Dear Friend and Reader,
Mercury is combined with Mars and Pholus in Sagittarius. It looks to me as though this aspect is about heritage, family legacies for good or for ill: the same interconnectedness we discussed when Arachne slipped into Sagittarius earlier this week, but more focused on the family.
Mercury conjoined with Mars is defined by Isabel Hickey as impulsive, mechanically inclined and possibly aggressive. It might seem like you are a corked bottle that has just been shaken and you are ready to blow, especially with Pholus in there.
Pholus is the centaur in myth who was given a special cask of wine by Dionysus, only to be enjoyed by the centaurs. Astrologers understand this to be a symbol of blood, and since only the family of the centaurs could partake, it is thought of as the lineage, or the power inherent in the genes passed down from generation to generation. When Pholus opened the cask by the prompting of Herakles, the centaurs smelled it from miles away and were whipped into a battle frenzy. They stormed the cave. Many died, Pholus included. Chiron received the wound that would pain him until he laid down his life.
Juan Revilla notes that Pholus is Luciferian in its energy. An image of the outcast at the kitchen table comes to my mind. To embrace the differences and to come closer to understanding who one is in relation to the family one arises from is a struggle each person much undertake in the process of becoming individuals. It is about breaking free, letting loose the wine and transforming.