Mercury in Cancer

 Mercury transiting across the Sun - source: News/CNET

Mercury moved into Cancer today. 

So what, you say?

Well, granting that this may not be earth-shattering news, it does signal a change in attitudes. And tone. Which is valuable to you because it says a lot about what's going to come up for discussion...and what approach is most likely to work whether you're in a negotiation or just some garden variety conversation.

Being a water sign, Cancer is automatically emotional. This tells us that as of today, the emotional approach works better than it would have, say....yesterday.

Yes, things do change just that darn quick - not to mention universally.

So where yesterday's appeal to logic might have gotten you where you wanted to go, today (and for the next while), getting into how others feel...or appealing to them in feeling or heartfelt terms is more likely to get a point across. Or - as they say - win friends and influence people.

With that said however, how you feel about 'things Cancerian' may make you more or less receptive to emotionalism in general, emotional appeals, or discussing feelings - yours or anyone else's...which may make you a card carrying member of the Bah, Humbug! club.

Then again, it may just be something far less dastardly and distinguished (sounds like a law firm, doesn't it?) People with air sign Moons are notorious for not liking how it feels when anyone tugs on their heartstrings. They tend to feel 'played'...you know, like a harp. And when Mercury transits any water sign, talking to someone with a water sign Moon may tap into some sort of emotional geyser. 

Obviously we can't cover every contingency about every person you may meet up with here. Nor do I expect that you have the chart on everyone you know - heck, I don't even have that! And we're never going to know the data on people we run across  during the average roustabout day. That's just a given! 

But we can say a few conceptual things about Mercury in Cancer which may be rather useful. 

First of all, water signs vary. Cancer is associated with the surf zone - which may explain to you why it's associated with the Moon, seeing as it's the gravitational pull of the Moon which causes tides. From this we draw that the conversational or situational Mercury in Cancer is also going to have not just tidal rhythms, but waves.

How will this work? Well, rather like the surf itself. While Mercury remains in Cancer, every day is going to have surges and ebbs. But apart from that, there's a 'rising tide' to the entire transit of Mercury through Cancer - a transit which begins today (June 25th) and runs to July 9, when it moves into Leo sometime during the day depending on where you be at that time.  

From June 25 through June 29, the emphasis is on what you do, what you're going to do, or what you've done. This may be a testing, or testy time.

Between June 29 and July 4, Mercury will be in Cancer's most emotional decanate (degrees 10 thru 19) which added to the Sun being in Cancer signals an emotional high tide.  Expect feelings and the expressing of those feelings to be more frequent, more fervent, more exultant and more moody during this time.

From the 4th to the 9th, Mercury moves through Cancer third and last decan (degrees 20 thru 29). The third decan of any sign being where others see what we've been up to, now efforts play out  and you see where you stand...or what you yet need to rise to. 

There's another quirk to throw in here too, namely that the Sun and Mercury will be running in conjunction from June 25 through July 1st. And when the Sun and Mercury are positioned close together, the Mercurial thought process gets a bit...well, let's just say 'drowned out' - that works in a water sign, right? 

And if you don't get why this would be? Look at the photo heading this lovely blog piece. That little, itty, bitty dot is Mercury - the whole Mercury and nothing but the Mercury. The Sun is HUGE! It's hard to remember how large the Sun really is. But it is...gigantic, I mean. 

Anyway, during these periodic Sun/Mercury conjunctions, a bit of personal myopia tends to be going around. So during this time - overlapping from the 'doing' sector into the 'feeling' sector, try to think long term. It won't be easy, but try anyway.

To this we should add just a few more thoughts, the most basic of which comes from the idea that Mercury rules two signs: Gemini and Virgo.

Gemini is an air sign all about the 'idea' of the thing and our ability to think, choose and manage life as effectively or badly as we will.

Virgo is an earth sign all about practical, tangible things. With Virgo, the thing works or it doesn't. There's a practical and pragmatic way to get things done and a proverbial means to the end. That doesn't mean that we always do it that way, but Mercury's association with Virgo is all about the search for the effective method, even if we ignore it once we've identified it!

Put these ideas together and you get why Mercury represents curiosity and a need to understand. Thus in Cancer, Mercury sorts through the basics and finds out what works, and what doesn't work. Given its natural position at the bottom of the zodiac wheel, Cancer is about foundations, thus Mercury in Cancer focuses on really basic values, asking what they're 'worth' to you.

This is where the negotiating comes in. Maybe something is worth it to you...maybe it isn't. And since there are always two parts to any conversation (and since Mercury is associated with pluralities) this makes for a lot of questioning. And answering. And asking why someone wants to know.

Hey! What's it to you, bud?

Considering Cancer rules families, real estate, cultural and national heritage, populations (of any size - civic, familial, national, ethnic, etc.), the homeland, end of life issues, childhood, memory, traditions and in families, particularly the father - and that both the Moon and astrological water are metaphors for money (liquidity, one might say), these subjects are likely to be focal points for discussions.

And don't just take this as a finite list - do a little (Mercurial) conjugating!  What do I mean by that? Well, real estate + money = home financing and home loans (or the need for same). Family + end of life issues = wills, trusts, funerals and probate matters. Childhood + memory (or tradition) can equal simple nostalgia or taking a trip half way across the globe in order to explore your personal roots. 

A last few words. There are two big 'general' groups of us right now...those for whom life may be a little odd, but basically stable - and those whose lives have either been totally tumultuous or which have begun 'shifting' through influences beyond control since...(oh....say,) early May. The former group is not being affected by the July 11 solar eclipse at 19 Cancer - the later camp is being affected by said solar eclipse. 

If you're in the first group, Mercury in Cancer may have it's up and down moments (high and low tide with a few particularly large waves) but basically it's just one of those months.

If you're in the second group, Mercury in Cancer may feel like someone is pressurizing the life vessel you happen to be encased in. And while this isn't fatal, it sure is likely to be uncomfortable.

Whoever you are, expect a lot of emphasis on 'how it looks,' many an assumption being made before all the facts are in (much shooting off of mouths) and a lot of things becoming public knowledge which in calmer moments might have been contained or gone unnoticed.

To paraphrase Bette Davis, it's going to be a bit of a bumpy ride. But not necessarily a bad one!

96 Percent Unknown...the Macro-Microcosm of it all

We like to think we know what's going on in life, but evidently we don't.Of the 100% of
everything which Is, 23% is "dark matter" - stuff in our universe we can't quite define.

Another 73% is "dark energy" - stuff we don't even have much of a clue about.

That adds up to 96%.

And that 96% of Existence is unknowns means only 4% of everything is known.

Which leaves a lot of room for growing, never mind not knowing.

Way back when there was this group in Egypt known as the Hermeticists. Nifty in their
time, they left us one really superb expression: "As above, so below." It's an early sort of universal statement which science has fleshed out with cause/effect, E=mc2'd and the endless if fabulously fascinating patterns in existence, time, structures...all of which appear on the grand scale, the not-so grand scale and so on, right down to the
piddly and puny scale of life.

It's all patterns. It's all cause/effect. And what we see? What we know? That's just the tip of the iceberg!
 

Now that we all know this much, let's move on to June 26, when We of Earth are going to experience a lunar eclipse. (Yes, there's a solar eclipse on July 11, but first things first!) 

This lunar eclipse pictures the Sun at 4 Cancer with Mercury nearly alongside at 2 Cancer. Any time Mercury is that close to the Sun there's a focus of thought - in fact probably to some extent such an over-focus or narrowness of focus that we miss some of the bigger, more important factors. 

You know, those things which it might just help if we knew? 

The hardest part of being a person sometimes is definitely the 'being human' part, yes.

Anyway...so what's on the dinner table at this eclipse? Well, this 4 Cancer degree is itself about tests of rationality. How would you like your rationality served, my dear...rare, medium or well done?

Obviously we'd all like to think our rationales are 'well done' (no bleeding hearts on my plate, please), but this is a primal sort of degree which often tests our ability to be reasonable that we are left...raw. 

As for 2 Cancer, this would be the bratty kid in the family. You know the one - the kid who hogs everything and enjoys upsetting everyone else? 

Taken together this may well describe people or situations or societal entities which act rather selfish - even to the extent of choosing incompetency (even corruption) over other things just to get your way.

Or so that you/they don't have to face the real truth. Or reality, take your pick.

But being that Cancer is ruled by the Moon...never mind that we're talking about a LUNAR eclipse (oh, helloooo - lunar? As in loony and lunatic?)...all this takes us back to the Moon-Pluto end of the stick. 

And what a stick it is (you should be so lucky not to have it stuck to you!) Occurring in Capricorn, we know this eclipse concerns itself with structures or 'things structural' ...in your life, maybe in your body, with the job, the relationship - you name it.  Plus if we're talking Moon, we start out with a definite theme of 'status quo,' everyday life, life as we know it - all that. 

Into all this comes Pluto. Pluto is one of those metaphysical verbs which come as standard equipment with our solar system. And what Pluto 'says' (thematically) is this: what you get depends on what you chose. So where structures you've chosen are viable, you win. Where they're not so viable, you get clonked on the head (or some other appropriate part - not for me to say).

Oh - and I need to mention one more itty, bitty thing. Maybe not so itty bitty, come to think about it...this eclipse? It's formulated in a configuration known as a t-square. T-squares are all about challenges: think of the 't' as a hurdle set up on a running track. You start out with good intentions, and if you're able to jump the hurdle, you  continue to the finish. If you don't, you return to 'go' and start again.

In this particular configuration, since Moon-Pluto is standing at 'go' and this IS an eclipse, the failure is likely to really, really hurt. And if you fall, what are you going to fall ON? 

That's right - the hurdle. 

And what is this particular hurdle composed of? Well, first there's Uranus (terrible thing to fall on, Uranus...) Metaphysically speaking, this is innovative change versus disruptive anarchy - your choice. 

But wait - there's more! Next is Jupiter - which is either the expanding of our horizons and the glory of growth or getting overwhelmed, overburdened or blown out of the water by your own foolish arrogance. 
 

And we're not done. Standing with this possibly great, possibly terrible pairing is Lust (obsessive fixation versus productive passion), Eos (insatiable appetite/greed versus delighted fascination) and Tantalus (using knowledge for personal gain, regardless of the cost versus ridding the/your world of ills).

Being that this entire symbolic passel is in Aries, the thing we have to get past is something in ourselves. And those who don't, won't or are living in denial? They're the ones likely to get the worst of the Moon-Pluto (ruling) end of this eclipse as they fall on their Eos-Lust-Tantaus-Jupiter-Uranus. 

Which is better than falling on one's sword, if only because it's less likely to be fatal. (Still...big ouch. Mega ouch!)

Even more to the point are two other items worth mentioning - Pallas at  4 Scorpio (intuitive Wisdom) and Chiron at 0 Pisces conjunct calculated Lilith and 29 Aquarius (understanding society/social ills). In trine to the Mercury/Sun and sextile Moon-Pluto this is a figure known as a 'kite' in which though it's really, really tough to stop doing what we've been doing because oooooh, it's so much easier than other things and we really like doing it our way (and behaving like brats)...

...in spite of all, we know better. Like, oy...what a pain. A pain in my...

(No, I'm not going there.)  

So why bring this into a discussion about how much we don't know about our universe and Existence? Because when Pluto-Moon come together they become a
door. And that door can close in your face hard. Or it can open before you, allowing you to explore a life, a world, a universe...

...96% of which you don't yet know. And that would be the purpose of eclipses to begin with.  

.

Uranus and BP's Blowout

For those of you following what seems an interminable series of 'we're getting there' announcements coming out of British Petroleum (BP), when they started delays late last week it occurred to me that it might just be a very good thing if the delay took them all the way to that magical moment when Uranus will leave 29 Pisces and enter Aries.

Adjusting for time (to the site of the oil change), this event will occur on Thursday, May 27 at 8:44 in the evening. What does this mean if the attempt is made prior to this time? Obviously in terms of environmental effects, this leak can't be stopped a moment too soon. But does this timing of the shift into Aries and out of Sheat-occupied critical degree 29 Pisces tell us that anything done prior to this time is doomed not to work.

Pulling transits to the chart for the discovery of Uranus (a move made simply out of curiosity) reveals the transit North Node (propriety of necessity) conjunct Eris (discord) on Wednesday, May 26th at 6:09 in the evening, Deepwater time. 

It will be interesting to see how that manifests. 

Whatever happens at that point, there is a clear sign of 'shifting management' which shows on the BP corporate chart come Saturday morning (UK time). For those of the astro-techy tribe, the transit is Juno conjunct Pluto with Juno being in BP's natal 9th house and Pluto being in BP's natal 11th, just conjunct its North Node - which among other things speaks to corporate income. This may indicate an actual change of management, a shift of management with regards to this blow out or something else which will affect BP's income - and let's face it, if the US decides to send in military assets to fix what BP isn't fixing, that's going to be a very expensive bill hitting BP's bottom line.

Think the US won't do that? They do. Back when I was working in motion pictures, one of the films I worked on got permission to film aboard an aircraft carrier. There's a whole hairy story which goes with this, but the part which applies to this discussion is that when the film crew left, the carrier's captain had a survey done of everywhere the crew had been. The production company was summarily served with a bill covering the cost of repainting not just walls and railings, but a large section of the flight deck... and that's very special (and very expensive) paint they use on those decks, since it has to provide landing and take-off traction for fighter jets. 

Last note here...having secured the actual date of incorporation for BP (from the company itself) somewhere in the next couple of weeks I will undertake to write an article on same. It may get posted here, or it may get posted at Daykeeper Journal  (www.daykeeperjournal.com) ...I will at the very leave a message here to let everyone know.