November 7-16: Kallisto, Mercury, Damocles, Nessus and the Leonid Meteor Shower

The Leonid meteor shower as photographed from space

(photo credit: NASA, JPL, February 2005)

Barely in the wake of November 6th’s Full Moon, asteroid Kallisto goes direct. That it does so in Aquarius suggests that the message (or ‘experience’) of Kallisto is something we will experience either very much with others - or in a sense of isolation as we oppose or are opposed by others. As a symbol of the need to endure and the reality that sometimes the thing we must endure is not of our making, Kallisto sometimes represents patience and sometimes represents durability, dedication or adherence to a thought, cause or needed activity or action.

And then sometimes Kallisto represents that force - be it something which happens (the ‘force’ of an event) or the fact that something we have tried to change, or even which we depend on, how despite all that external status quo (or resistance) is holding out or holding fast against all which is being thrown against it.

Landscape with goddesses Diana and Kallisto by Cornelis van Poelenburgh (17th century)

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As for the degree Kallisto is going direct at, that would be 21 Pisces, a degree which simply because it’s a third decan degree between 20 and 29 of some sign cannot be purely personal: there is some quality of influence or interaction, whether responded to or not, with a bit of emphasis here on the ‘responded to’ sign as all odd-numbered degrees have a subtle tendency to assert or take independent action where even-numbered degrees are shaded slightly towards responding to current input from the environment.

In the case of this particular Piscean degree however, this tendency to act is somewhat muted...even convoluted by the instinct to plan - even to deceive, though as this degree functions through a framework of time, such deceptions are more likely to end up being us fooling ourselves, not others.

Whether this has to do with something in the moment or something from long ago which is affecting current thinking or choices...that’s all individual - as is our tendency to cling to truths as opposed to myths we prefer to believe - or are even afraid to not believe.

And that’s just where this week of days start. As we move from date to date and day to day things are unlikely to get a whole lot more clear or clearly clarified, and for a lot of people that is going to be confusing, frustrating and disappointing - even as others are feeling elated, excited and delighted...with none of it pertaining to reality or fact.

The reason for that would be Planet Neptune, which in going direct early on the 16th (early in the UT/+0 time zone, that is) is providing us with a marker which asks us to allow ourselves not to know...and which tests how well we are equipped to deal with not knowing.

In theory, what this describes is a situation where all the confusion or excitement, the discouragement or idealization is a point of view and perspective, sure enough - but where it also may well be all and only about our desire to feel what we want to feel and to not feel what we would simply hate to feel.

About our Self, that is - and that note is provided by the fact that Neptune is going direct at 4 Pisces, a degree which on its own is about our individual ability to face and deal with our own emotions (part one) and with the fact that we are one human being amidst a sea of life, human and otherwise, on this planet.

How do we feel about that?

Even more importantly - and more to the point of Pisces, how do we feel ABOUT how we feel about that?

Pisces is so often an endless hall of emotional mirrors. We feel, we feel ourselves feeling, we sense the feelings of others and feel for them even as we feel ourselves sensing how mortal, how human this business of feeling really is. Emotions can be enriching. Emotions can also be innately deadly.

Emotions are human - and in going direct at 4 Pisces, Neptune is dissolving our barriers and removing that which stands in the way of our coming to some greater understanding of how intrinsically emotional we are...And how emotions and our willingness to feel feelings, good and bad, ours or those of others...to some very great extent define both the grief of our mortality and the potential for glorious goodness which is part of our humanity.

And as that happens, our mistakes and achievements become more real simply because Neptune is going direct at 4 Pisces, that being the current position of fixed and royal star Fomalhaut.

You remember Fomalhaut, right? The star which promises success only if our aims (dreams, efforts, feelings, etc.) are neither corruptive, corrupted, coercive, corroded or corrosive?

(Yes, I majored in Thesaurus - you have no idea.)

This Neptune station, occurring exactly at the royal star’s position is likely to be a stirring occasion (all puns and realities intended)... hence the extended period of affect and a very strong likelihood that things which are revealed during this time (and just after Neptune’s station) will have long-term and lasting effects.

Kallisto goes direct on November 6th - and just over twenty-four hours later (at 23:10 or 11:10 p.m., UT/+0 on the 7th) Mercury re-enters Scorpio.

To recall for a moment: Mercury originally entered Scorpio (this year, that is) back on September 27th before going retrograde at 2 Scorpio on September 4th. And when Mercury went into that retrograde, it did so while trining Neptune, which makes this incoming Mercury moment part of an entire cycle which questions illusion, self-delusion and through eliciting our tendencies to opt for what we want (or consider correct), our ability to require of Self that we don’t choose based on emotion rather than fact.

When we ignore that... when or where we do choose or attempt to get others to choose based solely on some feeling... those actions will backfire and undermine or defeat us. Maybe not immediately, but in time... and probably lastingly.

This station is Neptune’s last exact conjunction with Fomalhaut for the next 160-plus years. Where the lesson is ours to learn, such ‘last passes’ tend to exacerbate issues more than otherwise, even without our having just experienced a solar eclipse which at 0 Scorpio would be very much in trine to Neptune’s station - a factor which enhances both the duration and likely effects of this station. So we should expect to see, hear and feel variable behaviors which overlie, betray or reveal vulnerabilities both in those on the ‘doing end’ and those on receiving ends of various things. We should expect an unwavering if indistinct (and virtually impossible to describe) sense that we’re not ‘in charge’ where we most sincerely (even desperately) want to be in charge - without any way to know if what we’re feeling is valid or not.

And where we're oh-so confident? Well, seeing as such convictions are bred, born and harbored in the heart of the human ego, Neptune is bound to deny them.

In other words, such notions will - now or in time - prove either incorrect, flat-out wrong, unworkable, damaging, unlovable or just plain not what you had imagined... idealized... clung to with all your heart in the depths of those nights filled with longing.

You know - during those Neptunian times.

Oh yes, it’s enough to drive a few people crazy... (even more than a few)...making these days ahead all about what we will get ourselves to do or be or face or tackle in spite of that weakness which says 'I just don't like it' (when you know that's an excuse) or when we insist something else is more important despite knowing that just isn't true.

It isn't the thing we're talking (or thinking) about which is the native weakness. It's our willingness to not take that high, hard road - that being OUR weakness.

However willing we are to face whatever our vulnerabilities are, particularly as that pertains to something 'old' or from our past and despite our attempts to protect or defend that 'old' or traditional thing which we stand for and stomp for on merits...but which in truth we would feel most vulnerable without.

And the mix up of influences isn’t complete yet. Kallisto goes direct approximately a day after the Taurus Full Moon, Mercury re-enters Scorpio about twenty-four hours after that - and a day after Mercury re-enters Scorpio, Damocles goes direct.

'The Sword of Damocles' by Richard Westall (1812)

The story of Damocles is one of those ‘well all do it’ sort of things. It centers around a courtier (Damocles) who, while standing around the king’s court looking courtly comments about how the job of a king is downright easy. Why, if Damocles got a chance to run the kingdom...

Unfortunately for Damocles, the king is not only listening, he’s irked just enough by the courtier’s offhanded remark that he orders Damocles to take his place for a bit so Damocles can see if a king’s job is truly all wine and roses.

And it’s in that very minute when Damocles plants the appropriate body part in the seat of the king's throne when he realizes what he’s gotten himself into, for above hangs a sharp and dangerous sword.

It's right above his head.

And it’s hanging by a hair.

Wherever we find Damocles in the chart, that’s the area of life (and by degree, the specifics of the issues in that life) where we face having to learn that though something may look easy, it’s not only not simple, but also possibly fraught with personal dangers. And wherever we find Damocles by transit, that would be where things and situations promote a peculiar combination of 1.) heightened awareness and 2.) concerns of some seriousness or importance - both of which become far harder than they "need to be" as we become ever more aware of the need to manage very different priorities.

Speaking of managing, the Juno grand trine discussed in the previous post will be in force through late on the evening of November 8th. 

In going direct in Aquarius, Damocles references social, income, systemic and societal matters which are also more difficult than they look. Whether actually dangerous or not (danger implied by Damocles often merely has to do with the ‘puncturing’ of our an idea or inflated ego stance) these are moments meant to connect an idea or theory with the reality or realistic approach. That the degree involved here is 19 Aquarius emphases tenacity, intellectual exchanges (spoken or otherwise, successful and otherwise) and an ability to get to the crux or core of an issue even if doing so could be rather painful.

And unsuspected.

Remember: what we do now which is meant to coerce doesn’t work. That which we do or opt for now which is based only on what we want or our dreams will not work. There is a ‘ranking’ in astrological influences which in this moment still says that whatever else is happening the ‘big deals’ are really the big deal - and that’s not Damocles, that’s Neptune and the Solar Eclipse, twin factors which at this time are ‘feeding’ back and forth still challenging us to get past what we like to what we really need to fix FIRST within our Self, then in the world around us.

The last addition to this piling on of effects in the wake of the Full Moon would be centaur Nessus going direct at 27 Aquarius on November 10th, an event which happens as Mercury finally exits its retrograde shadow. (Think of this as adding ingredients in making a cake batter before you put it in the oven and you’re pretty close to the workable notion.) So to whatever we are dealing with which pits our (Kallisto) desire to preserve the old even though that is gone, forcing us to proceed on a new basis, even though Mercury has left the airy Libra arena and immersed itself in more intense (and sometimes choppy) Mercury in Scorpio waters, even though things aren’t quite as easy as we thought they were going to be, now we’re on new ground.

That’s what Mercury exiting its shadow means: we are moving into an area of experience, operation or discussion which is - and should be - based on a new perspective and all which has been learned to this point with an eye to moving forward.

A carved relief of Mercury (Hermes) in Stuttgart, Germany

(photo credit: Ecelan, 2009)

And just to recall: 2 Scorpio (the degree Mercury went retrograde at, which now becomes the ‘gateway’ to new experiences) is all about who we are and how we go about being who we are.

2 Scorpio is about character and the character we choose to be, who we want to be - and in some venues, how that plays against the expectations or desires on the part of others with regards to who they want us to be, with a particular emphasis on whether we are ready to accept the responsibility (or whether we have accepted the responsibility) for who we are and what we do or have done.

Deianeira and the dying centaur Nessus by Howard Pyle (1888)

How interesting then that Mercury exits its shadow just as Damocles going direct points us back to external matters (current or past) which look easier than they really are. Because Mercury is doing this as centaur Nessus goes direct there is a quality of ‘again’ (or repetition) here which speaks to ill will being carried forward beyond all limits of reason. Often thought of as something of an influence which ‘poisons the well,’ Nessus always points to unbridled passions which in whatever form are harmful both to the originator and others - though seldom (if ever) to the object of loathing and disregard...which in Nessus’ going direct at 27 Aquarius speaks to some a tie between past, present and future (a connection through time) which now is defended or insisted upon. With Nessus there is no shyness about exacting a ‘blood cost’ for that one thinks just - and yet just that act of insisting is often wrong, no matter how its presented or justified. This degree often manifests with a friendly, calm demeanor just as Nessus is well known for being an unkind, even blindly heartless influence which surfaces after a period of perfectly civil integration and association.

All of this happens as this period begins to evolve. And once Nessus goes direct and Mercury exits its shadow, then we have the rest of the Monday-through-Friday work week to deal with that before the onset of the Leonids on November 15th, just before Neptune goes direct. (Expect a separate post on Neptune and Venus next week.)

So what do we know about the Leonids? For one, they aren’t Earth’s longest meteor shower - this year’s edition will begin on the 15th and be over by November 20th.

On the other hand, the Leonids are ‘thick.’

What is a ‘thick’ meteor shower? Well, due to the fact that the comet responsible for the Leonids (Tempel-Tuttle) has an orbit which comes close enough to Earth that its ‘sprinkles’ (the meteorites we see streaking across the sky at night) don’t have much time to spread between where they are thrown off by the comet and where they cross Earth’s orbit.

(And just for the record here, we’re talking about ‘close’ in astronomical terms - which is still plenty far away.)    

All this amounts to a generally high rate of meteors per hour - a real plus for meteor watching. More to the metaphysics however, given that meteor showers are known as times when we get ‘sparked’ by ideas and input, that may spell a time when new thoughts, ideas and influences appear almost as fast as we can perceive them.

And yet...that the Leonids begin just a day in advance of Neptune going direct (and Venus entering Sagittarius) - does that say our ‘new ideas’ or ‘takes’ on given subjects are wonderful or terrible? Does this just add to the confusion or help straighten things out?

That, and why that is...that’s probably what we’re about to go through learning - again.
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Pallas in Scorpio

In keeping with the Sabian Symbol for 0 Scorpio ('A Crowded Sightseeing Bus On a City Street'),

the photo above is of a sightseeing bus in 1909 Salt Lake City, Utah

(Commercial photo taken on assignment, published c. 1909, now in public domain)

That asteroid Pallas is entering Scorpio but a few days ahead of the solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio describes something simple in theory...and perhaps difficult to act on.

In short, what is wanted, perhaps needed - or which is simply becoming part of some consideration or some situation is a bit of perspective. Pallas represents our more cerebral side - including something of an independent quality which may  simply describe being alone in one’s thoughts, or something you do on your own.

Then again, Pallas can signify the moment when we gain perspective on our thoughts. Or when we finally stop to think things through, thereby gaining perspective on what’s happened and what needs to happen next.

And while all that is well and good, none of it - at least on the face of it - is all that Scorpio by nature. 

As part of the zodiac’s interactive (third) quadrant, Scorpio requires interactive involvement, whether with others or in the service of some cause, aim or effort - or even just because in order to comprehend we need to dig deeper or get more involved or more intimate with some subject.

When we find ourselves pitted against our concern for our reputation, that’s Scorpio, a sign which at its heart pits us against our own feelings about, and ability to risk. We approach Scorpio situations thinking about how to make it ‘work for us,’ and we focus on the thing, the other, the plan and what we ‘need’ to do.

But make no mistake - the issue isn’t ‘them’ or that goal, it’s how we’ll feel if we succeed... and how we’ll feel, most of all about our Self, if we don’t succeed, if we don’t win, if we lose all control of what’s going to happen. Every form of investment which comes with the risk of loss, be that an investment of time, money, hope or life is intrinsically Scorpio.

In short, Scorpio involves emotional intensity and focus while Pallas is all about taking a step back and establishing calm. Particularly mental calm.

It’s something of a dichotomy.

Or is it? If we were to stop and think about how or why we feel so strongly about something, whether positive or negative. Pro or con, Scorpio is all about strong feelings - and if we stop to think about them, that act of considering, providing we think with our head and not our heart (or some other body part), that would be rather distinctly Pallas.

Of course there are many ways for this to work. As Pallas comes into Scorpio as of October 19th at 1:09 in the afternoon UT/+0 time, you may change your mind about something. This doesn’t have to involve anything earth-shattering though it could, particularly because the solar eclipse about to happen.

And of course, the fact that in arriving at 0 Scorpio, Pallas is symbolically setting eclipse processes in motion, which may prove beneficial as the negatives associated with 0 Scorpio tend to be exacerbated by frustrations and misunderstandings along with situations which allow strength and/or resources to be purposefully used for private purposes or for any gain which is perpetrated through the auspices of unfair practice.

Will Pallas entering Scorpio mean an end to so much bad behavior? It may, and where it doesn’t end disagreements it well may signal the dawning of a will to be rational and figure things out or talk them through. That may take a bit of time to come to fruition (or alternately, for anything to come of such conversations) as Mercury is in retrograde until October 25th. But there would seem to be some sort of ‘reward’ coming down the pike...

...and it’s name is Saturn.

Why Saturn?

Simply because of this: as Pallas enters Scorpio, there is a Yod in the ingress chart.

 The transiting Yod of October 19th

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This Yod doesn’t involve Pallas directly, no. However, though with this figure centered on 24 degrees of Taurus, Sagittarius and Libra, since at the time of ingress the Sun will be at 25 degrees of Libra and therefore conjunct Pallas at 0 Scorpio, there is a connection, it's just there's a little distance there.

You know...the kind of distance which allows for perspective - in this case on 'the relationship,' which may be literal (as in two people in a relationship of any positive or negative type) or which may refer to the kind of perspective which allows us to see how two things relate without any personal involvement.

That would be very Pallas.

As to the Yod, this particular Yod will like as not occur with a lot of people trying to hold their position while cutting off (rejecting, eliminating, ignoring, etc.) others, specifically those whose knowledge (i.e., raw information, facts) feel threatening.

Presented in Taurus as a confluence of Sedna and fixed star Capulus at 24 Taurus, these threats do not have to be real. Or extreme. They can be, mind you, but they’re just as likely to involve something totally everyday, such as the parent who tells their child that it’s time to take a bath and go to bed in just the right way or at just the right moment to trigger that child’s budding instinct to be their own person - a situation which every parent has probably seen erupt into dire protests even when nothing truly dismal is seriously at stake.

Meanwhile, as with all Yods, the ‘solution point’ is in opposition to the ‘tail’ of the Yod, that ‘tail’ being what we all instinctively seem to grab hold of in trying to steer some Yod-like situation. So the answer is not Taurean - it’s not actually about security even though it may be described in seriously insecure security terms. Instead, the answer is posed at 24 Scorpio, a degree which though known for difficulties (even tragedies) and the appearance of negativity is actually highly directed and fully capable of respectable (and respected) tangible achievements which though presented on a time-table (and/or in an order) which may mystify others, proves viable and virtuous over time.

Saturn arrives at 24 Scorpio on November 2nd (UT/+0) and will remain at this degree through November 10th, stirring up all the standard Saturn themes of responsibility, limitations, achievements, age, stability, career, work and effort...which because Saturn will be opposing Sedna at that point spells either resistance and denial or the acceptance of truths which don’t ‘fit’ some image or notion we have come into this time believing in.

 Pallas enters Scorpio (glyph chart)

October 19, 2014 - 1:09 p.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Not Location Specific)

 Pallas enters Scorpio (text chart)

October 19, 2014 - 1:09 p.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Not Location Specific)

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Saturn-Sedna speaks to how ‘should’ be - not that there’s any ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ here, though there is a question of maturity and wisdom. And for this combination to come into any relationship which may represent challenges to what motivates us as Mercury re-enters Scorpio (activating the 0 Scorpio eclipse degree again) speaks most of all to where we stand with/within our Self.

Do we have perspective? Are we willing to see beyond some natural conviction or personal horizon?

Whether things are working well or off track is hardly the Pallas question as what Pallas in Scorpio asks us is:

a.) Whether we even know how to see our Self and the life around us without any passionate coloration,

...and...

b.) Whether we are willing to endure the internal trepidations which may come from our choosing to set various outlooks, orientations and biases aside as we decide to risk our ego standing with ourselves in exchange for an opportunity to gain some sort of greater or more honest understanding.

And at the moment - which is to say as Pallas enters Scorpio, that ‘understanding’ is (like as not) going to expose some factor or facet relating to how we are none of us as innocent as we’d like to think we seem.

Again, that’s not about what we are, mind you...it’s as we’d like to think we seem.
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Mercury Retrograde at 2 Scorpio

A barn raising in Lansing (now North York City Centre) Toronto, Canada

(photo credit Alexander W Galbraith/c. 1900-19, photo courtesy of City of Toronto Archives)

I was stiff when I got up this morning - unusually so, even for an injured person. Figuring there's nothing to do but cope, I went about my business... turning on the television, setting water on for tea...

It didn't take all that long to realize that even for Los Angeles, traffic was particularly rancid this morning.

Putting it together, it makes sense: Mercury has moved on station as of October 2nd to go retrograde on October 4th at 5:03 in the evening, UT/+0 time - and in having done so within some rather evident proximity to the Aries Lunar Eclipse which will occur on October 8th we're getting very personal, physical, situational effects.

Expect such things to keep happening. The Mercury part of this (read: the motion, the thought, the exchange of information or conversation) will ease out of the energetic equation as of the 6th or so (as Mercury's station allowance runs out)... but at that point we're very much into the heart of the incoming eclipse, which in being lunar is very much about emotionality (the experience/effects of) as well as anything which evokes a feeling response.

Which is a rather all-encompassing sort of statement, I know. But then, this is emotionality - the 'where humans live.' As I have asserted elsewhere and experienced in first person reality, human life is an emotional thing. We're emotional creatures. How we feel determines whether we will even get to those lofty, respectable, well-structured thoughts we all like to think we can rely on.

(And isn't it sad how we're so often wrong about that?)

In going retrograde at 2 Scorpio, Mercury is asking us to be use that part of our nature - and also our thinking nature. It's asking that we be responsible in taking charge of our own most human nature. There seems to be some necessity for disappointment with this degree, as if only through failure can we resolve ourselves to our Self as a human person and proceed on that basis.

You know, as the mortal, not the icon, real or imagined.

As for the emotionality which tends to arise at this time, it tends to be very positive or negative and not all that much betwixt or between. Imaged by the Sabian symbol 'a house-raising part in a small village enlists the neighbor's cooperation' 2 Scorpio references both acceptance and it's opposition - rejection and marginalization - plus all the various types of protections (the house) which goes or doesn't go with same.

Then again, there's a Mercury/Neptune factor here as Mercury is going into retrograde in trine to Neptune - a sign that there may be...or have been...some compromise of clarity or truth in the works - all of which seems strikingly in keeping with Royal/fixed star Aldebaran having just moved from 9 to 10 Gemini (Gemini being a Mercury-ruled sign) as of yesterday, October 1st. (See previous post.)

Mercury seeks to clarify - either through mentality (the Gemini way) or through how something is done (or what gets done) - that being more of the Virgo/Mercury solution. But when Neptune and Mercury are in aspect, Neptune's famous 'is it real...is it not real?' qualities of illusion - willful or otherwise - create complications. Confusion. Even out and out lies.

Or, of course, the exposure of same.

So some who have been deceived will discover now. Some who have been deceivers will be laid bare now. All such moments could happen in a snap... or they may 'come to be' over time, which is to say through whatever occurs during Mercury's three weeks in apparent 'reverse.'

Reverses of circumstance, reversals of decisions... we are likely to see/experience many changes of course (charted and otherwise) in these weeks ahead. In going retrograde at 2 Scorpio Mercury's position theoretically supports and enhances our realization... even our understanding/need to understand all the many and varied forms of trial and human ugliness which have been surfacing of late. That Mercury both starts and ends this retrograde period in trine to Neptune combines rather well with the image of the Scorpio eclipse both as a notice as to how we have been 'kidding ourselves' (aka lying to ourselves) or simply where we've been being irresponsible.

To our Self/selves, that is. The single and ultimate plural are both implied here, so there is the You and then there is the Everyone, with virtually nothing between. Given next week's lunar eclipse there is-was-will be many an issue which concerns guidelines and success is attained generally/most often through a basic agreement to (as they say) 'play by the rules.' Problems will occur through trust placed in the wrong people, with such alliances generally based in convenience rather than anything else.

But still, it all counts.

Also - considering how 15 Aries (the degree of the lunar eclipse) has a known tendency to produce the thing we fear through the very energetic of fearing it, this is a time to control our indulgence of our own emotionality. With Mercury going retrograde, some matters will/should be reflected on most thoroughly with an eye to understanding the full spectrum of emotions which may lie behind the urge to do or say something. That Mercury's station is in Scorpio will drive a desire to 'control the conversation' (and thus the emotions and emotionality in place) but to do such a thing - to attempt to manipulate or control are likely to somehow come to naught, most often for reasons which are not all that apparent at this time.

You'll just have to wait, in other words.

Speaking of the post just before this one - that being about Aldebaran's move to 10 Gemini - Aldebaran is, of course, the fixed star which promises success ONLY if we uphold (or establish) standards of integrity. So that Aldebaran is making this move as Mercury goes on station puts a little Mercury in the Aldebaran quotient (lending a quality of vulnerability - ours - to our own insecurities as part of our process) and lends a little Aldebaran to the Mercury station.

In other words, don't be surprised if integrity fouled begins to produce karma.

By the time Mercury reaches its station/direct point on October 25th (UT/+0), the Sun will have eclipsed and we will be not just be ready to move on, we will already be in the process of moving on. (Solar eclipses are odd like that - so often we recognize what they're 'about' only after they occur.) And because Mercury's 16 Scorpio station/direct effects will begin on October 23-24 (depending on where you are) we're seeing Mercury involved with both eclipses - one at either end of its retrograde. Hopefully 16 Scorpio will manifest with on the positive side - which 16 Scorpio is noted for, though its traits of reliability, honor and courage can/will obviously be seen as positive to some and (simultaneously) as trouble to others.

As always, that choice will be ours. The Scorpio (Mercury) component here is always about choice, with our choice always being whether we are willing to treat and experience others as equals. (In other words, it's what you do/don't do which counts...and why you do or don't do it.) Since Scorpio is not about 'them' and what 'they' are doing but rather about whether we're able to be honest with our Self about our Self, what we have earned now survives, doing so through validation, interaction, connection and mutual support.

And what about what we have not earned? That begins to cool and grow less appealing, whether in our Mercurial regard or that of others.

One last thought... in going retrograde in conjunction with asteroid Lumiere while also trine Neptune it is likely that at least part of what we are not seeing (or being willing to believe or accept) is something we also regard as 'a light' [Lumiere] in our life.

What that means and why it means whatever it means to us is at least part of why this Mercury retrograde has come along. And while it is true that Mercury/Neptune can represent 'the lie,' they can also represent that hope, that thing we hold onto in order to get ourselves through something.

Which is which, you ask?

That's individual. However... as we also know that when Mercury goes direct on October 25th (UT/+0) it will be doing so in conjunction with asteroid Lilith (what I deny or ignore in or about my own life) and Typhon, an emblem of something very basic and very primal. We also know that this October 25th station will occur in relating/relationship-oriented Libra and at one of Libra's more feeling and inspiring degrees (16 Libra).

What this 'spells' (if you will) is an opportunity to learn something about ourselves over these next few weeks which in recognizing will break through our reluctance to understand ourselves in conjunction with others. That, plus Aldebaran's shift plus the idea how by October 25th the Sun, Venus and Pallas (wisdom born of a logical, dispassionate perspective) will either release us to be our kinder (16 Libra) Self or put us in position to be open to that which happens then.

Or it may glue us utterly in place, forcing us to see how our personal short-sightedness (read: self-concern, self-focus) has now hindered our various goals.

After all, apart from all the missed phone calls, distracted conversations, mental headaches, sloppy/botched efforts, losses and mistakes, delays of schedule and endless interruptions so common with any (and every) Mercury retrograde regardless of sign, in a sense Mercury retrograde is all about getting our inner house in order so that we are ready to be graced with all which happens in retrograde's wake. Mercury retrogrades are famous (infamous, actually) for putting us through something which only comes clear just after Mercury goes direct.

And then there's the retrograde shadow. Mercury entered the shadow of its retrograde over the weekend of September 13-14 (depending on what time zone you were in) a won't exit that shadow until November 10th. So while the actual retrograde period may feel the most 'retrograde-like' (putting us on the spot with our Self), there is a greater if rather more 'shadowy' (meaning 'less apparent') implication of some process which spans this entire arc - and which, at least in the short (next three month/lunar eclipse) run is likely to feel terribly, terribly important.

The only thing is that in reality, it's not. And that's where we may be kidding ourselves - a concept we may profit long term by remembering not to forget.
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Astrologer's Diary: Mercury in Scorpio, Venus in Libra

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I feel like I'm in a race against the solar eclipse. As I've told you, I have a back injury. And try as I may, it's amazingly hard to get help for it.This is not about naming names or pointing fingers... it's about a serious physical need on my part and a dismal amount of systemic and individual unwillingness to take responsibility for what one is supposed to take responsibility for (since that's what you're doing) going around.

All such moments (people, situations, choices)...and I'm sure you're either running into it or embodying it (whether out of necessity or preference)...reflects the October 23rd solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio.

Hence my race. That eclipse can't get here and gone in my book. (And yes, there is great irony to saying you're running any race when your problem is a back injury.) However... with that duly quipped (I'll be telling jokes on my death bed, no doubt), before I contemplate surrendering to being horizontal, here are a few thoughts Mercury moving into Scorpio and Venus entering Libra which may be tasty or tasteful enough to chew on:

Mercury is entering Scorpio late on the 27th at 10:40 in the evening (UT/+0 time) and Venus will enter Libra on September 29th at 8:53 in the evening, UT/+0 time.

These two signs (Libra and Scorpio) occur in succession (Libra then Scorpio). As with any two adjacent signs, this means their tone (element) and nature or mode of activity (modality) is entirely different. Mercury entering Scorpio is all about passionate thinking and feeling our way into issues. Or feeling because of issues.

Meanwhile Venus is entering Libra - the sign which most exemplifies the whole Venusian (Aphrodite) 'beauty' idea.

And idea is the thing, too. It's the idea of what beauty is... or what we would like, this Venusian move. On one hand it supports grace in (and of) conversation. It's an opportunity to be creative and when much can come of what you otherwise might think is something easy.

On the other, Venus in Libra can be lazy (think 'languid,' but in an uglier, more irresponsible light). Venus in Libra can also be charming. Or graciously demanding in that curious way no one even thinks to frown at or resist.

With Mercury's having entered Scorpio, there's likely to be some sort of 'subterranean' atmosphere - the aura of wanting to know (or) wanting to play your cards carefully/close to the vest, whether that's needed particularly or not.

That's right - we could be fooling ourselves about how good OR bad something is simply because we're far too over-focused, a quality which is likely to infiltrate everyone's thinking and feel less than pleasant (!!!) as Mars (in Sagittarius) comes into semi-sextile with Pluto (in Capricorn) just as Mercury changes signs.

The 'solution' here is in keeping with all semi-sextiles: we are going to feel 'offended' and yet, to act solely on that (to allow ourselves to 'operate in the reactive,' as it were) only makes things worse. Semi-sextiles, in this case whether that of Mercury-to-Venus' Libra/Scorpio combination or this other Mars/Pluto (Sagittarius/Capricorn) tend not to indicate  comfortable moments. But they are just that - moments.

And another thing... in stirring up Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn, this pair of semi-sextiles is combining to effect a complete and continuous image of one-third of the zodiac - the operative interactive and worldly third of the zodiac - being involved in challenging processes of an interactive nature.

Any time Pluto and Mars connect by transit there's a generous quality of focus/over-focus which gets lobbed into our works. In this case, the prime/most intense period for same begins (in earnest) during the latter part of the day on September 29th (UT/+0). From there it will extend into October 1st - but the repercussions and effects of this time will continue to evolve for most of two months.

You know... through the solar eclipse and beyond, a fact made all the more poignant by the fact that Pluto is the 'outcome ruler' of Scorpio, sign of said eclipse.

Prepare for more unearthing of whatever is very wrong - in the world, yes... but even more than that terms of who we are and why we value and devalue others most of all. Through bringing out all the many ways our interactions aren't working this eclipse - as part of the plural-year Scorpio eclipse sequence now being completed - we are being asked to consider what our most basic values are and whether we are inclined (or even able) to relate to our own sense of weakness with as much perspective and in-depth consideration as that we tend to apply to others, however we relate to them.

Then there's the fact that Libra is a cardinal sign, which can indicate promptness, wit and being in the right place at the right time...or impatience, demands of nature and a general tendency to downgrade someone or something simply because we want what we want at the moment, whether it's important or not.

Against this, Scorpio is a fixed sign... and fixed signs live up to the idea of being 'fixed in place' rather well. Even half-past well - at a level which is all about wanting your own way because the idea of having to feel someone else get their way or deal with someone else getting to dictate to us isn't anything we want to face.

But nothing is forever in this formulation as Mercury's about to go retrograde. (I know... you're just jazzed, right?) The start of said retrograde is October 4th at 5:03 in the afternoon (UT/+0 time) with Mercury at 2 Scorpio, a degree which asks whether we are willing to take on the responsibilty of getting past our own challenges - challenges which are defined as intense and intensely testing of us on the inside.

Think 'do I have faith in my Self?' 

It will take Mercury a full week to move back through three degrees and re-enter Libra (on October 11th) - an indication that things are generally 'sticky,' probably within and without. There is an 'up' side here however... once everything shakes out the next (almost) two weeks will have both Mercury and Venus in Libra, giving us time to get a lot done - none of which is worldly or highly apparently.

The actual nature of this time is self-reflective. And it's during this self-reflective period with its flashes of forward insight and moments of recognition with regards to why something doesn't work that the solar eclipse occurs.

Oh joy...a solar eclipse under Mercury retrograde. We're being asked to let go of some old idea, some image, some vulnerability we probably cover with a bristling shield of armor. Plus (if you must know)... this incoming eclipse is going to occur in full-fledged conjuction with Venus.

A few values are getting radically changed.

What things are they will not be two-and-a-half years from now. We don't believe it... most of us can't even see it. But it's out there. Something is happening which besides occuring (and probably testing us) in the present is also preparing us for something which will occur a couple of years from now, something which we wouldn't even be prepared to appreciate if we weren't going through all the many things occupying us right now.

And granted, a lot of what's going around now is more than a little trying.

Against which, we're trying. (Hopefully.)

The idea of 'quality' is afoot. To get there, we are each facing our flaws, our weak points, our not-so-universal perspective and whatever tendency we have to insist on having things our way regardless of whether others agree. Or are even safe.

If I can get back here (all puns intended) in any short amount of time (I'm not that tall, so it shouldn't be impossible...) its on the calendar to explore the idea of Aldebaran (the royal star of integrity) moving to 10 Gemini. The date for this shift is October 1st, and as opposed to 9 Gemini (a degree which stresses mentality, mental stress and an indescribable need to be involved at a micro-detail level)... Aldebaran's next position is going to underscore the need to help and protect the poor, the abused, the neglected while doing two other things: 1.) internally recognizing the ills of human nature, complete to why we choose such actions in the name of 'solution' and 2.) requiring of our Self that we not embody those ills, particularly as pertains to others - the more innocent, beleaguered or battered, the more importantly.

Taken all together, yes, this does sound like the approach to a solar eclipse. Chances are we each already know about what is about to be eclipsed, though as yet few of us believe the bond will break, the time will come, that fate will move us on.

But it will. Mostly because by the time we get through the next month or two, we'll see the sense of letting go - not of our Self, but of something we've been clinging to because we think we can be nothing deeply satisfying without it.
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Mercury Direct/Pallas in Virgo

 A park lantern in Enghein

(Matgorzata Kaczor, July 2008)

This is going to sound a bit like a recitation from ‘the house that Jack built,’ but as we move through the eclipse, as Venus shifts into Capricorn and after Jupiter goes retrograde, then Mercury goes direct.

Or rather, first Pallas moves into Virgo. THEN Mercury goes direct.

The Pallas ingress is at 11:13 p.m. (UT/+0) time with Pallas in Virgo representing the optimal of gaining the greater perspective, from which comes wisdom.

Or, of course, Pallas in Virgo can represent matters which require us to gain an optimal perspective in order to manage the situation and make wise choices.

It all rather depends on how you come to this time and whether (principally) your eclipse was about changing, not hiding and getting closer to how your emotionality really works (with an active regard for what you could/should do about various matters) or whether you arrive at the end of this first full week of November overrun with psychic footprints. (Some of which are your own…fancy that!)

Then there’s the juxtapositions suggested by Mercury’s turn to direct against Jupiter’s reflective turn into retrograde motion. That’s a divider between those who are simply ‘moving on’ and those who need to move into a ‘repair or rebuilding’ mode which starts about now.

But let’s not assume anything is going to be moving any too quickly. Yes, as Venus moved into Capricorn on the 5th we all will have felt a subtle collective exhalation on the societal level and most of us – instinctively – will have taken that as a sign the pour our efforts into ‘goal oriented activities.’ And for a lot of us, that is going to become our “sanctuary” of sorts. Every year we get into holiday season and a substantial portion of the world gets into ‘I’m so busy’ mode. It’s a popular thing to be, so busy – indeed for many, that business seems to validate their worth. If they’re busy with holiday plans and work and trying to get the shopping done – well, life must be okay, right? We must all be okay, right?

Not really. Jupiter’s turn to retrograde against Mercury going direct on the 10th, to be followed on the 13th by Neptune going direct at 2 Pisces is an invitation to lie.

Most of all, to ourselves. With Mercury in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces our compromises are likely to be with anything which ‘doesn’t work’ for us – especially in the sense of our reputation or how others see us.

At least that’s the easy way to go. The harder way is to think through what you stand for (…really). And what it means if someone doesn’t like who you are (…really). Their not liking you – is that about you or about their inability to tolerate anyone who is even a little bit different? This matter of value - and what matters - what’s ‘worth’ our sacrifices mental, emotional, financial or on any other level are what we’re all about.

And the stickiest of all the wickets is this: what we think others think of us may not be what they think of us at all.

This is part of the curious, nebulous, disheartening, headache producing qualities of this period – and when I say ‘this period,’ what I’m referring to is a span of days when begins on October 8th (maybe even on the 7th) and which extends on to/through October 15th. Because this period includes an ‘overlap’ between the stations of Mercury and Neptune, there is a quality of permeability which is likely to turn up in many things – not the least of which is our (Mercury) thinking, travel plans, attention to detail and qualities of communication and whatever vulnerabilities (real or imagined) we bring to any given topic.

Or (imagined) lack of vulnerabilities. I don’t talk about that much, but it couldn’t be truer that Neptune’s famously potent power to imagine would include imagining you can do what you can’t do…as easily as it would include the ability to do that which we are afraid or doubtful about doing.

In other words, that which we ‘never imagined’ ourselves capable of, which for good or problematic, we find we’re entirely capable of.

(To say nothing of the fact that this post is going up in the lee of Jupiter’s station, meaning we may well touch in this discussion on things which have already happened, but which for whatever reason, you’re having to deal with the lingering ‘energetics’ of still…(or)….now…(or)… on an ongoing basis.)

Hopefully for some of us, seeing as how we are now in a solar eclipse ebbing/reconstructive phase, we will be able to let a few things go and try again. Or look towards renewing our spirit, our hopes, our willingness to try. What we thought we knew, maybe we knew very well…and maybe we knew not at all.

Can we let go of any of it? In particular, can we let go of how we feel about any of it?

One of the greatest barriers to human relationship has got to be how, in the middle of wanting to resolve some relationship crisis, we all get defensive. With the combination of Jupiter, Mercury and Neptune coloring an expanse of days, perhaps we can let go of our own fears and needs to be thought of one very confined and special way in order to hear others out…in the hearing of how we are appreciated, but in a slightly different way than as we thought. How we may be loved, if for things other than those we thought of as lovable.

How we got it wrong…the rules, the boundaries, the idea of the thing…and how we are willing to open our minds wide and far enough to hear the entrusted thoughts of someone else who does want to connect with us – with the person we really are.

Do we dare let anyone in?

Many of us are so upset, unhappy, disappointed…so underwhelmed by who we think we are that we turn away from anyone who simply accepts us along the way. It’s almost as if we think we have to be ‘perfect,’ we have to have achieved all our goals to be worthy of cherish and support.

It just doesn’t work that way. We are all of us human and all of us as magnificently flawed as we are distressingly talented.

So often it is not the thing we want…or expect to be respected or loved for…which proves our finest draws and the perfume which draws others to become intoxicated with our being.

That the Sabian Symbol for Mercury going direct at 2 Scorpio is A HOUSE-RAISING PARTY IN A SMALL VILLAGE ENLISTS THE NEIGHBOR’S COOPERATION plainly embodies the interactive concept which is so Scorpio. It tells us that the mental points upon which things currently ‘turn’ involve enlisting others –and people drawn from a “small” group at that, in the erecting of something we all believe in…the value of having a home here on Earth.

You may be tempted to think that this population you have to call on is all about your peers. But if we believe this image, it like as not isn’t. Villages are a conglomerate of individuals who often have nothing in common with each other but some reasons to live where they live. So don’t think that those you call on should be from your personal ‘walk of life.’ The Scorpio nuance here may be very much in fact all about the idea that you are, in essence, creating for yourself a new ‘place in the world’ through calling on people you don’t know particularly well to help you build something they will then feel some regard for.

Enlisting others in your cause would seem attractive now – which is very much a whole other side of Neptune/Mercury. At its best, this combination evokes a very ‘we’re all in this together’ sort of vibe where we accept each other on the face of our humanity; where we delight in finding out how we’re different so that we can be of help to one another.

Sometimes that just means we enjoy each other’s company. Sometimes that means we experience our own humanity and strength of human caring by standing with someone through their struggles. And sometimes we need to feel cared about even though we may not feel worthy of being cared about as we admit our flaws, our gaffs and our failed good intentions.

2 Scorpio is about the process of learning who we are and what we are capable of. It isn’t all good, it isn’t all bad, either. This is a degree which plainly states that life is what we make it…but that we have to take on making it and also remember to clean up after our mistakes.

To err is human…to learn from errors, divine.

Pallas entering Virgo on the 9th (a day prior to Mercury going direct on the 10th) gives us time and space and represents an opportunity to be pragmatic. No, you may not like everything you see, but yes, you can survive it, you can deal with it, you can make it into something better, if that’s what you so desire.

You just have to be willing to work through your process.

There has been a lot of talk of evil in my life of late. I tend to think evil is not in the act, but in the being unwilling to think through why you undertook to do that act, the unwillingness to talk about what works and what doesn’t work and why that would be.

We may all go through this time trying to deflect, ignore, reorient, rebuild and figure out. Some of us will keep ourselves good company, and some of us will seek out the company of those who accept us in any given moment whether we are being grace itself or a raging Cyclops, driven by instincts not yet understood.

Swindlers will abound now.

Tales will get told.

Not one of us will know what is going on for this next little while…not in finite terms. Not for real.

If you can afford to enjoy what you’re doing, do it well. If you can afford to be a dispassionate observer on that which must get done, insights will happen.

If you can be brave enough to let go of your own fears and trust that you can be accepted for who you are, have been, and have the potential to become, the very energies of utopia are there for you to walk into.

Just don’t try to hold onto anything just yet. Some things you see ‘in the light’ now will eventually solidify into tangibles. Some will not. Hold your hand out and if you are met in kind, don’t grasp…trust.
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Dateblog: November 2013

November starts with Saturn, the Sun and Mercury all in Scorpio, with Mercury retrograde….and the big clue to all is that Mercury will not be going direct until November 10^th, meaning it will be retrograde when the November 3^rd Solar Eclipse happens.

If nothing else, this is a sign that this particular solar eclipse is greatly (read: vastly) about how we operate on the inside. Things which happen to us, situations we have managed to put ourselves into – wherever they are producing stress, strain or untoward emotionality (of either the plus OR minus type)…that’s where we should be asking ourselves whether we are being truly realistic about who we are and what shape our personal self worth is in.

This is one of those times when anything we are in denial about…or things which we don’t want to deal with (but really need to deal with) are likely to either cause problems – or cause us to put our Self into some really ‘deep water’ situation which is going to compromise our ability to move forward in our life as we might have wanted to.

There is likely to be a huge amount of free-floating ‘fear energy’ wandering around. Some you should care about, some you should be smart enough to recognize and avoid. The only risks which are advisable as November starts out are those which are based on facts – preferably intellectual facts and thus which are simply about doing that which is known.


It’s the unknowns…that which we are thinking of as ‘possible’…the thing which we crave but which is all about taking a risk our psyche (or other body part) can’t “afford to pay for” which is what’s likely to get us.

That Ceres – a major asteroid – enters Libra about an hour after the eclipse strongly suggests that once our ‘old ways’ and the emotionally non-functional is cleared out of our way we are free to make new plans and new alliances. For those who have used the whole of the eclipse lead-in to get to the root of some issue which is not yet cleared out, this is also a good time to lay groundwork and investigate how to move forward with doing that clearing out or ‘detoxifying’ of that which is so problematic.

As of November 5^th, Venus will move into Capricorn – and this is worth noting because Venus is going to go retrograde in Capricorn come mid-late December (think: Christmas). Considering Capricorn is the third sign (3^rd harmonic) from Scorpio, this lends credence to the idea of making plans on how to move ahead – if slowly. Don’t plan on anything happening lickety-split and look more to intrinsic quality than alluring ‘qualities.’

Think of it this way: the book cover counts. But if the book isn’t any good, not even the glossiest cover is going to get you to the best seller’s list!

Venus’ shift into Capricorn happens just as the ‘window’ for Jupiter’s station-retrograde begins. That happens on November 7^th – a sure sign that we all have enough on our plate for the moment. That Pallas (dispassionate wisdom) moves into Virgo on the 9^th – the other end of the Jupiter station gives us a set of earth-sign “bookends” to this Cancerian Jupiter station, which means some people will be battening down the hatches, some will be clearing out the mental (or life) garage and some of us will simply know where we’re going. Whatever is afoot, it has to be workable if it’s going to work.

And let’s be real here…considering that we just had a solar eclipse in Scorpio, with the ‘choice of personal investment ruler of Scorpio (Mars) in Virgo and the ‘outcome’ ruler of Scorpio (Pluto) in Capricorn, we have a perfect mirror of ‘factoring factors’ surrounding this Jupiter station. Stability is only as good (or as lasting) as we are foundationally. That’s the crux of Jupiter in Cancer – it’s about foundations. Wherever Cancer is in your chart and wherever the Moon (as ruler of Cancer) is in your chart, the good or bad, the easy or difficult of this time is all about how well you deal with those factors.

Mercury goes direct at 2 Scorpio on the 10^th, pushing us to deal with our issues and with whatever may be bollixed up at this point…and there are likely to be a few days of confusion or not knowing as we move through the period of November 11^th through the 15^th which surrounds Neptune station-direct moment on the 13^th.

Considering Neptune’s station ends in the onset of the Leonid meteor shower (a brief if interesting period of possible ‘sparking’ of ideas and realizations) with Vesta entering Libra on the 15^th and a Full Moon in Taurus occurring on the 17^th, this is a really good time to be dealing with matters which pertain to security.

For some of us, that will be securing something or getting it done. For others, this will be a time of working through our insecurities in order to learn the truth of how things work and that we can actually deal with something we were thinking was just ‘too hard’ for us. There will be a few folks who think they’ve ‘gotten past’ (ignored, evaded, successfully denied) the warnings portrayed by the solar eclipse who will come crashing down to earth at this Full Moon, but for most of us this will be an ‘interim capitalization point’ on something which is already in process…and considering this Full Moon is in Taurus, we hope that results are satisfactory.

Those which are will be very satisfying indeed. Those which aren’t will lead to a bit of frustration and then (hopefully) the resolution to try, try again as Chiron goes direct on the 19^th (which means its station-direct influences begin on the date of the Full Moon).

But let’s be pragmatic about this: where Chiron is concerned we have to ‘master’ our emotionality and get that hooked into trying – and whatever it is we’re trying to achieve, it’s not going to be anything we feel we’re all that good at.

Still, we only win through by trying. And that’s part of the Chiron message: we can’t always know how to do something before we attempt it. Some things can only be learned…and mastered…and appreciated…through the doing of them.


Chiron’s station (which is in Pisces, guaranteeing emotionality of some sort, even if it’s denied emotionality) ends on the 21^st – a day before the Sun enters Sagittarius.

And interestingly enough….that’s pretty much the last astrological announcement for the month. So everything which has happened during November leads into this 21^st-through-the-30^th period of finding out how well things work…or don’t work…and learning better in the process.
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