Mercury stations direct: Stop and focus

Today is Tuesday, December 13, 2011. Today Mercury stations direct at about 8:43 pm EST. This means that a significant chunk of its last hours of stormy stationing happen while most Planet Waves readers are awake, working or otherwise trying to get through a day filled with interactions that may or may not go smoothly. Just in case you did not see yesterday’s post or got ahead of yourself and thought Mercury stationed yesterday, the suggestion to PAUSE is still in effect.

For one thing, Mercury is in a somewhat difficult position, Sagittarius being the sign of its so-called detriment. Isabel Hickey says of this placement that it has “keen senses but lacks concentration. Mind doesn’t need sharpening but directing. Apt to miss details because mind is focused on farther off things.” There can be a tendency not to consider how one’s statements may affect others, instead saying what is on one’s mind quite directly.

In other words, today is a great day to be hyper-aware of when your thoughts wander as well as when you’re about to speak — especially if you are feeling emotional (or speaking to someone else who is). Take heart that Mercury stationing in early Sagittarius — rather than mid- or late-Sadge — is definitely to our advantage. This transition could be a little stickier in the middle, where the Great Attractor and some centaurs are hanging out. A station in late Sadge by the Galactic Core would carry some amazing energy, but a Mercury station comes with its own batteries, thank you — no extra juice necessary. The final (or anaretic) degree of a sign can bring issues with spontaneous decision-making, so it’s a blessing Mercury is not there making us prone to that urge more than usual today.

Rather, since we now know this could be a difficult day to stay focused, we can be proactive about focusing more carefully. It’s called using a disadvantage to your advantage. Just do so methodically.

If you celebrate holidays this time of year, keep an eye on your stress level. If you start to see it rise, take a few minutes for some deep breathing. The extra time may save you potential aggravation. Break large tasks into small ones and use a checklist to move through them in order. If you can delegate extra tasks to others, be sure the instructions were received clearly. Ask people to repeat things back to you right then if you have any doubt. The shorter days we’re experiencing in the upper latitudes of the northern hemisphere have the effect of compressing time, making it feel as though we have to rush to beat the darkness. Resist that urge today — but do take a walk around the block at lunch to get some light and air. See if you can translate the outer spaciousness to an inner sense of the same.

Speaking of sunlight and Sagittarius, the Sun and Venus both make aspects to Eris in Aries today. The Sun is making a trine to Eris, which seems to ask about spiritual solutions to identity crisis. Does this rather modern way to go about things work? Or do we just end up with more questions? We seem to be in an era that is instigating long-overdue challenge to religious dogma, yet in several demographics, the pendulum has swung all the way to an anti-spiritual streak.

In Small World Stories, the 2008 annual edition, Eric wrote this about Eris vis-à-vis relationships, but it seems to speak to our culture’s take on individual spirituality, too:

Over the past century, a kind of anarchy has set in.

On the one foot, anarchy is great because it presents opportunities to do things differently, and to invent your way as you go along. On the other, this is very difficult because there is a creativity gap in the average human brain, and when most people are not told exactly what to do, sadly, they do not know what to do, and don’t typically feel creative enough to make it up as they go along.

Sun trine Eris may be showing you this sense of chaos within yourself, but the Sagittarius influence offers a broader view of the situation from a higher vantage point. If you do indeed slow down and focus today, Mercury may help navigate the view once it moves forward.

Meanwhile Venus in Capricorn is making a square to Eris at the same time. The traditional feminine (or feminine side) appears to be challenged by its own shadow: the parts of ‘womaninity’ we have forgotten, rejected and demeaned. As you review what Mercury retrograde and the eclipses showed you about yourself, see if you can begin to map out how you can integrate these aspects of yourself into a unified core – despite what ‘tradition’ may have to say about it. Eris tends to be centaur-like in her teaching methods, as Eric wrote in SWS, “shaking up the known order of reality until it becomes fully conscious and we have the ability to make a decision.”

If these weeks of the Sun and Mercury in Sagittarius have acquainted us with one thing, it is how the centaurs get our attention. Now that they have it, and you’re letting your recent lessons come to consciousness, take today and tomorrow to reorient yourself before you make any dramatic steps. In fact, the Moon is waning, so it may best to wait even a little longer after Mercury’s station. You’ll likely gain more clarification as to what seed you might want to plant at the Capricorn New Moon – just two weeks away.

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