A Gemini Sun, a Taurus New Moon and Mercury Station-Retrograde

A balloon festival in Chateaux d'Oex, Switzerland

(photo credit: Jynus January 2006)

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Fixed star Algol has a bit of an evil reputation ... one which is associated with how, why and what gets us to respond, whether to others, or something we really don’t like in or about our Self, what we're experiencing, and sometimes in terms of what we need to do, be, accept or recognize our part in (or responsibility for) - maybe as part of some greater relationship with others, but maybe just as part of dealing with our own reactions to our various life challenges.

To put it politely, Algol promotes growling - and this reputation hasn’t been enhanced/made any nicer by its long-term residence at 26 Taurus as 26 Taurus is a degree known for wanting things to be ‘nice’ (which in Taurus reads ‘the way I want them to be’) ... and just as often with little or no regard or though for anyone else or their preferences.

 New Moon at 26 Taurus with Mercury direct and on Station (glyph chart)

May 18, 2015 - 4:14 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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 New Moon at 26 Taurus with Mercury direct and on Station (text chart)

May 18, 2015 - 4:14 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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That would be part of the problem, of course ... with the other part being how wherever Algol is positioned (in the sky or in our chart) that would be an 'area of life' where things (or we are) “designed” to get poked, prodded, prompted, provoked and otherwise rousted from, by or through that devotion to our own perspective from time to time.

After all, how would Algol's presence at 26 Taurus play out if everything was going the way we thought it should?

Another thing about Algol worth mentioning: though Algol is indeed positioned at the aforementioned 26 Taurus, Algol is NOT part of the constellation Taurus.

Instead, it’s part of constellation Perseus. And any time we talk about Perseus, slayer of Medusa, we know there’s some sort of theme in play about being tested against our fears and all we fear most, whether that’s in/about our Self, or otherwise...

-link to post-

Medusa: Through Our Mental Mirror, Darkly

...all of which applies not just to the idea of a New Moon at 26 Taurus (and conjunct Algol) at 4:14 a.m. on Monday, May 18th (UT/+-0), but also to the idea that anything about Perseus refers to times which are going to confront us with some sort of question about our ability ... and (equally) our willingness to get past something we consider ‘fearful’ - whether what matters to us matters to the next person or not.

And that's not all (not by a country mile, as they say ...). That same day ... Monday, May 18th ... is also the date when the North Node arrives at 8 Libra.

-link to post-

To the Degree: 8 Libra

Astrologically, New Moons start cycles - either cycles of activity or cycles of experience, effort, realization or anything which will prompt emotional growth or growth as some sort of ‘maturing’ process which itself may last a month but the values of which (or the values we come to have because of our experiences) last far, far longer.

So just on the surface here, with this New Moon occurring in a responsive, responding, internally testing (and often testy) degree just as the North Node (the ‘do this’ side of the lunar node pair) arrives at 8 Libra ... that would tend to say there is a lot of this next lunar month which is going to be all about how much we’ve really learned in life and how realistic we’re willing to be about things - as opposed to what we want or like thinking, having to say or admit, do or grapple with believing. 

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Most of us just don’t want to do what we need to do, and with the North Node at 8 Libra, some of us don’t even know how we can do what we need to do - which rather gets back to what side of the Algol line we’re standing. Are we on the side which has been threatened by something in life? Or are we on the side which has been doing the threatening, whether purposeful or otherwise?

Much which exists as a consequence of what we have done (or chosen not to do) will now show up through where our lack of being responsible - ultimately for our Self - has been laid aside or rejected in favor of comfort or short term pleasures. These things - which now reflect through circumstances around us (relationships, situations, confrontations, influences) - they all speak of the Libra connection between who we are and how that affects others.

No human is an island, to nudge the old saying. With the North Node at 8 Libra from May 18th through June 2nd, it’s more than likely that at least a few of the things or issues which we have ignored or put off too long - those things will rise again, maybe in life, or maybe in the inner recesses of our eternally tender conscience.

Evidently we need to feel a little ouch, a little disquietude, a little discomfort. Evidently that’s what life thinks we need to get us past our personal inertia. With Mars having moved into Gemini last week (on Tuesday the 12th), much is in motion and much wants to get done.

Was that our wanting to be “too busy” to deal with the things which are going to pop up now and in the days ahead? Was that life moving to throw so much into our days and onto our mental tables that we would have to stop and make sure we were doing what we needed to do - which would be so very Mars in Gemini both from a ‘doing’ perspective and from the Gemini ‘thinking it through and refining my plans’ way?

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Plus all of this is happening with Mercury already on station. With Mercury due to go retrograde on Tuesday the 19th (at 1:50 in the morning), it’s station fully embraces the New Moon and the Moon’s North Node moving into a position where it will set off either a slew of learning through the experience of loss, or through the application of understanding what loss is - and what that means not only to us, but to others, maybe even those we have chosen to ignore.

So this would seem to be a turning point of some sort, although not one which will produce its ‘outcomes’ promptly. Mercury won’t be going direct again until June 11th.

Mercury Station-Retrograde (glyph chart)

May 19, 2015 - 1:49 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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 Mercury Station-Retrograde (text chart)

May 19, 2015 - 1:49 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Mercury Station-Direct (glyph chart)

June 11, 2015 - 22 33 (10 33 pm, UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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 Mercury Station-Direct (text chart)

June 11, 2015 - 22 33 (10 33 pm, UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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And with that Mercury station-direct moment overlapping Neptune’s station-retrograde (Neptune goes retrograde on June 12th), some things will still be confused at that point while other things will be in the middle of being ‘dissolved’ or revealed as incorrect (false, untrue, non-viable, unworkable, etc.) at that time... and going forward through June.

But so you know, there are just as many positives to Mercury + Neptune as negatives - it’s all in how you use it. The basic idea being that Mercury represents thought, speech or comprehension and Neptune’s actions melt things away while making them diffuse and fuzzy (or foggy and mysterious ... even magical or mystical) along the way, this combination supports the suspension of disbelief (believing) just as often as it leads to a lifting of a veil which reveals a reality which isn’t what we thought it was.

So while Mercury (plus) Neptune can equal deceit and self-delusion (lying to ourselves), it can also represent anything which is all about ‘letting go’ of some hard or fast shell. Or some illusion about something or someone which really needs to go. This Mercury/Neptune period for some will no doubt be and become a time of joy, of pleasure of all those things we look back on as that memory we so treasure. It can represent a time when we indulge in some ‘suspending of reality’ which is entirely harmless, such as when we read a book or watch a movie, ‘forgetting’ the “real world” outside as we indulge in the story or excitement in the tale.  

As for the planetary ‘layout’ of Mercury’s station, it’s both interesting for what it is, and interesting in what it isn’t - as diagrammed here:

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The above pictures the astrological ‘planetary picture’ known as a kite. This being a day after the New Moon, the Moon (which moves more-or-less a half-degree per hour) has already left Taurus for Gemini. In fact, as Mercury goes direct the Moon is in conjunction with royal star Aldebaran, lending either the specter of hope or need to priorities, actions, statements and choices made in conjunction with this station - and by implication, with all which would be connected to how we deal with and what we do with this entire period ... and all which comes from its influence(s), whether in terms of what happens in the world, what we do because of what happens around us, or who we are to be in this world, part of this world, and a member of the great family of mankind which - whether we like it or not - is charged with the care of our planet and everything about our world, including ourselves, each other and everything other part of Creation.

After all, didn’t we all get taught that what we don’t make we should be responsible for - and certainly not going around breaking?

As for that idea - breaking, breakage or however else it wants to be conjugated, while we tend to think of that as bad, it doesn’t have to be. A ‘breakthrough’ breaks the barrier presented with equal destruction as that which merely damages, it’s just one we like and one we don’t like.

But that very idea - the what we like versus what we don’t like - that is, in part, the very lynchpin being operated on now. So what is good and what is bad - and will we know right now?

Maybe. Then again, maybe not. About the only ‘clue’ we have is that end-of-Mercury’s-retrograde fact that there is a Neptunian moment of ‘letting go’ of (or losing) something which is going to happen or take shape as we move towards and into the middle of June.

As usual, it depends on where we are starting - a position we would find and outline by using your natal, solar and current lunar charts. But barring that (and the particulars of nuance which come with your personal and individual data), one thing we can say: the emotional underpinnings of this month are still going to have a Taurean flavor, whatever else they become. And because of that, considering the New Moon and its Algol-ian ‘ill flavor,’ we are all and every each one of us more than usually prone to being (or at least acting) in ways others will react to (because remember, they’re busy reacting to things in their own Algol-North Node/8 Libra-tinged ways  in ... well, maybe not the most positive of manners. And if we’re not conscious of who we are and why anyone and everyone is doing what they’re doing (including our first person Self), we’re going to respond to their responses with something which will just make everything worse - all because we all tend to have so much trouble with understanding how anyone could like what we don’t like, be it a way of life or a flavor of ice cream.

You know, that Taurus/Scorpio polarity thing.

-link to post-

Sun in Taurus

So let’s think ... are we going to like this process?

Probably not. Between the North Node (which represents that we don’t want to HAVE to do) being at 8 Libra (not the zodiac’s happiest transit point) in a moment when Algol’s snark-snap-bite is being evoked not just for a day but as a background ‘theme’ which lasts the entire lunar month (read: until the Gemini New Moon of June 16) ... it doesn’t exactly sound like a summer peaches-and-cream sort of delight.

Still, that doesn’t mean good can’t come out of these days - or the month which flows from them. It’s just that it’s not going to be easy (for us) to get there ... or rather, it’s not going to be easy for us to want to do the thing which will get us there.

And is that about the difficulty of the moment - or about simply who we are?

Answer: yes.

In other words, your guess is as good as mine here, as that information would come from your personal chart. So alas, only time will tell. And when time does ‘tell,’ (time speaks to many things) those who are listening will have the opportunity for a kind of personal insight which stands us very well in the long run for freeing us from unworkable preconceived notions. 

As for that planetary picture (ye olde kite) Mercury is in a grand trine with Ceres/Chaldea and the North Node, the idea of guarding old ways and general ‘guardianship’ (responsibility of some type) is presented as an ‘ongoing’ issue. But when you come right down to it ... as we start zeroing in or focusing in on things, what we are likely to find is the “full kite” effect - that being a kite which doesn’t include Mercury, but which is valid using the Moon and royal star Aldebaran, the star which guarantees success only where we have not compromised (never mind violated) some integral standard of integrity.

This suggests the possibility of somewhat divergent impulses. One one hand, the Mercury station grand trine speaks to ongoing ideas, standing agreements and existent ways of doing things. On the other hand, there is a need (read: requirement) that we maintain our integrity (particularly our emotional integrity) in our efforts - represented by the kite’s two sextiles, to deal either with our own propensity either for outbursts of aggression or the experience of violence resulting from any other viable, acceptable or applicable skill ... or the finding of something which can harness the ‘untapped’ energies currently manifesting in-or-as something undesirable. Both are ‘sides’ of 8 Aries, a degree which in this moment is conjunct Medea (obsessive, often self-destructive energy) and which even after Medea moves away is going to influence life matters for the next while (until June 2nd).

Lore speaks of this degree as being one which is ultimately bent on getting us to clarify who we are - which would be very consistent with Aries’ typically first person “I/me” energy. The problem lies with getting us there - which given how 8 Aries is being activated by the South Node suggests the way forward is at least in part about working to understand what that North Node at 8 Libra ‘loss’ factor is.

After all, with Diadem involved, there is something of incredible value to be learned - or simply gained. But it’s going to take time. Considering how the ruler of Libra (in which the North Node and Diadem sit) is Venus and how as of May 17th (the date Mercury’s station begins) Venus will be in opposition to Pluto-Vega-Kassandra in Capricorn there are unbelievable (Kassandra) potentials and much fervency and passion being felt on the part of some.

This Venus opposition to Pluto (inclusive of oppositional orb) lasts from the 17th through late on May 27th (in the UT/+0 zone). And while they’re feeling that, others are experiencing a few days of passionate disbelief - or perhaps the disbelief, even the rejection of a level of some passion, should they be an observer.

One other perhaps miscellaneous Mercury note: when Mercury goes direct on June 11th, it will be doing so at 4 Gemini, the degree in exact opposition (polarity) to 4 Sagittarius - which is the degree Saturn went retrograde at back on March 14th.

-link to post-

Saturn Retrograde - Phaethon Direct

Did some sort of (Phaethon) haste ... or determination concreted hastily ‘back then’ lead to where we are now, making the whole of the impending Mercury retrograde somehow about working out where we were and how far we have (or haven’t) gotten since March 14th?

Maybe that’s why we’re going to make a change about something? Or now change something about whatever we were working with or on back then?

It could be. Then again, we could just be doing something more normal and mundane with our Mercury retrograde - like cleaning out the garage or doing our filing (mental, digital or otherwise). Mercury retrograde represents a chance to ‘catch up,’ either with our Self or others, which is why we often hear from people we haven’t heard from in a while under Mercury retrograde, and why Mercury retrograde is also a time to stop and ‘fill in the gaps,’ whether that means doing research, making plans or working on something you need in order to move ahead once Mercury does go direct.

Apart from all that however, is a whole other way to see the kite. Kites often represent a new way to ‘see’ or approach things - and if you think of that  as grabbing the ‘kite string’ which would theoretically be tied to the tail of a real kite, that suggests that there are options and opportunities which require or depend on our willingness (or ability) to go through some sort of North Node, 8 Libra, Diadem sort of experience - maybe in our own mind (we are talking about air sign Libra here, so this could all be a mental escapade) ... or maybe with regards to a relationship, or our ability or inability to relate to some external thing, person, organization or situation.

As Mercury goes retrograde, two other celestial objects are also on station, too. One (Damocles) is going retrograde at 25 Aquarius, a degree which complicates the Damocles nature, that nature being all about the very human habit we all have to critique, criticize and think we could do a better job with something UNTIL we’re the one in the hot seat - at which point we suddenly recognize how what we were being so glib about critiquing is a whole lot harder and far more complicated than we had thought.

And maybe that means we should think a little more before speaking? Or that we should learn a little more about what we’re taking a position on (or talking about) before taking that position? This goes to both the stationing degrees of Mercury and Damocles in that 13 Gemini (Mercury’s position) is all about abilities which though substantial are frustrated by mechanisms/people which are defined (astrologically) as being quite possibly ‘less qualified’ on the specific subject but more ‘acceptable’ and ‘easily grasped’ or accessed. 13 Gemini asks that we bridge some gap, and that gap starts within our Self. To be truly and fully successful, we need to understand within our Self (the retrograde pointing to this being an inner comprehension being sought).

And yet, will we want to? Where we have already done this sort of thing, is that what is now coming to the surface for us to explore and learn from?

In adding in Damocles 25 Aquarius, we begin to see something more of the dynamics here as 25 Aquarius is a social/non-personal third-decanate degree in the airy sign of Aquarius, a sign which is social, systemic and which turns brittle, fracturing wherever and whenever we attempt to bend the universal Aquarian whole into some shape which suits our individual (Leo) ego-defined preferences.

This polarity - the Leo/Aquarian polarity - is about using our ego to develop our Self so that we find a place in society, with the finding part of that process being the Aquarian part. So when we speak of Damocles going retrograde in the latter part of Aquarius, we are speaking of a difficulty we are finding with or in society as we are trying to go about our business or find our personal place/space in this world ... or we are realizing that something about the world’s issues (and our conviction that we can ‘fix that’) is ... well, a bit more difficult and complicated than we thought it was.

And all the experiences which will get us into this space? That’s what we will be experiencing as both Damocles and Mercury go into retrograde on Tuesday, May 19th (UT/+0) ... just as the motion of dwarf planet Orcus turns to direct.

Roman god Orcus represents all that can no longer be changed, and in going retrograde at 5 Virgo, Orcus speaks to several things, all of which are going to operate under the auspices of royal star Regulus, the star which tells us that what we do (our choices, actions, priorities, methods) is only successful when our actions (thoughts, choices, positions, etc.) are in no way connected with any desire for revenge.

At 5 Virgo, Orcus’ current ‘finality’ concerns all which has been done and all the many people and other forms of life which have been operating out of a sense of doing what was required or asked of them.

Something is done ... or something has come to be done. Those who have done the ‘doing’ are either ‘done’ themselves, or they are done ‘doing’ or they are ‘done’ with whatever has been formerly regarded as a serviceable duty. And now all of that is coloring the need to bridge some gap in terms of whatever cannot be changed (or perhaps carried on with or continued in its current form/format) even as Damocles goes into retrograde at 25 Aquarius, a degree which in adding a very distinct and sometimes violently determined energetic speaks to some gnawing at the bit, a bit of biting the hand which feeds us and a whole variety of merry variations on feeling torn about something on the inside while needing to keep moving on the outside.

And yes, those two impulses could be about the very same thing. They don’t have to be about the same thing ... but they could be, in which case the frustration being felt by others would be understandably felt by us, speaking of Algol.

Then again, we could be at a loss. Or thinking about what we may stand to lose ... or need to lose, which with Damocles in Aquarius and the North Node in Libra like as not refers to some (Libra) relationship we have - whether to others, our ability to relate to others, or something having to do with how we feel about our (Damocles) chances of making something work, either in our own mind or in some more interactive or public situation.

And again - all of this is happening under a lunation (lunar month) influence which will tend to make it difficult for us to even want to see things from any other perspective apart from our own, even if that’s where our answer is.

All of this is what it is and takes place within forty-eight hours (between May 18th and 19th). Then we get a day of dealing with Mercury just having gone retrograde at a moment when the Sun is at 29 this-could-be-sticky degrees of Taurus, that being what the Sun has to do before it then enters Gemini at 8:46 in the morning on May 21st (UT/+0).

Sun in Gemini (glyph chart)

May 21, 2015 - 9:44 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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 Sun in Gemini (text chart)

May 21, 2015 - 9 44 am (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Sun in Gemini is much like Sun in Taurus in the sense that it’s about the ‘me’ of life. It’s basic and like all three of the first quadrant zodiac signs (those signs being Aries, Taurus, Gemini), it’s about learning to be the person we are (part one), and in time, learning how to be that person to our benefit.

(Yes, we all have things to learn about being who we are - at least metaphysically!)

So as fire sign/first sign Aries is about learning how to ‘be’ and operate our body (eat, sleep, walk, smile, pee, etc.) so that we can in time have a good (Libra) effect on others (or at least the effect we want to have on them) ... and just as second zodiac sign Taurus is where we learn to recognize that now that we exist we have to take care of our Self (leading to all of those Taurus ‘desires’ which tend to manifest as ‘gathering to our Self’ everything we need while working out how to control enough life factors that we feel secure) ... Gemini, as the first of the zodiac air signs is all our experience of ideas - initially as input from others and then as the process of thinking for our Self. Gemini experiences - and all of the many ‘Gemini options’ are about learning how to think, how to think about those things, and about learning to choose from our options those which will work for us. Gemini is about learning to learn and learning what learning how assembling ideas creates knowledge and how putting plural ideas to work in the form of a ‘plan’ can teaches us ever more interesting things - such as how to succeed with others and in the world.

That part of the puzzle (as with all signs) is expressed by Gemini’s polarity sign - in this case,  Sagittarius, a sign which to the Gemini process represents not only another “source” of ideas and options (all of which will test whether we have learned to discipline our thinking and stay on course, on subject, on schedule and on top of things) but reactions to what we say, reactions to what we do and responses from all the way around the mulberry bush with regards to our plans, our goals, our efforts and whatever else we “put out there.”

So with the Sun in Gemini, we live in our heads more than usual. We’ll talk about things in ‘idea form’ more than usual. We’ll discuss what we think of things, we’ll debate the merit of things, we’ll want to see and think through options ... and we’re likely to be both more frustrated - and frustrating - when it comes time to make a decisions (“There are just too many options - I can’t decide!!!”). With the Sun entering Gemini in opposition to Saturn (at 1 Sagittarius), there are things which matter to us and no doubt at least a few things we need to attend to. And as  Mercury in retrograde as the Sun is starting into its annual game of Gemini hopscotch, we’re likely to be ‘stuck’ on something or about something in some way. This doesn’t have to be a problem, but it could be, especially where we (Gemini can sound disoriented when it isn’t, sound organized when it isn’t and otherwise change tack or tactics with the speed of the wind)

Around the end of the month (on the morning of May 30th in the UT/+0 zone) the Sun - in direct motion - meets up with Mercury, still in retrograde, at 8 Gemini, turning the Mercury/Moon kite formation we’ve already discussed into one with the Sun instead of the Moon and Mercury now folded (origami style, no doubt) into the kite. The ‘tail’ of any astrological kite image always being the thing we are supposed to ‘take hold of’ and use for ‘steering’ purposes, this again points us back towards all those things we should be doing or accepting as part of (North Node) life (even if we don’t want to) and either the application or learning about things through difficulties and (most often) loss, whether or not that really ‘costs’ us. The grand trine between North Node, Sun/Mercury and Ceres being an airy one, much of this operates on the mental level, which given Mercury retrograde and its well-earned reputation for making things difficult and requiring us to work through difficulties ... or to wait for them to clear up ... that could help as we hold firm to things we believe in.

Then again, it may make things harder if what we’re holding onto isn’t true or doesn’t work - whether it has before now or not.

About the time Mercury goes direct and Neptune turns to retrograde is when the Sun catches up with Mars at 21 Gemini, a degree which is known for a dissipating or scattering effect, which with perspective-oriented Pallas in opposition may indicate feeling scattered, having disconnected or ‘scattered’ things on your mind or plate to get done. The Mars side of things may speak to a (Mars) impulse or effort to ‘scatter’ or perhaps split something into parts or pieces ... is this because of some (Pallas) perspective we have come to have as Mercury goes direct and Neptune turns to retrograde? Is it because we get some sort of (Sagittarian) feedback or input from someone or some source which gives us some enlightening or possibly important form of Pallas ‘perspective’ on what we’re doing?

With Sun in Gemini what we learn about our Self always (at least over time) puts us in a better position to be productive - however we define that term. There's a nonce of a negative which goes with this ... namely how we’re not likely to be in the mood to be told things, so if you happen to be someone who's been told that you come off 'tougher' than you mean to ... or if you're just natively of an authoritarian bent (or too assertive) ... especially after Mars and the Sun come into orb of conjunction around May 29th (and escalating on from there)... you may want to make an effort over these next weeks (until the Sun moves into Cancer) to soften your tone, lest it set off ill feelings or cause someone to think you’re saying something you don’t mean to be saying at all.

And just to give you a preview, after Mars in Gemini comes Mars in Cancer, an entire month plus (read: six weeks) filled with touches of moodiness. (In other words, plan on dealing with the need to modulate energies and responses through the beginning of August).

The irony of the ‘flip side’ to all this is how we are (for the greatest part) open to conversations and dialogues. And if, or to the extent that we can keep some “Pallas perspective” on what we’re doing without needing to get poked (gently and/or otherwise) by others, we’re likely to find that a light touch and willingness to free ourselves up to hear things we may have been resisting talking about just a short time ago. And give or take the fact no Mercury retrograde ever runs in a straight line (and how by the end of Mercury retrograde the Sun and Mars running in Gemini sync (a fact which from there is going to go on for a while) energies are going to be running high.

Some will use this freewheeling, ultra-airy energy (think: 'free as the wind...') to work through complicated problems. Some will experience this energy as an easy-running period which for whatever reason feels as effortless as the flight of birds riding the passing breeze.

With Mercury traversing Gemini for the whole of the time the Sun is illuminating each of Gemini's degrees, each of them a chance to see a different facet of life through our mind's eye. The restlessness of Gemini energy can have us chasing paperwork or dreaming up fabulous plans at the same times that we're having to look for our car keys because we've gotten distracted (but you know ... who cares?) and when waiting for so-and-so to get back to us with that VERY important information even while attending to ninety-two other things can be terribly irritating - or just the excuse we've been looking for. It’s the sort of combination which can have us thinking we’ve heard what people are saying when we’re really only hearing what we want to hear not out of malice, but because we want so much to bounce ideas around with someone. Like the zodiac’s other three mutable signs (Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) Gemini speaks to situations and processes best served by being flexible enough to change a few things along the way even while continuing to aim for a previously determined goal. With Gemini being Mercury’s ‘home’ sign, having the Sun in Gemini through June 21st (when it moves on into Cancer) may be a time when there’s too much in our heads and seemingly too much noise to concentrate.

But it’s all meant to get us closer to knowing who we are. Gemini provides options so that we learn how to think and how to put together a life which ‘works’ for us. In doing so, first we ‘set’ our eyes on some far (Sagittarian) horizon ... which may or may not be what we think it is, which may or may not be desirable if and when we get there.

All of which teaches us what our mental priorities are ... and sometimes what they should be instead. When that happens, we react to what we’re learning about our Self, we deal with the million thoughts and questions about what this new information ‘means’ to everything else we know of and work it in among all our other affairs ... or not.

And that’s the Gemini influence, one which this year (at least for a time) will surely be affected in some way by all we associate with the North Node at 8 Libra. With regards to Sun in Gemini, the ‘loss’ implied by 8 Libra may refer to thoughts like ‘last time I tried that and it didn’t work - I’m going to try something else.’ Or maybe someone you are working with isn’t there, meaning you’re going to have to work by yourself and therefore do that Gemini ‘thinking thing’ by yourself since you’ve ‘lost’ the opportunity (at least for the moment?) to do things as you’re used to doing them.

And how does that apply to the myth behind Gemini? Well, to condense the myth from a gallon of text down to a verbal  teaspoon, the story behind Gemini centers largely on this constellation's two hallmark stars: Castor and Pollux.

Constellation Gemini

(image generated using Stellarium software)

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In the story, Castor and Pollux are twin brothers. And when one of the brothers (Castor) tries to win his point using brute strength, he gets utterly struck town - only to be saved by his brother Pollux, a quick thinking (not to mention well-spoken) type who so impresses head honcho Olympian god Zeus (aka astrology's Jupiter) that Zeus agrees to save Castor by turning both brothers into stars, where each would be able to shine in their own right.

The thing to remember about this myth is that we are both Castor AND Pollux: we often try to lead with our ‘strong’ points and strengths, only resorting to more intellectual (read: air sign oriented) solutions once the fact we are going to pay some price (in other words, absorb some loss) has become evident.

All of which makes thinking through this conglomeration of symbols - and all which flows from them - all the more serious, all the more worth thinking through (that would be very Gemini, after all) and exquisitely woven with possibilities.

So ... what are we willing to try?
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Mars Direct (Blogpost: May 19-20)

The atmosphere of Mars as photographed by the Viking Orbiter

(photo credit: NASA 1976)

Congratulations!

No, seriously - congratulations to you (and the rest of us) for making it through a sincerely pretzel-ing series of celestial psycho-pressure points. In arriving at the Mars station (and Mars direct), apart from anything else, for those who have become even a bit more conscious of who we are in light of who we aren’t, bravo. For those who have confronted what it means to be who you are in the moment as well as in the light of your history, our history or history itself... for anyone who willing to see any set of differences merely for what they are, my congratulations.
 
Why? Because this set of months (and retrogrades past) has not been easy on anyone. Our tolerance has run thin at times, especially where things have challenged our ability... or (more likely)... our willingness to factor in anything other than our own convictions, especially as that pertains to who we are.
 
In being driven into the depths of our Self, there we learned more about who we are. People seldom take time for such things nowadays...which may be why life has to do ever more drastic things to get us to stop and think, consider things on a feeling basis or simply breathe, depending we tend to run shortest on.
 
Does that metaphysically mean that our times are more turbulent because it takes more to get us to periodically stop being connected and resume being our Self?
Maybe. It’s a thought - beyond which I tender hearty applause to all of us for merely having weathered the past five months of convolutions - not that we’re quite done yet however, as in the process of May 19th coming upon us our Big Picture [Damocles] challenges still loom large, and though we would like to [Mars] ‘get on with it,’ we also know somewhere deep down inside that haste could make waste...and yes, how we have already done a bit of that, the [Orcus] results of which - good, bad and indifferent - have become apparent.
 
Waste, I mean. Physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially...somehow we all can remember something. And if we can’t remember, surely about now something (read: Orcus going direct in Virgo) will remind us.
 
Though there may be cost, the real ‘cost’ indicated by Orcus is the lack of opportunity to ‘go back and do it over’ knowing better from the start. And yes, there may be some regret, frustration or internal chiding of the ‘why didn’t I realize that?’ or some such which, considering Orcus and Mars are both going direct within twenty-four hours of each other suggests that something pragmatic having to do with having or making something work [Virgo] must be considered ‘dead’ [Orcus], meaning something else must be taken on or considered as a fact or tact or way of seeing things... just may mean this Mars/Orcus station is about really bringing us to some point where we’re willing to listen or communicate or negotiate something which is tough for us for reasons which are probably entirely personal.
 
For no other reason than because we’re sick and tired of things not going well, we’re becoming a whole lot more about actually getting things done. There’s an aura of [Orcus] consequence brewing which is challenging our misalignments of ego - most of all with/within our Self or soul - to resurface in some sort of humanely pragmatic form. We know that what is happening shouldn’t be happening - and if you’re more than personally observant you’ll probably notice how rather magically each one of us is being confronted with just that little thing which creates just enough vulnerability to bring about relating.
 
Oh yes...we have all been thinking it was about ‘them.’ The holdup or the problem? Ah yes, that was ‘them.’ No matter who we are, some ‘they’ (or that) was doing, not done or not doing something, leaving us with an odd taste in mind about sitting and waiting for some unknown shoe which may just drop. (Or not drop.) And while waiting with unconvinced anticipation we've been doing a lot of figuring...pondering...thinking about things near and far. Some such contemplations have been earnest while others were merely out of interest.

And some...? Some where just our needing some measure of distraction.
 
Yet were we really waiting? And if so, who were we waiting for, and why? What was that based on - or in, given our particular situation? We may know why we’ve been wait...we may even know what we were (hopefully) waiting for. We may even have been dedicated to the proposition of “waiting our turn.”

And then...wonder of wonders...just as we forget about the waiting, something pertaining to matters, shipments, products and concerns which under Mars retrograde (or coming into Mars retrograde) got stalled, backlogged, diverted, ignored, delayed or which went just plain ‘missing’ ...now, just as we reconcile ourselves to the reality of our imperfect world and all the imperfect people and things in that world, just as despite all we form some sort of recognition about the balance of pluses and minuses in our past, present and/or future...

...about then, something begins to shift. Under any circumstance (retrograde or direct, in other words) Mars in Libra has an odd ability to show us up to others so that through those others we learn about our Self (and beyond that, what works and doesn't work as motivated by our inner Self).

And that quality, that is what has brought us to our crossroads, a place where for the duration of the (May 18-22) station during which in a subtle if very real way we will achieve some sort of an understanding which in part lies beyond what others just say or think and beyond mere appearances. In essence we aren't learning about them at all right now, but about who we are in relationship to them (or some situation)...and why that dynamic (the Mars power of the Libra interaction) is what determines much of our success or rejection with others and in much of what we do in daily life.

These realizations may be exotic or they may be simple. Over the next few weeks they will remain with us and begin coloring our choices and abilities to converse, transact, interact and make whatever course corrections are or will be needed in the coming weeks and months - during which .

In other words, it isn’t about them... it’s about us - and yes, that’s what any astrologer would have been telling you all along. It’s what astrologers always say and because the nature of anything in retrograde tends to be inward, the basic facility to connect to and process that very information will be interrupted.

Question: So why don’t astrologers just hush up for the duration and wait for people to emerge from their cocoons to discuss things?

Answer: Because those who learn to recognize the difference between energies in retrograde and energies in direct motion will in time not be subject (or at least be less subject) to those facets of their persona, psyche, personality or inbuilt/knee-jerk reactivity/reactions which may well be less productive natures as time goes along. The difference between productive and problematic retrograde periods is pretty much just about this: the ability to recognize the problem and sort through it either in private, behind the scenes or personally (internally) before proceeding so that everything as a whole functions more effectively.

In theory, those who learn the process of retrograde cycles are still subject to the same ‘slow down’ periods but instead of being or becoming wholly stymied they learn to...(a.) understand the incoming cycle while (b.) watching for slowing forward progress which is the cue to - in keeping with symbol, sign and placement in your personal natal and solar chart - then becomes (c.) a period of less ‘outward’ or at least ‘final/finalized’ activity through which greater understanding and capacity is gained.

All of this could be summed up in the immortal words ‘to everything there is a season, turn, turn, turn...’ but then you wouldn’t think I was giving you your due as the not-so-local local astrologer even if the expression is sincerely true.That we have such a well-known phrase on such a subject, that we think such thoughts, all that - metaphysically - is because we are all connected, all contiguous, all part of each and every other person's life from our electrons to our understandings and on up the line as people.

Which would be why we take our time with each other: because we're people. You may be a very 'big' person and I may be little. Poor or rich, smart or clueless, responsible or otherwise, humans are all - in the end - just people.

It's our very best and worst quality all in one.

Amidst the gardens of Italy's Villa Hadrian (Hadrian's Villa) stands

this statue of god Mars (also known as Ares)

Mars is going direct at 1:32 in the morning (UT/+0) on May 20th. With much still undefined there is an odd combination of feeling stymied, a bit emotionally ‘mired’ (whatever that means in your life)... and yet a little restless, all of which amounts to one of those days-nights-experiences of not knowing quite what to do which leads to dealing mostly with whatever is right in front of us.

There’s nothing wrong with that as long as we are remembering to be aware, though that may lead to some degree of mental overload or [Neptune at 7 Pisces] utter confusion. Try as we may and protest as we might (trust me, some will - loudly) these qualities are unlikely to shift until just over twenty-four more hours passes and the Sun enters Gemini on May 21st at 3:00 p.m. (UT/+0 time).
 
And a note to the born yellers, debaters and confronters in the crowd: Venus is still in Aries. So though the boldly courageous which we are willing to embody may go well, when it comes to anything which smacks even vaguely of ego...well, let's just put it this way: do you really want to be known for what you are likely to be seen as/as doing? Care may be advisable in the short run particularly where we are using any form of “capital,” be that a physical resource or financial capital - even the ‘personal capital’ an established reputation or track record gives us. It isn’t that the action (or transaction) itself is necessarily problematic (it may or may not be, but that’s a different issue), it’s why we are doing or not doing something which can be out-of-kilter with our more “normal” feelings. Under Venus in Aries, even without Mars being in retrograde or on station people tend to think in more ‘first person’ terms than usual - which is a bit torturous to think about particularly as that concerns others, seeing how each party will be considering the other based on this somewhat canted perspective.
 
(See the problem?)

Some of us will be put on notice now for actions or choices already taken. Or when others may find out what you’ve been doing, whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Whatever it takes to get us to see who we are (and aren’t) and what that means in the greater scope (generally greater than we have been thinking), that’s what happens now.
 
These effects DO NOT have to be violent, disruptive or even vaguely obvious. Mars stations often enough simply mark either a flinch-worthy or ‘light bulb’ moment - that thing which inspires and motivates us as we move on. With this Mars station being in Libra we are - and have been mirrors for one another, and for ourselves most particularly over these past months, exacerbating our own concerns in the process.

Metaphysically, our trials have not been about ‘them’: they’ve been about something in them which attracts us. We have been seeking some sort of lesson about ourselves and have (seemingly by magic) attracted anything or anyone we could learn that lesson from... or at least get keyed into learning that lesson by.
 
The tale which led us to or through our experiences began last December on a Venusian ‘how to get the rewards I want out of life’ note... moved through the organizational and mental Mercury (debate) phase throughout February - after which we were all unceremonially sealed into the turbulent confines of our own best stealing-or-steely psycho-emotional embrace.
 
No, it isn’t about them - it’s about us. As if to underscore this (at least astrologically), as I was perusing my ephemeris wondering when the next dose of Mars retrograde challenge (I would use a different word but I’m trying to be optimistic here...) when that sluice gate will burst open.

Answer: April 2016, and next time around Venus retrograde will be miles away in time, seeing as Venus’ closest retrograde escapade will run from late July 2015 through early September of 2015.

But that’s not really what I was looking at which so pertains to present-tense time. What I was checking on was the concept that each successive Mars retrograde falls in the following sign - which would mean the next retrograde would be happening in Scorpio, one of Mars’ two ruling signs.

You remember Scorpio right - from last year’s November eclipse, never mind the relationship we all have to any sort of [Scorpio] subject which asks us to risk our self-worth, sense of (emotional) security, life or personal or public reputation/image?

As much as we all think we adore Scorpio there’s not one of us who doesn’t fear it, and as I say that I’ll bet every Scorpio Sun, Moon and most of the Scorpio Ascendants are murmuring under their confidential breath in agreement...as are (now that I think about it,) all the Taurus Ascendants, since having a Taurus Ascendant means you automatically have a Scorpio Descendant.

And yes, I say that as someone who not only has a Scorpio Moon but who knows a bunch of people with Taurus Ascendants, all of whom may have thought they were going to get off without my mentioning the obvious. 

(No such luck, sorry.)
 
So when it comes to our next Mars retrograde (which I’m evidently done thinking about, never mind slogging through) it starts in Sagittarius and ends in Scorpio...specifically at 23 Scorpio.
 
Does that ring any bells?
 
It should...or if you’re into remembering degrees, it should, as 23 Scorpio is the degree that Saturn as at when it went retrograde on March 2nd, a day after Mars went retrograde this past March.
 
As a concept, that at least subtly links events or developments (the formulating of a goal, the starting of a relationship or something akin to that) which began back around the beginning of March and which have developed through or throughout this Mars retrograde to things which will play out or have a next ‘phase’ start-or-finish point near or just after the end of June, 2016.
 
Speaking of ‘end of June’s, it’s also worth noting that in keeping with the fact Mars will take over a full month to resume its “average” rate of moving through one degree every two days or so, meaning we should think of June as a ‘start’ or a ‘ramping up’ month which in also reflecting Mercury’s going into and being in Gemini retrograde is still highly functional if in a distinctly behind-the-scenes (and/or) ‘in process/not finalized’ mode.

  
Mars entered the shadow of its retrograde back in December, 2013 - just a few days before Venus went retrograde. And though Mars will go direct on May 20, 2014 it doesn’t emerge from the shadow of this wholly Libra retrograde until July 20th.

That means we still have time to build and rebuild - not just in the physical sense, but based in part on all we’ve learned to let go of and what that means we may do...and with a deal of conscious effort, yet become and be with and among others. 
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Agamemnon, Eros, Damocles: What Insistence Brings

 Chryses visits Agamemnon to Ransom his daughter Chryseis (4th century)

photo credit: Habib M'henni (Oct 2010)

As asteroid Agamemnon crosses the line into Cancer at 35 minutes past midnight on May 16th, several things take hold…in our world, and as affects our outlook.

For one, this is Agamemnon moving into the sign of what will be July’s solar eclipse. We saw this trend begin back in April…first with Medea entering Cancer on April 23rd then with Psyche entering Cancer on April 25th (LINK to 4/25 Blog Post). Given that solar eclipses tend to give us a 6-8 week period prior to occurrence when issues concerning that sign get challenged, become challenging or seem to shift entirely, April would seem a little early when you’re talking about a solar eclipse which will happen July 1st.

But considering that Psyche represents our mind and the innate awareness of self?

LINK to Full Article on EROS and PSYCHE

And considering not just that Medea is the sort of fixation which can cause us to do totally irrational things but actually undermine our cause – and that Medea’s entrance into Cancer occurred at a moment when Mercury was not just on station going direct, but doing so in opposition to Saturn…?

LINK to Blog post of April 23rd

If life was a story plot we’d call this a ‘foreshadowing device,’ as this time was surely an echo of things to come. For you, the ‘echo’ may be emotional. For some it might have been situational. And for many, this entire April through July period is going to be one giant headache.

As we came into May, Medusa (fear of knowing) entered Cancer. And now here comes Agamemnon. So now we have Psyche (awareness of our mind) plus Medea (loving to distraction/destruction), Medusa (fear of knowing/fearful knowledge) and Agamemnon (stubborn insistence) all in Cancer. That sounds a lot like mental digging-in activity, particularly when we consider that in moving into Cancer, Agamemnon (and all the rest of the points mentioned in this regard) have moved from the ‘personally pro-active’ side of the zodiac into the ‘responsive-receptive’ hemisphere zone.

So adding all those things together, we are either aware of things which make us stubbornly self-limiting (even destructive) or we are becoming aware that there are things which we’ve been clinging to stubbornly which in the end are (or have become) limiting or undermining of our actual aims.

Such matters and realizations may be person. They could be global or societal. Or they could be a grandly dislikeable combination of both.

Also to remember here is that this is so not just about you! Cancer is the first of the water signs. As such, it got a whole ‘instinctive’ quality to it which feels very ‘me-ish.’ But when we’re talking mundane (global) astro-doings, it pays to remember that everyone is going through a version of this. It isn’t just you!

In fact, that others are going through all this stuff? That may be contributing to your questions, challenges and general sluggishness in achieving productive aims.

A lot of things say much is about to change however. The first would be that this moment – the ‘today’ of it all (May 16, 2011) is one day shy of a Full Moon. So while things are cranking up to ‘full,’ there’s this screwing down into ‘personal’ mode… which may or may not be productive. Considering how the May’s Full Moon will be (as it always is) in Scorpio, the real question is not what you want (even if you’d like that to be the question!) …the real question is how your positions work for everyone else, near and far.

Just to make this a little more exciting, asteroid Eros is also crossing into Aries today. Given that it’s doing so at 2:43 in the afternoon (UT/+0), that means it’s at a full-press maximally evocative 29 degrees of Pisces when Agamemnon hits Cancer.

That tell us that the first part of the day is distinctly emotional and centered-on-self quality. Whether or not it’s actually self-centered…? That depends on you (and where 29 Pisces, Eros and/or Agamemnon are in your natal chart). But rather universally, this would be a moment when emotions are getting provoked or evoked. It isn’t likely to be a cool-as-a-cucumber moment.

But let’s also remember – these are not planets, these are asteroids we are talking about. And considering that asteroids such as Eros and Agamemnon reside in the asteroid belt which orbits between Mars and Jupiter, what this all represents is a learning about self and life. Where planets are modes and ‘personal realities,’ asteroids represent all those things we meet up with on a periodic basis in various forms as part of our daily, normal life.

It’s just when we see them in clumps – and there are great clumps of asteroids – that does tend to emphasize a greater ‘learning curve theme’ that everybody is going through. At the moment there is a huge grouping of asteroids in Taurus, Gemini and Cancer, with less populated clusters strewn through Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn…

….which pretty distinctly pictures two sides of the picture, the problem, the coin, the issue, the debate – and all the other merry forms such pro/con, you/me, us/them, private/public (etc.) things can take.

And let’s not forget – TNO Orcus just went direct in Virgo. That ‘TNO’ designation telling us that Orcus – unlike Agamemnon, Psyche, Medusa, Medea, Eros and countless others…Orcus is not merely a TNO, Orcus is a Dwarf Planet. So as an astrological descriptor, it “outranks” an asteroid. Thus our experience of Orcus effects represent our meeting up with asteroid effects – not the other way around.

TNO's (standing for Trans Neptunian Objects) are things beyond our ‘knowing’ …except when they happen, that is. Japan’s catastrophic experience of  a Godzilla earthquake meeting up with a Mothra tsunami causing the mother of all nuclear plant malfunctions is something of this ilk. Those events – signaled by Neptune and Uranus both being at 29 degrees of respective signs for but a couple of days (during which the earthquake and tsunami happened) is causal. That’s a planetary signal.

But the consequences which must be dealt with down the line? That would be Orcus – and that Orcus is a TNO says such consequences are unbidden and unexpected: they just happen.

In a sense yes, we are all of this Planet Earth and therefore what happens in Japan and affects the ocean there (which is connected to all the rest of the oceans)…that’s global. The consciousness is global. But Orcus is a Dwarf Planet (smaller scale shift of dynamic) which in turning direct in Virgo yesterday puts us on notice that things will happen (direct motion: things happen, we react to or interface with them)….and that they are consequences or consequential. 

Into all this comes Damocles the swaggering courtier. Damocles had no idea why his king was always so worried. From where he stood (i.e., on the sidelines) the king’s job looked simple.

But jobs which entail a great deal of responsibility (especially where others are concerned) and which have serious potential to create lasting ‘ripple effects’ (i.e., consequences)…they just aren’t so simple. And that’s the point of the Damocles story. His king gets sufficiently irritated with his scoffing courtier to offer Damocles the job of king-for-a-day… and it’s only when Damocles sits down in the throne that he notices a sword poised – point down – directly over his head, representing all the possibilities of dangers which come with the job of king.

 The Sword of Damocles by Wenceslas Hollar (1607-1677)

As Damocles goes retrograde today at 4:40pm (UT+0) at 22 Aquarius, we are all reminded that some things aren’t as simple as they look. Damocles is a comet, too – not a planet, dwarf planet or asteroid. Comets have long been thought of as messengers which ‘bring news from afar’ – and that’s certainly one way to look at them. Another way is to think in terms of what their orbits really are.

In the case of Damocles, the other orbital point is at 22.1au – just beyond ‘breakthrough’ planet Uranus. It’s inner orbital point (the perihelion point) is at 1.58au…which places it in a region to do a do-si-do with Mars, given that Mars aphelion it at 1.6658au and its perihelion is at 1.381au.

Mars symbolizing the ‘initiator’ of action and activity in life, this seems rather apt – the whole Damocles story is about learning whether we should or shouldn’t do something (that kingly job). And learning what it takes to make such decisions – how doing the right thing (as opposed to the convenient thing) is not snap and strut and simple yes/no, black/white, good/bad.

When any type of object goes retrograde, the concept is that we reflect on its message. And just in case you’re not the type who’s reflective by nature, not to worry…life will come along and deliver the kind of moment which will get you reflecting if you need to.

All this just prior to a Full Moon in Scorpio? Yes, it's one of those sure fire tests as to whether our values and self worth are intact and aimed in the right direction.

It's an interesting moment, to be sure!