Mercury moved on from its rulership in Gemini to the sign Cancer earlier today. By this time on Monday, Jupiter will be on the threshold of Gemini, concluding a year in Taurus. In the case of both Mercury and Jupiter, the new residence will be more humble than the previous set of accommodations, dialing their archetypal expressions down a notch. That modulation may prove to be a good thing, at least in the near future, corresponding to a period of reconciliation and reciprocation that leads in turn to more expansive possibilities.
Mercury’s shift to cardinal waters has curative potential after a long fortnight of continuous cosmic elaboration on the theme of eclipses. While Mercury’s mental paradigm may not be entirely soluble in Cancer’s fluid energy signature, the combination can be symbolically emulsified to express as emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence combines a capability for analysis with a capacity for feeling, each supporting and informing the other. While not always easy to practice, it is a skill appreciated by those who benefit from its application. Now is a good time to cultivate that skill and astrology is providing some instruction. Mercury, leaving one of its two home signs (Virgo being the other), symbolically demonstrates how intellect need not disappear when it is not dominant, any more than a light needs to be bright in order to see. When diffused, both physical illumination and analytical intelligence are easier to take and often just as functional. Cancer’s slice of the zodiac exemplifies elemental qualities for the medium of dispersal.