Mercury dips into watery Pisces at 9:29 am EST tomorrow to refresh your mind. It’s a ‘dip’ because Mercury’s progress through the zodiac will appear to reverse at 3+ Pisces on Feb. 6 — the retrograde station.
Apparent reverse motion will take Mercury back to airy Aquarius on Feb. 12 for the remainder of its retrograde, then a return to direct motion, and finally a resumption of customary speed before entering Pisces a second time on St Patrick’s Day (March 17).
Mercury’s first foray into Pisces will be a refresher for several reasons. First, taking you back is what Mercury retrogrades do, both symbolically (on the zodiac) and in synchronicity with your life.
As Eric quoted Molly Hall in last week’s subscriber edition: “… people and ideas return, for integration, resolution, and more,” during Mercury retrogrades. A tendency for things to return can be put to good use if you are expecting it. Thanks to astrology, instead of being taken aback, you take advantage of what might amount to second or third chances.
Another way you may find refreshment through Mercury’s model of all things mental is how the watery nature of Pisces contrasts with the airy ways of Aquarius. If you have been trying to think or talk your way through seemingly intractable situations without any success since Mercury entered Aquarius back on Jan. 11, the next 12 days might provide some relief.
In order to avail yourself of the relief implied by Mercury’s dip into Pisces, you will need to go with the flow of Pisces’ mutability, as well as its sensitive, watery nature. Exclude nobody. Preclude nothing. Abandon the stricture of stubbornness. Favor an open mind, an open heart and compassion. Remember when you were last able to to achieve creativity with coherency, and find your way back.
You may not have to go so very far back to refresh your creative capabilities, or to revive your capacity for co-existence. Mercury’s impending dip through mutable water implicitly takes you back to its immediately previous ingress into Pisces almost exactly one year ago.
Back on Feb. 5, 2013, Mercury initiated a two-month traversal of Pisces. In doing so, Mercury also actuated a seldom-seen year when all three of its retrogrades were entirely within the three water signs — Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio. Even though you may not yet grasp how, the infrequent experience of such a year almost certainly left you changed.
Given how water both nourishes and connects all beings, the nature of change wrought through last year’s Mercury retrogrades is almost certainly more positive than otherwise. But that was then, and this is now.
Since Mercury left the elemental water of Scorpio behind Dec. 5, it has thoroughly toured the other three elements. Following the fire of Sagittarius was the earth of Capricorn, and now airy Aquarius. Given the amount of information you have to sift through every day, memories of water’s manifestation in your mind may now be dim less than two months hence. You are due some refreshment.
After getting all fired up, digging in, and fixating on the figurative, you are most likely ready. You are probably more than ready for how Mercury’s dip into Pisces will synchronize with a chance to refresh last year’s experience.
It’s time to integrate the immediate past into what you are now. It’s appropriate to resolve issues from 2013 and move on to be, and do, more. So go with the flow for the next 12 days. Welcome people and ideas as they return to your life. Think ‘open’. Focus on the possible. Say ‘yes’. It will be refreshing.
Offered In Service
Len is available for astrology readings. You can contact him at lenwallick [at] gmail [dot] com.
Have you tried the Planet Waves premium membership? Sign up for a six-month membership and receive weekly and monthly horoscopes, plus more.
Chief Niwots Son, Strawberry, Daniel, Diva Carla, be, Patty, Hazel 1, Carrie, Lizzy, Alex, Mia, jinspace, and Lunesoleil: It was not my intention to be offline for a couple days. Apologies for that, and thank you so much for the contributions to conversation and mutual enlightenment!
The psychic experience to live with mercury in conjunction Neptune, visions? maybe even flashes? I write an article on mercury Neptune, a moment I had the impression of being in channeling, a mystical experience
good week to you Len and con the Moon cycle 🙂
Carrie, he should ask for a meeting with the principal to discuss performance. No-one wants to be around people with ego issues, or people who constantly have a negative viewpoint. Since we don’t know him, we don’t know if he’s rubbing all the other teachers the wrong way with remarks about test scores, but something is definitely off. I’m in favor of cultivating a little humor and humility. He could even consider asking the students for feedback, although that might be risky. Everyone I have ever worked around has turned to putty from being treated with simple kindness, and as I understand it, kindness is in short supply in your part of the country.
Thank you jinspace.
Len – thank you for the reminder about last year’s watery Mercury retrogrades. Thinking back, I see now how each of them propelled me forward. 2013 was filled with endless changes, which is never easy, but during those three retrogrades I just felt lighter about the transitions each presented me with (they were all heavy duty) – far lighter than during most of the time in between, without a doubt. The flow was gentle, not turbulent, I got a lot accomplished, and managed some major personal growth. How nice to look back and see that. Thank you.
Be – We who are about to be left behind are the ones who are most uncomfortable facing death, probably because it’s just so hard to say goodbye. Some training would be helpful, wouldn’t it. I’ve lost too many people and pets I love dearly and in recent years at an astonishing pace, and I haven’t always been brave about it. But I have learned – from so much experience – that when you love a dying person, even if you’re not able to say all the things you’d like to, they are sensitive enough to know it all and they won’t hold you accountable. You didn’t fail your mother. And you won’t fail your friend. I send you strength and love. You will all be fine.
“T H I S I S
W A T E R”
“The capital T Truth is about life BEFORE death.
It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over
“This is water.”
“This is water.”
This is Water speech by David Foster Wallace to Kenyon College 2005 graduating class.
Water makes up approximately 73% of the human body. It is the only substance on earth that exists in three forms: liquid, solid and vapor and it is the most common substance on earth. Where did it come from? Perhaps Earth is the only planet in the Universe that contains water. Perhaps not. Water has memory. It is soft and bends yet no one can conquer it. It provides the connectivity to all other people on the planet and to the earth itself.
This exhibition focuses on water as medium and as subject matter. It illustrates the fact that like water in our daily lives, the countless ways it manifests are determined by the individual artist, their awareness of self and how they relate to their environment. Some works included in the exhibition, such as those of Doug Trump, allow the viewer to swim inside them while others represent a conceptional use of the word or situation involving the word such as Antonietta Grassi. The mysterious flow of ideas ebbs and flows and permeates all that it comes in contact with, finding its own level. Just like water.
————————————————————————————————
The above is part of the press release written for an exhibition I curated in September called, “This is Water.” This Mercury Retrograde has brought back some quite amazing things from this past autumn and illustrates your article today, Len.
Going with the flow is definitely the way to go!
Mia
Oops, Daniel! Faux pas, methinks.. 😛
Hey Carrie,
Okay, don’t hate me. But I want to try something with the story you wrote there and see if you find it helpful. Because, y’know, I love you.
Here goes:
Thanks Len. On Feb 6th, Dave will be driving to Tucson, a journey for some training he is looking forward to. I think this is important to him as he is eager to expand his knowledge base, and I am supportive of his efforts. He does have some encounters with authority figures at his current job that is causing him to question how he can be affective and productive, but he’s a strong guy and I’m sure he will come to the answers he is looking for. Often “authority” has a way of making people fact check their integrity, making it more solid. I think that’s what’s happening for him.
We both seem to share a similar experience but I’m confident that things always work out and that Dave will have the support needed to pull through any challenges that should potentially arise. While his current amazing test scores may not be recognized with some people, others are noticing and they are currently moving into a place where he will be able to connect with them and move forward in ways that are amazing and expansive. He knows this and we’re watching it all unfold with a lovely appreciation.
All of this is wonderful for Dave, and I relax into just knowing that he is in good hands. In this way, I too am able to focus on things that are important to me and this helps me rest in body and mind, and my health responds accordingly. In fact, I have been feeling a resurgence of well being and am gradually coming to my centre. This is an important opportunity for growth and things are always working themselves out into better, more harmonious, more abundant and supportive ways, and we are moving well with all the changes that are allowing even more opportunities to arise with incredible ease.
Lizzy, you nailed it. 🙂
Oops! Good things (nice slip!).
Ps The biggest lesson I learned, Carrie, was that if I concentrated on lack, that’s what I would always get – when I started to consciously make lists of all the god things that were already in my life – that’s when a slow but radical shift took place. Hope you don’t mind my sharing…. xx
Carrie – no time to write much, but just want to share with you how I got through losing my job last year. You have to first of all realize that till now you’ve always made it through, and will continue to do so, then you should be as practical and proactive as possible, sit down with your husband and see how you can work through it – and lastly but most important – open up to your fear of financial loss – its a karmic, generational thing you’re probably carrying, as I was – open up to the fear and at the same time make a conscious list of all rhe abundance (physical, practical, spiritual) that you already have in your life).
Len, thank you for this wonderful piece!
Love to all.
Thanks Len. On Feb 6th, Dave will be driving to Tucson, a long drive for some training. Of course I worry about him. His principal (he is a teacher) is micromanaging him to death and making negative comments about him all the time now. She has him so flustered that he messed up today when she came in to observe him. If employers want excellence in their employees, threatening them and constantly micromamaging and picking on them in front of the other employees isn’t the way to do it.
This has been going on to both of us (when I was working I dealt with it too) ever since we became working adults. Last school he worked at his test scores were the highest and the most improvement in the school; yet they didn’t want him back so they didn’t offer him a teaching contract. Does that make any sense? This school seemed to like him last year so they rehired him this year but now it seems the principal dislikes him and he has NO idea why.
I have been sick for 2 weeks with some kind of on and off stomach bug so this latest threat is something I have no energy reserves for. Will this fear of losing our income ever go away? Hard t trust the universe when this keeps happening every year or two.
So what was that about Mercury going Rx again; on the very day he has to drive 5 or 6 hours to Tucson for training? I just want to cry. Please, universe, no more stress. Until I am physically well enough; then I can manage it.
I’ve been feeling “no” mostly the past couple of days. Just “NO”. Am I doing this right? My mind says “no”. Will I ever get the hang of this? “No”. Did I EVER do that right? “No”. Is there any point to trying? “No”. It’s all been a big NO to me, in my mind the past two days or so. I know it’s not “real”, it’s something bubbling up that’s been churned loose by changes in my psyche, but it’s still powerful and it hits kind of hard. So if the next few days are a break, if they let me be free of that for a while, if I can float without having that weigh me down for a while, then I welcome that. Thanks for letting me know that it could be possible.
Good luck Be. I’m so thankful for all you do here.
Thanks Len. On Feb 6th I will be sitting with my friend Chris while his wife is keeping her doctor’s appointment. I will be in his home as Mercury is stationing retrograde at 3+ Pisces. Chris’ natal Sun is at 1+ Pisces and transiting Neptune is at 4+ Pisces. It appears the stage is set. The transiting north node at 1+ Scorpio is reaching the end of it’s tenure of that sign, just as Chris is reaching the end of his life. This will probably be the last time I will see him alive.
What I will be recalling at that time (as I am now) is how I failed to be the person I wanted to be as my mother was dying 10 years ago; someone who could face with her the transition she was going through. I was in too much denial to be supportive in an emotional way for her, only able to (attempt to) comfort her physically.
Since then I have had 3 pets die and each time that happened I gained a little more strength and relinquished a little more denial regarding what the dying process entails. This time with Chris will be another opportunity – a second chance – to be supportive, honest if you will, if, for example, he were to ask the kinds of questions my mom asked; am I dying?
The transiting astrology to my natal astrology supports this possibility, after all the transiting Sun, Mercury, Neptune and Chiron are in my 12th house, the trans. nodes and Ceres square my natal Pluto, trans. Jupiter (often prominent in death charts) is conjunct my Sun and trans. Chiron is trine it. I hope I am ready for Mercury’s dip into Pisces and can be a supportive (in all ways) friend. I will be remembering your words from today’s offering and be strengthened by them.
be
“Exclude nobody. Preclude nothing. Abandon the stricture of stubbornness. Favor an open mind, an open heart and compassion.”
Thank you, Len. Enjoy the dip!
“Maybe there is another area you can revisit that is in readiness for a refresher?” Oh my god, DivaCarla, I love you.
Daniel, thank you as well. There is indeed a great deal of potential unfolding I’ve long closed myself off from.
Hugs to you both!!
Strawberry, I am with Daniel on this one. Your instincts are solid to remain aloof and closed while you ground into this change, and save yourself the drama and energy of dealing with other’s process (you don’t have to help them heal through their reaction to your decision). So water flowing underground for that one. Maybe there is another area you can revisit that is in readiness for a refresher?
That sounds incredible Strawberry. Don’t be too hard on yourself for not feeling open. It will come back in time, and most likely with a lot more freedom and grace. There is expansion happening and moving you into new territory. Inherent in that speed is the sensation for a need for grounding. It feels like you are moving with the flow of your aspirations. I have an Oracle deck with one of the cards being “Lotus Flower”. This card is about the inevitability of unfolding. The lotus has its roots in the deep dark mud, will rise through this to peak above the water and reach into the light and to the sun. Be kind and loving to yourself and rest a lot. This will create a space of peace and refreshment for you.
Keep smiling! 🙂
Interesting & challenging ideas, Len. My life changed radically about Jan 11, a change that was desperately needed. But in the intervening weeks, one thing I haven’t managed to experience a good deal of is openness. It’s hard for me to acknowledge the fear that if I allow myself to be open to all sides of this situation, the choice I made, which took every bit of strength I could summon, will be argued away from my grasp & I’ll have to retract what feels to me like a step in the very best of directions.
And so I harden my ideas in a very “fixed air” kind of way. But, I do trust that if this step is indeed taking me along on my dharmic path, no amount of argument will change that. So I think I can take this advice, and on the chance that there is something I missed in the chaos of my life’s revolution, I will try to open to Mercury’s shift in perspective so I can find it.
I’m very grateful for the fact that it will spend its first days in Pisces–last year taught me that the Universe makes much more sense to me when Mercury is in water.
Right you are Len, a dip in the Water will be most welcome after the mental friction of sticky (fixed air) Aquarius. Plus for me early Pisces is home to Chiron, and I am ready for a conference between these two, and a refresher on deep healing, especially in the realm of beliefs and communications. This applies within and in my connections with others, and an opportunity to look at how I relate to other folks through various vehicles of communications, and the nature of emotional communication.
Oh, and while in Pisces Mercury will get to wave hello to my natal Pluto across the way in Virgo. Recent events in my life point to a need to go deeper into issues around power and shadow, and to ruminate about for hidden traces of toxicity that Chiron can help heal.
Thank you as always for bringing to light, on the day of the New Moon, this interesting Mercurial cycling.