Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius

 

'Free Your Mind' by Catrin Welz-Stein

Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius

1/30/21 – 2/20/21

 

How does Mercury express in Aquarius?

 

Mercury in the fixed air of Aquarius sends messages in waves that connect through networks of people.  This can link us telepathically, often to greater understanding of our social systems.  These days, such a ‘communal bath’ for the collective mind tends to come through the internet (and especially our social media outlets)…where we have the opportunity to instantaneously share our unique gifts as individuals while we connect to our global community. 

The World Wide Web was first introduced to us when Saturn was last in Aquarius, and now that Saturn is in Aquarius again…this invention is approaching its Saturn Return.  When we go through our first Saturn Return (around the age of 29), we are often tasked with the many responsibilities of reaching full-blown adulthood.  It is a Rite of Passage where we must commit to something with newfound maturity and carry it through for the next few decades of our lives.  For us humans, by the age of 29, we have gone through a series of tests where we confront the concept of Authority outside of ourselves, only to return to the Authority within ourselves.  It will be interesting to see how this will play out with the Internet, a non-human entity that humans so often use.  And Mercury in Aquarius will likely be including this as part of the collective retrograde story this time around. 

Of course, any form of connection with community (especially when using your individual gifts for a common goal) is linked to this Mercury in Aquarius energy.  But technological innovation does speed up the process of Group Consciousness.  Keep in mind that this energy does not dissolve our differences to make us just like everyone else.  More often, it combines many unique viewpoints and shares them in ways that inform our world with whatever group dynamics we create together.  So Mercury in Aquarius inclines us to be more consciousof what we’re contributing to the group or community.  We may be asking ourselves, ‘how does this thing that sets me apart from others actually offer something integral to my community?’

 

What is the purpose of a Mercury Retrograde?

 

Mercury, the Messenger, has a gift for storytelling.  The Mercurial function is to spell the message out in various ways to get the point across…usually from point A (let’s say that’s you) to point B (let’s say that’s me).  But in transit, bearing the collective message, sometimes Mercury loops or zig-zags back and forth from point A to point B three times.  It is a message so important that it needs repeating from multiple perspectives.   A Mercury Retrograde expands the message into a 3-part storyline.    

From my view as an Astrology Writer, Mercury’s first direct pass of the coming retrograde degrees is the Prologue of the story.  During this time (January 15-30), Mercury introduces us to the world and the main characters of the story.  There are hints of what is to come, but much of the detail is left out.  Mercury catches our attention, and promises to reveal more throughout the retrograde.  It is a time where, because we were speeding along in our everyday lives, Mercury invites us to slow down and pay attention to something we all zipped past without giving much time for thought.

Mercury Retrograde, the heart of the story, is the Deep Think we all need (multiple times a year).  This part of the story begins during Mercury’s station…when our Messenger planet appears to slow down to a halt and change directions in our sky.  This, of course, only appears so from our view on Earth…which is why these messages are so poignant to us Earthlings.  Mercury is also closer to us in proximity during retrogrades, so it feels more like an intimate Storytime for all of us.  And the closer the degrees to our natal storyline by dynamic aspect, the more we take in the story as it inspires us on a personal level. 

Because this is true, it means that the lessons contained within each retrograde storyline are not always so specific to us.  But they will be specific and personal to many…so the more we interact with others during this time, the more we can learn of the message.  Contrary to popular belief, Mercury Retrograde is not a time to hide under a rock and cease all communications.  Our connections bring out more meaning to the story.  However, there is definitely an inward journey happening during any retrograde.  And with Mercury as the guide, there is great potential to shift our inward thought patterns into unexplored territory. 

Throughout this apparent backtrack through what was hinted at in Mercury’s Prologue, every aspect (new or repeated) is given a fuller description.  There is time to go deeper and develop a different perspective on the story.  It becomes more meaningful to us…just as a reader falls in love with or increasingly identifies with a character.  We become more engaged with the story.  We are immersed in it.  Mercury has a multitude of gifts for keeping our attention stimulated throughout. 

Within the Retrograde storyline, there is an Interior Conjunction between Sun and Mercury that plants the new thoughtseed within each of us that grows, gives, and composts through the rest of Mercury’s cycle.  In a way, this is the main point of the retrograde…to finish one cycle of thought so another can replace it.  However, the Retrograde story doesn’t end here.

The Retrograde concludes when Mercury carries our awareness all the way back to the degree where we missed something important as the Prologue began.  This happens during Mercury’s direct station.  The Messenger planet once again slows down to a halt and shifts directions…but not before pointing us to a priceless message we need to retrieve and integrate for ourselves.

The Epilogue, where Mercury describes the events in the story after all plotlines are revealed, is the 2^nd direct pass of the degrees Mercury has traveled thrice.  During this time (2/20 – 3/12), we are offered an opportunity to integrate the meaning of this story into our lives.  The events that play out during the epilogue are signals on how to move forward with what we retrieved of the meaning. 

 

How do I know if this Retrograde relates to me personally?

 

Not everyone speaks the language of Astrology, I get that.  There are ways to learn these things…but most prefer to just consult an Astrologer for such advice.  That is my job, and I love it.  However, I was born in the Aries season so I also tend to champion the way of self-reliance.  If you’d rather learn to fish, I’m willing to teach that.  But since I have a mixed group of readers and clients (from novices to professionals), I’ll include more detail than the general information.  I was born at Mercury Cazimi (the Exterior Conjunction of Sun and Mercury) after all, so ‘show and tell’ is a big part of my personal toolkit. 

If you are familiar enough with your natal chart, you can first look to the part of your chart where Aquarius 12 – 27 is.  This will show you the area of life (the Astrological House) where this story will be set.  For example, this retrograde takes place in my 10^th House…the House of Career and Public Contribution.  Then you may notice if you have any planets or angles in this part of your natal chart.  If you do, you will have some distinctly personal lessons throughout this time.  If you don’t have anything in this part of Aquarius, as it is in my case, you’ll see the lessons playing out by other aspects with your natal chart. 

The next thing to look for is whether you have natal planets or angles in any of the other fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio) between 12 – 27 degrees.  It is likely that you do.  So, in this case, Mercury will bring up dynamic square aspects (to Taurus or Scorpio) or a tense balancing act with your personal Leo lessons.  For me, it’s all about the squares to my Taurus Ascendant-Chiron and my Scorpio Moon-Ceres.  In fact, there will be a square between Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius and Mars in Taurus on Feb. 10 that will highlight my exact Ascendant degree.  At that time, I’ll no doubt be pressed to take communicative action in some way.

For those who have it relatively easy, and Mercury is not making any dynamic aspects to your natal energies, you may find trines or sextiles to natal planets in other air or fire signs (Aries, Gemini, Libra, or Sagittarius).  In that rare case of only harmonious aspects, you may find you float along during this time with a great deal of ease where nothing pushes you to engage with this story.  It is possible, then, that you will be the one who falls asleep during this Storytime and you miss the message.  Or, if you do respond to the creative flow and the opportunities this story presents for you, a lot of good can come from your participatory engagement.  Cancer, Virgo, Capricorn, and Pisces are the parts of your chart that might not relate to the Mercury Retrograde storyline much at all (as they are non-aspects to Aquarius)…but it is highly unlikely that everything in your chart is only in those signs. 

And if you want to get really Astro-geeky with me, you may find my outline of Mercury’s retrograde journey to be useful for timing purposes.  I’ve included Sabian Symbols of the degrees that will be highlighted throughout as well…which can give you some clues to the story’s action. 

Keep in mind that the degrees listed are rounded up.  So, where this whole Mercury journey begins in 11.01 Aquarius, it is considered the 12^th degree of Aquarius. 

 

1/15 – 1/30:  Mercury’s Prologue (AQU 12 – 27)

          1/20:  Aquarius Mercury trine Gemini North Node (part 1) (AQU/GEM 20)

Mercury-  ‘a white dove bearing a message’

North Lunar Node-  ‘a cafeteria’

South Lunar Node-  ‘men cut ice for summer use’

1/30:  Mercury stations retrograde (AQU 27)

‘An ancient pottery bowl filled with violets’

1/30 – 2/20:  Mercury’s Retrograde in Aquarius (AQU 27 – 12)

          2/8:  Interior Conjunction of Sun-Mercury (AQU 21)

‘a woman, disappointed and disillusioned, courageously faces a seemingly empty life’

          2/10:  Aquarius MercuryRx trine Gemini North Node (part 2) (AQU/GEM 19)

MercuryRx-  ‘a forest fire quenched’

North Lunar Node-  ‘a large archaic volume reveals traditional wisdom’

South Lunar Node-  ‘pelicans seek safer areas to raise their young’

          2/10:  Aquarius MercuryRx square Taurus Mars (AQU/TAU 18)

                     MercuryRx-  ‘a man’s secret motives are being publicly unmasked’

Mars-  ‘a woman airing an old bag through an open window’

          2/13:  MercuryRx conjunct Venus (AQU 15)

                     ‘two lovebirds on a fence’

          2/14:  MercuryRx conjunct Jupiter (AQU 14)

                     ‘a train entering a tunnel’

2/20:  Mercury stations direct (AQU 12) ‘People on a vast staircase, graduated upwards’

2/20 – 3/12:  Mercury’s Epilogue (AQU 12 – 27)

          3/2:  Aquarius Mercury trine Gemini North Node (part 3) (AQU/GEM 16)

                     Mercury-  ‘a big businessman at his desk’

                     North Lunar Node- ‘a woman activist in an emotional speech’

                     South Lunar Node- ‘seagulls fly around a ship in expectation of food’

          3/4:  Mercury conjunct Jupiter (AQU 18)

                     ‘a man’s secret motives are being publicly unmasked’

 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

Full Moon in Leo: Courageous Expression through the Cutting Edge

 

'The Tightrope Walker' by Roweig

Full Moon in Leo:  Courageous Expression through the Cutting Edge

Moon opposite Sun- 1/28/21 @ 1:16pm CST

 

It is the Full Wolf Moon, when Luna’s call encourages us to express authenticity within the pack.  And since it is a Leo Full Moon, her call also encourages the pride.  Amidst the roars and howls of the collective at this Full Moon, what sound radiates from your heart center?  What do you feel encouraged to express?

Every year, the Full Moon in Leo commands attention…and this year brings a ‘cutting-edge’ quality more dynamic than most.  In a 90 degree square aspect to our luminaries, Mars and Uranus in Taurus are activated.  Taurus is fixed earth, and usually solid…even predictable in its unfolding.  But this combination of Mars-Uranus we’ve been feeling this month is groundbreaking.  Like navigating crackling ice beneath a continuous snowfall…it’s not the most sure-footed feeling.  We have to really trust our bodies to hold us steady. 

So while the Leo Moon calls us to emit our radiant heart, Aquarius Sun shines consciousness on group awareness.  In all oppositions, we are challenged by the tension between what appears to be opposite expressions.  In this Full Moon, we meet this challenge by expressing the creative light of our individuality through our collective experience.  The square from Mars and Uranus in Taurus shows us how we are urged to express it. 

The cutting edge of Mars and Uranus in Taurus earth is guided by Venus, who is currently conjunct Pluto in Capricorn.  This is Love’s Wisdom from the depths of Earth, giving sound advice for our actions.  Venus orchestrates these Taurus vibrations with a powerful understanding of the Plutonian seed of this lunar cycle.  New Moon began conjunct Pluto, and the cycle has grown since to a Uranian crescendo.  With these outer planets involved, the charge of change is received by Earth.  It is a time where what once may have been predictable becomes unpredictable.  There is a wildness emerging from fixed earth that is as exciting as it can be unsettling.  Can you trust yourself to harness it and put it to good use? 

Remember that the way of Taurus grounds us with the senses, whether we’re responding to something quick as a bolt of lightning or gradual as new wings emerging from a chrysalis.  Taurus is not averse to change…it’s just that it must be aligned with Natural Law.  After all, it is both the fertile soil and the productive unfolding of Mother Nature.  Taurus earth’s fixedness is in the determination to grow.  And growth requires us to respond to changes.

What kind of changes are moving our response?  The Leo Moon is conjunct the asteroid Hygiea, a clue that one of the greatest resonances in her call has to do with health.  Hygiea (whose name gave us the word ‘hygiene’) is the Goddess of purification and holistic health.  It is not mere coincidence she is so present when vaccine rollouts are being amped up…and she raises the question of what practices are the most beneficial for the body when the collective desire is to prevent any further damage to our health.  In Leo, Hygiea encourages self-awareness to determine what is healthy for each individual.  After all, we are not the same…even as we are part of a collective.  The tension arises in our varied responses to what is being amplified in our collective awareness.

The Aquarius Sun is conjunct Jupiter…and this gas giant is all about amplification and expansion.  If you’re in any way connected to any community that speaks of Astrology, you’ve no doubt heard an amplified buzz about ‘Aquarius energy’.  People are positively giddy about it, which is an inclination of Jupiter’s current influence in this air sign.  Some expand the current energy so far as to herald it as ‘The Age of Aquarius’.  Those who understand the enormous breadth of the Astrological Ages are not so quick to punctuate the flow.  These are transits in Aquarius we are feeling, a much more particular resonance than the precession of our ages.  Such a predominance of transits in Aquarius, however, do clue us in to what our Descendants will be working with over a century from now. 

And yet, not all of the ideals included in the 5^th Dimension song give a full picture of what is on the horizon for humanity.  There is a distinctly technological factor to our collective experience of Aquarius that has become increasingly engrained in the fixed Air of this sign.  There are also some lessons to learn about ‘Groupthink’…so the current opposition of Jupiter and Hygiea means to challenge our previous ideas of ‘Herd Immunity’, whatever they may be for each of us.  This Leo-Aquarius combination brings up the importance and benefit (Jupiter) of Holistic Health practices (Hygiea) to prevent illness. 

But you’ll see, because of the rather bullish nature of this T-square pooling the tension in Taurus, that there isn’t actually a whole lot of Aquarian agreement on what will give the best results for each individual as well as the collective.  In many cases, even the Leo heart-radiance is overshadowed by fixed reactions to opposition and challenge. 

Leo Moon’s fixed fire reminds us to respond by leading with love.  Treat others as individuals who are blessed with the ability and the will to be their authentic Self.  In this quickening Aquarius season, the lesson is to encourage the unique expression of each of us to creatively contribute to the health of the whole.  When amplifying this underlying wisdom, we can break new ground in our Earthly unfolding. 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

New Moon in Capricorn: Commitment to Transformation

 

'Threshold III' by Jake Baddeley

New Moon in Capricorn:  Commitment to Transformation

Moon conjunct Sun- 1-12-21 @11:00 pm CST

 

So many transformations we’ve been going through…for over a decade, it has accelerated.  Humanity is becoming more attentive and attuned to Natural Law.  Not that we have it all figured out yet…this is a long but necessary process.  And we keep coming to these initiatory points that evolve us further along the path of reconnection to Earth.  Some are huge societal and world changes like the bookends of 2020, the Saturn-Pluto and Jupiter-Saturn Conjunctions.  But within those larger changes, there are smaller (but no less important) changes that occur.  This Lunar Cycle is one of them.

But the fixed air of Aquarius is the dominant theme now, right?  Jupiter-Saturn on December Solstice ushered in this new wave…and the struggles of Capricorn Saturn-Pluto that marked the beginning of 2020 are in the past, yes?  Well, yes…and we’re still learning our Saturn lessons this year.  These are not the same lessons, but the underlying theme is the same:  Responsibility.  Saturn guides the lessons of both Capricorn and Aquarius like the two-headed Janus that gave this month its name.  Janus is a threshold guide, God of Doorways.  One head looks to the past, one to the present.  Two perspectives in one entity, a conjunction of opposites.  Where we have been and where we are going are two sides of the same coin, and our response in the present joins what we have learned to what we will learn.

This present initiation is marked by our luminaries conjunct Pluto in Capricorn.  Pluto has been traveling through this cardinal earth sign since 2008.  Slow-moving as this outer planet is, Pluto’s lessons are deep and enduring…always prevalent just under the surface of things until crisis brings it out for catharsis. 

Tonight’s conjunction is in the same area of the sky where the Capricorn Council met throughout last year.  The emphasis on Capricorn now brings our recent past to the present for another transformation, one which will bring us through this lunar month.

 

Moon-Sun in Capricorn 24

Sabian Symbol:  ‘A woman entering a convent’

This symbol represents our initiations of intent where we dedicate and commit ourselves to a life transformation.  We step beyond the threshold from what was known to what is unknown.  We make a commitment to follow through with our choice.  For each of us, this is a personal choice…though you may feel you have no choice in the matter, as we are following a soul urge that is calling us to surrender to change.  But the very foundation of this choice is in responsibility…in our ability to respond.  It is how we respond to the call of the transformational initiation in this lunar month that guides our change. 

In the initiation of this New Moon, our previous comforts may be stripped away…revealing the bare bones of who we really are.  Whatever it is personally that requires your total commitment now is likely to take you beyond your previous comfort zone.  That which was excessive or frivolous in your life will not help you transform into who you are becoming.  It may be that a health issue requires you to give up certain foods, or maybe time management is required in the weeks ahead to bring focus to your priorities.  Whatever it is, this is a good time to set yourself up for success in your endeavors.  If you come out of this lunar month feeling like you took care of your responsibilities through hard work and dedication, you’ll have made the best of this time.  But if you focus on all you’ve had to give up rather than what you’re giving it up for…you may find this lunar month to be particularly difficult. 

Pluto in Capricorn 25

Sabian Symbol:  ‘A store filled with precious oriental rugs’

The woman entering the convent chooses to no longer rely on the comforts and conveniences of the outside world, no precious rugs beneath her as she kneels to pray.  While Pluto’s influence is always about the depths of the transformational process, this God of the Underworld also rules material wealth.  With this symbol, Pluto is bringing up the deep chasm between comforts that the affluent may take for granted and the hardships of those who struggle just to live or provide for their families.  Pluto here is dismantling traditions of Wealth Comfort through Soul Crisis.  This larger transformation in our world enters the personal experience through understanding what we can live without and what is necessary for our survival. 

Some may cling to their comforts and not make the changes that their soul urges them to make.  They’re likely to learn these lessons the hard way.  But if you choose to let go of what no longer serves you and find a new way to move forward, you’ll thank yourself for that choice later. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi