Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse in Taurus: Eclipse of the Scapegoat

 

'Medusa' by James Bousema

Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse in Taurus:  Eclipse of the Scapegoat

Moon opposite Sun – 11/19/21 @ 2:57am CST

 

“The search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

 

This eclipse season opens with 97% of the Moon’s surface darkened by the Earth’s shadow, with the duration of the partial lunar eclipse lasting 3 hours and 28 minutes.  The red-orange tint to this Full Moon will be visible in east Asia, Australia, the Pacific, and the Americas. 

The Earth’s shadow upon the Moon’s surface shows us our own shadows at each lunar eclipse, reflecting them back to us through the strong emotional pull of the Mother Mind.  During this lunar eclipse, Moon is close to her apogee (where she is farther from Earth).  So, while some of us with natal planets aspected may be feeling it very personally, this lunar eclipse has more association with a broader collective shadow we need to address. 

Bringing in even more farther-reaching associations, this lunar eclipse will be close to the Pleiades from our earthly view, conjunct the fixed star Algol, and conjunct the trans-Neptunian dwarf planet Sedna.  It is those last two conjunctions that will have a significant effect on how this eclipse acceleration plays out. 

There is quite a lot of symbolism in both the mythic storyline of Medusa (Algol is the ‘eye star’ of Medusa’s head in the Perseus constellation) and the mythic storyline of Sedna (the Inuit Goddess of the Ocean).  Where the stories overlap is that both Medusa and Sedna were mistreated, cast aside (from society or from family), and ultimately used as Scapegoats for the protection of others.  Another overlap is that they were both scorned women who threatened the established order of things, but became even more powerful once they were transformed (Medusa into a Gorgon, Sedna into the Ocean Mother).

As one of the Behenian stars, Algol is a potent influence.  It is a binary star where, every 69 hours, it dims in magnitude for 10 hours before returning to brightness.  So essentially, there’s a light side and a dark side to Algol’s influence…but it’s that dark side that is often dwelled upon most (because, especially to the men who proliferate patriarchal tales, there is nothing scarier than a woman scorned having power).  And so we often hear how violent, destructive, and unfortunate Algol’s influence can be.  Ultimately, Algol contributes a great deal of passion and protection (especially to oppressed minorities, outcasts, and exiles).  But this star can also incline rage and victimization.  Essentially, whether literally or symbolically, there’s an increased chance that someone (or many) might ‘lose their head’.  Sometimes, it’s even a ‘Head of State’ or person in a powerful position becoming demonized or falling out of favor.  When things go wrong, the inclination is to find a Scapegoat to carry the ‘sins of the sinners’. 

Salvador Dali, who was born with Mars conjunct Algol,
paints Medusa's head on his wife, Gala.

Afterall, Medusa really didn’t do anything wrong.  It was Neptune who raped her in Minerva’s temple. But Medusa was transformed into a monster, forced to carry the blame.  As the fearsome Gorgon, Medusa’s gaze was so petrifying that it could turn one to stone.  The enduring shadow of this eclipse may have a similar, symbolic effect…where the ‘freeze’ response to what arises may temporarily halt us from moving forward on something.  And as the eclipse lifts, Algol’s gaze may be turned toward another monster (as it was when Perseus held Medusa’s head to petrify the Sea Monster, Cetus (the ‘Kracken), sent to kill the innocent Andromeda, who is just another Scapegoat)…a more destructive monster that has been lurking beneath the Scapegoat story we’re fed.  This is where the protective nature of Algol becomes apparent. 

What Medusa’s story can teach us at this time is that victimization, and victim blaming, can have a disastrous effect.  Be wary of it where you see it (in your personal experience or in the news)…and turn Medusa’s stone-cold gaze upon it to stop it in its tracks.

This Lunar Eclipse is also conjunct Sedna, bringing back many of the issues of our human impact on the rising sea levels that were highlighted during the Blue Moon in August this year.  For a recap about Sedna’s growing influence in our experience, please read Blue Moon in Aquarius:  The Stirrings of Sedna.

The elites recently finished their COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow with little to nothing to show for it, even after such unprecedented events occurred at Greenland’s ice sheet summit this year.  And this eclipse may show the accelerated shadow of such indecision. 

This may bring us back to another part of Sedna’s mythic storyline that correlates with Medusa’s…the betrayal of Sedna.  To make a long story short, Sedna was forced to marry a ‘Bird-Man’ that mistreated her.  Her father, feeling guilty for his role in this decision, came to rescue her.  However, when Sedna swam to her father’s boat…the Bird-Man was enraged and created a storm so fierce that Sedna’s father became afraid for his life.  So he cut off Sedna’s fingers that were clinging to his boat…and she sank into the Ocean.  Her severed fingers became the ocean animals and Sedna became the Mother of the Ocean.

'Sedna' by Genevieve Cseh

Sedna was betrayed by men who were supposed to love and protect her, and she became the Scapegoat for the sins of her father.  Clearly, the Ocean Goddess is still being betrayed and cut off from the human world…and in the Blue Moon post, her response to such mistreatment is laid out (along with our path to righting those wrongs).  With this eclipse showing our collective shadow more clearly, we have to face it one way or another.

One more thing about this Lunar Eclipse in Taurus is that it is in Venus’s earth sign, where Moon is exalted (which means the Moon is well supported to do what the Moon needs to do).  Venus is currently in Capricorn, the earth sign of Saturn, where she takes on the role of Wise Woman and orchestrates actions that are both structured and sustainable.  Venus is also currently out-of-bounds from the ecliptic, so there is still quite a bit of out-of-the-box expression to her influence.  Creative ideas for structure and sustainability are more likely to come from places that are ‘off the beaten path’, or collaborations that might seem out of the ordinary.  Our planet of relationships is now in the 12^th degree of Capricorn where she will return to through her coming retrograde…so much of what she is showing us now will go through a process of revision in the months to come. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

New Moon in Scorpio: Mars Strikes Back

 

'Mars' by Michael Whelan

New Moon in Scorpio:  Mars Strikes Back

Moon conjunct Sun- 11/4/21 @ 4:14pm CDT

 

As the veil between worlds becomes transparent at the Samhain Cross-Quarter (November 6^th/7^th), there is a Scorpionic unveiling of the power underneath.  This reveal can show the power of Mother Earth beneath our over-sized carbon footprints, the power of people to put their resources together and strike back against the systemic oppression they’ve been under for too long, and even the inner power we each individually have hidden underneath the weight of living in these heavy times.  This New Moon in Scorpio is a potent seed for transforming ‘what was’ into ‘what becomes of us’.

While Pluto has great affinities with the nocturnal, fixed water sign of Scorpio…this sign is traditionally the domicile of Mars.  In Mars’s water sign, the Warrior devises thoroughly planned strategies to present enough of a threat that a war becomes inconceivable to the opponent.  Of course, if the opponent is foolish enough to underestimate that potent force…they will meet the stinger of Mars in Scorpio. 

To set the scene for this potent New Moon seed, Mars entered Scorpio on October 30^th.  And at this New Moon, Mars is still close enough to the luminaries to make a strong impact.  Since they are in the house of Mars, Moon and Sun operate by Martian rules.  And Mars has been pretty fired up since coming home to Scorpio, as the planet of action begins its closing square with Saturn, the established order.

This particular cycle of Mars and Saturn began back in March 2020, when the two planets met in Saturn’s earth sign, Capricorn, to set forth a malefic directive.  Mars energy thrives with a solid Capricornian mission…but along the way to where we are heading (the Closing Square), this initial agreement became a bit (well, a lot more) volatile. 

Mars and Saturn were in agreement until their Opening Squares in August and September 2020, then with a final opening square in fixed signs by January 2021.  After a long transit through Aries, extended by a retrograde, Mars was strengthened by his diurnal fire energy and said ‘to hell’ with Saturn’s rules.  So by the time the two malefics were in fixed signs (Mars in Taurus and Saturn in Aquarius), the resistance had firmly set in. 

But the volatility of the malefics squaring off was amplified into unusual territory once Mars brought Uranus in Taurus to the fray during the 1^st month of 2021.  By the Mars-Saturn opposition in July this year, all the tension between the malefics was pooled into Uranus in Taurus (at the apex of that T-Square).  And the true grassroots of rebellion grew in that stirred-up Taurean earth.  As we make our way to this closing square (November 10^th), Mars has been reborn with the power to fully challenge the Saturnian societal systems that more and more people are fighting to rise above. 

It’s the position of being ‘underneath’ a ‘power over’ that brings the ‘power of many’ to strike back and demand change.  We can see this in the union strikes happening all over the world…from nurses to production workers and all manner of strikers in between.  It’s likely happening within you individually as well…with whatever that internal battle has been for you.  There’s a ‘last straw’ feeling to it…and it’s being incorporated into this New Moon so we, the people, can really FEEL it throughout this Lunar cycle. 

The difference now is that the luminaries are in strong opposition to Uranus in Taurus (closest to Earth in its orbit that it can be, even visible to some naked eye sky watchers).  This is an opposition that Mars is heading toward now too (November 17^th).  Buckle up, because it’s going to be a crazy ride this month. 

Individually, we can do much to ground ourselves and use this energy in innovative ways.  But collectively, things can get volatile.  Still, that volatility can also enact real change if we learn to harness it together and put it into progress for our progeny.  The voice of our youth in these larger battles will also be amplified as Mercury conjoins Mars in Scorpio (November 10^th, during the Closing Square of Mars-Saturn).  So it’s best to consider our children (and their future) as integral to our motivation to rise up from underneath the weight that’s been holding us down.

The pressure from the Scorpio-Taurus oppositions this month is challenging the Saturnian establishment to make a choice.  If we can wisely tap into this demand for change, we have the upper hand right now to make it imperative.  One can only hope that this will all go well for the collective…because there will be some unanticipated Uranian ‘curve-balls’ thrown in to respond to.  But, clearly, something’s gotta give to make way for new trajectories.

 

Moon, Sun, and Minerva in Scorpio 13

Sabian Symbol:  ‘an inventor experimenting’

When Uranian energy is involved, the need to try out experimental methods to reveal a truth is at hand.  We become very resourceful and inventive in the moment, sometimes even shocking ourselves with such spontaneous ingenuity and revelation.  So the combination of Moon, Sun, and the asteroid Minerva (Goddess of Wisdom) in this degree, opposing Uranus, highlights the need to explore all the patterns merging together as an awakening of deeper wisdom coming forth.  To harness the power within this time for something that brings progressive change to our world…we must also approach this with some humility.  There are forces at play that are far beyond our human scope and desires, and as we employ our own free will to explore what they have to reveal to us this month, understand that those cosmic forces are more timeless than our mortal lives can claim as our own invention.

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

 

 

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’