The T-Up

By Len Wallick

In view of the impending Libra equinox, it would do well to restate our objective for the week: the Sun and Moon’s components imply synchronicity, reiterating years into days, and months into hours. It is therefore important to break the event down into manageable pieces and not lose sight of the basics to avoid being overwhelmed. An historical perspective would be a good place to start.

Back on June 26 we had a strikingly similar event. In that case the lunar opposition followed the season change by about five days. Nevertheless, the Sun was still close enough to the cusp of Cancer so that the the Full Moon in Capricorn could be considered a full-on cardinal point event. Sol was conjunct Mercury, Luna was conjoined with Pluto and the opposing pairs were simultaneously square to Jupiter and Uranus in Aries and Saturn in late Virgo. Thus the cardinal T-Square became a cardinal grand cross in spades. And, as you recall, it was not just any old Full Moon along the Cancer-Capricorn axis, it was a lunar eclipse.

Some astrologers considered it the be-all, end-all, rootin’ tootin’ climax of the T-square. The response of yours truly was, not so fast, we have a ways to go. In all humility, events seem to have born that out. The “all of us together/all at the same time” quality of the experience continued to ramp up. The sense of personal responsibility for our collective future has become more focused. Nevertheless, June 26 was a significant event and this week would be an appropriate time to look back on it to remember what worked for us and what didn’t. That way we will know what to repeat and what to avoid.

Remember Mercury? Ah, it is a measure of how fast things are coming at us (or flying by us) to think that such a powerful retrograde should be off the astrological front pages already. Let us not forget. Especially because Old Fleet Foot is still in the echo (or shadow) phase, re-tracing the same part of Virgo for the third time. One of the most powerful elements of the retrograde in Virgo was the fact that it brought Mercury into a tense relationship with some extraordinary objects and points in the sign of Sagittarius. For today that means a third encounter with the centaur planets Hylonome and Pholus.

Centaur planets are relatively new to astrology. However, the combination of the mythology and the astronomy have contributed to an emerging definition. That being an association with what has been called shadow material: the residue of unresolved trauma from the past, carried forward and integrated into the perception of present-day people, places and situations. Having Mercury in tension with a centaur planet three times in four weeks can be stressful. It can also be a rare opportunity be proactive and actually do something about the tension other than just wait it out. Make that two in one day and it might help to sort it out just a bit first.

The first aspect is with Hylonome, the second with Pholus. They bookend Mercury’s day. Given that they were both discovered in the 1990’s, your reporter is more inclined to use the discovery chart rather than the namesake mythology. One is compelled to mention, however, that the centaurs after whom these two bodies were named were exceptions to the rule. Hylonome was a female and Pholus was an intellectual.

As with many minor planets, both were in the neighborhood of opposing the Sun when discovered because, logically enough, that’s when it’s easiest for us to see them. But it is the placement of Mercury itself that provides the most interesting contrast. The discovery chart of Hylonome features a tight, to-the-degree conjunction of Mercury and the Moon, whereas the natal chart for Pholus finds Mercury conjoined with Mars.

Traveling between the bookends for the third time today, this phase of Mercury’s journey implies going back to the origin of a polarity; one between receptive and creative aspects of being an exception to the rule. All of us have been on the outside looking in at one time or the other. It has left us feeling that we can’t be ourselves without being left out. On the other hand it may have caused us to stand out in a rewarding way.

Taking place a day before an exceptional opposition of the luminaries, this segue could provide perspective. In order to do so however, we will need to pay attention and be conscious of how our perception evolves from the beginning of the day to the end, and form a parallax from that. It’s deep background, but the effort could be rewarded by a feeling akin to finding a missing piece you had given up on locating. That piece could very well be a form of action that can get a long-riding monkey off your back once and for all.

Speaking of deep background, Venus and Mars have been together in Scorpio for just one week and already that ambivalent association is making itself felt. Here and there it has been popping up. You know it when you see it but you are not sure how. Like a familiar face on a stranger. Like a deeper connection that you could not have accepted previously. Keep an eye out. Collect the impressions as they come in. Start adding things up. These two planets will be a crucial part of the cardinal point transition phase. But right now, just trust your instincts; you’ll be glad you did.

And instinct is what Luna joining the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction is all about. Today is the Moon’s first full day in Pisces so it really begins now and continues through Thursday. It has been far too many centuries for this potent triple conjunction to be a part of any conscious, functional memory, so intuition is what we are left with. There is something about this that transcends any limit or boundary. It’s also something like jumping off a boat in the middle of the ocean in the dark. That implied quality of the experience is very much like the astrologically-implied quality of our future: determined by our intent, subject to our creativity, the province of faith, the terror of freedom.

Ready or not, a new season is upon us, literally and figuratively. It seems like more than a year and indeed it is if one considers this to be an equinox compounded — when the all of us together becomes the all of us equally together. When the everything at once expands to anything at once. This is when the conduct of relationships becomes more complex just as we have become aware of how crucial they are. Our perception will require the balance of discretion, and our broad reactions will need to evolve into subtle responses. We may feel as though we have reached the bridge we cannot cross. We will find that indeed we can, if we do it together.

Offered In Service,