Sunday, November 13, 2005

Mercury Retrograde November 14 - December 4

Until early December Mercury is retrograde in the skies (appearing to move backwards). It’s not an unusual occurance, it’s something we are all used to living with about 3 times a year, yet there is this association with retrograde phases as being just an irritating source of delays, of communication breakdowns, - letters going astray, or computers playing up, etc.
This does seem to be true in certain circumstances, in the same way that full moons are known for stirring up strong emotions, but I don’t think that needs to be the only focus. These planetary movements are the reflection of natural cycles in us all, as far as I am concerned, and so there are going to be benefits in embracing the whole period, rather than just concentrating on backing up computers, or making sure we get a receipt for everything. We have to look deeper at what the cycle is asking of us.
Mercury retrogrades in Sagittarius, which is a sign associated with faith and belief. It’s our beliefs that give us direction in life, and whatever we place our faith in shapes our experience. How we see things, our perspective, determines the path we choose, and therefore our journey. Mercury is about our thinking processes, so a retrograde phase through Sagittarius is a call to review or rethink current ways of looking at things, and thinking about things. It’s an invitation to look more deeply at what or who we place our faith in, and whether that is serving our best interests. It's about changing perspectives.
Retrograde phases connect us back with the past, with repeating circumstances, and especially as far as Mercury retrograde goes, with coincidence and syncronicity. Mercury was the god of commerce, of travellers, of roads and crossroads, and has strong links to medicine. Writing, learning, and communicating are all important themes. So expect links to faces and places from the past, as well as any or all of the many Mercurial symbols to start cropping up in attention grabbing ways. To kick off, read about what scientists have just discovered about meditation here, and what the Dalai Lama had to say yesterday here.

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Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Venus Now In Capricorn, Not Sagittarius

Oh dear. Someone tell Conservative leadership hopeful David Davis that Venus is now in Capricorn, which means quantum-level collective zero tolerance for his Sagittarius-style stunts involving busty beauties with 'It's DD for me' stretched across their T-shirts.
As if that wasn't enough he also offended the president of the Conservative Women's Organisation, after revealing his preference for blondes over brunettes on Radio 4's Woman's Hour today. Full details here.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Planets In Grand Cross Pattern

Over the next few days a pattern is building in the skies called a grand cross. This is when 4 planets are about 90 degrees apart from each other, making a big square shape. The two oppositions between the 4 planets make up the cross.
The planets involved here are the Sun, Mars, Neptune and Saturn. There is a bit of poetic licence with this particular grand cross, as Saturn isn't really joining fully into the 90 degree squares. It's a teensy bit wide. But teensy bits sometimes don't matter in astrology, it's the bigger picture that always manifests.
A 90 degree aspect tends to create tension, so 4 of them together, even more so. This is also emphasised because all the planets are in 'fixed' signs (Scorpio, Taurus, Leo and Aquarius), and the kind of energy this can generate through situations is usually about resistance to change and the urge to maintain current position.

The last time anything like this was in the sky was the famous eclipse of August 1999, remember? (Some say we are still living the effects of that eclipse on a collective level). So cast your mind back to the summer of '99. Was there a situation defined by it's tension or resistance? Was there a feeling of an uphill struggle or of being blocked at every turn?
It's all comes down to how we respond to this energy. It's make or break time... do we rise to the challenges that situations are presenting us with, or do we buckle under the pressure and tension, by buying into the belief we are powerless to cope? Some say these situations are divinely designed to bring out the best in us, who knows, maybe that's true; it certainly makes the necessary leap of faith in ourselves easier to make.