Mercury in Capricorn

'Young Hermes at Rest'

(bronze, Naples National Archaeological Museum, photo credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen, 2011)

Since the last post ended with contemplations of rainstorms and possible floor flooding, an update: the water didn't come in under the front wall, it came in under the door and somehow staged wetting down two of my windowsills (yes, on the indoors side), but it wasn't horrible. Furthermore I gather my wakefulness had plenty of company - a good number of Los Angelenos stayed up or were woken up by the downpour (replete with whistling winds) when it hit at about 1:30 in the morning.

The reason water came in under the door, I understand. That's because it rained so hard (LA got something close to two inches of rain in a couple of hours) that the roof gutter  overflowed. And wouldn't you know, it overflowed in just the right place to set up a cascade of splatter which hit my front door, dripping down - and from there under the door.

The windowsills I haven't quite fathomed yet, but I'm working on it. And though it is always something (as they say) this is the first invasion by water for me this year, which even as a Pisces person I think is a bit much.
 
Getting to the subject of this post (thanks for listening)... Mercury is reaching Capricorn ahead of the Sun this year, which isn’t an unpleasant thought. After all, while Mercury in Sagittarius can have things moving ahead at leaps and bounds Mercury in Sagittarius can also be a time that so much in motion that nothing gets done. Or a time when things already in progress seem like they’ll never, ever end.

Where Sagittarius runs hot, speedy and far, Capricorn coolly pays attention, considers repercussions and is never, ever in a hurry - which isn’t to say Capricorn symbols should be taken to be reticent. They aren’t - so when this comes to the mental, motion, communication realm which is All Things Mercury, we shouldn’t be surprised that Mercury in Capricorn is known for speaking its peace even if that disrupts the peace.

Capricorn stands for that which will last. It’s all about that which will endure, the effort to endure and the enduring of our own learning curve as that pertains to who we are intrinsically (identity), who we are in this world (career, social/legal standing) and how well we deal with who we are in that world, inclusive of whether we hold our Self to standards (reputation) - and what it takes to do that (responsibility).

Known for a ‘cool and collected’ quality, Mercury in Capricorn imbues most of us with a rational sort of awareness of why comprehension of themes and details is important to our aims. And thus we ‘go’ for what we want - we ask, we do, we try, we throw our hat in the ring, and for those who aren’t wearing a hat, we toss in whatever seems handy and apropos.

Who cares if someone objects? So long as our intention is well and truly understood, while someone else may object, it’s our self-esteeming that we’re mostly embodied and motivated by.

Given Mercury as a sign of communication, that Capricorn seldom hesitates and is a pragmatic and an ‘it is what it is’ sort of earth sign makes this an obvious boon for business and important of any kind - and while the Sun remains in Sagittarius (read: until the December 21st Solstice) while there may be disagreements on some points, so long as everyone remembers to nix the idea and not the person, given a bit of back and forth, agreements can be reached.

Once the Sun does enter Capricorn however, we can expect any of a number of tacks and tactics to liven up our day, our thoughts and considerations - and since some will be lobbed at us (as opposed to being something wholly ours to decide) we are likely to feel... and indeed to be challenged. 

Challenges - particularly those which test our endurance are part and parcel of Capricorn and going to be part of Mercury in Capricorn, testing not merely our endurance but the validity and viability (read: practicality, never mind any hype) of our reason(s) for holding our goal or opinion or belief or whatever else so very dearly.

And it’s likely that during this time a few things will change. Some changes will be initiated because of things we come to (Mercury) think and some will result from things which occur and which we react or respond to, whether or not that means we adapt to changing internal or external conditions or merely cope with them. Because of this - and in spite of this things can, and will get done: Mercury in Capricorn is another quite decent pairing for those with accomplishments needing to be accomplished. And since we know two other things (Uranus going direct on December 21st and Saturn moving from Scorpio into Sagittarius on the 23rd) are on the astrological calendar during Mercury’s trio of weeks in Capricorn, we have the markers which for some will manifest as accomplishment.

Or input. Or a shock - or perhaps a surprise. Capricorn does have a sincere strain of ‘earning’ to its makeup which suggests that those who have earned something are likely to get results there where those who haven’t earned won’t receive (or to the degree that we may not earned we may not receive).

This ‘earning’ or ‘having earned’ theory would even seem supported by the grand trine Mercury’s moving into Capricorn acts to trigger and make ‘real’ in that singular manner planets entering earth signs seem to have.

With Mercury exactly conjunct Eurydike there’s a question of ‘the cost’ in the mix, with that motivated and inexorably tied to some Regulus-Black Moon fact or earthly/earthy factor which is both about (Regulus) how little there is to be gained by doing things (Virgo) improperly... and about how there is nothing which can be (Regulus) properly done which doesn’t have a high (and probably unpredictable) quality of moral, ethical or emotional backlash (which by any other name would be known as ‘cost.).

At the same time that all that’s true, there’s also a nexus of conviction about the innate quality of goodness and the need to (Mirach/Hestia) protect same which has a tenacious, emotional hold on things... or on us... and that’s also a cost.

How to reconcile it all while attending to what time requires and the times demand while dealing with the business of how to make gains on whatever our goals and aims are...that requires some sort of compromise - from us, I mean.

We can like it or not like any of this. We can also be the person initiating whatever this grand trine refers to or a person on the receiving end.

Or we can just be experiencing something which embodies this experience for us, wholesale. Good or bad isn’t necessarily part of the equation... in fact Mercury in Capricorn has just that touch of a proverbial sort of ‘eat your vegetables, they’re good for you!’ maxim that issues are more likely to be about ‘like/no like’ or ‘want/not want’ than anything else.

Whatever will get us to think about what works in the long run or fullest of full terms - that’s where we can operatively go. But whether we’ll go there...? Or get there...?

That’s a whole other question. After Saturn changes signs (on the 23rd) there will be a ‘freeing up’ of some things, but getting any real feeling for same is going to take a bit of time, which given when this change of sign happens rather points to the end of the year and/or holiday season, whichever way you see it.

But prior to that there is Uranus’ station. Occurring on December 21st and at 12 Aries, this station occurs with Uranus' turn to direct in semi-square to Pluto (suggesting situational transformations as issues, facts and energies come to greater clarity) and Mercury in sextile to Neptune - which becomes the general rub.

What kind of rub? It's that Mercury/Neptune thing - an indication that something isn't entirely factual. This doesn’t have to be any big problem as 'non-factual' in metaphysical terms can simply mean "fiction."

As usual, such indicators end up being all in how we take them - or are overtaken by them. Beyond all that however, because this is (by date) associated with Uranus' station, any or all of what happens could also have everything to do with communications, changes in plans and/or high tech subjects seeing as Uranus is always a symbol of things systemic, electric, electrifying, digital and electronic. With Mercury in Capricorn there is some sort of reference or connection to the outside world (or what we are, want to be or need to be in that outside world) even if we spend the whole of this passage  experiencing whatever that means to us solely inside our own life - or even just inside our own head.

Two more items of particular note here. The first is how Mercury will conjunct Pluto (the finding, rediscovering or utilizing something which was lost, transformed or denied... or which will now be lost, transformed or denied) on December 24th. The degree being activated here being 12 Capricorn, there is a good deal of wit, cleverness and deftness of skill that if used wisely can lead to (or can now produce) something totally unanticipated - or at least unpredicted - of a powerful and potentially quite positive nature IF we are willing to admit to ourselves and ‘fill in the gap’ (or gaps) when it comes to that ‘thing’ which is missing in whatever equation we are working with which we would like to equal success and successful results.

The other thing to know about is that as we close in on New Years, Mercury will oppose fixed star Castor (first of the Gemini twins) on December 29th and then oppose Pollux (the second Gemini twin) on New Years Eve, AS Mars in Aquarius opposes Jupiter, now retrograde in Leo.

That brings up the subject of choice - and since Mercury rules Gemini - that which we choose or have chosen.

Plus there is that little fact that people do tend to do some very particular things on New Years Eve.

Whatever you face (or whatever is facing you), let’s just say this is not the time to do something hasty (or in haste) which might create some need to deal with a ‘cost’ regarding same which confronts you from some impersonally (or not personally) controlled perspective.

Other than that, what with this week ahead when the Sun in Sagittarius’ most worldly and newsworthy degrees will be signifying life stirring up that which will shift as we move through Uranus’ station on December 21st, we shouldn’t expect the days ahead to feel normal - or to have normal feelings about life in general.

The feelings we’re talking about are those which can feel personally destabilizing. Feelings of insecurity we didn’t even know we had may appear as if out of rather dim air.

Taken by NASA's Messenger spacecraft, this photo of Mercury is known as 'The Sunlit Side of Mercury'

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

And on that level, that Mercury is moving into Capricorn on Wednesday, a day or two in advance of Uranus’ ‘official’ station and also probably as things (or we) start seeming or feeling disjointed about this or that... maybe that’s just life being kind to us by giving us an inner sense that we can prevail, that despite all the loose ends, seeming impossibilities and disgruntled times we can keep on being who we need to be.

Which is a gift indeed.
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Mercury in Capricorn

An English country lane in Autumn

(photo credit: Jongleur100, 2008)

 

From late September to December we all lived through the intensity of Mercury in Scorpio. Compared to that, the couple of weeks of Mercury in Sagittarius were a fling. A gallop. A blink and a flight and a chuckle and a time when time was doing one of the things time does best – flying by.

Of course there is the fact that during Mercury’s December 5th through 24th transit of Sagittarius Uranus also went direct. Uranus on station always requires flexibility and with this one all caught up in things Mars, that flexibility was in high demand (along with the need to direct your focus, lest your focus end up getting you into trouble, directly).

In that sense, Mercury in Sagittarius couldn’t have come at a better time – even if the down side of Mercury in Sagittarius tends to be overstepping bounds and things getting out of hand.

Maybe in the cosmic/karmic sense had we been any more confined or self-restricted than we were (if Mercury had still been in Scorpio, for example) we would have only made things worse. Life’s opportunities do tend to want to provide for us, we just have to be willing to avail ourselves of that ultimately good thing which may not be the easy thing.

And sometimes not even the likely-seeming thing.

So Venus went retrograde on the 21st – in Capricorn, setting the stage for six weeks of trying to get something better from ourselves, not others. This is support-of-self time – and considering Mars having moved into Libra (sign of relating through interactions) on December 7th we’re in for weeks yet of having to deal with people knowing they don’t know (and for some, care) what we’re all ‘about’ at the moment.

Is that true? Maybe or maybe not, but anything life can pull to get us to pull back to a place where we’re considering how we may need to change considering how everything in our lives has changed – of late and otherwise – that’s what life is going to come up with.

This Venus-Mars Capricorn-Libra square is likely to manifest in all sorts of things which bog us down, tie us up, totally bug us and otherwise force us to focus on things which well may need doing and which may even benefit us in time.

But it’s not what we WANT.

Venus and Mars both relate as ‘modifiers’ of our feelings and emotions, so to have them in square with one (Venus) in retrograde suggests having to put something which makes sense over personal preference.

So what do we stand to get from that? A whole grumpy planet. :(

And then Mercury enters Capricorn. The date? December 24th, which would be just as Mars and Uranus are nearing the crispy crackle of their potentially enlightening, perhaps invigorating and just possibly unnerving opposition. There will be some who react to this shift by getting serious – and it is to be expected that some odd ‘last minute’ Christmas/holiday maneuvers will go into gear with just hours to go before midnight.

Then again, this combination may mark travel difficulties. And for a few, depression – intermittent or otherwise – or depression’s far more manageable cousin, disappointment. The first days of this transit are likely to be the most difficult what with the working through of Mars/Uranus, but after that it may well simply be useful to think of this transit as the collected sort of ‘realistic’ thinking, communicating and/or organized efforts we need to be focused on now so as to make the best of Venus retrograde.

The positive here is that Mercury in Capricorn is a credence to us that we can make a difference in our own life and as pertains to our own goals – as ikky as we might think the process of reaching them may be. Throughout these weeks moments and situations and things simply become clearer than ever, for whatever reason.

With the Sun, Mercury, Pluto and Venus all in Capricorn that’s a lot of drive. Determination. Willpower. It’s all about getting down to whatever represents the structure, the idea, the construct upon which we can build and have what we build last. A good number of us will spend at least part of these weeks working towards ‘proving’ something (to self or others) while others will be waiting something out. Neither is right or wrong provided your aim isn’t manipulative. In other words, if you’re taking some stand because you believe in it, that’s fine. But if you’re taking some stand because you are hoping someone else will ‘see your point’ (or otherwise ‘see the light’), that’s not likely to go all that well; either the point won’t get made or whatever you will have done to make that point will set you back in your own life in terms of everything you need to do.

This whole period – meaning the eight long(ish) months that will see Mars through Libra (a sign ruled by Venus, let us remember) is going to be hard for many of us. By generation, the Baby Boomers (Pluto in Leo) are going to be hell-bent on doing what they think they need to do in the world – and please, don’t try to distract them, lest you hurt yourself in the effort. Under Mercury in Capricorn, the Baby Boomers are always likely to take on too much…and yet, since only that which works for everyone is going to work for them, that’s a bit of a problem. This is a headstrong generation which is fine when pursuing their own goals if a little short on the ability to see the issue when others see things differently.

And yes, they’re going to get a few opportunities to do some of that seeing over these next few weeks.

All this will be going on as Pluto in Virgo peopled are continuing an ongoing shift from the way they want things to work to the way they will work if one is willing to make a few changes. Like Pluto in Scorpio, Pluto in Virgo is a generation used to taking its cues from what goes on around them and in the world which Mercury in Capricorn certainly supports, even if the changing world denoted by Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Virgo is forcing this generation to rearrange their thinking and methodologies.

To Pluto in Virgo people, Mercury’s transit of Capricorn is a time to figure things out. With Venus retrograde in Capricorn, not only can hasty decisions can be wasteful but what is to be gained by thinking things through is not to be ignored.

The Pluto in Scorpio-Gen Y folks will also be having a time of things for this next while, but their challenge is less about changing who they are than it is about dealing with the actualities and realities of who they are…and perhaps some limit or constraint that puts on some plan.

(Or at least how you had thought said plan was going to work, that margin of error being your next little clue in the puzzle.)

Then there’s the Millennial Pluto in Sagittarius tribe – which is having a hassle of a whole different kind, namely the difference between their idea of how the thing should be and how they just plain are. Venus retrograding in Capricorn is likely to manifest in any number of momentary (or even protracted) struggles with ‘being satisfied’ along with frustrated ‘not liking this’ moments when said Pluto in Sag person isn’t satisfied.

The good news here is that these next few weeks of Mercury in Capricorn is going to have Millennials focused on their own business, which will be quieter, if not any less of a concern. Over the next few months this generation is going to for whatever reason and by whatever means begin ‘hearing’ some wider and broader concerns. How Millennials react to such information mirrors how well internally balanced they are when it comes to internalized security (the structured Self) versus a capacity to rely on those around them.

You may have noticed that I skipped Gen X, the lovely, airy, Pluto in Libra group. That’s because the next eight months of Mars in Libra is going to be a trial if a blessing to Gen X in which this Mercury in Capricorn transit brings a perspective on others which causes the native to reassess who they are (differentiation from the other) while (hopefully) processing the ‘why’ of the basic “attraction” whether the term ‘attraction’ is meant in the human/personal sense or the metaphysical like attracts like (and) what you put out comes back to you sense.

For the whole of this passage Mercury will be in what’s known as a ‘whole sign square’ to Mars with this particular square linking Mercury in earth (the facts) with Mars/Libra as the “desired/desirable aim” inclusive of any blessings or problems you have gone on at the moment.

This square – like any square – is asking us to bring these two factors not into “oppositional” balance, but dynamic balance. Mars is in an interactive sign (Libra) so the idea and/or means is ‘the idea’ of the thing involved and thus how it is expressed.

Or not expressed, of course. Just as in Gemini to not make a choice is to choose not to choose, in Libra not dealing with the other person or the issue is a valid relationship action. So whether we now choose to do or not do something – or anything – in, to, about or through the process of interacting with others (specific or generic others both qualifiy) that is what you are doing.  And just as dealing with our responsibilities and taking ownership of what we do and why we do it – or at least being darn certain that we know why we’re doing something in our own terms before we ‘go public’ whether in word or deed, so Mercury in Capricorn puts us into a mode and mood where we become highly aware of life in the Big World and indeed our life in the Big World as a matter of our ability and willingness to structure our lives not as an image, but as a reality.

A copper engraving of Mercury dating from 1597

Where we lack and where we are lacking – most of all as people – Mercury in Capricorn defines influences which will give us reasons to strive or deliver grief (of some kind) because we’ve so cut back on the reality of what we stand for in our own daily lives.

This Mercury/Mars square tightens to exact through the New Years Eve/New Years Day when in squaring Mars from 11 Capricorn, Mercury is also conjunct Pluto.

This is a potent and powerful moment. Pluto and Mercury will be at 11 Capricorn and the Sun at 10 Capricorn as the Moon enters Capricorn on New Year’s Eve at 6:02 in the evening UT/+0 time.

(Someone wrote to ask me what ‘UT’ is. For information’s sake it’s ‘Universal Time,’ a “+0” time zone designation outside of any jurisdiction and therefore not subject to any tinkering.)

All of this means yes, there will be a New Moon on New Years – it will be at 10 Capricorn with Klotho (beginnings, initiations), Kallisto (persevering through the worst of it and charismatic fixed star Vega.

That doesn’t sound like fun, does it? And then we add in Mercury-Pluto, which has a (rather notorious, actually) reputation for obsessive thoughts/thinking and persuasive or manipulative communications. Mind you, this could mean you’re Sherlock Holmes or a fabulous orator or something. And since 10 and 11 Capricorn both tend to refer to the ability to get things done, this Mars/Mercury square could be just that – getting something which requires a lot from you into gear. Or to fruition – something. With Venus retrograde, any ‘something’ is going to not feel right and you should not expect it to. At the moment the expectation of what you thought ‘would happen’ is taking away from the Mercury/Capricorn energy you could be using to understand what has happened or what you could make happen.

And that is just the thing. If you think things through you may well realize that while what’s on the table may not be your idea(l), it may well be…indeed you may know it is a path to the thing you want.

This brings us back to that Venusian issue of values and that conflict between the idea of the thing and what it is.

You know…Mars in Libra, Mercury in Capricorn.

Good luck!
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Dateblog: December 2013

Last month’s diagram was very red. There was a lot of Scorpio energy in the works and that had us all involved in tests of our ability to negotiate emotional waters.

Or just negotiate, period – with ourselves, with others, with whatever life handed us. 

Looking at the personal planets (the first five columns from the left) December is pretty much about Sagittarius and Capricorn, though Mercury starts out in Scorpio (a sign that we’re still working through some emotional ‘value issues.’

There’s also Mars to think about: Mars starts the month in earthy Virgo – which against the Sagittarian Sun and Mercury in Scorpio is either high levels of motivation or fixation of focus…and maybe both.

And maybe positive…or maybe negative, depending.

The Sagittarian New Moon of December 3^rd looks to be a bit like a starting gun: positioned at 10 Sagittarius it carries with it the standard New Moon ‘initiation’ energetic and in being at 10 degrees of a fire sign indicates fervency. Or maybe enthusiasm or excitement.

However…being that Mercury moves into Sagittarius on the 5^th, the wise person will not leap off of any tall buildings without a parachute. Mercury is notorious for ‘overdoing’ when in Sagittarius and considering Venus’ lengthy transit of Capricorn the smart money is on not the thing which is necessarily practical in and of itself, but on taking a pragmatic course through these next few weeks in order to achieve the ends you want to achieve. Yes, there will be a bit of feeling out to do, and expectations now can be deadly. The smart money is on asking questions and doing some investigation before you make your bet on anything.

Orcus going retrograde on the 6^th (the day after Mercury enters Sagittarius) also tells us we will be dealing with some things of consequence – or the consequences of something which has already happened. That Mars will enter Libra a day after Orcus’ station (and still affected by it), with the Geminid Meteor Shower covering December 7-16 this is an excellent time for seeking advice. Or for mending broken bridges and relationships gone awry.

It’s also a good time for learning new things.

In comparison with November, December is downright quiet – but not to worry…we will have some fireworks during the December 15-19 period marking Uranus station-direct (at 8 Aries) on the 17^th on the same day as a Full Moon at 28 Gemini, conjunct Betelgeuse. If you have been working towards something, now fruition occurs. (No guarantee is issued here on whether you’ll like the results, however!) If you have been hoping to work something out or make some deal, this could be a breakthrough moment. It can also represent when you finally ‘get’ something and the light bulb goes on, illuminating your forward path and successes yet to come.

Uranus is all about ‘breaking through’ our barriers. They can be internal, they can be external. Especially with Uranus positioned in a first decanate degree (first decan = degrees 0 through 9 of any sign) something you do can make a difference…and heaven forbid you don’t do something you should, as that will bring the energy in upon you.

As we say in metaphysics….Use the energy wisely, lest it use you unwisely.

That Venus will go retrograde on the same day that the Sun hits its solstice point and enters Capricorn (that being December 21^st) makes the entire period of December 19^th through the 23^rd somewhat harried. Priorities and pragmatism now count for a lot – and they count even more once Mercury joins the Capricorn parade on December 24^th.

Venus retrograde is notoriously a pretty trying time. All the responses we want from others, all the approval we get…none of it quite hits the spot. That’s because this Venus retrograde – especially positioned as it is in Capricorn, is all about living up to our standards and learning how being to stand on our own and for our individuality garners respect. 

From that respect – in time – will come the results we deserve. But first we have to earn them. 

The last note for December is TNO Logos (logic or logistics; unadulterated facts) and dwarf planet MakeMake going retrograde on the same date – that being December 31^st (UT/+0), which may of course already be January 1^st in the eastern (Oriental, Australian, New Zealand, etc.) time zones.

MakeMake is about bringing things to be or into being, or things coming to be whether we work to create them or not. This is a relatively new point which will get better known as time goes along, but apparently MakeMake represents opportunities which if not taken can lead to isolation or isolated events (or opportunities) which arise without being necessarily connected to anything else in life. That Logos is going retrograde at 29 Virgo says that we need to be practical about what we do now (which has real applications on New Years Eve and New Years Day, to be sure!) while MakeMake making its turn to retrograde at 0 Libra speaks to encounters which – considering how close 0 Libra is to black hole M87 – may lead to seeing life from a totally new vantage point. 

Yes, even if that just means you turn the calendar page – for some of us, that means everything!
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Dateblog: January 2013

Year 2013 starts out with three planets (Sun, Mercury and Pluto) in Capricorn. That’s the reality of the astrology and about the reality we live in. We’re conscious of life’s realities (Sun). We’re (Mercury) thinking about what we need to do and all that’s needed to achieve our daily aims. We know there are (Pluto) facts we need to contend with and what we choose (or don’t choose) to deal with will in time determine how things turn out.

For the first few days of the month, Venus is in Sagittarius (orange) and Mars is sextiling Venus (at least by sign) from early Aquarius. It’s a sign of our having hope that things may yet work out but that there’s a lot which still (Mars) needs to be done and a lot depends on what else happens in this world.

It’s a bit of a recipe for ‘shall I…or shall I not?’ Do we base what we do on what others do? Or do we do what need to do in spite of society and other people simply because we need to do what we need to do?

Eris going direct on January 8^th gives us a January 6-10 ‘window’ of indecision, interruptions and for many, general irritation. Venus getting to its critical Sagittarius point just as this occurs indicates our having to deal with that ‘dream’ we had which is now meeting up with life’s realities and many a situational consequence we have to contend with.

 Speaking of dreams, the Melk Benedictine Abbey Library in Austria is

definitely this booklovers' dream!

(photo placed in public domain by Emgonzalez)

Fortunately the New Moon (which is in Capricorn) will put many on the road to ‘getting the job’ done. A New Moon in Capricorn is great for motivation but not always great for waiting long enough to have all the ducks in the row, so watch out for stray details which may trip you up later.

On January 18^th, a handful of TNO’s change direction, indicating unexpected events. Those who weather this day of ‘storminess’ through sorting through the feelings which are evoked rather than focusing on those parts of life they don’t control will do themselves a big favor. With the Sun and Mercury entering Aquarius a day later, seeing the ‘Big Picture’ and being the person who does their part and is appreciated/rewarded for same (as opposed to those who go in demanding their ‘price’) is the way to generate traction and forward momentum – an idea which comes to be ‘highlighted’ with the Leo Full Moon early on January 27^th.

A full moon sets over Lanai in Hawaii

(photo credit: Vossman, April 2008)

For some, this will be a very self willed moment. For others, respect will be gained through showing understanding of others and ongoing circumstances.   

The last ‘act’ of the month goes like this: Jupiter will go direct - in Gemini – on January 30^th. Granting Jupiter the ‘standard’ two days before, two days after “station window” which seems so useful, that means the Jupiterian ‘turn of the tide’ (or twist of fate?) mirroring our sense of proportion begins on the 28^th – just as the North Node conjuncts Sedna. This is an indication that some of us NEED to let go of some sense of personal entitlement…AND that we can do so for the choosing.

How will we choose?

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Venus in Sagittarius

 Fractal image by Electricsheep

(image credit: Chris Ursitti)

Venus enters Sagittarius on Sunday, December 16th at 4:29 in the morning, UT/+0 time.

Will we notice? Probably yes, though initial effects are likely to be fairly subtle. Where Venus in Scorpio (which we’re leaving behind) is intense and focused on ‘what works,’ ‘the value’ of this or that and what kind of options may be found, Venus in Sagittarius is a bit more lighthearted – more into the fun and frolic than Venus in Scorpio, one might say.

Sagittarius being a sign which functions at a quicker pace than Scorpio, responses, results, costs and consequences will be more obvious and more readily generated in the next three-plus weeks ahead.

On the other hand, Sagittarius is a mutable sign. Where Scorpio evokes various sorts of ‘do it once, do it forever’ feelings, Sagittarius is more about enjoying things in the moment and if necessary, changing things (ideas, methods, aims) as you go or on the run. Venus in Sagittarius tends to be more about the ‘good intention’ than the ‘thoughtful choice’ which, considering that this Venus/Sagittarius transit will carry us through the balance of the holidays, fits with the idea of just having a good time as opposed to finding that perfect gift, menu, guest list, travel plan…etc.

 Shoppers on Dundas Street in Toronto, Canada going about their December business (Ian Muttoo, December 2009)

Of course as always, there’s a down side. Where Venus in Scorpio will have promoted more caution, Venus in Sagittarius can manifest as a carefree, slap-dash quality which can cause people to think you don’t care. 

(Or care enough, yes.)

As Venus enters Sagittarius it parts company from the “obliging-versus-obligatory” North Node, which will enhance momentary feelings of having gotten past some ‘heavy matter.’ And with Industria sitting just ahead of Venus (at 1 Sagittarius) as Venus makes its ingress, this sounds a bit like I’ve done all the things I HAD to do…now I can get on to what I WANT to do!’ with the ‘had to do’ part having been dictated at least in part by (North Node in Scorpio) other people and the needs/demands of others…or obligation to others.

With Jupiter being the ruler of Sagittarius, and since it pays to check the sign ruler as any planet makes an ingress, we look to Jupiter, which is still in Gemini, in retrograde and (of all things) conjunct Aldebaran to the degree. And since Aldebaran is in opposition to Antares (at 9 Sagittarius, let’s toss a thought or two on that into the pot, too.

 Jupiter in the Night Sky over Old Saybrook, Connecticut

(Tushar N Dadarwala, January 2012)

We don’t always consider Antares when we consider Aldebaran no. But since Mercury is at 7 Sagittarius as Venus makes its ingress (and going to conjunct Antares and oppose Jupiter on the 17th – one day after Venus enters Sagittarius) this is probably worth a moment of contemplation.

Mercury in Sagittarius is a thought, deed which stems from a vision of how things can be. Or maybe should be – this being why Mercury in Sagittarius is sometimes said to be righteous, dogmatic or ‘my way or the highway’ insistent. (And of course there are gradations of any of same.) The premier question with Sagittarius is will it work which when we add Mercury becomes the idea or the statement which works – and if it doesn’t, why it doesn’t…the idea not taken into account, doing something without knowing all the facts, etc.

Jupiter in Gemini is thought, communication and activities increased. Or maybe hyped. Or maybe done too quickly (in hyper-drive). Jupiter in Gemini is famous for doing too much or too fast. The thought gets over-thunk, the boundary gets overstepped, the necessary thing gets overlooked because there’s so much going on.

With Jupiter currently in retrograde, we’re all considering how these ideas work (or have worked) in our lives. Have we gone wrong, or do we merely see things a different way? Gemini is always about choices and Jupiter in Gemini gives us too many choices or we may choose to do too much.

Yes, Jupiter in Gemini can be the moment, the idea, the ability to be incisive and insightful. It can also represent the statement, action or period of time when we are – or discover that we have been -truly derisive and painfully dismissive.

At Venus’ Sagittarian ingress, Jupiter is conjunct Aldebaran, a fixed star which famously represents success which is achieved ONLY when we have maintained our standards of integrity. When, where and if we haven’t, Aldebaran will expose those… um… oversights and errors in judgment. (We’ll just call them that.)

Mercury conjuncting Antares is a whole other ball of mental wax. (Sounds anatomical, doesn’t it?) Antares is another royal star, a star which promises success only IF we don’t cling to or focus on one thing obsessively.

Antares and Aldebaran are in pretty permanent opposition. That should tell us that they’re “balancing forces” in our life, right? Too much obsessing on what we want to think or want others to think true undermines our integrity.

The astrologer’s honest call here is that Mercury conjuncting Antares does tend to manifest as obsessive thinking. What you do with that is up to you. Since this ties into the 2012 end-of-year / holiday season Venus in Sagittarius transit, this can easily all relate to money, income, expenditures and ‘gift’ issues. It can also represent a barrage of media output during this time, which may or may not have anything to do with holiday issues. (Think politics, education, travel, religious teachings, etc.)

The good news here is with Jupiter in retrograde, this is less likely to be a moment of public exposure and more likely to be a matter of personal realization. So don’t be shocked if you (or someone else) suddenly changes their mind about what they like. Or don’t like. Don’t be surprised if something you never wanted to do suddenly sounds attractive.

One other interesting factoid here is simply numerical and I may be able to get a scan made here…(turns on the scanner)…to show you what I’m talking about.    

 From 'The American Ephemeris for the 21st Century (2001-2050) at Noon'

programmed by Neil Michelson with revisions by Rique Pottenger

(c. 1996 by ACS Publications) 

Above is a scan from the ephemeris I use on a daily basis when I’m writing here at the blog. Sorry that the images is a tiny bit crooked and that I didn’t quite get the right hand Pluto column all in there perfectly…(do me a favor – don’t tell Pluto!)…but for those who don’t read ‘astrology glyph’ I’ve given you an arrow to the symbol for Venus at the top. You’ll also  probably recognize the numbers on the left with the abbreviations for the days of the week as the sequence which matches our December.

Okay….now go down to where I’ve highlighted the page in Venus pink. (Yes, that’s what I’m calling it!)

When I talk about planets being in decanates, this is what I’m looking at. As of December 24 (UT/+0), Venus will arrive at 10 Sagittarius and thus move into the second decanate (second ten degrees) of Sagittarius. This is the emotional decan of Sagittarius where ideas and hopes and aims are felt, expressed, even insisted on most fervently.

What I’m really getting at here becomes most evident when you look at all the other planets and where they are during the balance of the month. From the 24th through the end of the month, while Venus is traversing Sagittarius’ most emotionally intense area, all the other planets (standard planets, that is) are either in first decan positions (Sun, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) or third decan positions (Mercury).

Mars is doing it’s own thing: on the 24th it’s just wrapping up its transit of Capricorn, and on the 26th it moves on into Aquarius (which yes, means Mars will be at 29 “critical” degrees of Capricorn on Christmas day, ho-ho-ho).

The point is that Venus is all alone in the 2nd decanate. By astrological rule, that means nothing will be aspecting Venus. And when a planet is unaspected, it does it’s thing like nobody’s business and does it to unheralded degrees.

If I were a retailer, I would be loving this. After Christmas sales are likely to be really, really good. A lot of people may take some time off during this period and it wouldn’t surprise me to hear that travel has a definite up-tick during this time.

 A Qantas A380 arrives in Los Angeles after flying from Melbourne, Australia

(Skinnylawyer, December 2011)

As we’ve already touched on elsewhere, Mercury moves on into Capricorn on New Years Eve, which is pretty much in tandem with Venus moving from the 2nd into the 3rd decan of Sagittarius. And since the third ten degrees of any sign have to do with worldly input/reactions to what we’ve done, this tends to say that the last week of Venus’ transit of Sagittarius will be the oh-so human and philosophic recognition that for all the saying how everybody would like it if people held onto that ‘good holiday feeling’ throughout the rest of the year, that it just never works that way.

One last ‘up’ note here…if you’re someone starting on some sort of new venture (or even a new form or format of an old venture) this Venus in late Sagittarius-Mercury in Capricorn-Mars in early Aquarius is a good time to get to work and get things under way. Results won’t be immediate, but anything we’re aiming at benefits from attention, effort and input during the first week-plus of January.

Have a fine Venus in Sagittarius!
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Mercury’s Upcoming Retrograde

 Planet Mercury as photographed by the Mariner 10 spacecraft

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

As Mercury enters Sagittarius on Monday, October 29th at 6:19 in the morning (UT/+0), life is signaling that this is a time to think things through as we do whatever we do. After passing through the intensity of Scorpio emotional waters where Mercury forces us to think through emotionally provocative situations (or how we feel about things), Mercury tends to rebound into Sagittarius like a spring releasing giant tension.

But from that – often – comes our mistakes. The joy and joie de vivre is great indeed, but with that comes the (ahem…cough, cough) commentary that dancing is swell so long as you don’t dance off a cliff.
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Very few of us are Wile E Coyote, after all – and life is definitely not a Warner Brother’s cartoon, even if sometimes it seems like one!

Sagittarius is a sign all about achieving our aims. Sagittarius ‘reaches’ for the top of the chart – and thus all the symbols you find positioned in Sagittarius or in Sagittarius’ native 9th house of your chart are the things which will challenge you along the way. I know one person with an Aries Mercury in the 9th and this person is notorious for talking, never getting around to doing, and screwing up their plans in the process. I know one man whose Sagittarius Sun represents his life struggle with the questions of assertion, authority and taking hard stands.

Like I say…anything in the 9th, anything positioned natally in Sagittarius – those are the things life will leave on the floor just so that we’re sure to trip over them from time to time.

As important to us here (as the whole world now enters approximately five weeks of Mercury in Sagittarius ‘have you thought it through?’ situations) is that Mercury will go retrograde during these next weeks ahead. (Hence its transit of Sagittarius taking five weeks instead of less than half that.)

A note here for Americans and USA election watchers: the 2012 Presidential Election (read: voting day) falls on Mercury’s date of station/retrograde. That says a lot – which is maybe not so much about the election as about how Americans go about electing, voting and the rest of such matters.

And yes, Mercury goes retrograde on November 6th elsewhere in the world too. It will be in retrograde until November 26th…which again for Americans means you’re going to have a Mercury retrograde-tinged Thanksgiving and Black Friday. (Leave extra time for travel and all that.) But most globally and to the point, because of Mercury retrograde, that ‘five weeks’ of Mercury in Sagittarius is going to be spread over a full two months.

Last but certainly not least here is the fact that the next Solar Eclipse is going to happen while Mercury is in retrograde - in Sagittarius. At the moment of the eclipse, Mercury will be at 0 Sagittarius, a degree filled with the potential to have our opinions (thoughts, ideas) swayed someone else. With Mercury in retrograde, this may indicate a moment when we think about what people say versus what they really mean (or) who they really are.

Then again, maybe it’s a moment when we deal/don’t deal with some tendency we have to con ourselves?
That being true, apart from whatever else it may be (which would be plenty), this incoming eclipse may be all about how we allow others to egg, goad, persuade, manipulate or otherwise demand that we do things xyz way…or else?

And is that ‘or else’ real? Or does it really matter?

One of the really good things a Solar Eclipse at 21 Scorpio could do is get us past our fears of what someone else says or thinks about us. At that point we are at least being individuals (though we still may need to clean up our act!).

So that’s on the plus side. Of course, it’s only ten or so hours after the eclipse until Mercury retrogrades back into Scorpio, so it’s likely this is going to be a trying time in some way, shape or form. To have Mercury doing a ‘loop’ back into-and-through Scorpio from Sagittarius – at some level – says to us that it pays to be aware of how important it is to feel secure about ourselves as we move forward in life doing anything. And how it isn’t necessarily about ‘changing’ the other person’s point of view which is important, merely understanding whether your perspective and theirs can coexist in the given dynamic.

Where that works, we go on. We check it out, we have some discussions, we tweak the personal formula and once Mercury goes direct on November 26th, we refocus on getting things in Scorpio gear…
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…to be followed by Life delivering it’s check points and reviews as we swing into Mercury-in-Sagittarius application mode beginning on December 11th.

With Mercury not moving into Capricorn until New Year’s Eve (UT/+0 time), that means the whole holiday season is going to be under the influence of the hustle-and-bustle, try, try again Mercury in Sagittarius which may feel very focused on others, but which is really all about how our life interfaces with others…and our greater world.

So happy Mercury in Sagittarius to all of us! After saying all this I sort of feel like as of October 29th we’re all starting out along some sort of Yellow Brick Road which carries us through the end of 2012.

And maybe that’s just what we’re doing. So get your brains together, have courage, don’t forget the little dog, have a heart…and when in doubt (which yes, alas will happen!) remember that if whatever you’re searching for can’t be found in your own back yard, you never really lost it to begin with.

That last statement is – of course – a paraphrase from the famous ending to MGM’s ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ Most of us tend to think of that ‘back yard’ as being our home, our family.

 A publicity still for MGM's film 'The Wizard of Oz' here features Jack Haley as the Tin Man, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Judy Garland as Dorothy and Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion. Evidently the studio still photographs from that era (1939) were not copyrighted as the film was, and are considered to be (more or less) public domain. Early trailers also fall under this provision, though all this changed somewhere along the line.This may mean nothing to you, but it's an interesting manifestation of the shift from the age of trust and emotional universality (the Age of Pisces) into the 'universal worth'/intellectual rights Age of Aquarius we now live in.

But is it really?

What if it’s our life? Then isn’t your ‘back yard’ who you know you should be being…you know, in the back of your brain? In your heart?

Do you have the courage to go there?
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