Mercury-Chiron and Sun-QB1: use it, and cross the threshold

Now that the building tension of last week’s Mercury station is behind us, as well as that of yesterday’s Aquarius Full Moon (heralded by the birth of the U.K.’s newest royal), we have some open waters this week, astrologically speaking. It’s not that nothing is going on, but rather that we have a few days of mostly subtler astrology — perfect for noticing what surfaces now that Mercury is in direct motion.

Mercury’s direct; time to get your rusty ol’ bus out of the tree (or sea) and pointed in the right direction. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Mercury is now traveling for the third time the same degrees of Cancer that it has just traveled twice already, once before in direct motion and then while retrograde. Whatever insights have come up for you over the last three to six weeks, this is the phase of time when things should be feeling clearer. This is when you can put your understanding into action.

Helping with this is Mercury’s trine to Chiron in Pisces. Trines are all about flow. Mercury is about your mind, thoughts and communication (and intuition when in Cancer). Chiron serves to get our attention about matters that are ripe for healing and transformation, and it rewards our documentation of this process.

In conversation with Eric he said, “The Mercury-Chiron trine is about accessing and putting to use what is available; using opportunities consciously and not assuming they will always be there. If something is available that you need or want, this is the time to use it.”

Now that Mercury is moving forward again, there’s another aspect urging our awareness outward after so much inward contemplation. The Sun, which represents Self and ‘ego-consciousness’, is making a square to the still-unnamed planet 1992 QB1. You can read more about 1992 QB1 here, but one of its basic themes is that of crossing a threshold from one phase of existence to another, as well as those who assist others with such crossings.

Squares represent inner tension that resolves when we take action. Sun in Leo square 1992 QB1 in Taurus seems to be telling us to relax our relationship to physicality. Life isn’t about what you look like or what people think of your body. It’s about what comes from within. It’s about relating to others on the level of what matters to them, and truly investing some energy into doing so.

Our senses and physical appetites serve a purpose. But rather than being a slave to feeding them, can you reorient your sense of purpose toward serving the heart and genuinely caring for those around you? A certain amount of navel-gazing is necessary to “know thyself,” and Mercury’s retrogrades serve that purpose. But the Sun square 1992 QB1 is telling us it’s time to shift gears and cross a threshold — you’ll just have to look up out of your navel so as not to trip over it.

6 thoughts on “Mercury-Chiron and Sun-QB1: use it, and cross the threshold”

  1. Well, bless my natal Venus (0 AQ)! Be, you have laid a yellow-brick road for the trip to 2020 fer sure.
    Amanda, thank you for making a compelling argument for action now, sans urgency; Goddess style.

  2. thanks, bkoehler — i had been eyeing the venus-pallas sextile and their respective aspects to 1992 QB1, but ran out of road.

    the strong grip of physicality — especially as emphasized by the south node in taurus — is a tricky one to navigate. there is so much familiarity there; it’s such a common place to seek comfort, value, worth, identity — even when we’re not talking about sex. add sex to the picture, and it can get downright seductive, even addictive for some. i think those are some seriously difficult karmic shackles to shake off, or simply loosen, if that’s the position one is in. i think it can almost feel “wrong” or “in-human” to step away from it, since so much of our reaction to/attraction to physicality is *biologically* driven.

    it’s all a curious thing i’ll continue to ponder, listening for the tug of intuition even when it seems counter-intuitive.

  3. Thanks Amanda for the heads up.

    Yes, trust and letting go, is feeling of what’s coming to me. Trust and not control (mars opposite Pluto aspect in my 4th is making old patters up of this feeling real) in knowing if I act, all will get done. Eventually trusting through this cycle, all work out as divinely planned!

  4. Well said Amanda “relax our relationship to physicality” really requires some conscious thought doesn’t it? I’m trying to picture how that would affect a country (stationing direct Mercury conjunct the US Sibly Sun) even as I type this. Maybe not being so hung up on skin color? Yes, I LIKE that interpretation; Mercury trine Chiron + Sun square QB1.

    What charmed me most about this Full Moon just past (other than the new prince’s arrival and the fact that 0 Aquarius is where the 2020 Saturn-Jupiter conjunction takes place) is the sextile between Pallas-Athene at 0+ Cancer and Venus at 0+ Virgo. These goddesses form a yod to the Moon at 0+ Aquarius putting Moon in the driver’s seat for all that feminine energy. Now because she was opposite the Sun at the moment that makes it a Boomerang aspect (I guess that means what goes around comes around), thus this energy is not only on a subliminal level (below the threshold) but is pushing to become a conscious (Sun) thing. Enter QB1 in a square to the Full Moon and Sun to provide a threshold for just such an endeavor. Sort of forcing (square) the two modes of operation (conscious and unconscious) to rise above their differences (opposition) and meet in the middle.

    There’s more support for that concept in the Full Moon picture; transiting Psyche at 13+ Scorpio is conjunct the north node and together they form a grand trine with Chiron and Mercury adding an ease to the thinking (+ feeling) process. So now we not only have a threshold to cross over, we have a path to follow!

    But wait, there’s more. . Ceres at 13+ Leo is in a trine with Uranus (12+ Aries and now retro) and in an opposition to Juno (14+ Aquarius and retro) and these two goddesses, Ceres and Juno, are square the two nodes of the Moon (+ Psyche at the NN) making it paramount to pick a direction; forward (NN) or backward (SN). That south node is also in Taurus and pretty hung up on physicality and how something (or someone) looks. It’s hard to unlock a fixed sign’s grip, especially where values are concerned.

    Oh but the Universe seems to have even that problem covered. Not only does Ceres in Leo trine Uranus in Aries, she is trine Pandora at 13+ Sagittarius and retrograde. A grand fire trine full of surprises! What mischief could Uranus and Pandora come up with while retrograding, that Ceres (goddess of grain and militant mother) and/or Juno (goddess of fair treatment) could utilize in making the choice to take the road of opportunity (NN) rather than the road to nowhere (SN)? Hmmm.

    That might be left to something from the past which still holds a powerful influence; a rare transit of the (then) retrograde Venus (love, value) over the face of the Sun (consciousness) which happened at 15+ Gemini as they opposed the Great Attractor (14+ Sagittarius). Transiting Pandora has just crossed over the GA and will return to it again when she moves direct. Phil Sedgwick believes the GA “knows something you have to know” and draws you into it’s path. He says the GA “captures interest and draws attention” so just think what Miss Pandora could have ready to release when she makes contact with it again. Hope? Could the irresistible attraction be Hope or some dreadful affliction?

    So the past Venus-occult-Sun that is still processing an awakening of our consciousness regarding love and values, now must face something the world seems powerlessly drawn to. She finds in this Full Moon a sextile with Ceres that supports the love of children and respect for the Earth, and with a trine to Juno, she finds the strength to demand equality for everyone, even the dis-enfranchised. These goddesses offer this same support to transiting Pandora.

    As slow moving QB1 sits at 0+ Taurus for a while, she (via this full moon) provides her threshold opportunity open to (the lasting effects of) the Venus-occult-Sun in a semi-square aspect. She does so for Pandora too in a sesquiquadrate (family of square, etc.) once she returns to the GA. Seek a higher level of expression (through aspects to Ceres and Juno) in order to find common ground. It is an intricate pattern that most will not be aware of, but free will is a gift for all of us. The road to 2020 and the evolution of our species might just start with relaxing our relationship with physicality and “investing some energy” into “using opportunities consciously.” Think with your heart.
    be

  5. Good advice, Amanda dear. And I am sensing that the theme of balance between the inner world and the outer one is resonating with this full moon as well. The paradox is I find that I have more to give when I am focused on what is within.

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