A peacemaker to the rescue: Venus in Libra, August 7 to September 9, and beyond

‘Le Tre Grazie’ (The Three Graces)’ by Sandro Botticelli

Venus is entering Libra on August 7, transiting this Cardinal Air Sign until September 9, a transit that could help us deal with the intensity, possible frustration and stress of the ongoing Mars-Uranus-Eclipses-Multiple Retrogrades’ mix.

Together with the upcoming harmonious Trine (120°) between Jupiter in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces (exact August 19, but already active and extending its influence to early September) this transit of Venus could show us peaceful ways of facing the difficulties obstructing our path.

Hopefully Venus in Libra will play the role of peacemaker, restoring some of the harmony and cooperation that many conflicting transits are threatening at present. Traditionally the Sign of Libra is the home of Venus, meaning that in this Sign the Goddess is able to express the more pure and unbiased traits of the Sign, its ability to see two sides of any stories, two facets to every opinion etc.
The more poetical aspects of life come into focus under this transit, enhancing the beauty and love all around us. Attuning ourselves to this new vibration doesn’t mean just putting a pink veneer on a dark and stark reality, but actually becoming more aware of the essential beauty and perfection in everything, the potentially happy outcome of every situation, the silver lining in the storm clouds that have gathered on the world.  Ideals of Love and Beauty may shine more brightly in our consciousness, finding expression into a more loving and cooperative attitude toward others, as well as a keener sensitivity to loving feelings and beauty in art and all forms of creativity.

Here is a timeline of the major transits formed by Venus in Libra, in August and early September 2018.

Venus in Libra Timeline

• August 7 to September 9: Venus in Libra.
• August 9 (active from August 8 to 10): Venus in Libra opposes Chiron Retro in Aries.
  These few days would be ideal for gentle healing sessions: Venus, with her feminine empathy and grace, can now be put to the service of healing, working as a gentle balm on old physical and psychological wounds. Because the aspect is an opposition we are given the chance to see two sides of any issue, providing greater objectivity on the situation or symptoms we need to address. Being gentle is the key here; acknowledging your emotional needs before you tackle your physical problems; not rushing into anything.
• August 10 (active from August 9 to 11): Venus in Libra square Saturn in Capricorn.
  Graceful acceptance of duties and responsibilities would be the key to put this potentially challenging transit to good use. We could enjoy being productive and work a bit harder if we give ourselves a chance. Trying to avoid stuff we need to do would instead cause more frustration and unhappiness. Emotionally this could be an isolating transiting leading to few depressing days, of feeling unloved or just over-burdened by family and work expectations. Our close relationships may suffer, competing with business or professional duties. Financial difficulties could bother us more than usual because of a generally negative take on things. Concentrating on the practical the best thing.
• August 23 (active from August 22 to 24): Venus in Libra In-conjunct Neptune in Pisces and Semi-Sextile Jupiter in Scorpio.
  Here Venus becomes entangled with both Jupiter and Neptune, at the moment in harmonious aspect to each other, a chance to open our psyche to a more inclusive view of life and love, stepping out of our ego needs and desires to feel a more unconditional and non judgemental type of love. Ideal would be to enjoy close connection with nature especially near water where this configuration of aspect could help us to release tension, in body, mind, soul. Going with the flow.
• August 27 (active from August 26 to 28): Venus in Libra Square Pluto in Capricorn.
  With the previous angle to Saturn in Capricorn (exact August 10) this is the most difficult aspect for Venus this month. Also, potentially, the most fruitful. Pluto has often to do with the unveiling of hidden stuff. When Venus is involved with Pluto relationships go through a reality check when honesty the only way to restore trust and real intimacy. Negatively we may feel like we have done or said enough and all we want now is to cut hurtful ties. Dumping our own darkness onto others could be easy now, blaming them for our unhappiness. Let’s not forget that these are just passing moods unless some other significant transit points in the same direction for you.
• September 9 (active from September 8 to 10): as Venus hits the last degree of Libra she will be at 90 degrees angle to Mars on the last degree of Capricorn, an aspect that will repeat on October 11, due to Venus’ upcoming Retrogradation.
  Here the feminine and masculine find themselves at odd with each other. The desire to cooperate (Venus) is stuck against the desire to do one own thing irrespective of other people’s wishes. Are we going to yield a bit in order to include other people in our lives, or are we going to put ourselves first and resent all forms of compromise?

 A look at Venus beyond September 2018

In October Venus will slow her pace considerably, preparing for her cyclical Retro period, beginning on October 6, Scorpio 10°50′, and ending on November 16, Libra 25°14′. Due to this, Venus will re-enter and transit Libra again between November 1 and December 3 2018 (only Libra’s last five degrees).

Like all Retrogradation this event will serve the purpose of reviewing our attitude and re-living past experiences, not only of love and relationships, but also in the area of finance, affecting our feelings of comfort, pleasure, security, creativity. It could manifest as a rediscovering or rekindling of past relationships or unraveling old patterns in new relationships, when perhaps we will be given the chance to finish unfinished business or begin again with greater awareness and less unrealistic expectations.

From the time of the Scorpio Sun-Venus Inferior Conjunction, on October 27, this Retro period of Venus will mark the end of her evening appearances and the beginning of her Morning Star incarnation, the start of a whole new Venus-Sun’ 584 days long synodic cycle.

Mercury Retro Period in Aries: March 22 to April 16 2018

Hermes from Alistair Crowley Tarot deck

Apology:  earlier posted the wrong dates for the Mercury Retro Period April for March and May for April ! A sure Mercury Retrograde effect !

What happens when Mercury goes Retrograde?

On March 22, the day after the Aries Equinox, Mercury began his slow backward motion through the Sign of Aries (between the 17th and 4th degrees). Mercury’s Retrogradation will end on April 16.

Mercury becomes Retrograde about three times each years, for a periods of approximately three weeks. This Retrogradation brings some disruption in communication/travel, while, on the bright side, can also helps us to deepen our understanding, increasing introspection and intuition, with the ability to communicate out thoughts and ideas in a more meaningful way.

In fact each Birth Chart will experience this phase in its own peculiar way. There is no given formula for the way Mercury Retrograde is going to impact on your life.

The retro period of any planet is a twilight status, like the one in between sleeping and wakening. We take usually a little while to wake up completely after a deep sleep. In real life as well as symbolically the in-between waking and sleep phase is all important because it is then that our creative imagination provides the most fertile ground for new insights.

About mid-way through its retro period,  on April 2, Mercury will become conjunct to the Sun, as close to planet Earth as it can be, beginning to orbit between us and the Sun disk. This event we call the Inferior Conjunction, when Mercury first becomes completely immersed in the light of the Sun, to re-emerge before sunrise few weeks later. After the conjunction Mercury becomes a Morning Star, rising just before sunrise. The month of May will be the most suited to observe Mercury in the early hours of the morning, as he distances himself from the Sun.

This Morning Star Phase will end on June 5 2018, with the so called  Superior Conjunction, when Mercury will begin to orbit behind the Sun, from Earth viewpoint, and disappear again in the Sun’s glare.  After that event Mercury will be an Evening Star for a while, setting just after sunset.

In the upcoming Morning Star phase, especially after the end of Retrogradation on April 16, Mercury will tend to facilitate everything mercurial, such as change, communication, expression of idea in speech or writing, travel, brain-storming, moving etc. This is a forward looking mental impulse, bringing us out of ourselves and onto active participation with the world.

Mercury Retrograde and You

The Mercury’s Retrogradation will be experienced at some level by everybody, but in particular those people who were born with the Sun, Moon, Planets or Chart’s Angles in the degrees between ARIES 3 and 18 and the same degrees of the other CARDINAL SIGNS, LIBRA, CANCER and CAPRICORN. The effect will vary in intensity and quality of experience depending on the nature of the celestial body or Angle involved, and also on the sector (House) in your Birth Chart where the Retrogradation takes place. Generally speaking though the delays and misunderstanding which are often linked to this type of transit should be more obvious in your life than in the life of other people.

These irritating events do not happen however for no reason, just to disrupt your routine and plans . Perhaps it is time now to look at those plans, routines, ways of communicating more closely, to reflect on the possibility of changing them or simply trying consciously not to depend psychologically on them as much as you usually do. Introspection is the key word here. If plans do not work as expected, if that important appointment get cancelled or indefinitely postponed, if what you say or do is misinterpreted by others, this should be the right time to consider a change of attitude in the areas affected by the transit. Because fiery and impulsive Aries is highlighted here perhaps it could help, at this special time, to scrutinize those impulses, making a conscious effort to consider other people points of views in the same way you consider your own; or curbing your natural impatience to accept changing circumstances and people’s idiosyncrasies with equanimity.

During the whole Mercury retro’s period we may encounter many opportunities to review our thinking and to become more flexible. To have too rigid plans and expectations, from others as well as ourselves, may not work during this time.

An important note for students:

when finally Mercury will leave Aries to enter Taurus, late on May 13, he will also conjunct Uranus on the cusp of Aries-Taurus.  There will be other intense cosmic events at this time too: two days later on the 15th of May the New Moon in Taurus will be aligned to Algol (= Medusa Head) in the constellation of Perseus, a powerful and potentially dangerous star. And on the 16th of May Uranus will enter Taurus, a one in 84 years transit of the greatest import ! On the same day Mars will be entering Aquarius so squaring (challenging) both Mercury and Uranus conjunct on the cusp Aries-Taurus. Even more remarkable is the fact that Mars will remain in orb of the square angle (90 degrees) from Uranus until well into September, due to his own Retrogradation.

Mercury stalling on the cusp of Capricorn begins its Retro Period in Sagittarius, on December 3 2017

Thoth, Egyptian Hermes-Mercury street art

Timeline of December 2017 Mercury’s Retro Period in Sagittarius

Just as Mercury reached the very last degree of Sagittarius, and the cusp of Capricorn, on December 3, it began its Retro Station. It will be January 11 2018 before Mercury will finally make it into Capricorn. The period of Retrogradation will last until December 23. This seems good news for Christmas holidays, family get-togethers and travel’s plans. Until then however re-check your plane-train-bus tickets and the addresses on your postal parcels or email greetings, the Trickster is on the prowl for unwary victims!

Other possible effects of this Mercury’s Retro Period in Sagittarius

When Mercury moves from a Fire Sign to an Earth Sign we can expect to enter a more suitable frame of mind to put into practice all the ideas we have been brewing in our heads during the Fire transit. Sagittarius is a very speculative and future oriented Fire Sign but not one accomplished in manifesting the same as viable propositions and down to earth realities. Hesitating as it does on the cusp of Capricorn Mercury shows a collective reluctance to stop speculating and dreaming big and start dealing with real stuff. Until December 23 we will be revisiting all the recent projects and aspirations, perhaps to correct inconsistencies and errors of judgement or just to face instructive setbacks and delays.

It will be only after December 23 and, even better, after January 11 2018 (Mercury in Capricorn), that we may start looking more seriously for ways of putting everything to more rigorous reality tests. Capricorn then will not suffer delays and procrastination but will spur us into action.

As I often remind my readers, the apparent backward motion of Mercury is not just an optical illusion but actually marks the time when the planet is at its closest to us, circling the Sun within the Earth’s own orbit. The astrological Mercury is said to rule, among other things, over the collective and individual mind, the way we process and share ideas and thoughts.

The present transits of Mercury in Sagittarius (December 3 2017 to January 11 2018)

The most important transits of Mercury will be a conjunction (direct alignment on the same degree of longitude) to mighty Saturn on December 6, time to seriously re-consider our ideas and projects in a somewhat more cynical light, hopefully without knocking the wind out of them completely. This transit will be repeated once again, with Mercury moving in direct motion, on January 13 2018; with the big difference that Mercury and Saturn will be then in Earthy Capricorn, a much more suitable Sign to get things done.

On December 10 Mercury will trine Uranus in Aries (harmonious transit). The same will be repeated on January 7 2018, in direct motion. This could mean a blast of unusual, brilliant or just crazy new ideas flooding our mind, encouraging us to take uncharted paths, to go on odd tangents, to start peculiar conversations with or be inspired by eccentric or very inventive people. Make the most of this influence to move out of stale or conventional ways of thinking.

The big one though will be the Sun-Mercury alignment in Sagittarius (Inferior Conjunction) on December 13.  This will begin a few weeks period (until about mid February 2018) of Mercury apparition as a Morning Star (rising just before sunrise). This is astrologically considered an outgoing time for our Trickster, during which we may be able to communicate our thoughts and ideas more openly and directly, even with a certain degree of recklessness.

Conclusion

Mercury’s Retrogradation through Sagittarius, between December 3 and 23, could particularly affect people with the last fifteen degrees of the Mutable Signs highlighted in their Natal Charts: Sagittarius, Pisces, Gemini and Virgo. The natural changeability and eclecticism of Mercury in Sagittarius could end up driving us too much off the tangent, at times, wasting precious mental and verbal energy into useless speculations and pie in the sky dreams.

Of course this will not be just in the mind, but circumstances, interruptions, other people interference, unexpected complications and delays may all arise at this time to test our patience.

The Astrology of Mercury retrograde, September-October 2015

Sagrada Familia Staircase Barcelona

In view of the present retrogradation of Mercury in Libra (September 17 to October 9 2015) I’m re-posting here an edited version of a post I published in 2011, on the general subject of retrogradation. stressing in particular the significance of Mercury when retrograde.

Click here for my recent post on the September 2015 Mercury retrograde period.

The retrogradation of Mercury is a mystery and you are the only one who can unravel it!

In fact each Birth Chart will experience this phase in its own peculiar way. There is no given formula for the way Mercury Retrograde is going to impact on your life.

Lately I have reflected upon and researched a lot the phenomenon of retrogradation, this optical illusion that, at regular interval, makes the planets appear to stop in their tracks, and then move for a while in the opposite direction of the one they normally travel on.

In real terms the planets of course never moves backward. From a sun centered (heliocentric) viewpoint they all travel at their appointed speed, always in the same direction, identical to planet Earth’s.

The phenomenon appears instead very ‘real’ from our Earth’s plane. With long exposure photography we are now able to actually see the shiny loop the planet’s course makes when retrograde.

Too often Retrogradation is accepted as part of the astrological tradition, and not given much thought or meaning.

This cyclical phenomenon appeared instead positively magical to the ancient sky-watchers, who eagerly awaited it, calculated its timing and duration and attributed to it great significance, in forecasting future events, in accordance with the nature of the planet involved.

Modern astrologers don’t need any more to search the sky for signs, to wait to see a star or planet rising before the Sun. Cyber-planetariums and astrological software are all we need to practice our Art.

Thanks to technology we have the tools now to cast many horoscopes in record time, using the most sophisticated techniques ever, but we have also lost the ‘real’ magic of the night sky and twilight hours, the eternally returning cycles of the wandering planets, a vital dimension of the ancient wisdom tradition.

Understanding better what happens during a planet’s retrograde period and putting that particular period within the context of the planet’s whole cycle can help us to recapture some of its true meaning.

Every cycle in nature and therefore in the psyche of man can be conceived as having two halves or hemicycles, one of involution and one of evolution, a Yin and a Yang phase. The place where Yin and Yang meet is the matrix of each cycle, while the place of their maximum separation is the climax of each cycle. So we have a Waxing Phase, from matrix to climax, and a Waning Phase, from climax to matrix, in an eternal round. This specific rhythm permeates everything, all living beings, all experiences. The planets are no different. They too obey the inner order of things, and therefore follow a clear path of Ascent and Descent when viewed from the Earth’s plane.

The Moon is not the only celestial body to show phases, all planets do, each in its own peculiar way. Retrogradation has a lot to do with those phases.

I’m using Mercury here as an example of what retrogradation entails. Mercury is the planet that goes retrograded more often than any other, three or four times a year.

Each Planet is different in fundamental ways from all others, even with regard to their retro periods, but the underlying Waxing/Waning tempo is basically the same for all.

Mercury, from Evening to Morning Star

Often the period of Mercury’s retrogradation is simply interpreted as a time full of misunderstandings, technical glitches, disruption in communication, odd accidents, etc. These effects are often obvious indeed, especially for people who happen to have the Sun, Moon, Planets or their Birth Chart’s Angles (Ascendant, etc.) within the span of the zodiac covered by Mercury.

When we attempt to interpret Mercury in a Birth Chart we tend to take its position (and that of all other celestial bodies) as fixed, a point in a linear, perhaps circular universe, in which Sun, Moon and Planets interact by angular relationship with each other, as in a neat example of cosmic geometry. We tend however to exclude from our interpretation the actual experience of Mercury as it manifests on our Earth plane.

We may learn from text books that Mercury’s orbit around the Sun in just less than three months (88 days), but the experience we have of the twinkling star that is Mercury to our unaided eyes is indeed very different. The visual cycle of Mercury lasts in fact 116 days (a bit less than four months), during which time this Planet, from our view point, appears to wax and wane.

In the light of the entire cycle the Retrogradation of Mercury is a most significant moment. During this special time the planet passes from waning to waxing, from Evening to Morning Star. This is not only a miracle to the beholder, seeing Mercury disappearing behind the Sun and then re-appearing on the other side, but a real shift of our awareness of the planet’s energy.

The retro period of any planet, like the dark three days of the New Moon, is a twilight status, like the one in between sleeping and wakening. We take usually a little while to wake up completely after a deep sleep. In real life as well as symbolically the in-between waking and sleep phase is all important because it is then that our creative imagination provides the most fertile ground for new insights.

Ten to fifteen days after the beginning of its retro motion Mercury becomes completely immersed in the light of the Sun, which has, in the mean time, caught up with it, due to its slowness. It is of course the Earth that is actually accelerating on Mercury, amounting to the same visual effect. The date of this all important conjunction for the upcoming cycle is October 1, 2015. At first will be a tentative beginning, when the new impulse is guided by yet unclear urges, stemming from the past while longing for the future.

Mid-way through its retro period, Mercury is as close to planet Earth than it will ever be, orbiting directly between us and the Sun disk. This conjunction of Mercury to the Sun is known as the Inferior Conjunction, to distinguish it from the Superior Conjunction when Mercury is as far from Earth as it can possibly be and also disappear in the glare of the Sun, being visually just behind the Sun from our observation point on Earth. The Superior conjunction is really an opposition Mercury-Earth in a heliocentric view. The next Superior Conjunction will occur on November 17, and will represent the culmination of the cycle that starts in October.

The phases bring to the ‘reading’ of Mercury an extra dimension, showing it as an ongoing process, rather than a fixed placement to be interpreted in a rigid way.

In this new light the Retrogradation of Mercury stands for a sort of preparatory period during which the lesson of the last mercurial cycle is appreciated and we look back in order to understand and re-value, before a new cycle can begin in a conscious way, when Mercury turns direct on October 1.

I hope that, if you didn’t know these facts already, you may feel better equipped now to answer your skeptic friends when they tell you that retrogradation is just an optical illusion and non existent. Something really happens to the relationship between the Earth and the planet when this appears to move in a backward fashion.

The astrological meaning of the Retrogradation of  Mercury

All planets’ retro periods represent a revaluation of sort, but what we need to reflect upon differs in accordance with the nature of the planet. So, for instance, during the retrogradation of Mars we need to re-value and re-consider the way we assert ourselves and go out to get what we want from life. This need of self-reflection could make this an ineffectual and tentative period, when for a time we may lose confidence, becoming less able to interact constructively with our environment. At the end we will have gained however a deeper understanding of what need changing in our attitude in order to achieve a less confrontational and more effective method of proceeding.

During the retrogradation of Venus the same thing happens to our feelings. We are inclined to reflect on the way we usually relate to others, especially in a one to one situation. For a time this could mean that we become more tentative when we relate to others, less outgoing, more introspective, not the best social time. But at the end of this tunnel too we may have discovered things about ourselves and our loved ones that can help immensely in healing rifts or deciding the fate of shaky or unsatisfactory relationships.

It is the same with Mercury. Its Evening Star incarnation (spanning in the second half of 2015 from July 23 = Superior Conjunction to the Sun, to October 1 = Inferior Conjunction to the Sun), represents a time for giving due consideration to the way we communicate our thoughts and ideas to others, the way we tackle intellectual challenges, like writing, reading, studying, teaching. In particular the retro motion of Mercury (September 17 to October 9) corresponds to a period of mental introspection, at the end of which we can start again to project our minds onto the world, with renewed inventiveness and adaptability to different circumstances and people.

In the Morning Star phase Mercury’s direct energy does in fact facilitate everything mercurial, such as change, communication, expression of idea in speech or writing, travel, brain-storming, moving etc. This is a forward looking mental impulse, bringing us out of ourselves and onto active participation with the world. This period will end with the Superior Conjunction on November 17, when our mental tendencies will have reached their more concrete and objective state. From then Mercury will begin to wane again, arriving at its next retro Station in Aquarius on January 5 2016.

To discover which phase Mercury was going through at the time of your birth all you need to do is look for its position relative to the Sun. When Mercury is behind the Sun in longitude it appears as the Morning Star, displaying an outgoing type of energy, eager for self expression. When Mercury instead is found to be ahead of the Sun in longitude it appears as the Evening Star, directing its mental energy inward, aiding insight and introspection.

Mercury Retrograde in Libra, September-October 2015

To represent this event I’ve chosen a Tarot image from Alistair Crowley’s deck representing the ‘Magician’ or ‘Magus’, first of the Major Arcana. To my eyes it depicts well the cosmic side of our little brother, his connection to the spiritual realm, his ability to ‘magically’ interconnect the physical, the psychic and the metaphysical. Mercury, and his Greek counterpart Hermes were the only gods permitted to travel between the three worlds, the earthly, the heavenly and the underworld, signifying the human mind’s potential to function at the rational level (earth realm), the spiritual (the heavenly realm) and the psychic level (the underworld) and to be thus the go-between these different level of awareness.

Mercury Retrograde

On September 17 Mercury began its Retrograde period that will last until October 9 2015, from the middle to the beginning of Libra. Mercury, now an Evening Star, will conjunct the Sun on October 1 (Inferior Conjunction), and afterword return to the morning sky.

This special Transit will be felt by everyone, at some level, but in particular those people who were born with the Sun, Moon, Planets or Chart’s Angles in the first half of the Sign of Libra (0 to 17 degrees); and also people with natal placements in the other Cardinal Signs, Aries, Cancer and Capricorn. The effect will vary in intensity and quality of experience depending on the nature of the celestial body or Angle involved.

During the whole Mercury retro’s period we may encounter many opportunities to review our thinking, to become more flexible so to be able to adapt to changing circumstances. To have too rigid plans and expectations, from others as well as ourselves, may not work during this time.

Stay tuned to your inner feelings, listen to your intuition and don’t try to rationalize too much. Creativity, dreaming, imagination can all gain from a retro period of Mercury, especially in the artistic and aesthetically minded Sign of Libra.

Mercury/Hermes represents our inquisitive spirit and intellectual curiosity. He was he who ‘invented’ the spoken and written languages we use to share ideas and thoughts. Despite this, during a Mercury’s retro phase, non verbal communication are naturally facilitated over verbal, because we all can more easily tap into our innate abilities to ‘read’ other people’s feelings and thoughts.

October 1 will be the turning point of this period, with Mercury conjunct the Sun, when those inner experiences may be at their strongest. At this point in fact Mercury will be passing directly between the Earth and the Sun, the closest he can ever be to our planet.

Apart from the conjunction to the Sun, the major alignment of Mercury during his retrogradation will be the 90 degrees angle to Pluto in Capricorn, repeating three times (earlier, in direct motion, on September 10; again, in retro motion, on September 25; and lastly, in direct motion, on October 23). This type of connection indicates generally a time not suitable for small talk or superficial conversation and reading, but rather a time when we can all penetrate a bit deeper and explore more courageously subjects that we may usually consider taboo or just too hard to discuss, demanding a level of intimacy and trust that is difficult to achieve in normal circumstances.

It could be an ideal time to embrace some form of ‘inner’ therapy, meditation, visualization etc. and also confront deeply buried issues festering in our unconscious: fears, feeling of inadequacy, dislike, resentment, jealousy, even undisclosed stuff we suspect others are hiding from us, or those lies we like to tell ourselves when too scared to look into what’s really going on. Sharing secrets and, by doing so, building trust with the people who matter to us could be scary now as always, but it could also prove incredibly rewarding during this suitable cosmic time.

Considering that most of the Mercury’s retro period will fall between two Eclipses (Solar on September 13 and Lunar on September 28) a period that some astrologers defines as a sort of twilight zone, there is even a greater chance for this Mercury’s phase to stir up our longing for a better knowledge of ourselves and others, transcending our habitual way of thinking and sharing ideas. Even in his more mischievous aspect of disrupting our routines and muddling our plans, Mercury retrograde offers an opportunity to think out of the box, to stop and consider things in greater depth, to understand what it’s really important and what instead we can do without or do in a different, less ‘straight’, more creative way.

Libra is a Venus’ Sign. This Mercury’s Retrogradation in Libra coming up just after the end of a difficult Venus’ Retrogradation (July 24 to September 7) will impact particularly on love relationships, heightening difficulties while offering opportunity for more real closeness and honesty.

If interested click here for a recent post on the general mechanics and meaning of Retrogradation, focusing mainly on Mercury.

An aside: Saturn in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Virgo, the time Keepers’ recent Signs change

Contemporary with the beginning of the Retro Station of Mercury is the ingress of Saturn into Sagittarius, where ponderous Saturn will reside until 2017. Hopefully this is not such a negative event, as some astrologers have been predicting, but rather a lift from Scorpio’s emotional quagmire to Sagittarius’ more open and philosophical outlook. Because Sagittarius is known to presides over religious dogma and matters of faith, many believe that Saturn transiting this Sign could spell more religious divisions and prejudices. I am more optimistic about this (wishful thinking, fear that the international situation could get even worse than what it is?). I sincerely hope but also see the real potential for this Transit to help to lighten the situation, offering a more enlightened, less personal approach to everything. Moving into Sagittarius Saturn has also finished his mutual dangerous dance with Pluto in Capricorn, each transiting the Sign traditionally ruled by the other during the time Saturn was in Scorpio (Mutual Reception ¹).

¹ Section on Mutual Reception from my Tutorial on the astrological Aspects. Click here to see the whole Aspect Page.

Mutual Reception is one of those astrological terms that often baffle the beginner. It may be at first a bit difficult to understand, having to do with the Planets’ connection to the Signs rather than with actual distances or angles between Planets. To ‘notice’ these types of Aspects in a Natal Chart one needs to know the Planets’ rulership over the Signs by heart. This Aspect joins the Planets in a mysterious, subtle but very real way. Such mingling of energies can be very creative.

Definition: two Planets are in Mutual Reception to each other when one is positioned in the Sign ruled by the other and vice versa.

A few examples should make this more clear:

Venus in Gemini (Sign ruled by Mercury) is in Mutual Reception to Mercury in Taurus (Sign ruled by Venus).

The Moon in Capricorn (Sign ruled by Saturn) is in Mutual Reception to Saturn in Cancer (Sign ruled by the Moon).

Jupiter in Virgo (Sign ruled by Mercury) is in Mutual Reception to Mercury in Sagittarius (Sign ruled by Jupiter).

The Moon in Aquarius (Sign co-ruled by Uranus) is in Mutual Reception to Uranus in Cancer (Sign ruled by the Moon).

The Sun in Aries (Sign ruled by Mars) is in Mutual Reception to Mars in Leo (Sign ruled by the Sun).

Leo Full Moon, Venus entering Aries and meeting Uranus, a fiery time

What difference a day makes!  It seems only yesterday that I was raving on about the watery realms of Neptune and Venus in Pisces, and here we are now, enveloped by a highly charged Fire energy, not only from the Leo Full Moon, but from other fiery events happening around the same time. The effect of the Full Moon will last up to the next Pisces New Moon on February 22.

The Full Moon in Leo on February 8 or 7, depending where you happen to be in the world (February 8, 8.56 am, my local time), has the power for firing up many areas of our lives, in particular if the 17th, 18th and 19th degree of the Fire, Air and Fixed Signs are constellated in our Birth Chart (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, Libra, Aquarius, Gemini, Taurus and Scorpio). The birthdays actually aligned to the Full Moon will be Leo, born August 9 to 11, Aquarius born February 7 to 9, Taurus born May 7 to 9, and Scorpio born November 9 to 11. Also if you have your Natal Moon, Mars, Venus,  Mercury or one of the four Angles (Ascendant, Descendant, Mid-Heaven, Lower-heaven) on these degrees you are in for some pleasantly warm or unpleasantly hot times. For you this will be a more remarkable event than a round of the mill lunation.

Also particularly susceptible to the intensity of this Full Moon will be the Baby Boomers born between September 1949 and June 1952 because the Leo Full Moon will be conjunct their Natal Pluto. And  those individuals born from the middle of 1959 to the middle 1960 because they have their Natal Uranus around the same degree at birth. Both Uranus and Pluto are known as powerful agents of change. The Full Moon will make more openly visible to you and those around you the need for a general reorientation of your life, involving a radical departure from the past.

The way the Full Moon climax will turn up for you depends on the use or abuse you have made of the transits active during the last fortnight. You can either reach the peak of your creative endeavors shining in the full glory of success, being loved and appreciated for your efforts, or just create more emotional dramas in your life and relationships, in order to feel alive. Negatively in fact the Leo Full Moon, especially this year, could prove a stressful event for many. Positively it could instead bring some passion and enthusiasm back into our routine, enlivening everything.

Here is the Horoscope for this event, calculated for the coordinates of my place in Eastern Australia. While the orientation of the planets will be different in different places (the celestial bodies’ relative distance to the local horizon and meridian) the mutual relationship between the Sun, the Moon and the planets remains the same all over the globe.

click to view larger image

On February 7, few hours before the Full Moon, Mercury reached his Superior Conjunction to the Sun (transiting on the other side of the Sun from us). When the Moon becomes Full on the 8th she will not only oppose the Sun but also Mercury. The power of the Moon to stir passions and emotions will be more keenly felt because of this double opposition, affecting also the way we think, our reason and rationality. The call within our hearts will be a better guide at this time, while attempting to rationalize our feelings too much could bring poor results.

Mercury, at the moment completely invisible, lost in the glare of the Sun for the rest of February, is preparing for his next appearance as an Evening Star in early March, especially for people in the Northern Hemisphere. Mercury will form his next Inferior Conjunction (transiting between the Earth and the Sun) on March 21, day of the Aries Equinox, after that returning to visibility as a Morning Star.

As you can see from the above Chart Venus is on the threshold of a new Sign, moving from Watery Pisces to Fiery Aries just a few hours past the Leo Full Moon. Two days later, on the 10th, Venus will align to Uranus in Aries. A great deal of excitement generally accompanies this transit, even more so this time due to the proximity of the Leo Full Moon. Negatively it could however enhance the stressful potential of the Leo Full Moon. The need for independence and self-determination is such in this aspect that it could affect negatively the harmony and cooperation within relationships, causing emotional rifts, arguments and uncompromising attitudes. At the same time Venus is also activating the trine Saturn-Neptune, by forming meaningful angles to both of them (semi-sextile to Neptune in early Pisces and quincunx to Saturn in late Libra). This is great, but lasting only a day or two, at the start of Venus’ transit through Aries. It will help to tap into our imagination and intuition without forgetting the practicalities. Positively Venus in Aries can help all of us in fact, and especially women, to be more assertive and positive, without  becoming too bossy or arrogant. We can go after what we want with more passion, courage and initiative. Venus will remain in Aries until March 5.

To add to this list of events Saturn is becoming Stationary-Retrograde on February 7, thus refraining, for the time being, to enter Scorpio (the actual ingress of Saturn in Scorpio will happen only on October 6 2012). Saturn Retrograde’s period represents a positive time to re-think the way we organize and structure our lives, routines, work, business. An opportunity to catch up with all the jobs that have been left behind, unfinished, weighting on our back and stopping us from moving forward. Roll up your sleeves again, says Saturn, not time for procrastinating. You either do it in the next few months or forget about it . Mars is helping this trend too by moving backward in Virgo, a Sign bent on work and healthy routines. I have discussed the retrogradation of Mars in Virgo in earlier posts.

Let’s make this a joyous and passionate Full Moon.

Mercury and Venus in conjunction to the Sun, spot the difference

Due to my protracted illness in August (a very bad case of influenza) I missed the opportunity to talk, amongst other things, of the simultaneous conjunctions of Mercury and Venus to the Sun in Leo.

I’m trying to make up for it in this post because these transits are still very relevant.

Mercury became retrograde in the early degrees of Virgo on August 3, and then moved back toward the Sun in Leo. Little Brother met the Sun on August 17, afterwards re-entering the pre-dawn sky as a Morning Star. Only a day earlier, on August 16, Venus also met the Sun in Leo, but hers was a different meeting, and she is now slowly returning to the evening sky, setting after the Sun.

It may be possible to spot Mercury in early September, just before sunrise, in the East, while we’ll have to wait until mid-October to get a better view of Venus as Lady of the evenings. In fact mercury disappears from view only a couple of weeks at the time, while Venus disappears for several weeks.

The difference lays in the fact that Mercury, at Inferior Conjunction, was orbiting between the Earth and the Sun, while Venus, at Superior Conjunction, was passing on the other side of the Sun from Earth’s viewpoint. They appear to do the same thing, from our biased standpoint, but they are in fact doing very different things. Venus was really in opposition to the Sun, from an heliocentric (sun-centered) viewpoint, while Mercury was in fact in ‘regular’ conjunction to the Sun (on the same point of the Ecliptic from Earth)

During those particular phases of their orbits Venus and Mercury remained invisible, ‘combust’ in the Sun’s glow (combustion being the term used by traditional western astrologers to define a planet close enough to the Sun to be absorbed in its light).

A Morning Star planet, visible in the East before sunrise, is said to exert a positive, highly spirited energy, suitable for outward action. Because Mercury’s function is to allow rational thinking, logical connections and communication, these activities will receive a boost from this phase, allowing for more direct and effective communication, greater ease with the spoken and written words, and enhanced logical understanding. Business transactions could benefit from this position.

The Morning phase of either Venus or Mercury, is comparable to a New Moon, fostering initiative and the start of new ventures. As Mercury is concerned, god of merchants, intellectuals, talkers, readers, writers, teachers, students and thieves, we could all try something new during this period.

What Mercury gains in efficiency and logic could perhaps lose in intuitive perception and imagination, qualities better expressed by Mercury Evening Star (next period: end of October to late November 2011).

Venus, on the other hand, is now the Evening Star until June 2012. Her next Inferior Conjunction to the Sun will be in fact on June 6, 2012, while retrograding in Gemini. That conjunction will be a real event, the dark disk of Venus passing visibly upon the disk of the Sun, a sort of Solar Eclipse (phenomenon observable from most localities in Australia). These are rare conjunctions, that come in pair separated by a gap of eight years, the first of the pair having occurred in 2004. Another such pair will occur again only in about 121 years.

Coming back to the present Venus Evening Star, this phase is said to enhance Venus’ more intuitive and self-reflective qualities, helping us to gain greater awareness of the less conscious factors in our relationship. This is a cautious type of Venusian energy, not one likely to risk too much in love, or be blinded by appearances and wishful thinking. New as well as old relationships will be put to the test of this highly discriminating and profound Venus.

The Evening phase of a planet is comparable to a Full Moon, with the subsequent Waning period, a time for realization and illumination, also for sharing our experiences with others and begin a cycle of self-analysis and introspection.

We could emerge from this period with a whole new set of values as far as love and relationships are concerned, more mature, less naive, less plagued by too idealistic expectations of others.

Taking personal responsibility for one’s joy or lack of joy in life can be a gift of the Evening Venus, allowing for more honesty and understanding in relationships, but perhaps for less glamour and superficial romance too.

MERCURY RETROGRADE AND THE AUSTRALIAN HUNG PARLIAMENT

I finally sit down at my computer and find time to write a few words, after spending two days glued to the television screen to get news of the Australian cliffhanger elections. I am more relaxed now: apparently it could take days and even weeks before an outcome is known.

The positive transits in Tony Abbott’s Birth Chart have certainly paid off for him and the Coalition, while Julia Gillard is already under the growing pressure of Saturn, squaring Pluto and opposing Jupiter, advancing over her Sun in Libra. Bob Browns and the Greens are the new rising stars of this election that has also put a handful of Independents in a very prominent position.

The possibility of an hung parliament, due to the retrogadation of Mercury beginning just before sunrise on the day of the elections,  has become a reality. I have explained this in a previous post and it was also suggested by few notable Australian astrologers, Ed Tamplin and Rob Tillett amongst them. The retrogradation of Mercury often causes enterprises to be inconclusive, decision making more difficult and less clear-cut.  The solution to the quandary of Mercury retrograde is often time and patience, with some re-thinking and soul searching necessary to end the deadlock when Mercury will turn direct again. This simple astrological ‘formula’ will serve well whoever of the political parties involved want to end up in power.

The two major parties have gained just about the same numbers of seats, with one Green and three to four Independents now holding the balance of power.

During retrogradation Mercury will form his Inferior Conjunction with the Sun (with the planet laying between Earth and Sun) on September 3 (close to Gillard’s natal Pluto and squaring her Moon). This type of Mercury-Sun’s conjunction is said to bring new insight and to make conscious things that were overlooked in the past.

Mercury’s backward motion will last until September 12, when it will turn Direct on the 5th degree of Virgo. We should remember that on September 17 Julia Gillard will experience the one and only pass of transiting Saturn over her natal Sun, so the two events seem tied up together for her.

Despite a lot of odds against Julia Gillard being reinstated as Prime Minister of Australia, in these uncertain Mercury retrograde times, I’m still putting my money on her. I cannot get over the brightness of feminine Venus in the evening sky and the fact that, even while conjunct masculine Mars, she is queen of the night, transiting her own Tropical Sign of Libra, against the backdrop of Virgo Constellation, another feminine symbol (her natal Venus was in Tropical Virgo as well).

It may be my own personal preference for a woman Prime Minister, or perhaps the hazy effect of the Sun in opposition to Neptune that I may be confusing with feminine intuition, but I am still siding with Harry, Darwin’s psychic croc who picked Gillard’s chicken carcass over Abbott’s.

A Birth Chart’s Analysis of Bob Brown, the unsung hero of these strange elections, will be posted as soon as possible. Apart from causing havoc in the polling booths, Mercury retrograde has also flatten our solar batteries, leaving very little power-time in my laptop.