Full Moon in Aries: The Eris Moon

 

Art by Emily Balivet

Full Moon in Aries: The Eris Moon

Moon opposite Sun- 10/20/21 @ 9:56am CDT

 

This Full Moon will no doubt be a dynamic one…it’s why we’ve been needing so much rest leading up to it.  The dwarf planet Eris, named after the goddess of strife, is conjunct this Moon in Aries.  She is opposing Mars, who is conjunct the Sun in Libra.  And this opposition creates a T-Square with Pluto in Capricorn at the apex (where all the tension from the opposition pools and demands action). 

Eris and Mars (Ares) are warrior siblings, usually working together on the battlefield…but they are currently at odds.  And this opposition heightens the enduring Pluto-Eris square that has been exact 5 times between January 2020 and this month.  The added Libra element, this time, puts more pressure on Pluto in Capricorn to respond with dramatic alterations. 

When Eris is in the mix (and she’s been stirring the pot for years now), an element creeps into our unassuming lives to wreak all havoc (you know, like a virus that changes everything).  It’s not that Eris seeks to destroy, though.  Her intentions are to reveal what is false about the status quo.  And there’s nothing like a bit of chaotic crisis (which is at the crux of this long-running Pluto-Eris square) to show us how out of integrity we humans have become.

Eris and Hades from 'Hercules'

Consider that pre-covid, many of the strongest supporters of ideas like ‘my body, my choice’ were on one side of the partisan spectrum while the other side was vehemently against that idea.  Now consider the most polarizing issue at hand these days…covid vaccine mandates.  Again, we’re hearing ‘my body, my choice’…but the opposition to that call is now predominantly coming from the same political side that championed choice in the abortion debate.  Eris, Mars, and Pluto are suggesting that we all take a good hard look at the underlying motivations and influences behind our often wavering ideas about choice.

In any conflict, Eris is a champion for those who are being ostracized or exiled from society in some way.  She knows what that feels like, and she’ll make it her mission to expose the injustice. 

Her brother, Mars, though…he’s more of a dutiful warrior.  If his orders are to oppose his sister, as they are currently, he’ll put aside his feelings before entering the battle and go for the glory.

The problem is, both sides of the conflict believe they are acting in the best interests of the greater good and protecting the rights of the people.  And yet, the square to Pluto (from both sides) suggests that hidden motivations are influencing the conflict on both ends.  And our luminaries at this Full Moon are illuminating the underlying Plutocracy controlling the controversy. 

Pluto at the apex of this T-Square suggests that we, the people, need to take back our power to initiate total transformation of the societal structures that have been crumbling under their own weight for over a decade now.  Yes, it’s a heavy imperative we’re facing…but that’s what a Pluto square presents us with.  In this, it comes across as a ‘do or die’ kind of choice…which doesn’t feel much like a choice at all.

Now, that is the global picture…but what of this influence on the more personal, individual experience?  That all depends on what you are personally battling.  An illness?  An imbalance in your life?  A fear?  A bad habit?  A soul-crushing work environment?  A more personal injustice?

The key with Pluto at the apex is to look deeper into your own motivations, transform them if they are out of integrity with who you truly are, and reclaim your hidden power that has been buried underneath it all.  Easier said than done, I know.  But that’s what’s up right now.

We do have a bit of a saving grace from Jupiter in Aquarius at this time.  This benefic influence brings a subtle opportunity for release of the tension through a sextile from Moon-ErisRx and a flowing trine from Sun-Mars.  The natal house that holds the Aquarian energy in your chart can show the area of life where you may feel the benefits of that release.  Still, it is in your Capricorn house where the stress will ultimately demand a necessary change. 

It will be a challenge to balance your Aries initiative for personal integrity and self-reliance with your Libra initiative for social harmony and diplomacy.  But the key is to surrender to what structures need to transform (Pluto in Capricorn) while envisioning a brighter future (Jupiter in Aquarius).

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

Mercury Retrograde in Libra: The Story of Relating (Part Three, The Epilogue)

 

Art by Vladimir Kush

Mercury Retrograde in Libra:  The Story of Relating (Part Three, The Epilogue)

Prologue- 9/6 to 9/27 (LIB 11-26)

Retrograde Story:  9/27 to 10/18 (LIB 26-11)

Epilogue:  10/18 to 11/2 (LIB 11-26)

 

 

Part Three, Mercury’s Epilogue (10/18 – 11/2)

In Mercury’s third and final journey over these degrees of Libra, we see the story presented at the end of the previous Mercury cycle tie in a new, and often wiser, light.

During this Epilogue to the Mercury Retrograde, the Cosmic Messenger wraps up the lessons we needed to take our time learning.  The lessons, then, inspire ideas to come forth into fruition throughout the coming months.  I like to think of this third pass as an integration of the wisdom we learned during Mercury’s Retrograde Journey. 

Mercury took us on a Magic Carpet Ride backwards through the air of Libra.  Now we’re bringing that Mercury Magic back into ordinary reality to share in a direct way.  It only took a shift of perspective and a non-ordinary experience to get our minds re-aligned with the Cosmic Mind.    

That is, if you were paying attention to how this story has been speaking to you personally.  From what I’ve seen, many of us couldn’t ignore the underlying messages coming through to us from this particular Story of Relating.

 

Epilogue (10/18 to 11/2)

10/18:  Mercury Stations Direct (LIB 11)

          Sabian Symbol: ‘a professor peering over his glasses’

Story:  As we return once more to the degree of Libra where we started this story, the Mercurial Professor gives us all a wink and a knowing smile.  ‘You thought, at first, you had it all figured out, yes?  Ah, but now…you see the fuller picture of what this story was really about for you.’  With a trickster twinkle in his eye, the Professor begins to tie it all up for us so that we may bring those lessons into our lives with a fresh perspective.

10/25:  Mercury’s Maximum Elongation (Morning)

Story:  At this point during the end of this story, Mercury begins to move us ahead on the ideas he inspired in us.  Our new mental outlook gets some wings, and we carry those thoughts into more direct communication with others for the next few months. 

10/27:  Mercury in LIB 17

          Sabian Symbol:  ‘a retired sea captain’

Story:  Mercury brings us back to the degree of its previous retrograde conjunction with Sun to wrap up the story arc of this character.  During the Retrograde Story, the sea captain had much to learn about relating to others, himself, and his environment in new ways.  Gruff as he may have become after being long at sea, he experienced a softening element to his interactions in retirement.  Awkward as the transition was at first, he learned to adjust to a less critical pace and gentler exchanges with others.  In the end, he was better able to convey to others the wisdom of his experiences…building new friendships on solid ground.  What have we learned of relating to each other after our own high pressure experiences of the recent past?  We might liken our journey through lockdown and social distancing as being ‘out to sea’, navigating through a storm.  The return has been a slow (and somewhat awkward) process…many of us forgetting how to relate to others after so much distance.  Like the story of the retired sea captain, Mercury encouraged us through his retrograde to find our footing.

10/31:  Mercury trine Jupiter (LIB 23)

          Sabian Symbol:  ‘Chanticleer’

Story:  This third trine between Mercury and Jupiter heralds some good news, an optimistic message we can take forward to inspire new ideas.  Chanticleer, the Rooster, crows at dawn to alert us to a new consciousness…awakening the senses and inspiring us in a ‘carpe diem’ sort of way.  This is a very social aspect, and may present ideas in an amplified way.

11/2:  Mercury square Pluto (LIB 25)

          Sabian Symbol:  ‘information in an autumn leaf’

Story: The meaning within the story deepens in this last square with Pluto.  This is when all the symbolism we encountered, the hints that Mercury dropped for each of us personally, really come together and illuminate the whole process we went through during the retrograde.  While we endured the focused heaviness of this square throughout the beginning of the retrograde (at Mercury’s retrograde station, toward the end of September), some of us may have thought the point of this story had something to do with death…or some kind of ending at least.  The sea captain thought so, at first, as he had to settle into his retirement.  He watched the waves of the sea from his home on land and thought ‘this is the end of my journey’.  But the apparent death of an autumn leaf is not an end at all.  It is a transformation that feeds a new beginning, as it returns to the earth and provides what is needed for new growth in the coming spring. 

11/2:  Mercury finishes Epilogue (LIB 26)

          Sabian Symbol:  ‘an eagle and a large white dove turn one into the other’

Story: What we were not fully ready to wrap our minds around at the end of last month, we now return to so we can integrate it.  As Mercury finally passes through the whole of this degree, we experience a full transformation of relating through the wisdom of balanced reciprocity.  Within us, what this means is a better understanding of the partnership between heart and mind.  And how that reflects in our interactions with others has to do with our ability to maintain a balance between giving and receiving. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

P.S. Click this link for a recap of 'Part One, The Prologue'

And click this link for a recap of 'Part Two, The Retrograde Story'

New Moon in Libra: Take a Break

 

Art by Nuriko Kun

New Moon in Libra: Take a Break

Moon conjunct Sun- 10/6/21 @ 6:05am CDT

 

In times of multiple retrogrades, there are starts and stops and changes of perspective.  It all ends up being rather necessary, whether these changes are welcome at first or not.  Of course, when we’re being busy people in societies that don’t stop…changes often throw us for a loop.  How we deal when things get loopy often determines the outcome. 

At this New Moon, two of our retrograde planets (Pluto, then Saturn) are approaching a full stop to station direct.  Pluto is already stationary, turning direct not long after this New Moon.  Saturn has significantly slowed already and will station direct at the end of the weekend.  During any planetary station, there is an amplified focus on all things to do with that planet. 

With Plutonian vibrations amplified this whole week…we may have already been thoroughly haunted by the underneath we didn’t ask to see.  Now Pluto urges us to shift our perspective and integrate whatever shadows have reappeared over the last 5 months.  These are matters of the Soul, when Pluto is prominent.  Denying the urges of the Soul can lead to crisis.  Instead, you may want to take some time out to meditate on all the ‘heavy’ that has hung over you, what treasure can you unearth from all the wreckage?  You may sit with Pluto and ask the ‘why’ to reveal itself…pay close attention to the symbols around you that show you the deeper meanings of that lesson. 

Art by Jan-Niklas Bogatka

And with Saturnian vibrations slowing down and preparing for pause by the weekend…all that has been up for restructuring since the end of May is coming into focus for redirection.  Saturn reminds us of our responsibilities as human beings and our reasons for maintaining sound boundaries.  These are often societal matters that have become quite personal throughout the Saturn retrograde period.  All that is coming up now about our boundaries/limits and our societal rules, systems, and structures is also heading for a perspective shift.  It’s time to focus in and prepare ourselves for moving forward on these matters. 

Art by Vladimir Kush

So, already, there are two reasons to take a breather.  A New Moon is a good time to pause and just breathe anyway, as we begin a new lunation…so there’s a third reason.  But there are even more indications at this New Moon that we could all use a good rest. 

 

Moon-Sun-Mars in LIB 14

Sabian Symbol- ‘a noon siesta’

Is it easy to take a break when all the heavy seems to have so much weight right now?  Not really.  And yet, it does often bring us to a state of being worn out…necessitating the rest.  Whether you’re riding the chill out vibe willingly or have only found it through exhaustion, it happens to be the medicine at this New Moon.  With Warrior Mars at the end of a journey, future battles can wait.  This is meant to be a time of renewal…even though it may not be the most comfortable sleep we’ve ever come to.  Mars doesn’t ever really ‘relax’…even after he’s expended all his energy.  The drive to keep going is still there.  So in Libra, with our luminaries as well as Mercury Retrograde, Mars may have us feel like fighting the call to relax before the new Mars cycle begins (less than two days after this New Moon).

Libra is the diurnal air sign of Venus.  Venus brings a challenge to the Libra Stellium of Moon, Sun, Mars, and Mercury Retrograde through a semi-square aspect from Scorpio.  Scorpio is the nocturnal water sign of Mars.  Venus and Mars are in mutual reception (in each other’s signs)…but there’s a bit of static in the reception.  While Scorpio Venus brings up the underlying motivations of how we’re relating, Libra Mars is irritable about the inequalities and injustices in our societies and relationships.  Venus wants Mars to soften into her Libra ways of maintaining peace, but she’s a bit edgy herself in Scorpio right now.  Hidden behind the Sun, Mars may not be fully conscious of all that Venus is intimating at the moment.  Venus is better able to reach this Libra Stellium through the subconscious world of symbols…so she’ll call in a favor (through harmonious trine) from ‘Mr. Sandman’ himself, Neptune.  ‘Let Mars dream a little dream of me.’ She says to the Dreamtime planet. 

It takes some force to get this Libra Stellium to relax while in an irritating quincunx with Uranus in Taurus.  But Venus does have authority in both these signs.  A quincunx from Mars to Uranus alone is an unsettling vibration.  Venus is pooling all the power she can muster while in Scorpio just to transmute that unrest to rest.  But this is also a quincunx from Moon and Sun to Uranus…and though both luminaries would prefer to rest into this lunation’s beginnings, they are just as bothered by a noise they can’t see.  Uranus, of course, is just trying to shake up the fixed earth of our expectations in Taurus…but none of the other planets are really in agreement with those upsets right now.  Pallas in Pisces supports these Uranian shocks through a sextile, aiding Uranus with some wise strategy…but both of them are in quincunx with the Libra Stellium.  This points a ‘Finger of Gaia’ pattern right to the Stellium, so Libra shows the way.

'Finger of Gaia' pattern

Essentially, nothing very revolutionary is likely to be accepted at this time (sorry, Uranus…you’re time is coming soon enough).  The Libra Stellium is just trying to maintain some balance as they begin multiple new cycles throughout the coming days.  Upsetting the ‘apple cart’ at the moment isn’t the wisest use of this energy…doing something reactionary while irritated is the expected route for humans.  Pallas sextile Uranus suggests there is wisdom in doing something more unexpected (like taking a ‘time out’ even while you feel things aren’t settled yet). 

The stellium is also opposing Chiron in Aries…showing where we need this balance, this cooperation, to ease some tensions.  Chiron is the mentor, the healer, in the diurnal fire sign of Mars.  ‘Healer, heal thyself’ is Chiron’s mantra in Aries, where self-reliance is key.  And yet, all of that Libra energy has been focused on others…maybe even on how we perceive others to be complicating the healing process, or how our need for others seems to distract us from what we need to do for ourselves.  Can we let go, even just a little, to trying to solve all of our problems (and everyone else’s problems) for a bit?  Maybe sit for a spell…give it a rest…relax into the idea that the adjustment we need (in order to avoid more of a dilemma) is to just take a break?

The significance of this ‘noon siesta’ symbol does go deeper than ‘taking a break’, of course.  Noon is the height of solar activity, a time when (if we take a break from activity) we can better digest all the information we’ve taken in throughout the day.  As we transition between multiple planetary cycles, and feel the first stationing shifts from retrograde planets, we do have plenty to digest before moving ahead.  Sounds like we could all benefit from a rest to digest. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

Mercury Retrograde in Libra: The Story of Relating (Part Two, The Retrograde Story)

 

Hermes Trismegistus

Mercury Retrograde in Libra: The Story of Relating

(Part Two, The Retrograde Story)

 

When Mercury, the Messenger planet, stations retrograde…the Collective Mind pauses, focuses on a message we can’t fully comprehend just yet, then slowly shifts into a backwards loop to retrieve some important pieces we overlooked in the past weeks. 

This is how the Retrograde Story begins.  It can be a bit bewildering at first, since we don’t know yet how this story will play out.  We only know we’re going back through time to piece it all together, and that a new understanding will unfold from this journey.

And what does pausing and shifting the Collective Mind look like in our human lives on Earth?  Is it upsets in schedules, mechanical and electronic issues, and communication breakdowns?  Sometimes.  We humans tend to live in a hurried pace.  Many of us don’t pause to slow down that pace until something happens to make us ‘hold our horses’, either begrudgingly or willingly. 

Mercury gives us this retrograde reason to break from our usual mindset more often than any other planet.  The frequency and saturation of these Mercury Retrograde lessons on stillness and reflection make Mercury’s retrogrades the most effective at getting a message across to our hard-to-change human minds.

But can we survive a Mercury Retrograde without these complications that are given so much lip-service during these times?  Yes.  Do we need to hide away for a few weeks to avoid all the hullaballoo that could happen?  No.  That would be missing the point of the Retrograde Storyline.  Especially in the Air signs, as is the Mercury Retrograde theme of this year, we really only get the point of this story through interactions with others.  Will everything, and everyone, make logical sense?  No, not in the ways we’re used to.  It’s probably best to not expect things to adhere to what we tend to think of as logic.  Look at things more symbolically, and you might get a better grasp of what these interactions mean to show you.

So, plan your things…just leave some room in your schedule for re-scheduling.  Leave plenty of room to accommodate reflection, recollection, and revision.  It is true what we Astrologers say about doing those “re-“ words during retrogrades.  Check things twice…maybe even thrice…just to be sure the idea you have is sound.  It’s when we rush through things that we get those more unpleasant setbacks.  And understand that the more people you interact with during this time, the more you’ll notice things not going as planned.  But then, the more people you interact with during this time, the more opportunity you have to receive important messages from Mercury that will help in moving forward after this journey. 

 

The Retrograde Story (9/27 to 10/18)

9/27:  Mercury Stations Retrograde (LIB 26)

         Sabian Symbol- ‘an eagle and a large white dove turn one into the other’

Story:  How does one balance the yang of the Mind (Mercury) with the yin of the Heart (Venus) for these Venusian Air lessons of Libra?  Mercury asks us to pause here and consider this blending.  We don’t have to figure it all out just yet…it is something we’ll return to again at the beginning of November.  And in order to integrate it then, we’ll be shifting with Mercury to review what has already been covered…this time in a deeper way.

10/1:  MercuryRx square PlutoRx (LIB-CAP 25)

         Sabian Symbol- ‘information in the symbol of an autumn leaf’

Story:  As Heraclitus once said, ‘the only constant is change’.  Within the symbol of the autumn leaf, we find the necessity of letting go.  There has been something on our minds that needs to transform, but there is also an inner crisis as we cling to what we’ve known with some last grasps. The message here is that a change of mind is no easy process…it requires us to give something up, something that has run its course.  It requires surrender to whatever may follow as we release ourselves into the winds of change.  This Pluto square is one of the most difficult lessons within this Mercury Retrograde story…as our minds will want to resist it.  In fact, many of us have been struggling with that resistance already for several days.  But what Mercury and Pluto are teaching us, through this enduring dynamic, is that the deepest changes are so often beyond our control…beyond whatever decisions we make.  Maybe you’ve been struggling with a difficult decision?  And maybe it doesn’t feel any more comfortable to hear that no matter what you decide, the course of transformation has already been set.  Try your best to relax into it…release your desire to control the outcome…remind yourself of the beauty in the fallen leaf.

10/3:  MercuryRx trine JupiterRx (LIB-AQU 23)

         Sabian Symbol- ‘Chanticleer’s voice heralds the sunrise’

Story:  As we return to this flowing air trine, we are greeted with some much-needed good news.  Perhaps letting go wasn’t such a bad idea after all.  A new day dawns on us, and the Dark Night of the Soul experience of the previous square begins to lift and lighten up a bit.  As we move out of the grips of mental crisis, new opportunities arise before us.  It won’t hurt us to be optimistic.  A new outlook is on the horizon.

10/9:  Sun-MercuryRx Interior Conjunction, conjunct Mars (LIB 17)

         Sabian Symbol- ‘a retired sea captain’

Story:  ‘New Mercury’ begins this next synodic cycle in a stellium with Sun and Mars…revealing a new idea that will grow within each of us in different ways throughout the next few months.  The retired life of the sea captain in this Retrograde Story is much different than the action he once knew.  He now has more time to reflect and learn to appreciate a slower pace as he winds down in his elder years.  He’s full of adventurous story, weathered wisdom, and a great deal of bravery.  Now he is learning how to channel all of that experience into a softer, Libran, way of life.  He is, of course, used to hard edges, acting quickly in crisis situations, and being in command of others.  But he, too, has had to let go of much of that to interact in cooperation with new surroundings, new people, new ways of living.  He is learning to relax into this new state of being.  Can we, too, find peace of mind?

10/16:  MercuryRx sextile Venus (LIB-SAG 11)

         Sabian Symbol- ‘a professor peering over his glasses’

Story:  For the next few days, Mercury pauses here to reflect on this helpful conversation with Venus, the ruler of Libra (and so, Mercury’s teacher…as he teaches us).  As he arrives at the final degree of this Retrograde Story, Mercury looks up from the Book of Libra Mysteries and sees Venus in Sagittarius.  She reminds him of the lineage of teachers who have lived their lives relaying the wisdom of relationship.  As they establish this helpful rapport between them, this sextile might bring helpful teachers of relationship from our past.  Quotes or memories, symbols or sightings may arise that remind each of us how far we’ve come in our own experiences of relating with others.  What helpful understandings have we learned along our way?  As Venus moves along from this beneficial conversation, Mercury peers over his glasses now at us and takes a pause before stationing direct to wrap up this story with an epilogue.  What have we learned now from this Retrograde journey through Libra?  Did you retrieve a piece of wisdom from your past during this time?  You’ll be bringing it forward to integrate it through relationship in the coming weeks. 

 

Art by Pierre Nolasque Bergeret

You see, the moral of this story is that each of us is the student but also the teacher when it comes to relationship.  Just as the retired sea captain is learning new ways of relating to the world but has so much wisdom of experience to teach to others, so are we.  After Mercury stations direct on the 18^th, we begin to reconcile what we have learned of relating with what we are learning still.  With Heart and Mind in cooperation, we can teach peace by our example.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

P.S. Click this link for a recap of ‘Part One, the Prologue’

 

 

Mercury Retrograde in Libra: The Story of Relating (Part One, The Prologue)

 

Mercury Retrograde in Libra:  The Story of Relating

Prologue- 9/6 to 9/27 (LIB 11-26)

Retrograde Story:  9/27 to 10/18 (LIB 26-11)

Epilogue:  10/18 to 11/2 (LIB 11-26)

 

 

Part One:  Mercury’s Prologue (9/6 to 9/27)

 

Mercury, the planet of communication and the Messenger God, connects with us through storytelling. Communicating the immediate story, of the many tricks in Mercury’s medicine bag, is one of the most effective ways of reaching us Earth Children…as most of us were raised to be present for Storytime.  

But as we age out of our earliest wisdom, we don’t always pay attention to the magic in the story anymore, do we?  Well, some of us do.  And it’s one of many reasons people love Astrology (a system of symbols, archetypes, and vibrations that tells the Cosmic Story).  Still, even as we’re looking up, it has to apply to the experience of our physical matter…on the ground, in daily practice.  And that’s where the Cosmic Story gets very personal and specific to each individual.  Yet there are themes that apply to all of us, which we meet in varying degrees of expression.  This way of conveying requires Mercury to meet us closer to Earth (and frequently enough that we learn to pay attention).  And a retrograde is when planets in our Cosmic Neighborhood are closer in proximity to us.  So each Mercury Retrograde, which occurs at least thrice a year, has a very noticeable effect…inviting us to sit for a spell on the ‘magic carpet’ and listen to Storytime with Mercury. 

The larger Mercurial theme of this year is focused on the Air element.  First, we learned this element through the Fixed Air (Aquarius) story…where we learned more about communicating community in our societies.  Then we got the Mutable Air (Gemini) story…where we learned more about communicating ideas in our local space.  And now, we’re settling in for the Cardinal Air (Libra) story…where we will learn more about communicating reciprocity through partnership.  In the Air element, the theme of Mercury’s Storytime focuses on the mental and social expression of living on Earth.  Mercury invites us to really think about our thoughts, ideas, and how to gather and convey that information. 

In each Mercury Retrograde season, Mercury is ending one cycle to begin a new one at Interior Conjunction with Sun.  As we near the end of one cycle, hints of a new story emerge.  This time can be considered the Prologue that leads us into the Retrograde Story.  Mercury is still in direct motion during this time…at first, still zipping through the degrees it will return to, but then slowing down in them and stationing at a point we’ll only be ready to grasp once the story concludes.

Art by Vladimir Kush

Mercury’s already been introducing us to this story through Prologue since the day of the New Moon (9/6).  The aspects Mercury makes with other planets are introduced as relevant to the story…but most of these characters and their lessons return with greater detail during the Retrograde Story (and then their full story arc is integrated during the Epilogue that follows Mercury’s direct station).  So, what does Mercury’s Prologue have to say about the coming retrograde?  We’ll look at the dates, aspects, degrees, symbols, and other useful hints of these weeks we’re currently moving through. 

 

9/6:  Mercury begins the Prologue (LIB 11)

          Sabian Symbol:  ‘a professor peering over his glasses’

Story:  Are you paying attention, students?  Mercury has something important to convey about relating.  It’s time to close the textbook (and put your phones away).  Be present for this story, as it ties together the lessons we’ve been learning and the upcoming lesson.

9/7:  Mercury opposite ChironRx (LIB-ARI 12)

          Sabian Symbol: ‘miners emerging from a mine’

Story:  The story begins by pointing out how the wounds of selfhood create tension within relationships.  Though this aspect with ChironRx will not be covered again in the story, it holds a clue for what we’ll be returning to.  Perhaps we thought we excavated the gift within this wound…we emerged from this alignment thinking we found something valuable from the depths.  But Mercury’s Retrograde will have us returning to this mine again because there is something important there that we missed. 

9/12:  Mercury in LIB 17

          Sabian Symbol:  ‘a retired sea captain’

Story:  Mercury’s first introduction to the degree of the coming Sun-Mercury conjunction reveals the main character of this story.  Here we get a hint of the idea we’ll be growing throughout the next few months.  The retired sea captain has seen a lot of action through his years, but there is now a mental shift into relaxation and appreciating the more subtle experiences of life.  He is weathered, but strong in the wisdom of his experiences.  But now he must learn to relate with others in a much slower pace.

9/13:  Mercury’s Maximum Elongation (Evening)

Story:  Mercury begins to slow down significantly throughout the rest of the prologue.  This brings increasing focus to our minds, so that we may more easily shift with Mercury into the coming retrograde journey.  If we’re feeling like this story needs to move along and pick up the pace, that’s a clue that we’re not paying attention.  In this case, Mercury in the guise of the Professor will make note of that…and provide us with a stronger lesson later (maybe even a pop quiz).  Essentially, some can pick up on subtle social cues…but many need things to be more obvious. 

9/20:  Mercury trine JupiterRx (LIB-AQU 24)

          Sabian Symbol: ‘a third wing on the left side of a butterfly’

Story:  We may have witnessed something extraordinary during this Full Moon in Pisces.  Maybe it appeared as good news, a creative message, or any kind of amplification of a unique idea.  Whatever it was, consider it a gift to uplift you through some of the harder lessons to come.  There will be more of this friendly, harmonious vibration to come.

9/22:  Mercury square PlutoRx (LIB-CAP 25)

          Sabian Symbol: ‘information in the symbol of an autumn leaf’

Story:  Just as leaves wither and fall from the tree to the Earth, we all head toward our own death transformations.  The difference between what story the autumn leaf tells, and the story we humans are conditioned to believe about death, is that there is no fear and no finality in the seasonal wisdom of the leaf.  We may face a crisis point during each iteration of this square, maybe even a ‘communication breakdown’, where it feels that ‘something’s gotta give’ so we can transform from one way of thinking to a new one.  But there is deep work involved in this process, and there is no better alternative than to surrender to a necessary change of mind. 

9/27:  Mercury’s Prologue concludes at retrograde station (LIB 26)

          Sabian Symbol:  ‘an eagle and a large white dove turn one into the other’

Story:  How does one balance the yang of the Mind (Mercury) with the yin of the Heart (Venus) for these Venusian Air lessons of Libra?  Mercury asks us to pause here and consider this blending.  We don’t have to figure it all out just yet…it is something we’ll return to again at the beginning of November.  And in order to integrate it then, we’ll be shifting with Mercury to review what has already been covered…this time in a deeper way.

 

Art by Pierre Nolasque Bergeret

Here is a glimpse into the rest of the story to come…

 

Retrograde Story (9/27 to 10/18)

9/27:  Mercury Stations Retrograde (LIB 26)

10/1:  MercuryRx square PlutoRx (LIB-CAP 25)

10/3:  MercuryRx trine JupiterRx (LIB-AQU 23)

10/9:  Sun-MercuryRx Interior Conjunction (LIB 17)

10/9:  MercuryRx conjunct Mars (LIB 17)

10/16:  MercuryRx sextile Venus (LIB-SAG 11)

 

Epilogue (10/18 to 11/2)

10/18:  Mercury Stations Direct (LIB 11)

10/25:  Mercury’s Maximum Elongation (Morning)

10/27:  Mercury in LIB 17

10/31:  Mercury trine Jupiter (LIB 23)

11/2:  Mercury square Pluto (LIB 25)

11/2:  Mercury finishes Epilogue (LIB 26)

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi