Passing Phases — Mars and Mercury in Mutual Reception

Mercury enters Aries tomorrow. Aries is ruled by Mars. Retrograde Mars is in Virgo. The orthodox ruler of Virgo is Mercury. Two planets in each others’ rulership is a mutual reception. Hours after Mercury’s ingress to Aries, Mars will rise in the east, opposing the setting Sun. It’s a volatile scenario, and in all probability, so is your life. Working with this astrology means being conscious of how to cycle your own volatile potential back towards its own regulation. It’s a matter of adjustment.

Planets adjust their expression in your life according to the quality, element and ruler of the sign they occupy. Aries is of cardinal quality, implying initiative, because the Sun’s entry to a cardinal sign initiates a season. The element of Aries is fire, corresponding to energy.

When you consider that Mercury expresses itself in your life largely through matters of mind, its ingress to the realm of cardinal fire indicates an abrupt activation of mental activity. Directing the increased energy level is where Mercury’s mutual reception with Mars comes in.

Mutual reception means just that, a reciprocal exchange between two planetary archetypes. The outcome of that exchange, which is not always the same, is determined by three things. First, one must consider how empowered each archetype is in the dominion of the other. Next, the angular relationship of the two respective signs must be taken into account. Finally, it is important to look at what both of the mutually receptive planets are doing on their own and whether there is any resonance between their independent activities.

The empowerment of a planet in any given sign is largely determined by an ancient system called essential dignities. Codified in the first century by the Egyptian natural scientist Ptolemy, and further elucidated in the 17th century by William Lilly, the most basic essential dignities are four in number. An object in either rulership or exaltation is considered strong. On the other hand, occupying its detriment (diametrically opposite to rulership) or fall (on the other side of the zodiac from exaltation) contributes to a planet’s perceived debility. Mercury in Aries and Mars in Virgo are essentially in neutral territories, neither ruling nor in detriment, not exalted or in fall. It’s a wash, leaving no basis to distinguish the participants of this particular mutual reception based on essential dignities. That means we have to look at the situation from another angle if we are to find a functional means of exchange.   

The angular relationship between Aries and Virgo is not neutral, it is awkward. While in cardinal fire, Mercury will be considered out of aspect with the mutable earth element that constitutes the current Martian confines. It’s like an undergarment out of place, or a necktie off center. Planets out of aspect do not indicate a crisis, just an adjustment that normally comes in due time of its own accord, a situation not likely to assuage a busy and energized mind. Adjustment, however, can be made through action or acquired in perspective. On that basis, Mercury and Mars are in a position to reciprocate each other. Besides occupying each others’ signs, Mercury and Mars are in different phases of their independent retrograde cycles. The retrograde cycles of both planets will reach a critical point in an alignment with Earth and Sun. For Mars, that critical point will come on Saturday.  

The apparent reverse motion of Mars has been in progress since January 24 of this year as we have gradually been catching up with it. On Saturday we will be caught up and passing between the red planet and Sun, and that will constitute their opposition. We will see it as Mars on one horizon and the Sun on the opposite side of the sky. We will most likely feel it as a culmination of whatever actions we initiated over a year ago when Mars conjoined with the Sun in Aquarius on February 4, 2011. That long culmination will likely express as a release of energy. To direct that release of energy constructively will require an equally energetic mind and that’s how the passing phases of Mars and Mercury can be made to exchange in a reciprocal manner. Guiding the exchange toward a constructive result will require you to be fully conscious and that’s where the Pisces Sun connects with Mercury as well as Mars.

Just as the real Sun is the light of day, the solar archetype is the light of consciousness. Through an aspect of opposition, the archetypal Sun is in a position to be fully aware of the volatile potential Mars has accumulated over nearly 13 months. Through the aegis of its mutual reception, Mercury’s archetype of mind is sufficiently activated so as not to be overwhelmed by intuiting that volatile potential is due for release. That means there is a way for you to direct energy building up inside of you in a responsible manner. You can do it by taking the time to be conscious of it and devoting some thought to directing that energy back into the maintenance of awareness and the support of thinking until this culmination of reciprocal phases can pass. So when you feel like going off, stop for a moment and visualize that expression being cycled back into making you stronger in your awareness and more powerful in your thought. It is not a meaningless exercise. It will work for you if you work for it. Try it and see.

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