Sun & Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius

Sun & Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius

Light. We are awestruck by the fervent light of sunsets. We are mesmerized by the quivering light of fire. We turn on electric lights to stretch our days, and make the night disappear into the forests and heavens. Light is pregnant with poetic impact. It conjures a sense of all things right, good and magical. We think of it as awareness - the “light of consciousness.” We can visualize light in our minds, but we don’t know exactly what light is... or what “mind” is. Light is made up of photons, but we don’t know if photons are particles (matter) or waves (energy) or both. Mind is made up of... thoughts? dreams? emptiness? consciousness? something as yet unnamed that may be matter or energy or maybe both? This month, the planets urge you to mind your thoughts, illuminate the shadows of your understanding, and screw some fresh light bulbs into your noggin.

A brief word from our sponsor:

My next quarterly workshop (3/1/15) on the planetary energies (eclipses and outer planet squares, oh my!) of the coming spring - and herbs to support an evolutionary path through said energies - only has a couple spots left. Sign up here, or contact Homestead Apothecary to get first dibs on the June 23rd class on summer’s planets (Virgo download and Venus retrograde) and herbs - and check out Homestead’s other fine offerings while you’re at it.

Sun in Aquarius: 1/20/15 - 2/18/15

Aquarius is a sign that enjoys surprise doses of the unfamiliar, the unusual, the unsettled and unsettling. With the Sun - our “light of consciousness” - transiting through this iconoclastic portion of the zodiac, it behooves us to stimulate our minds by expanding our community, meeting some new people, and shaking up our routines a bit. Your signpost this month is energy.

Do your activities energize or drain you?

Do the people in your life energize or drain you?

Do your ideas & perspectives energize or drain you?

Aquarius is a particularly frisky sign at the moment because its two rulers just went through some major changes around the winter solstice. Uranus, ruler of earthquakes, electricity and “Eureka!” moments, stationed direct then, which frees us to take tangible actions on our major insights of the past six months. Meanwhile, stodgy ole Saturn, ruler of boundaries, responsibilities, limitations, and authority, entered boundless and ebullient Sagittarius a couple days later. This means it’s time to climb some mountains, strive for some grander things in life, take a look at the big picture, declare our truth - and live by it. These major planetary changes are igniting Aquarius with renewed brilliance.

What is your truth?

What is your experience of reality?

Do you enjoy the reality you find yourself in?

Does your reality leave room for others - their truth, their perspective, their presence?

If your truth is inaccurate, how does that effect your reality?

Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius: 1/21/15 - 2/11/15

Too much smooth sailing would be boring, and so un-Aquarius-like. We need something to shake things up a bit. A Mercury retrograde cycle in the sign of Aquarius is just what’s needed to add a bit more mental voltage to our Aquarius month.

Let’s get the general Mercury retrograde advice out of the way: Mercury retrograde cycles are famous for disrupting the flow of modern life, but a few general precautions will help you get through this planetary bump in the road with a little more grace. First of all, as with any bump in a road, SLOW DOWN. If you slow down, you can be more flexible, catch some striking scenery you’ve been flying past without noticing, and thus appease our nimble trickster god. Some other Mercury retrograde rules of thumb are back up your communication devices (computers, phones, etc) and tune up your vehicles (bikes, cars, etc) BEFORE Mercury stations retrograde (1/21), and give yourself extra time to get around, and maintain a state of openness when miscommunications and transportation failures arise during Mercury’s retrograde.

As with any planetary event, there is something to learn during this Aquarian Mercury retrograde cycle. Learning is easy if you have an open mind, but we cannot learn if we are rigid in our perspectives. Aquarius is a fixed sign, ruled both by re-volt-ing, en-light-ening Uranus and conservative, limiting Saturn. If you wish to adhere to what you already know and believe, be prepared to suffer and cause suffering to others during this Mercury retrograde. The other option is to experience the liberation of allowing your mind to be blown apart by the illuminating insights available during this retrograde. Now more than ever, these insights come from our interactions with others. Then watch your creativity soar to exhilarating heights you never knew were possible.

The most basic principle of the planet Mercury is this: The quality and accuracy of our perception shapes our experience of reality. With Mercury in community-oriented Aquarius, we also enter into the territory of collective perception. We tend to seek out communities that support our current view of reality, but this retrograde cycle suggests it’s time to seek out people and communities that both challenge and recharge our view of reality.

What communication and perception issues have cropped up since the second week of January?

Do you feel stuck - in your life, in your creativity, in your relationships, in any way?

How might your perspective be keeping you stuck?

Which people that you associate with support your current view of reality?

Do these relationships energize or drain you?

Which people that you associate with challenge your current view of reality?

Do these relationships energize or drain you?

The Aquarius Lunation culminates in Leo: 2/3/15

The Aquarius lunation begins on 1/20/15, with Mercury at a standstill, conjoined with Venus opposite Jupiter, Mars conjunct Neptune, and the South Node conjunct Uranus. These combinations suggest it’s time to expand our consciousness to include others’ perspectives, deepen our compassion for ourselves, and release perspectives that put us in fight-or-flight mode. This new moon would also be a great time for an intentional, cleansing and self-loving, candle-lit bath.

What is the difference between action and re-action?

What is true liberation?

If liberation begins in the mind, what perspectives might set you free?

How can you love yourself more?

By the Leo full moon on 2/3/15, Venus has conjoined Neptune, while Jupiter is conjoined by the Moon and opposed by the Sun. Hopefully, you’ve practiced self-compassion (foundation), and are now ready to feel deeper levels of compassion for others (castle). For best effect, make sure your castle is built on a good foundation. You may feel pulled between your joy and your responsibilities, between yourself and your community, or you may feel like your mind is being blown at every moment. At this point, we are more than halfway through Mercury’s retrograde period, signifying it’s time to start experimenting with some of what we’ve learned in the past couple weeks.

What and who brings you joy and energy?

What and whom do you love?

What and who do you feel loved by?

What and whom are worthy of your energy?

Sun in Virgo 2014

Satisfaction: It’s an elusive thing in the first world. The U.S. breeds a simultaneously workaholic and over-indulgent culture. We never feel as though we’ve done enough, and we are haunted by unfulfilled - and perhaps unfulfillable - yearnings for something more. The roots of the word satisfaction mean to have done enough. The planets, in this solar month of Virgo, want us to find that feeling of having done and received enough.

Abundance: Embodiment & Faith Merge

Tomorrow night (late August 17th in PDT), Venus conjoins Jupiter in Leo, encouraging us to take concrete action on what we believe most whole-heartedly in. This is a brief transit that creates ebullient feelings that are easy to enjoy. Do so, but if you also take action on what you enjoy, there will be profound rewards. This energy filters more subtly into the next week, and infuses the whole solar month of Virgo with a bit of its serendipitous spark.

        What opportunities are most calling to your heart right now?

        Which relationships offer a sense of mutual expansion & growth?

        How can you joyfully bring your beliefs & actions into alignment?

Sun in Virgo: 8/22 - 9/22

The Sun’s transit through Virgo marks the beginning of the harvest season. It is the culmination of the dreams of winter, the efforts of spring, and the cultivation of summer. Both the fruits of our labors and our labors are at their peak, so - provided we have dreamt well, and put forth the proper effort and care - it is a time of accelerated and focused work with clear rewards. This is also a time when our level of mastery become apparent to us and others. Depending on where you are on the spectrum, it’s thus a time to either impart your wisdom and experience, or gain more expertise & knowledge from the masters you feel drawn to.

The root of the word, harvest, means to cut. We cut the fruits of our labors off so we can be nourished by them. Also, we cut away dead matter and anything that directs energy away from the integrity of the system we are cultivating. Thus Virgo also has an association with purification.

       What are you harvesting?

         Are you being nourished by the fruits of your labors?

        What mastery have you attained? What mastery do you wish to attain?

        Who are your teachers? Who are your students?

        What work gives you a sense of satisfaction?

        What happens when you cultivate the feeling of satisfaction at the end of each day?

        What/Who needs to be cut away to maintain the integrity & health of the whole of your life?

The Right Effort Lunation Begins on 8/25

The moon is new in Virgo on the same day that Mars conjoins Saturn in Scorpio. This is a double indication that it’s time to commit to those matters of deepest importance to you. A new moon marks the beginning of the lunar cycle. It is a time of realigning intention and redirecting focus through contemplation and inner seeking. Neptune’s opposition to the Sun and Moon bring elements of redemption into the month’s story. Meanwhile, Venus and Jupiter in Leo remind us to play, to love, and to enjoy life to its fullest, even as we attend to our goals, visions, responsibilities, and realms of service.

        Have you identified your life’s Work? If not, see below*

        What are the structures you need to put in place to manifest that Work?

        What/whom do you need to forgive in order to help you move forward with clarity?

        How is your work/life balance? Are you making time to play and rest as well as work?

        Is there an element of redemption in your skills - for you, for those you serve, or both?

        *Write a letter to yourself about the decisions and challenges you face now

            from the perspective of an older you in your last few moments of life.

Pisces Super Full Moon: 9/8 (PDT)

The Virgo lunation, which began with a private inner search, culminates in an outgoing super full moon. This Pisces moon is aligned with the planetoid, Chiron, and features a Venus/Neptune opposition, all in the 1st/7th house axis. It thus offers powerful healing through direct encounters with others, so it’s a very fruitful time to work with a healer, therapist or teacher if you are in need of a breakthrough. Here are some recommendations of wonderful healers (& artists, who are the healers of society). Or perhaps you will be the agent of someone else’s breakthrough. The truest statement to be made of this Pisces full moon is we are all connected through a vast and intricate web, and thus we are all capable of being agents of each others’ healing.

Coming Soon:

Next month’s report on the solar month of Libra will give you some tools for maintaining equilibrium during the double whammy of a lunar eclipse and Mercury’s next retrograde cycle.

 

For more personalized insight, you may schedule a private astrological consult, healing session, or healing intensive in person, over the phone, or via Skype. Feel free to like, forward this page on & repost it as you see fit. Until next time, wishing you insight & heartsight.  Thanks for reading, Rae Diamond

Sun in Leo, Jupiter in Leo

Heart, like love, is a single word with many meanings. It is a physical organ, essential to life. It is the center or essence of something. We can learn something by heart, meaning that it has rooted thoroughly in our memory. We can do or say something with heart, meaning that we put our full self into our action or speech. It shares the same root as the word, hearth, linking it with a sense of life-giving internal fire. It has connotations with rhythm, timing, and with alternating between expansion and contraction.

Expansion: Jupiter in Leo, 7/16/14 - 8/11/15

This morning, Jupiter entered the sign, Leo, and will remain in this sign that rules the heart for a full year. Jupiter expands whatever he touches, but first he requires that we take an appropriate leap of faith for we cannot become more than we are until we stretch ourselves beyond our comfort zone. With Jupiter in Leo until next summer, this means you must take leaps of faith in those areas that are dearest to your heart. In the process, however, you may need to let go of some things that matter less to you. Jupiter bids us to reach out beyond ourselves, and into the collective. Jupiter in Leo insists we reach forth from our heart, and in so doing, touch the hearts of others.

What brings you joy?

What activities, relationships, & places do you cherish most?

How might you increase your experience of the people, places & endeavors you love?

How do you distract yourself from &/or compromise that which you love?

What might “the next level” be for these relationships & activities you hold dear?

Contraction: Saturn stations direct in Scorpio, 7/20/14

A few days later, the next planet out in our solar system, Saturn, stations direct in mid-Scorpio. Whereas Jupiter reaches out into the collective with boundless and inspired enthusiasm, Saturn is our experience of the limitations of society and of reality in general. Saturn’s transit in Scorpio, since October 2012 and through December 2014, has us restructuring our lives based on what matters most to us, and is also asking us to take a look at our use and experience of power. Saturn imposes limits on Jupiter’s wild ideas. Limits might not always be fun, but they do inspire innovation and focus.

What has been hung up in a restructuring process since early March 2014?

What has died for or in you since then?

What is now ready to be reborn, & how has it shifted within that time?

How can you set up healthy structures that empower you and support your rebirth?

Expansion: Uranus stations retrograde in Aries, 7/21/14

The next day, the next planet out in our solar system, Uranus, stations retrograde in mid-Aries. Uranus is genius, pure idea, flashes of insight, Eureka! in action, electricity. Uranus explodes Saturn’s boundaries, disrupts his established order, and imposes his own brand of Chaos. When this god of sudden change stations retrograde in Aries, however, our attempts at personal liberation become private implosions, rather than outer world explosions. Translation: look at things differently, and blow your own mind.

What radical shifts have occurred since mid-December that have blown your world asunder in some way?

How might you integrate these outer changes into your perspective and understanding?

What kind of energy have these shifts generated in your life?

How might you patch any energy leaks that may have occurred in those explosions?

More Expansion: Sun in Leo, 7/22/14 - 8/22/14 (PDT)

The next day, the heart of our solar system, the Sun, enters his home sign of Leo. This galvanizes Jupiter’s recent ingress into Leo. For this next month, get clear about what you care about so you can get the most out of this year of Jupiter in heart-ful Leo. Let your heart glow. Dedicate yourself to what and whom you love. Cut back on the distractions and the drudgeries. Enjoy life, and above all, cherish yourself.

Contraction: Mars in Scorpio, 7/25/14 - 9/13/14

A few days later, Mars enters Scorpio. This puts Jupiter in a bit of a Scorpio sandwich, as these are his two nearest planetary neighbors. That will function as a nice tempering to what might otherwise be a bit too hedonistic and over-inflated of a Leo solar month. Decisive Mars has been transiting uncomfortably in wishy-washy Libra since early December 2013, so he will be all to happy to enter one of his home signs. The combination of both Saturn (the planetary architect) and Mars (the planetary muscle) in Scorpio gives us the ability to put our empowering plans into action.

What’s a big vision you feel able to commit deeply to?

What’s your plan for making it happen?

What’s the next step to take?

For more personalized insight, you may schedule a private astrological consult, healing session, or healing intensive in person, over the phone, or via Skype. Feel free to like, forward this page on & repost it as you see fit. Until next time, wishing you insight & heartsight.  Thanks for reading,

Rae Diamond