by Bartholomaus Spranger (1585)

And that’s not all. Venus is conjunct Byblis (trying to defend the indefensible), Lust (focus-fixation), Bellatrix (the difficult idea to get across or comprehend) and Amphitrite - the idea we find hard to accept which in time catches up to us.

We’re all dealing with some of this. And that Mercury itself is entering Taurus in a perfect opposition to asteroid Medusa? While the story is of Medusa is not exactly about being ‘turned to stone,’ there is a quality of being stopped in your tracks with asteroid Medusa. 

But the thing which stops us in our tracks is realizing what the truth about something really is. Either we’re scared to know the real truth or we are scared of what knowing that truth is going to mean to the rest of our world.

The truth is the truth. And that we’re scared of it is about US.

With Medusa in opposition to Mercury’s entrance into Taurus speaks of a confrontation: either you’re concerned about having it or you’re having some sort of Mercury/Medusa gag-fest over having been confronted with something which - (gulp!) - says something about you.

With Mercury trine the Moon at 1 Capricorn in this figure it’s really likely that someone has taken a hard line and that said hard line was like-as-not taken a little fast. That may be ‘too fast for your liking’ and then again, you may have overstepped your bounds or done or said something before you had sufficient (Medusa) facts to act with a degree of wisdom.

That’s another thing about Medusa: the whole Medusa issue is about Athena - dispassionate (often intellectual) wisdom. The story of Medusa is really all about human vanity and our yearning for ‘immortality’ which we get a chance to earn through investment in intelligence and a loyalty to a high standard of clarity….but which we flub up on by giving in to emotional cravings. Medusa embodies the ‘cost’ of indulging ourselves by flagrant disregard of standards ethical and commitments personal.

In this case, the cumulative effect of Medusa, Moon, Venus, Byblis, Lust, Bellatrix and Amphitrite involved with Venus already slowing down to go retrograde represents a growing awareness that we have undermined ourselves at some level.

Then we add in the fact that Mercury is also inconjunct Juno…self discipline or the need to run one’s ‘personal household’ (your life) with discipline. The inconjunct represents an ‘adjustment’ you need to make, and with this happening from Taurus to Sagittarius, we have an eight-sign “departing inconjunct” which says you need to make a decision. The decision is to leave XYZ behind OR to be left behind by ABC.

After all that, next we get to the muddying of the mental waters.

 

What? You thought things were messy enough? Heavens no…! We have a mere eleven days until we hit the moment of a Gemini Solar Eclipse. And before that happens, Venus is going to go retrograde.

Did you really think thinking things through would be easy about now?

Uh…sorry, no.

So back to that murky muddy thing. Mercury is in sextile to Neptune/Bali in early Pisces. So we have some pretty, dreamy, happy ‘little lie’ we would like to tell…or like to tell ourselves…about things being all happy and good and such. The reason why we would like to tell this little lie (no matter who it’s to - them or ourselves) is because we would like to have to avoid feeling bad. 

Okay…so what do you think the chances of that are, considering Venus is about to go retrograde?

Interestingly though, there is help - though you may be too close to the issue to really see the answer to your own problem here. As Mercury enters Taurus it is not just opposing Medusa and not just trine a ‘maybe too fast’ Capricorn Moon. It’s not just sextile Neptune/Bali and it’s not just overloaded by a Byblis-Lust-Bellatrix-Amphitrite-Venus conversation spinning in the back of our brains.

The good news - for those willing to get down to it - is that Mercury is also conjunct Vesta/Phaeton. Vesta representing ‘sacred service’ (personal promises) and Phaethon representing the impulsively brazen ‘devil-may-care’ teen nature which frequently overreaches good sense tells us where our gliches (or lack of quality may be). So providing we’re willing to deal with that and not compound our errors with insisting on doing ‘more of the lack-of-quality same,’ we may be able to redeem ourselves - first and foremost in our own eyes.

 The Fall of Phaethon by Peter Paul Rubens

Considering that Mercury will be in Taurus for only about two weeks, this next little while is a time to get straight with ourselves. Because Mercury in Taurus lends itself to conversations which pertain to quality or lacks thereof, this can be an excellent time to get some input from someone or even for rebuilding bridges with someone, should you have had a problem.

Negotiations of the business type are also favored by this transit, although with Venus about to go retrograde and the Gemini Solar eclipse this is not a ‘business as usual’ sort of cut-and-dry moment. If you get a job now, don’t plan on the position you accept being the one which you end up working in. This isn’t any cause for terror - after all, you may end up in a position you like much better or which you are better suited for.

On other business levels, Mercury in Taurus leading into the Venus retrograde would also be a marker for complex business negotiations or dealings which end up being solidified as or after Venus goes direct in late June. If you have any interest in developing a business with someone, this is a good time to open discussions but don’t plan on any agreements reached in short order holding for the duration. This is a fine time for development of any ideas and for improving the structure, operations or design of anything you need to move forward with - especially long term. Again, just don’t think anything’s going to get sorted out in five minutes. Or if it does, that it won’t need to be revamped.

Mercury in Taurus is an opportunity. This Mercury in Taurus in particular offers us the chance to get some real insight on ourselves - insights which can lead us to a happier and more profitable future.

The one challenge here: facing our weaknesses, our errors, our vulnerabilities, our misguided efforts.

Depending on their nature or the ‘size’ of the glitch, you may have to spend some real time investing in fixing some problem.

But in the end, aren’t you worth it? Besides, what other choice to you really have?

A Taurus New Moon: Self-Divining

 A New Moon against a field of stars....

On Saturday, April 21st, a New Moon at 1 Taurus will begin the lunation month leading into May’s solar eclipse.

Typically, the month before a solar eclipse is a bit of a bumpy ride…so what does this lunation bring to the metaphysical party?

For one, it’s happening at 1 Taurus, a degree which by default is about us…either physically or in terms of what we do. Taurus being an earth(y) sign, the issues are tangible. Or maybe our object or aim is.

Taurus is also the first of the zodiacal ‘fixed’ signs, ‘fixed’ here describing it’s astrological “modality.” What this tells is is that the tenor of feelings (the lunation) we are likely to…or perhaps need to approach things with…there’s some consideration in the mix. Taurus isn’t (by and large) hasty. Emphatic? Sometimes. Enraged? Also sometimes.

The core of the Taurean process is discovering what’s of worth. And that process is what leads to the building of self worth. Though this isn’t about learning per se (that would be Gemini), Taurus is about explorations which lead to an understanding about what’s safe and not safe – hence this sign’s association with security, which many simply interpret as ‘money and things’ (materialism).

 an image of Taurus from a 15th century medieval book on astrology 

The biggest challenge for anything (or anyone) Taurean is to see down the road. You know, how what I do or grab or hold onto today affects me next week, next month or ten years from now. Taurus is the first of four fixed signs – sign number one in the fixed sign process which, providing we work through all the challenges, leads to a kind of personal security which gives us the self assurance (confidence in self) which others respect, will always support and which can rescue us come what may.

So that’s something of the Taurean ‘vibe’ which is the basis for this lunation. Because of this vibe, we can assume that some of us are going to have our chains rattled this month (so that we can see what the nature of our self worth and security really are) and some of us are going to be moving ahead with developing/working on something of worth which we are invested in and thus recognize our own value as part of.

2012 - the Taurus New Moon

(Aries Wheel  - location not specific) 

 

1 Taurus in particular – as a degree – speaks to the emotional side of this process. Descriptions speak of an insecurity which can manifest as sensitivity – or then again as cruelty. The Sabian Symbol for 1 Taurus is ‘An electrical storm’…which in itself speaks to feelings of not being in control and the dangers we may feel because we could get ‘zapped’ at any moment.

Then again, this symbol also images being struck with a ‘bright idea.’ Whether we manifest the positive, negative or a bit of both here…? That’s all about our native self worth.

And it’s not all that simple.

This New Moon (Sun conjunct Moon) is going to form up between Scheherazade at 0 Taurus and Tantalus at 2 Taurus. Scheherazade being ‘the telling of tales’ and Tantalus being ‘temptation’ and often ‘temptation to do that we know we shouldn’t do,’ it’s to be expected that situations will tempt us to find excuses for things. Or to do things and ‘justify’ it in our mind (and to others) even though that niggling tug in our gut is telling us we’ve done something wrong.

 Scheherazade Went on with Her Story 

- an illustration done by Virginia Frances Sterreff in 1928

This would also be a time when situations already committed to or actions taken (somewhere in the past) come to light. Or maybe they become the foundation of a discussion about the ‘value’ (worth) of going forward in some way which (Taurus) matters to you and/or your security.

Because we’re in the month before a solar eclipse, this New Moon does carry an extra dollop of whammy. Namely, through such Taurean (Scheherazade, Tantalus) feelings we are being forced to focus on something which isn’t working correctly. Or at least the (Gemini) idea of it.

With Medusa at 4 Scorpio (in opposition to the New Moon) there is some ‘frightening truth’ (Medusa) to face – oppositions always being about facing something. Those of us who are willing to do this work ourselves will do so. But those who are card carrying members of the ‘me good, me entitled, my life is rosy’ club will like as not encounter people who will ‘stand in’ for this Medusa vibe, making sure we are forced to at least acknowledge (if not deal with) where we have gone astray of what are – in all likelihood – our own standards.

Astrologically, the solar eclipse is the ‘big dog’ on the block. So though this lunation has its own valid process, it does embrace the heart of the ‘breakdown’ period which precedes every solar eclipse.

Another piece of information on this lunation is given us by Venus and Byblis both being positioned at 14 Gemini – a fact we care about because Venus rules Taurus. The Sabian for this degree (14 Taurus) is ‘Two Dutch children talking to each other, exchanging their knowledge.’ That’s at least a signal of talking to people of like heritage, and probably a desire to build alliances. (Or maybe to get your stories straight before you each go home to your mothers!)

Interestingly, both 14 Gemini and 1 Taurus have a ‘reputation’ in lore for being difficult in the sense that when we see something positioned in either degree we know that there is a problem to be met which has to be dealt with before any good can come of the situation. 

The overriding Taurus lunation issue – as described (sensitivity, cruelty, self-protection through denial, maybe?) – is plainly emotional. Or maybe emotionally provocative. Add Venus in Gemini and we have some concept or idea which either seems emotionally challenging, or which requires that we face some ‘scary issue’ (Medusa) if we are to capitalize on.

On its own however, 14 Gemini is a call for greater perspective and objectivity.

But then we need to add in Byblis. The specifics of the Byblis story have to do with child abuse – specifically, sexual relations with children. But since not everyone is a pedophile (nor will we all deal with such ugliness) in a greater sense, Byblis is about ‘trying to defend the indefensible idea.’

Venus/Byblis thus stands for ‘the idea of getting what you want (Venus) through undesirable means.’

I know…much symbolic drama for something which is in the end, rather regular. But that’s the point. The incoming solar eclipse will be at 0 Gemini: there is some ‘starting anew’ coming at us, with a lot of us having some old ‘idea’ of life (or facet of life) being given up along the way.

Two more items about this New Moon. One is that asteroids Lust (over focusing) and Amphitrite (something you’ve gotten used to) stand with TNO Chaos at 13 Gemini…a degree behind Venus/Byblis. That’s a picture of all which has been done or gotten from (TNO Chaos) something you’ve been over focused on and gotten used to.

 Planet Venus, wreathed in clouds of sulfuric acid,

showing us that Venus is not all sweet - and that

sometimes dealing with that which is difficult

 (life's more 'acidic' moments) in time gets us to

where we want to go. (photo credit: NASA-JPL)

Coupled to Venus/Byblis, this is very much the image of needing perspective. And when we take all that back to the lunation, it would appear that this month we all are going to be either challenged…or getting a lot of clarity on something which our ‘habitual response’ (Taurus) to having challenged is that insecurity or snarkiness thing.

To everything, there is a season (turn, turn, turn…). 

Apparently it’s time to get real with ourselves.

The last note for this blog-thought is that as this lunation occurs, Neptune is conjunct Niobe at 3 Pisces (conjunct royal star Fomalhaut at 4 Pisces), with all in square to the nodes. Just to make this a little more pickle-like, Juno is exactly conjunct the North Node.

Put simply, this means we (North Node) need to use some (Juno) self discipline this month. Or maybe a better word for this particular Juno placement might be 'integrity.'

Whichever word you choose, North Node/Juno in early Sagittarius is the need to do something which works. It's also all about recognizing what doesn't work and getting to the fixing of problems. The object is applied functionality - getting to your goals in a manner which doesn't just work for you, but which works all around.

Not that glitches and negative feedback is going to be putting a smile in our day, no. South Node in early Gemini promotes a desire for 'wealth and power' - which in your life may be literal, or maybe just the ability to have your way and not be bothered with having to listen to anyone.

That may work in the short run. But then again, with a solar eclipse about to happen in conjunction with this degree ('eclipsing' that idea), is that really a good bet?  

And about that Neptune-Niobe/Fomalhaut thing...standing at the ‘t’ of a t-square, this is something of a pretty good image putting us all on notice about how illusions of grandeur are self-defeating.

Again, we probably need a little (Juno) self-discipline. Or something!

So that’s the Taurus lunation image. We may seek much in life and from our world, but in the end, none of that matters. What matters is whether we are satisfied with ourselves.

Remember the famous line from the old movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’…? Just before it ends, Glinda asks Dorothy what she’s learned. Her answer is all about how when we go looking for our heart’s desire, we don’t have to look any farther than our own back yard.

As a human being, that’s inside ourselves.

‘….there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…’

May you always feel welcome, safe and secure in your own heart.

INGRESS TRANSIT ALERT/JULY 2ND and 3RD

 "Dog Star" Sirius - source: NASA

Positioned at 12 Cancer at the seasonal ingress, the south Lunar Node told quite a mortal tale about what we want…or at least what we think we want.

The degree here is the part of the story which says it’s about working towards something. Or wanting something. Maybe a lifestyle. Or a relationship. Or a plush retirement. Or….

But when you get there, when you get the thing or achieve the goal, it doesn’t satisfy. Maybe not even vaguely.

That’s 12 Cancer as a specific degree. And as we consider the lore of the degree, let’s also remember that Cancer is an emotional sign representative metaphorically of the surf zone. High tide, low tide, ebb and flow of tides, big waves, little waves, stormy times eroding the ground you stand on, maybe forcing you to take refuge in some “reef” like Cancer’s totem animal – the crab – does.

On top of this is the decanate. Signs are divided into thirds, and the second group of ten degrees (the second decanate, degrees 10 thru 19) are all about feeling. How we feel. The process of feeling.

So this degree is all about how we feel about the tides of life. Our ‘standing’ in life. What we face in any given moment – focusing on those things we work towards. Or don’t work towards. That’s right – 12 Cancer can be as much about the thing we work towards which doesn’t satisfy as the task we avoid, maybe because we fear failure, maybe because we fear being disappointed, maybe because we are afraid of the responsibilities which would come if we got what we think we want (which amounts to an inner knowledge that the dream isn’t always the reality).

Into all this comes the South Node thing. Lunar nodes are always about interactions with the life around us. It could be with society, groups, friends, the job market, our thinking about what to do with our lives, our situation, this world…there are a zillion ways to go here.

The North Node is the ‘should’ part of this equation – it’s about what we should do. Nobody likes the North Node (and that’s the BIG ‘nobody’…as in NOBODY, NOBODY, NOBODY!) We don’t like North Node things because they entail hard work which is specifically outside our comfort zone. So I reiterate: nobody likes North Node stuff.

Conversely, the South Node is what we do like. It’s what we feel totally equipped to do. We get it. We like it! We’re into it.

Unfortunately for us, life apparently wants us to do the North Node stuff. In fact, the lesson is that if you will just DO your North Node thang, you will “automatically” get all the South Node “riches” you might want. But if you cling to doing the South Node thing ignoring the North…then you encounter problems. Specifically, problems associated with the house and natural sign which rules the house in which your South Node resides, which would be the universal and symbolic way of lighting a firecracker under our fannies so we get off our duff and get on with doing what we should do instead of amusing ourselves….uh….well, doing whatever it is which we amuse ourselves doing. (Clear enough?)

At the time of the solstice/seasonal ingress, (fixed) dog start Sirius was right close to the South Node at 14 Cancer. So to the above we need to add Sirius’ message, a comment on the nature of charisma. Charisma is a lovely thing. It can help get you where you want to go. But particularly when associated with the South Node, it can undermine your determination to do what you should do.

Another part of the Sirius message is about understanding that with charisma comes a certain kind of power which means that small choices or actions on your part can have enormous repercussions in the lives of others. So you have to be careful what you do. Connected with the South Node, this thus represents how things you do maybe fairly casually (or without thinking them through) can have big – and maybe unintended consequences. It may even mean that during this season you will deal with coming to a better understanding of how your charisma works – maybe through having to sort out something you’ve already done which has had all sorts of unexpected repercussions.
 
All that comes into focus as on July 2nd, the Sun conjuncts the transiting South Node – which is now at 11 Cancer, arriving at 12 Cancer (the degree of the ingress South Node) on the afternoon or evening of July 3rd (depending on where you are).

The 11 Cancer part of this still has the native ‘surf-zone’ Cancer vibe and that second decan emotionalism – all expressed in a degree which speaks to various kinds of naïveté and lack of/under development which can get a person into trouble. Given that both parts of this equation are colored by the South Node, the real question is whether the lack of ‘savvy’ (if you will) is about actual innocence or simply not having thought things through (charisma-wise). Situations, relationships, encounters – they all will raise these questions and considering human nature, projection is the easy way out. And let’s be real…with the South Node so prominent in this two-day equation, we’re all going to want the easy way out!

But there’s another side to this formula…namely that 11 Cancer is about ‘getting/giving another chance.’ And when we either get or give such chances now, the results are generally happy so long as we learn better and don’t just take the easy way out because it’s easy. The North Node in the solstice picture is in effort/self-discipline/responsibility-honoring Capricorn. All those things we do to actually build that satisfying life we obviously want…those are Capricorn. But we can’t be selfish, narrow minded or dictatorial about this – as noted by the solstice North Node being conjunct asteroid Amphitrite and fixed star Vega. Vega can make even a tyrant sound good, but if in the end they’re still a tyrant, they’re still a very negative influence.

And Amphitrite? Amphitrite asks us to look deep within for our truest feelings, our emotional worth, worthiness and to own up to the difference between being overwhelmed, overcome and filled with satisfaction. They often look alike, but aren’t…and over the next couple of days we can expect that life will give us plenty of reason to reflect on same - in our own lives and in the doings of the world around us.