This week we’re in the first few days of Mercury retrograde, and approaching the Cancer New Moon. Soon after, the Sun will be in the last days of its run through Cancer and be heading for Leo, where it arrives Sunday, July 22. The week has the feeling of things coming to closure, in part indicated by the last days before the New Moon, and the last days of the Sun in Cancer. With Mercury retrograde, I suggest an easy does it approach to existence.
Today the Moon is in Gemini. After the Gemini Moon has separated from its trine (120-degree) aspect to Libra Saturn Monday morning at 6:56 am EDT, it spends most of the day being what’s called void of course. I know we use this term from time to time on Planet Waves, though I’ve never written an article about it. When the Moon is void of course, that means it’s no longer making major aspects to major planets while it’s in its current sign. This can feel disengaged, and also like we’re able to connect with ourselves on a deeper level. I have found that it’s a good time to go to therapy and even write horoscopes, both of which benefit from some inner perspective.
As for the air-to-air trine of the Moon and Saturn Monday morning — given some of the astrology running in the background, this is a moment of relative emotional ease, where feelings (the Moon) and the authority principle (Saturn) are in harmony. There’s a ‘let it slide’ feeling to this aspect, particularly as the Moon goes void of course right after the aspect separates. It’s a good time to worry less about your outer environment and focus inwardly.
Notably the Moon is currently in Gemini, which is ruled by Mercury. Mercury is still newly retrograde (that began Saturday night EDT and lasts until Aug. 8; Mercury will be in Leo the whole time). It may take a day or two to get accustomed to that new quality of energy. You might be the “slam the thing into four-wheel drive and keep going” type, which means you might not care much about the subtleties of Mercury or astrology for that matter.
However, if you’re the more thoughtful type, you’ll want to observe your mental environment and take it slow for a couple of days as Mercury picks up momentum in its new retrograde direction. This is the time to pace yourself, watch your expenditures and to focus on being true to your word. Also, be mindful of any new information you acquire. This Mercury station has had a particularly strong “the truth comes out” quality, which we’ve seen in at least two significant national news stories that have broken since Friday — the report on Penn State, and the one about the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spying on its own scientists for years to the benefit of General Electric. The FDA’s spying spread to critics of the agency, including journalists. We have been tracking many stories involving the FDA turning into a kind of gestapo — issues to watch as Ceres (agriculture) and Jupiter (justice) lurk around in a conjunction.
As for the Moon void, in effect from early Monday morning (I would say around 8 am though your astrology calendar may say 6:56 am) through the time when the Moon ingresses Cancer at 8:31 pm EDT Monday. This is a phase where the Moon is making no new aspects to “major” planets while it’s in Gemini. The Moon being done making new aspects in a sign can have a drifty feeling to it, where it’s difficult to access a certain kind of focus.
Yet this Moon void will be good, I think, for working through difficult psychological baggage. Part of the challenge of doing that is the looming authority presence of parents and early caregivers, who can hang around our emotional bodies like a haunting. You might discover that you have one night of respite from that, enough time to work through some questions and make up your mind about not being wrong for existing. Consider that you don’t have to face the consequence of what you didn’t do — you just have to deal with the results of what was done to you. There’s a big difference.
The Moon spends its last degrees in Gemini making an aspect to an odd point called Transpluto. That’s a caution against being too self-critical. There’s also something in here about the fear of being known for something that you would rather keep secret. One approach to that is to make peace with this something being known by everyone, or at least considering that sooner or later it will. The chances are you will get some relief from exploring that possibility.
When the Moon ingresses Cancer, it’s officially in New Moon phase. The exact Sun-Moon conjunction is Thursday, July 19 at 12:24 am. More on that in Tuesday’s post.
Yesterday I made by the Moon more Monday was dedicated day has the moon but now, I was under the energy of March / Tuesday without no aggression, but a strong desire to do my chalenge I had prepared the day before and I succeeded, thank you Eric for your informed conscience
Paolo…
“…There are some people who will take and take until you are bone dry and blood sucked on the floor. Perhaps the ritual you outline nourishes their needs before it gets to me, or by purifying my relationship to them? I think there is also merit in actively saying “no”….”
Spot on. This ritual allows you to give what you can on a subtle level and pacifies (purifies) that sense of guilt one can have for establishing boundaries on the physical/emotional level.
Even lighting a bit of incense and wishing them well when things are at their stickiest can help.
Thank you Eric, Linda, and Kate! Incredibly helpful insights. Linda, I like the fundamental message you are bringing, however, I must be mindful of boundaries. There are some people who will take and take until you are bone dry and blood sucked on the floor. Perhaps the ritual you outline nourishes their needs before it gets to me, or by purifying my relationship to them? I think there is also merit in actively saying “no”. Creating that boundary allows space for Eric’s identification of origination and then for Kate’s message of self empowerment.
Thank you all friends.
… and here i thought the IRS already had dibs on being “the new gestapo,” according to the illustrious, never dull, wtf governor of my home state (for whom 61% of us did NOT vote):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/12/paul-lepage-maine-governor-irs-killing-people_n_1668944.html
gotta love his “apology”:
“Just a couple of days after his initial comments, LePage issued a clarification, stating, ‘Clearly, what has happened is that the use of the word Gestapo has clouded my message.’ ”
uh-huh. his message is that the IRS, in enforcing the ACA, will facilitate the deaths of people who cannot afford health care, and also be instrumental in rationing health care.
but, you know, it was the word “gestapo” that clouded his message. not his thinking. ha.
i actually kind of feel bad for the IRS; not so much for the FDA at the moment:
“LePage’s Gestapo comments were criticized by both Jewish groups and the head of the IRS employees union, Colleen Kelley, who said his comments could endanger the agency’s employees. She said ‘irresponsible rhetoric and mischaracterization of federal employees can also lead to violent attacks on these workers.’ “
Hi,
I’m not Paolo, but thanks for the answers! 😉
Hi Paola, for what it’s worth, my take on the ‘haunting’ is the internal voice that kicks in with a negative, judgemental, shaming tone – the one that usually has me stopped in my tracks before I do something just for me, or that expresses who I am authentically. It usually has a ‘should’ in it somewhere, just to up the guilt factor.
On a daily basis, outside of therapy, I notice that voice, and swap it for another more loving one that says, ‘go on, go for it, why not?
Hi Paolo….
“… Is our emotional body how we keep guilt internalized, or something else? What would be ways to address the haunting aspect. I know, therapy. But what about a simple day to day practice?”
If therapy does not appeal, one way that I have worked successfully with family issues (often for generations) is propitiation. What does this mean? Healing through offering them boundless love and pleasant substances, thereby appeasing all their dissatisfactions and pain.
The substances offered could be in any physical form that speaks to you. One very powerful way to make this offering is through fire by burning incense or delicious foods like nuts or sensual stimulants like whiskey or liqueurs (obviously needs to happen outside!). As you place the substances in the fire, make a wish from the depth of your heart that all the beings who need healing receive these offerings and are satisfied.
You may have to repeat this ritual many times – perhaps at the full and new moons – but over time, it changes something both inside you and in your outer circumstances.
These are just suggestions to spark your own creativity. There are no hard rules – it’s all about following your intuition and opening your heart to feel the pain and then find the understanding and compassion in yourself to offer back all things good.
May we all find peace and live in our fundamental goodness.
Paola,
I think that being aware of the looming presence of authority being a threat is the first step. Once you figure out that it’s coming from your own mind — that’s a big second step.
ef
Hello Eric,
I was curious if you could explain just a bit more about this sentence: “Part of the challenge of doing that is the looming authority presence of parents…who can hang around our emotional bodies like a haunting.”
Please clarify. Is our emotional body how we keep guilt internalized, or something else? What would be ways to address the haunting aspect. I know, therapy. But what about a simple day to day practice?
Thanks to you.
hi lindaGM
i vaguely remember reading about that case with the FDA and the cancer case, was it a decade or two ago? Frightening isn’t it? i often thought that before anyone could force me to undergo the regimen of cut/burn/poison i’d leave the country rather than submit…
cheers to all
Thank you, Eric, especially for the advice to ingest this particular nascent Mercury retrograde gradually.
Wow Eric. That’s where my head was most of yesterday, with early care. It is time to move on from my own experience, but I’ve been wondering how much abuse my kids took growing up. There was a summer when they wanted to stay home alone, my son was only 6 and my daughter was 11. The idea of going to a babysitter was so repulsive, they were willing to do about anything to stay home. They did well I thought, abiding by the rules we established, but it turned out that our neighbor from whom we rented pasture would leave the gate open and the horses would get out. The kids managed to round them up with a bucket of grain. They told us about it a few months ago, and also told us that this same long time neighbor was in the Ku Klux Klan! He was letting our horses out intentionally with intent to harm us or our children. Might be a good week to address it with them again, because my daughter was the one who is still upset – and who knew? The neighbor’s children told our children about the dad’s secret. They are now middle age and have a lot of baggage and drug problems. You never really know what is going on in your own neighborhood. The neighbor died of cancer a short time later, and left his wife and children penniless. My children never stayed with a babysitter again after that summer. I wonder what else happened the previous 11 years. The impact of what you do to one person cannot be measured in one generation.
“…We have been tracking many stories involving the FDA turning into a kind of gestapo…”
Yes indeed. There is a very creepy vibe about the FDA and it was deepened and verified for me by a US documentary called “Cut, Poison, Burn.” In it, the FDA threatened to take the children of a family away if their ONE sick child was not given conventionally ‘approved’ chemotherapy, which was known to kill more often than cure young children. Watching this horror unfold with the family was beyond heartbreaking – I wanted to scream.
The makers of the film are offering it for a sliding scale fee (including free download) if you have the stamina to watch it.
Whatever goes on in the FDA at this juncture in history, is aligned with evil. Bring on the angels, please.
Thank you, Eric. And thank you for this “Part of the challenge of doing that is the looming authority presence of parents and early caregivers, who can hang around our emotional bodies like a haunting. You might discover that you have one night of respite from that, enough time to work through some questions and make up your mind about not being wrong for existing. Consider that you don’t have to face the consequence of what you didn’t do — you just have to deal with the results of what was done to you. There’s a big difference”. Expressed so brilliantly, and it’s what is coming up big time right now. xx