Goals & Daily Life

“I see that I’ve become a really bad correspondent. It’s not that I don’t think of you.
You come into my thoughts often. But when you do it appears to me that I owe you a particularly grand letter. And so you end in the “warehouse of good intentions”:
“Can’t do it now.” “Then put it on hold.” This is one’s strategy for coping with old age,
and with death–because one can’t die with so many obligations in storage.
Our clever species, so fertile and resourceful in denying its weaknesses.”
― Saul Bellow

 

The week begins with the Sun in Virgo and the Moon void of course in Libra until it enters Scorpio late Monday evening. Monday is a (parenthesis) before the week officially begins and an opportunity to sharpen our tools for the work that lays ahead of us. A necessary period of inner refinement, adjusting our compass and vision as we find ourselves oscillating between our instinctual-desire-nature and our rational-pragmatic-intellect.

Constructive actions in tandem with inspired insights permeates this week. There is a lot of juicy momentum and it could even feel as if things are moving waaaay too fast for you to catch a break. Productivity is high on the list right now, and as a result procrastination hangs like a shadow over our game plan.

The soul craves synthesis while the mind dissects every aspects of existence.

The Moon will travel in Scorpio until late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning when it enters Sagittarius. The Moon in Sagittarius all day Thursday (Jupiter’s day) applies to a conjunction with Jupiter. The First Quarter Moon happens at 13º Sagittarius this month when it squares the Sun at 13º Virgo.

The First Quarter Moon is a time of action or crisis when the plans that were laid at the New Moon in Virgo on the 30th of August are being challenged or are starting to gain traction. This First Quarter Moon brings attention to our big idea or vision and the execution of this particular vision or idea. We have to trust that we will get there but we also have to put in the efforts required to get there.

Perspective gets lost when we spend too much time on the details (Virgo). However it can also be hard to execute a big idea if we don’t delineate a practical way to get there (Sagittarius). You could feel overwhelmed by the amount of preparation necessary for the execution of your idea/goal, losing perspective on where you were going it in the first place. Or it could be that you are so taken by your big project that you totally brush over the details and neglect some important steps in the process.

The Moon in Sagittarius will be next to Jupiter at the time of the First Quarter Moon on Friday September 7th – giving us a huge boost of confidence and faith that ”everything will turn alright”. We KNOW what we have to do, but it doesn’t mean we have the discipline to do it. It’s one thing to know, it’s another thing entirely to repeat the process day after day to install a new routine, a new program that will lead us to a new helpful habit. There is a conflict between knowing and executing, between an idea and the implementation of that idea into a tangible process. Time and patience is required as nothing is born overnight and it’s a good idea to keep that in mind as you navigate Virgo season and find yourself going over everything that remains to be done. Be patient and be happy for the process, because every step of the process is what eventually leads you to the desired result.

The Moon enters Capricorn Saturday morning, and here we are again, back at the working bench, at the drawing table with our plans and our to-do lists, and the burden of all that remains to be done. Time is slipping away so fast, and there are still too many details to deal with. We are not quite as healthy, productive, efficient, and successful as we could be, and it could all be too obvious next weekend. The Moon travels in Capricorn next Saturday and Sunday, convincing us that there are vegetables to harvest and preserve, fire wood to split, renovations to do, and all kinds of work left to be done. Not the most relaxing weekend but a productive one I hope.

Most planets traveling in the Earth element (Taurus – Virgo – Capricorn)  means it’s a great time to get stuff done, but terrible for anxiety around status, work, income, discipline, and habits. Don’t compare yourself too much. You are exactly where you are suppose to be; trust your process.

“You have to believe. Otherwise, it will never happen.”
― Neil Gaiman

WEEK OF AUGUST 26, 2019

JON KOKO – KARESANSUI

 

Out of perfection nothing can be made.
Every process involves breaking something up.
Joseph Campbell

And just like that, Virgo season is here, and this is definitely one of the most grounding time of the year when we can see the results and the reasons of the past. Not only do we have a stellium in Virgo (stellium: 4 or more planets in the same sign), the New Moon on Friday August 30th is positively supported by Uranus in Taurus. It is a time of traction and implementation for what is being birthed in your life. The new structures that are emerging on the horizon are starting to make sense and you can begin to see the tangible manifestations of your long held visions, the birth of a new awareness, a new reality.

The wish you whispered half consciously under your breath while sleeping is surrounding you. The faint light that guided you through the storm is now your illumination. There is a clarity about the events in your life and a reason for everything. Nothing is perfect but you might be able to accept that all the imperfect decisions has led you exactly where you are.

Witness your powers of manifestation for better or for worst.

Pixelated wood sculptures by Hsu Tung Han

Until the new moon in Virgo on Friday, we stand in the liminal darkness of the waning Moon, the dark of the Moon. Slowdown your pace, reflect, contemplate, clean, cleanse, purge, stretch, create space for the wisdom to enter, collect the strength from the Earth, lay low.

Monday: Moon in Cancer
Tuesday: Moon in Cancer – Moon enters Leo at 21:23 NDT
Wednesday: Moon in Leo
Thursday: Moon in Leo – Moon enters Virgo at 21:27 NDT
Friday: New Moon in Virgo 8:07am NDT
Saturday: Moon in Virgo – Moon enters Libra at 20:37 NDT
Sunday: Moon in Libra

The New Moon in Virgo takes place on Friday August 30th at 8:07am NDT/6:37am EDT. The New Moon signals the beginning of the work, a time of creation and implementation, of ”to-do” lists, of tangibility and manifestation, a time of taking advantage of the resources available to you, utilizing your space and body properly and efficiently. All the small actions that leads to the whole, it’s happening now. Your breath, the way you chew your food, your digestion, your posture. The superfluous will seem extra superfluous while you find a purpose for everything. Each little things in their place, there is a place for everything, and no space wasted.

The New Moon is linked to the revolutionary ways in which you approach the ordinary. Set your intentions, but don’t set them to high as to be discouraged. Plant your intentions in the realm of the possible, the tangible, the practical, something that will yield a satisfactory result down the road, every step counts, every action has meaning.

Wood sculpture by Yoshitoshi Kanemaki

“Your thoughts, become your words;
your words, become actions;
your actions, become habits;
your habits, become your character;
your character,  becomes your destiny.”

WEEK OF AUGUST 19, 2019

He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan,
carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life.
Victor Hugo

The week begins with the Moon in Aires. The Moon enters Taurus Wednesday at 00:38 EDT and will travel though Taurus until Friday morning when the Moon enters Gemini at 10:34am. The last quarter Moon happens at 0º Gemini, officially initiating the mutable Earth season with the Sun having just entered Virgo. The Moon travels through Gemini until late Sunday afternoon when it enters Cancer at 17:05 EDT.

This week, with 3 planets moving from Leo to Virgo we are getting a good glimpse of what the next month has in store for us. Mars left the sign of Leo for Virgo early Sunday morning and Venus follows suit on August 21st, leaving the brazen fires of Leo for the humbling pastures of Virgo. On August 23rd, the Sun leaves its domicile of Leo to enter Virgo, officiating the Mutable Earth season. However, with Mercury (ruling planet of Virgo) still in Leo, we are holding onto the golden rays and royal ways, and not entirely dedicated to the practical applications of our vision until Mercury enters Virgo on August 29th.

Mars →Virgo: August 18 – 1:17am EDT
Venus →Virgo: August 21 – 5:06am EDT
Sun →Virgo: August 23 – 6:01am EDT

THE PROCESS
With the Sun’s ingress into the Earth sign of Virgo, we begin the process of sorting out what needs tending. Virgo season brings our attention and focus on the many task that lays ahead of us, illuminating what needs to be organized, smoothed, resolved and eliminated for us to find proper footing. With the heavy influence of the Earth element in the next few weeks, our attention will be on the practical and tangible ways in which we can establish order in our daily lives and in our bodies. Simplifying, streamlining, and putting back the tools in their proper place, becoming aware of all the little ways in which we are not yet fully efficient, proficient and perfect. Anxiety is a shadow that looms large over Virgoan-type people, for there is always ways in which one can improve themselves, and this process is never done. Quality resides in the critical eye for better or for worst. Perfection is not a burden for the artisan, but a guiding principle informing his repetitive actions which over time becomes the perfect object. Practice makes perfect as they say.

THE MATERIAL
This year, we have a tight alignment of planets in the sign of Virgo which does not happen every year. This should greatly intensify the influence of the sign on our daily lives. Virgo is one of the three Earth signs considered in astrology to be primarily focused on the tangible and the practical necessities of material reality, the other two being Taurus and Capricorn.

Since we already have Uranus transiting in Taurus and Saturn/Pluto/South Node in Capricorn, the ingress of Mars, Venus and the Sun into the sign of Virgo this week will saturate the skies with planets in Earth signs. During the next few weeks, our attention will turn towards our material reality and how to improve it. We could find ourselves busy creating order out of the chaotic and disparate parts of our lives in order to improve it and be more productive. Productivity will be high on the priority list and you could find yourself overwhelmed with the work load while juggling all of your responsibilities. Procrastination will create more anxiety and I have seen many Virgo-type characters driving themselves mad with anxiety and stress while procrastinating. Don’t shy away from the work you have to do as this will surely release some of the inner tension.

This week, the transition of three planets from Leo to Virgo will be quite obvious as we find ourselves moving from the Fixed Fire season to the Mutable Earth season. In the Northern Hemisphere, Virgo season announces the end of Summer and the transition towards Fall. The preparation required for the return of the cold and the waning of the light prompts us to organize ourselves, and it is a time of movement and busy-ness. The structures in our lives will be vitalized and it’s a great time to organize your space and make it more functional. In the next couple of weeks, the emphasis is on our physical reality and tending to the smaller details of our existence like our body and our environment. However, the possibility of scattering ourselves through too many projects/avenues or being overly critical and preoccupied with perfection is a tendency to watch for during the next few weeks. It’s a good idea to temper the critical voice within you, and use this time to get ahead.

The Zodiac 1925 Ernest Procter 1886-1935

“If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character… Would you slow down? Or speed up?”
–Chuck Palahniuk

NEW MOON IN VIRGO: ENDINGS & HEALINGS

New Moon in Virgo: 1:30am EDT (3am NDT) September 20, 2017.

Mercury, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

☿

The New Moon in Virgo comes to us on the threshold of the Fall Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere. The beginning of this lunar cycle finds us in the liminal space between the brightness of summer and its imminent decay.

Two days after the New Moon on September 22nd, at 16:02 EDT, the Sun enters the sign of Libra and signals the beginning of Autumn.

ENDINGS & HEALINGS

The New Moon is often associated with the beginning of a monthly cycle and renewed vigor for the month ahead. Since this New Moon takes place in the last degrees of Virgo just 2 days before the Fall Equinox, she carries with her an air of finality and closure as oppose to new beginnings.

It is within the current endings that we will find the new beginnings taking shape. Something is being composted into a nourishing and fertilizing soil. However, we must appreciate this process fully and bid farewell to past fantasies and bewildering ideas that keeps us looking backward. To cross this seasonal threshold, something must be surrendered or given as a token gesture to those ideals and fantasies. It is in this paradoxical abandon that we shall receive the necessary healing for the next part of the journey and the accomplishment of our future goals.

OPEN WOUNDS

Under this New Moon in Virgo our wounds will take an incandescent glow calling to our attention what can’t be ignored any longer. The surfacing of these wounds could make us feel vulnerable but it will allow us to apply the necessary medicine. The pain which usually lies dormant under the surface of our skin will rise up and give us a clear indication of what must be healed. The remedies could be a bewildering blend of intuitive visions and practical applications. The most difficult task will be to rid ourselves of the intangible poisons and parasites.

Mercury, ruler of Virgo, presides over this New Moon and will be in exact opposition to Neptune at the time of the New Moon. Mercury began its retrograde motion on August 12 – in this exact part of the zodiac and opposing Neptune.

The train we have been riding since last month had Neptune coloured windows. When Neptune is involved, facts and fiction blend together creating a confusing cocktail of wishful thinking and unrealistic expectations. Under Neptune, we are intoxicated by an ideal and susceptible to delusion. At its best, Neptune gives a romantic tone to the object of desire, making us see what we want a see. Hopefully, the Sun in Virgo has helped us discriminate between what is achievable and what was mere fantasies. Regardless, in the days to come, we should slowly start to gain clarity on our current situation and any confusing scenarios we have been engaging with since the beginning of August will be seen for what they are. The New Moon in Virgo is also in exact opposition to Chiron; once the rose-coloured glasses come off, the truth could be hard to digest and the pain quick to locate. Be easy on yourself.

HONESTY & PRAGMATISM

Finally, remember that not everything can be solved at once. Patience and humility will be required for your perceived mistakes and failings; nothing is perfect in this world. Special attention must be paid to anything that requires fixing; whether physiological, spiritual or mechanical. Some of the keys you hold in your hands will heal what ails you and some of those keys will open dead-end doors. Pay attention to the repeating clues given to you as you cross the threshold between Summer and Fall.

 

Paintings by Zdzisław Beksiński and Magritte

 

This week in Astrology: Sorting out the essential from your heart

Monday opens with the Moon in the last degrees of Taurus on the Fixed star Algol or the Head of Medusa; don’t lose your mind. We are building towards the Jupiter/Uranus opposition that will be exact on the 27/28 of September. This is a revolutionary aspect which is excellent for visionaries and artists and for people who have the ability to see the silver lining in chaotic  circumstances but also have the guts to do things differently. On a mundane level it can feel destabilizing if you are holding to the status quo at all cost or need predictable outcomes. Small and large shifts are happening in our awareness and in the world at large and intuition is at an all time high. Flashes of insights and new bold ideas are available if you adjust your vision. With Uranus in Aries closing in on its opposition to Jupiter in Libra there is an urge to liberate ourselves while also searching for ”the other” to reflect us. It can feel polarizing to oscillate between our need for freedom and liberation versus our need for feedback, fairness and equilibrium.

The Moon enters Gemini at 15:30 EDT on Monday which will accentuate the current Mercury/Mars conjunction building up in Virgo. The next 2 days are excellent for analyzing, editing, and cutting through the superfluous. The mind can have a tendency to race and anxiety will be higher than usual. Finding the right measure of applied diligence and focus is possible as long as we don’t scatter ourselves. Mindfulness and disconnecting from the media, the internet and the constant chatter is one of the best remedies for this kind of astrological weather. Difficulties with communication, getting our message across, misunderstandings and harsh words are possible with the Mercury/Mars conjunction building up and, so are fried phones and electronics.

With the last quarter Moon in Gemini we can feel stimulated, talkative, and curious but there is also the tendency to get lost in chatter instead of being productive. Basically, don’t fry your brain with coffee and stress and find the right balance of intellectual work and simple manual or physical work. We could have the urge to communicate in many directions at once but essentially we can only do one thing at a time. Give your brain the right intellectual food and remember that words and symbols can be very powerful in shaping our experience of reality; use them wisely.

The last quarter Moon in Gemini supports finalizing the details of a project or idea that began at the New Moon/Solar Eclipse in Leo on August 21st.

Venus in Leo trine Saturn in Sagittarius on Tuesday and this is a supportive but also sobering aspect in regards to relationship. We could feel serious and more realistic about our desires. Long-term commitments and maturity could feel more important at the moment and feelings could be reserved and controlled. Venus trine Saturn is beneficial for artist and creators who are looking to structure and give shape to their muse. This can be a productive time for creative work, social engagements, and public relations.

On Wednesday night the Moon enters her own sign of Cancer and this should help ease the mental tension creating a fluid and intuitive rhythm until Friday night.

Even though we are in the darkest of the Moon (before the New Moon in Virgo on September 20th) the weekend will feel quite dynamic with the Moon entering the Fire sign of Leo late on Friday night and Mercury and Mars perfecting their conjunction in Virgo on Saturday, September 16. Conversation around pride, identity, the need for acknowledgement and having  the courage to express oneself truthfully and courageously will all be aroused.

MARS IN VIRGO: SEPTEMBER 5th to OCTOBER 22nd

The Moon just entered the sign of Aries (ruled by Mars) and will be transiting through Aries for the next 2 days.

Mars just entered the sign of Virgo (until October 22).

The Moon currently in Aries serves to accentuates all martial matters in our lives and for the next 2 days we can witness how Mars will get filtered through the sign of Virgo in the coming weeks.

Mars in Virgo is preoccupied with practicalities and productivity but also the minute details that we must attend to in order to meet our long-term goals. It is with repetitive efforts that expertise is developed.

The systems of our lives will be vitalized while Mars travels through the sign of Virgo. It’s a great time to organise our space and make it more functional and efficient. The emphasize will be on practicalities and function. There is more patience available for processes but also the possibility of scattering ourselves though too many projects. Being overly critical or preoccupied with perfection is another tendency to watch for.

Mars in Virgo until October 22nd is the opportunity to renew with a health regiment, a physical discipline and to polish the structures of our lives making them more efficient.

Sun in Virgo: Boldness & Patience

The Sun is now at 0º Virgo in a conjunction with the fixed star Regulus (The heart of the Lion). This interesting part of the zodiac is often associated with The Sphinx; the meeting of the lion with the maiden.

We are on the other side of the much-anticipated and powerful Solar Eclipse/New Moon at 28º Leo. It will take a few weeks before we assimilate and understand what this means for us on a personal scale but also for the world we live in.

We are being pushed towards bold new beginnings but with Mercury retrograde in Virgo until September 5th our ambitious goals will need careful and deliberate planning. With the Sun in Virgo for the next month, we must bow down to the earth and the natural rhythms of nature. A shift has occurred but it will take time before it becomes visible and we must tend to the ordinary in order to bring about the extraordinary.

Mercury goes direct on September 5th at 28º of Leo; the degree of the Solar Eclipse/New Moon in Leo. By then, we should gain greater clarity and have a pretty good idea of where we are heading.

MERCURY RETROGRADE: Ordinary & Extraordinary

Small minds are concerned with the extraordinary, great minds with the ordinary
-Blaise Pascal

☿

Mercury retrograde always brings some form of revision either willingly or imposed on us by unforeseen circumstances. There is no reason to hop on the Mercury-Retro-Freak-Out-Train as this occurs approximately 3 times a year.

Mercury will be retrograde in the sign of Virgo and then Leo from August 12th to September 5th, 2017.

One of the striking aspect of this particular retrograde is the Mercury/Neptune opposition mere days before the beginning of the retrograde.

This means that the week leading up to the retrograde is somewhat foggy or tinted by wishful thinking and clarity is already lost. There could be confusion between facts and fiction. It could be that a situation is not seen for what it is and we are getting lost in glamorous thinking. Venus is also trine to Neptune and the Sun is in Leo after all!

Mercury/Neptune is not a terrible aspect in itself but decision making might not be anchored in reality. If you know this already, work it to your advantage and take into account that your perception will shift considerably by the time this retrograde is all said and done.

The Full Moon in Aquarius on August 7th was the first of 2 Eclipses happening this month and this also has to be taken into account. The liminal space between Eclipses can be thought of as a transitional period. Often the time surrounding Eclipses bring unforeseen circumstances which shake the foundations in our lives. Events pushes us to take a leap of faith or break with the old ways. Sometimes these events are forced upon us and the path we were until then walking on vanishes aligning us on a totally new and unforeseen trajectory.

Mercury retrogrades are best spent re-evaluating, sorting out, and revising what is already in place. Mercury retrogrades are not so great for launching major new projects and ideas. Since this retrograde begins in the Mercury ruled sign of Virgo, there is no better time to get down to the nitty-gritty details of your life and put them in order. Mercury will retrograde back into the sign of Leo on August 31st. The subject of self-esteem, pride, the desire for recognition, following one’s heart, dreams and passions will all be added to the mix.

*If the eclipses are already bringing major changes in your life, embrace them and apply a good strategy to insure your success.

Here are a few more tips to help you navigate the upcoming retrograde in Virgo & Leo:

☿-Don’t sweat the small stuff: Virgos can be hyper critical and self-loathing since they have such unreachable high standards for themselves. Give yourself a break and pay attention to your internal dialogues; keep it positive and guilt free.

☿-Sweat the small stuff: Mercury retrograde in Virgo is a great time to revise and organize. A great time to tackle all the menial jobs that you have been putting off. Paper work, writing, editing and organizing could really put you ahead of the game. Re-evaluate the processes in your life and find solutions that will help you be more efficient.

☿-Find activities that help alleviate anxiety: Over-thinking and the endless quest for perfection is a modern diseases. Step-away from it all with activities that help you disconnect from the over-achieving mind. Go pet a goat.

☿-Find healing

☿-Be easy on yourself: You are where you are suppose to be. Trust the process.

☿-Get in touch with your procrastination: The more you put things off the tighter the grip will get. Maybe your to-do list is to big? What can you do to alleviate the pressure?

☿-With Mercury going back into the sign of Leo, issues of pride and self-esteem could come up. Following our heart is always a work in progress. Practice asking for what you need directly and without shame. Allow your heart’s desires to express themselves in a healthy way.

☿-Understand that success is a state of mind.

☿-Do not let your pride get in the way of the hard work needed to succeed.

☿-If you know your chart, look at where Virgo and Pisces are located. Do you have important planets or is your Ascendant in Virgo or Pisces? Perhaps some organizing is called for in those areas of your life.

☿-Since this Mercury retrograde is weaved in with the 2 eclipses in August, look at where Leo and Aquarius fall in your chart. Do you have any important planets or is your Ascendant either in Leo or Aquarius? Events surrounding the next two months will bring opportunities to break away from an old way of being. This could be subtle or dramatic depending on your natal dispositons.

---

                              Jack Kerouac (Virgo rising and Moon in Virgo) on Self-Loathing
                                                          

“The rucksack sits hopefully in a strewn mess of bottles all empty, empty poorboys of white port, butts, junk, horror … ‘One fast move or I’m gone,’ I realize, gone the way of the last three years of drunken hopelessness which is a physical and spiritual and metaphysical hopelessness you can’t learn in school no matter how many books on existentialism or pessimism you read, or how many jugs of vision-producing Ayahuasca you drink, or Mescaline take, or Peyote goop up with – that feeling when you wake up with the delirium tremens, with the fear of eerie death dripping from your ears like those special heavy cobwebs spiders weave in the hot countries, the feeling of being a bentback mudman monster groaning underground in hot steaming mud pulling a long hot burden nowhere, the feeling of standing ankle deep in hot boiled pork blood, ugh, of being up to your waist in a giant pan of greasy brown dishwater not a trace of suds left in it – the face of yourself you see in the mirror with its expression of unbearable anguish so haggard and awful with sorrow you can’t even cry for a thing so ugly, so lost, no connection whatever with early perfection, and therefore nothing to connect with tears or anything.”

 

 

 

The Heart’s Chambers

September 12, 2016:
Mercury in Virgo square Mars at 20º49′ Sagittarius (2:58pm EDT)
Mercury Cazimi (conjunct the Sun) at 20º37′ Virgo (7:40pm EDT)

The sequence of aspects on Monday September 12 are very dynamic. First Mercury square Mars in the sign of the fiery archer. This can bring a variety of side effects including more unpleasant ones. There could be volatility in communications and impulsive missives fired. Strong opinions and even zealousness about ones beliefs and firmly held opinions will be flying left and right. A sense of righteousness permeates the day and this can play out on various stages in our lives including our personal relationships. The truth is trying to surface. With Jupiter at 0 degree of Libra and ruling over Mars in Sagittarius, a compromising and diplomatic approach is favoured over impulsiveness.  It’s an excellent day to tackle projects that require a lot of efforts and stay on course if you can.

After its dynamic encounter with Mars in Sagittarius, Mercury conjunct the Sun in Virgo and sits in the Solar throne. A moment of clarity and perhaps something that had remained hidden from sight is revealed. A door opens briefly and we get a glimpse, a clue, an indication of things to come. Take note. Much can be accomplished and there is a good dose of intuition available if you are in a creative field.

Mercury retrograde in Virgo ☿ ♍︎

DOING THINGS RIGHT VS. DOING THE RIGHT THINGS

   ☿

“The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.”
-Khalil Gibran

Mercury Guardian of Thresholds
A liminal deity is a god or goddess who presides over thresholds, gates, or doorways; a crosser of boundaries. In roman mythology Mercury is the messenger of the gods and guide of the dead or psychopomp. His Greek equivalent is Hermes who is associated with omens, roads, travellers, border crossings, thievery and merchants. Dual in nature, he is the eternal youth, puer aeternus and the old man senex messenger to the dead. [1] The patron and benefactor of highway bandits, thieves, rogues and liars. He is jester, trickster and magician. He mediates between waking and dreaming, between the underworld and the world of mortals – bringing fateful tidings.

Think twice before you speak
The modern pop-culture interpretation of Mercury retrograde is often one of doom and gloom where anything that goes wrong is blamed on Mercury. Missed connections, delays in travels, breakdown of electronic, mis-communication and objects disappearing are amongst the plethora of beliefs associated with its retrograde. While this is partially true, it is a generalisation that has become the norm. We need to look beyond these minor annoyance to understand where and how the trickster might be playing with us. Studying the sign in which the retrograde will take place helps us diagnose the ways in which a particular Mercury retrograde will manifest.

Mercury Retrograde in Virgo
Mercury in the sign of Virgo is associated with good judgment, intellectual ingenuity, flexibility and the overall ability to analyse and implement things in a practical way. It brings order to chaos by sorting details and making it into a coherent system. Taking to the extreme, Mercury in Virgo becomes, hyper-critical, obsessive-compulsive and nit-picky loosing itself in trivial details. Mercury in Virgo finds its exaltation here and holds rulership by sign which means it is essentially dignified. He also has rulership by face on the last 10 degrees of Virgo (21º-30º) where he will spend a good part of this retrograde. (The retrograde takes place between 14 and 29 degrees of Virgo) Assessing strength and dignity is an important part of analysing how a planet will perform in each sign. Since Mercury in Virgo finds itself in essential dignity and ruling over the last 10º degrees of Virgo the adverse effect of the usual retrograde might be tempered by the fact that Mercury is quite potent here. Without overriding completely the circumstances that a retrograde can cast we might be able to use this time to our advantage.

‘Totally Intent Upon Completing An Immediate Task, A Man Is Deaf To Any Allurement”
Sabian Symbol for 29-30º of Virgo

When wick and oil are clean
A good rule of thumb during a Mercury retrograde is to practice your ”RE”: revise, re-organize, re-tool, re-group, re-think et cetera. Sure it might be more difficult than usual to initiate new projects and travel from point A to point B during a retrograde. But Mercury retrograde in Virgo is a fantastic time to get your various project and ideas in order. Greasing the engine, polishing the silver, cleansing the systems. A good part of the month could be spent analysing what we are doing. Are we being efficient with our attention or are we wasting time focusing on the wrong things? If you do something “right,” but it’s the wrong thing to do, your efforts will be futile. If you do the “right thing,” but you do it wrong, you’ll also fail miserably.

Thoughts could seem very black and white well into September with the Saturn/Neptune square in the background. With Mercury retrograde in Virgo adding to the noise we could feel overwhelmed by responsibilities one moment and extremely focused on our work the next. Do not overload your plate at the risk of driving yourself crazy. But do not abandon your ship either. Rest your nerves when you can and focus on one task at a time. See the process for what it is and listen for the cues. Your attention is currency. Spend it wisely. 

“There is nothing quite so useless,
as doing with great efficiency,
something that should not be done at all.”
― Peter F. Drucker

Overview of the Mercury Retrograde in September

August 30 2016: Mercury station retrograde at 29º04′ Virgo at 9:04am (EDT)

September 1, 2016:
New Moon/Solar Eclipse at 9º21′ Virgo at 5:04am (EDT)

The potential of Ordinariness
The eclipse happens two days after Mercury begins its retrograde. Mercury is the guardian of this New Moon and Solar Eclipse.  The fact that Mercury is moving backward is significant. It could be that the events and realisation surrounding this eclipse will be implemented much later into the Fall. A New Moon is a seeding time. A New Moon in Virgo is a good time to set intents around the logistics and systems in our lives and the various process that helps us be efficient. A New Moon in an Earth sign is asking for tangible and realistic goals.

A New Moon AND Solar Eclipse is a powerful reset. If you are born with personal planets between 4 and 14 degrees of the Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces) this New Moon and eclipse could impact you more strongly. If you have invested your time and energy wisely, this period could open new doors, bring unforseen opportunities, new beginnings or a confirmation that you are on the right path. There could be a tendency to take on a big work load. Discard the superfluous from the essential and divide your time accordingly. As usual with this much Virgo in the sky the feelings of anxiety and inadequacy could creep up. Discard guilty and damaging self-talk, plant the proper thoughts and be present.

September 2, 2016:
Mercury conjunct Jupiter at 28º04′ Virgo

Small Pot – Stunted Roots
Jupiter is finishing up a 1 year stay in Virgo and is preparing to move into the sign of Libra on September 9. Realisation around the way we have restrained our growth could surface.  If we have spent too much of our attention finicking over things that stunt our progress it becomes obvious. Anything limiting could surface. Conversely if we have overlooked some important details now is a good time to go over them. Since Jupiter is closely linked to beliefs, spend time reflecting on where and in what you have put your faith. Is it sill relevant for you at this point? Can you see how your beliefs shape your life for the better or for worst? Where is it leading you? On a positive note, there could be some revelations and opportunities that help you see the path ahead.

”If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard,
just keep putting off doing it.”
-Olin Miller

♄September 10, 2016: Saturn in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces♆

September 12, 2016:
Mercury in Virgo square Mars at 20º49′ Sagittarius (2:58pm EDT)
Mercury Cazimi (conjunct the Sun) at 20º37′ Virgo  (7:40pm EDT)

The Heart’s Chambers
The sequence of aspects on Monday September 12 are very dynamic. First Mercury square Mars in the sign of the fiery archer. This can bring a variety of side effects including more unpleasant ones. There could be volatility in communications and impulsive missives fired. Strong opinions and even zealousness about ones beliefs and firmly held opinions will be flying left and right. A sense of righteousness permeates the day and this can play out on various stages in our lives including our personal relationships. The truth is trying to surface. With Jupiter at 0 degree of Libra and ruling over Mars in Sagittarius, a compromising and diplomatic approach is favoured over impulsiveness.

After its dynamic encounter with Mars in Sagittarius, Mercury conjunct the Sun in Virgo and sits in the Solar throne.  A moment of clarity and perhaps something that had remained hidden from sight is revealed. A door opens briefly and we get a glimpse, a clue, an indication of things to come. Take note.

The Moon will be in Capricorn and Aquarius on September 12 which are both ruled by Saturn. This weaves in the bigger themes of the Saturn/Neptune square that perfects two days prior. We are confronted by our responsibilities vs the cherished ideals that fuel our imagination. What must be done versus how we wish it could be. The well of dreams where our eternal child quenches his thirst versus the reality and limitations of the material world.

Science and Truth are simple phenomenon of nature, but it is the known that is preventing us from mastering the unknown.
-Chandrakanth Natekar

September 16, 2016:
Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse at  24º20′ Pisces at 3:05pm (EDT)
The seeds planted at the beginning of the month culminates with the Full Moon in Pisces. Old stories lose their hold and the whispers of the past fade into the void. Don’t be lured back by the haunting calls of the sirens. Short-term gains or pleasure must be weighed carefully against the long-term ones. Bound yourself to the mast of your boat while the Moon passes in the earth’s shadow and looses her light. An era is definitely over and you get the confirmation if you can stand the darkness for a brief moment. If you have personal planets in the last 10 degrees of the Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces) this Full Moon will affect you more significantly.

September 20, 2016:
Mercury in Virgo trine Pluto at 14º56′ Capricorn

Secrets Revealed
Integrity and honesty will be wonderful allies for the duration of this Mercury retrograde. Avoidance will bring more trouble than necessary. Honesty begins with oneself and than moves outward into the world. Being true to our convictions can be trying especially when we juggle conflicting beliefs or ideas. We can now see clearly the strict or severe frameworks in which we have been operating. Being at the mercy of conditioning and programming is no longer viable although we need these systems. The truth emerges with its fair share of readjustments.

September 22, 2016:
Fall Equinox
Moon in Gemini square Mercury in Virgo
Mercury station direct at 14º49 Virgo at 1:30 am (EDT)

The Harvest
Mercury station direct on the Fall Equinox with the Moon in Gemini square to Mercury in Virgo. Trying circumstances will abound and applying the lessons of the retrograde might not be that easy. Multiple voices will be shouting for our attention and separating the wheat from the chaff will be an ongoing process.

 

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The Oracle

Mercury station retrograde at 29º of Virgo on August 30th 2016.
You can interpret this Chandra Symbol freely.

Virgo 29*: A witch preparing magic mushrooms

Within the delicate, formative stages of major departures into the unknown, there is encountered an extraordinary task and lesson that detains you a long while. It becomes self-evident that it is everything that comes before that makes the difference. There must be a fully attuned, magical sensibility to make the future possible. Coming to this requires arduous discipline, elaborate ritual and internal initiation. This becomes such a labyrinth of discipleship and apprenticeship that you wander through the maze discovering everything you ever needed to know. All is played out within. There is no need to make anything happen on the outer. You are assigned to empty yourself out, to strip everything away, to become invisible. And if you excel at your craft, so many ventures and initiatives will be seeded, that this inner planes total mobilization will prove to be more fruitful and productive than any premature thrusts of outer mind, no matter how impressive or seemingly necessary. The entire path lies well within, and needs no surface success to substantiate itself.

☿

*For the Chandra degree, I used the 29º instead of 30º my logic being that Mercury is moving backward.

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[1] Dig deeper into Mercury (Hermes) with Dr Z

[2] The Liminality of Hermes and the Meaning of Hermeneutics by Richard E. Palmer

[4] Inside Degrees by Ellias Lonsdale

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