Mercury went direct early this morning in the sign of Sagittarius.
For the next few weeks, it will travel back over the same degrees of the zodiac it was in early December and will meet with Pluto in Capricorn on January 29th.
It could be that something you were working on back in December will start gaining momentum by the end of the month. An internal process is ready to be externalized.
Some ideas are taking shape and gaining traction. Important clues or answers are finally coming to you that will illuminate the path ahead.
Since Mercury is heading towards Pluto, the importance of honesty is crucial. Lying will only slow down the process. Speak your truth even if it’s a difficult one. Taking shortcuts might help you in the short term but at what cost? Be willing to face a difficult process. Acknowledge your progress.
If you find yourself at a crossroad, choose the path that leads you to your heart’s integrity.
The Moon is in Gemini for a few days and she is ruled by Mercury which is still retrograde in Capricorn. Lots of busy mental power available to us. Using discrimination between the essential and the superfluous will save a lot of time. Do not get fooled by your own cleverness and take time to ponder your decisions.
“We may idealize freedom, but when it comes to our habits, we are completely enslaved.” ―Sogyal Rinpoche
Dedication and Destination
Uranus going direct at the end of December really got us all fired up about the upcoming possibilites in our lives in the New Year. Saturn in Sagittarius ruled by Jupiter in Virgo is offering the possibility to have an organised outlook on the horizon and a good idea of the work that is required get beyond our current situation. Our faith is turning towards the satisfaction that comes with the dedicated attention of working and being useful. We could feel ambitious and work hard to see concrete results down the road. This is a great time let go of instant gratification and integrate systems in our lives that can bring a lasting legacy.
2016 starts with Mercury retrograde at 1º of Aquarius tantalising us with a glimpse of the possible future. Mercury going backward in the sign of Capricorn is like the mountain goat walking the treacherous path of a mountain side: every steps are carefully calculated. With the Sun also in Capricorn and a recent conjunction to Pluto, we could feel extremely ambitious and ready to tackle pretty much anything. Mars in Scorpio is also supporting us with the staying power and resilience needed.
The year 2016 starts with an opportunity to review our values and what we consider important. There is an emphasis on all the little things that makes up the whole. Our attention is on analysis and perspective. The small but important details and the patience required to achieve mastery. The idea here is not to become a martyr but to find greater satisfaction through dedicated awareness in our everyday actions. Negotiating a chosen path requires a little give and take at every moment as we learn to develop a more efficient strategy. Success demands effort, commitment and nerves.
NEW MOON IN CAPRICORN ☾♑︎
The New Moon is at 21:31 EST on January 9th at 19º Capricorn and is carrying with her clues about our role and responsibilities and the place we want to occupy in the grand scheme of things. There might have been some difficult realisations brought up in the recent days around our relationships and habits that no longer serves you. Since this New Moon is ruled by Saturn she brings with her an awareness of time passing and our own or others mortality.
Saturn is currently conjunct Venus which confuse work with pleasure, labour with leisure. Even more so with the square to Neptune which can act as a distraction and a desire to avoid reality all together.
Jupiter just started its retrograde motion through the sign of Virgo and will only turn direct 5 months from now. *Special attention to the nitpickers and perfectionists out there, the possibility to get lost in the never good enough labyrinth is real.
Those planetary aspects, can indicate that we are aligning our work and our beliefs into a more unified version. If only we could find the simple formula that would allow us to combine the obligations of our reality with our inner truth. There is great need to adjust what we do on a daily basis with our beliefs and vice versa. This can create a sort of cognitive dissonance if our words do not match our actions. We are learning to walk the talk and we need to let go of certain habits, situations or people who might be holding us back.
The New Moon in Capricorn supports fresh ideas and concepts that are grounded and achievable. Since Mercury is retrograde for most of January, I would suggest focusing on restructuring the systems you have in place that will allow you to become more efficient. Favour concrete, step-by-step approach and let-go of time-wasting habits without becoming too obsessive.
Modern Vanitas by Kalico the Kat
We are weighed down, every moment, by the conception and the sensation of Time. And there are but two means of escaping and forgetting this nightmare: pleasure and work. Pleasure consumes us. Work strengthens us. Let us choose.
-Charles Baudelaire
Today, Mercury stations retrograde at 0’ 57 of Aquarius and will be re-tracing the path it took in December until it turns direct again on January 25th.
This could means that we don’t have all the pieces we need to move ahead. We will have to look back to retrieve some important information and perhaps restructure some of our plans. Something needs resolution. We need to back track to move deeper, to heal, to understand. You can try denial but I wouldn’t recommend it. Things will most likely go in an unpredictable fashion and that is part of the revision process. Some things need to die before we can move forward. Wether its a habit, a fear or a cherished illusion. What is the driving force hiding behind your decisions at the moment?
The regular Mercury procedure is: Don’t sign contracts, don’t buy big-ticket items or launch on a new venture. The potential for confusion, complication or things not turning out as planned seems to be higher during this period. Of course you have free will and of course you can do whatever you want. This is an ongoing observed phenomenon.
The first aspect that Mercury makes on its way backward, is a square to Mars in Scorpio. Mars doesn’t back track, it moves forward. What does it mean?
We can speculate.
Mars in Scorpio wants to zoom in on what most don’t want to show. It identifies the weaknesses to annihilate or heal depending on the level of awareness. This means that we have an arsenal of truth serum at our disposal and it needs to be handled with care for the sake of peace and integration.
Mars wants to act but Scorpio doesn’t tell so Mars in Scorpio is almost always about acting undercover without showing intentions. Mars in Scorpio has hidden motivations. Mercury the messenger, connects us to one another. It is Mercury’s job to tell. This could be like an undercover mission gone public, a cover up exposed, an ambitious executioner, a politician who tells the truth. It can cause ravages or it can bring us to the next level.
Without proper considerations this aspect could see us pulling dirty tricks to win a race that is driven by our insecurities. Mars in Scorpio cuts through the thin veil of chatter to get to the core of the issue. Special attention to dialogues, exchanges and negociations in the next few days as the potential for misunderstanding or hurts to surface is very possible.
You might find me overly prescriptive to start the year but knowledge allows us to move with awareness through the battle fields.
9th House 