{"id":27279,"date":"2010-08-03T06:24:39","date_gmt":"2010-08-03T11:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/?p=27279"},"modified":"2010-08-03T08:48:48","modified_gmt":"2010-08-03T13:48:48","slug":"a-penny-and-your-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/daily-astrology\/a-penny-and-your-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"A Penny and Your Thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Len Wallick<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Mercury will station retrograde on August 20 or 21, depending on your ephemeris or where you live (the difference is a midnight vs noon ephemeris). This past weekend, Mercury entered its echo phase at 5+ degrees Virgo. Also called the “shadow” phase, it indicates a boundary: the point at which Mercury will station direct when its impending retrograde is completed. This is the furthest back it will go. In its retrograde pattern, Mercury crosses the same degrees three times — first direct (like it’s doing now), then retrograde, then and then of course it crosses back over the same degrees again in direct motion.<\/p>\n

The retrogrades come in patterns. This will be the third consecutive Mercury retrograde in an Earth sign. The previous one was in Taurus from April into May of this year; before that one in Capricorn, starting in late December 2009 and extending into January 2010.<\/p>\n

The echo phase means more to some people than others, though clearly there are retrograde effects that begin around this time. Some of that depends on your personal natal chart — but in truth that does not matter. Like the seasons, this is a cycle that can affect anyone.<\/p>\n

Mercury is the ruling planet for the signs Gemini and Virgo. If, for example, you have your Gemini Sun on your natal ascendant squaring a stellium of Moon, Mercury and Venus in Virgo, you probably have already drained your bank account, lost your credit card, had your smart phone hacked, shredded your hard drive and burned up your car battery. For most of us, however, the shadow period is but an intimation — a gradual ramping up of retrograde synchronicity that culminates in the last few days before retrograde station. And there are folks whose lives are like this every day.<\/p>\n

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Those last few days before Mercury stations are commonly referred to as the “storm,” when most of us are most likely to have the type of experience commonly associated with Mercury retrograde — that being the invocation of Murphy’s Law as regards to things associated with communication, transportation, electronics and finances.<\/p>\n

It might help to think of the Mercury retrograde as a hurricane-type experience. First the surf gets gradually higher — that would be like the echo phase. Then the tidal surge, the part that often does the most damage, would be like the storm phase. Then comes the actual hurricane itself with its relentless winds putting us in our place. The middle can actually be a respite before the back end of the storm deluges us.<\/p>\n

Given that this retrograde will take place in Virgo, a mutable Earth sign ruled by Mercury, it is not too early to put the surfboards away and start getting prepared. Given the context, it may do well to begin that preparation by examining our relationship with money. What is that context?<\/p>\n

The big picture of the cardinal T-square has a lot to do with the relationships between individual human beings and the structure of the established order. Money is a time-honored means by which the established order can exert control over and extract energy from production and exchange of material goods within its structure.<\/p>\n

The cornerstone of the cardinal T-square is Pluto in the early degrees of Capricorn. Among other things, that placement has been interpreted as heralding the transformation of social structure on a large scale with consequences that will last for a long, long time.<\/p>\n

Look at the last time Pluto was in Capricorn: the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the discovery of Uranus. Empire out, empire in. Money was a part of all that. As a result of what seemed to be unlimited resources and creative ambition, the currency of the United States quickly gained prominence. As a result of a mismanaging monarchy, followed by social upheaval and then by Napoleon blowing the French wad on war, it took France a century to return to prosperity.<\/p>\n

So, for purposes of not only the impending but also the long term, we should probably start thinking about money relationships of all sorts right now — starting with inside of us. How do we feel about ourselves when we’re broke or in debt? What happens to our mood when we acquire some money unexpectedly? What’s the feeling when we purchase something? Did anything like those feelings exist before human beings invented money?<\/p>\n

Reinforcing the proposed approach is the fact that a mutable Earth sign is concerned with material things and what material thing is more mutable than money? The Sun itself makes ingress to Virgo just a few days after Mercury stations retrograde. Finally on that very day the personal planets Venus and Mars conjoin in Libra, the sign that represents, among other things, the seeking of balance in relationship.<\/p>\n

Examining our material and monetary relationships with an eye towards the long term is indicated not only by Mercury in its echo phase. There is also yesterday’s cardinal point square between retrograde Jupiter and retrograde Pluto. This aspect is still within arc seconds of being exact, although beginning to separate today.<\/p>\n

Pull out the first diagram we asked you to make in yesterday’s Daily Astrology installment. The one with the cross in the circle with the planet names written over the ends of three of the cross extensions. On that diagram you will see Jupiter at the top next to Uranus, both in Aries. Pluto is to the right in Capricorn. The angle that connects them, one-quarter of the cross, is a right angle; 90 degrees. That’s a square aspect.<\/p>\n

A square indicates some sort of tension that requires a resolution. It is usually felt internally although a failure to resolve it can be expressed externally as frenetic behavior. Any difficulty in resolving a square’s tension can usually be traced back to a failure to act. Action is what squares ask us to provide.<\/p>\n

Jupiter tends to be associated with magnification. It is also considered to be a benefic, a bringer of good news. Retrograde will tend to bring out the flip side of a planet’s qualities. With Jupiter in retrograde, the thoughts, ideas and events being magnified may not be such good news. With Pluto also being in retrograde, the awareness required for constructive action may find itself confounded by a sense of mystery and even fear. Also there may be a feeling that there is no choice, that we are swept up in events over which we have no control.<\/p>\n

That’s where working with Mercury today can help us get a grip. We can focus on our own thoughts and feelings with some clarity and detachment. That focus can help to establish a foundation of awareness that can be built upon in the next few weeks. That awareness can prepare us for action when the “all of us together, all at the same time” expression of the cardinal T-square begins to make itself felt through the tension between retrograde Jupiter and retrograde Pluto.<\/p>\n

I want to mention two other related developments in today’s astrology before we wrap up. First, today is the first full day for the asteroid Juno’s placement in Leo. Asteroids are not used by all astrologers. For those who do, the sense of their use is that they are interpreted in a rather straightforward manner.<\/p>\n

Juno, of course, was the spouse of Jupiter in the Roman pantheon, also his sister (they were both the progeny of Saturn). As such, she enjoyed a position of power and influence. Jupiter’s predilections towards philandering, however, were the fly in the ointment. When he was unfaithful she felt her power and position to be threatened. She had very little recourse towards him, so she tended to vent her jealous rages on his extramarital partners and their progeny.<\/p>\n

So, in astrology, the asteroid Juno is interpreted as having to do with the more unpleasant consequences of a rocky relationship. In headstrong Leo, we may expect Juno to be rather uninhibited in its expression, especially today and tomorrow as it occupies the first degree where Mars spent several weeks while in the process of stationing forward last March. This may go against the grain of the imperative to seek balance in relationship as represented by Saturn in Libra, still functionally conjunct Mars.<\/p>\n

One may fairly posit that our modern relationship as individuals to money has some parallels to the relationship of Juno and Jupiter. Money provides some power and influence. Making a purchase makes a change in the material world, something is transferred from another’s possession to ours. If we find ourselves frustrated in our relationship to money, or are jealous of those who have more of it, we find ourselves caught up in the undertow that runs counter to the quest for balance. We may want to consider whether lashing out is in our best interest in the long run. After all, those who have more, have more to lose. This is something to factor in as we practice the proposed Mercury echo protocol.<\/p>\n

Finally, the Moon provides us with some support today. Just past the last quarter (which, as you remember, is a square aspect to the Sun) it occupies the middle degrees of Taurus today. Taurus is a fixed Earth sign. Recall that the middle degrees of the fixed signs are the halfway point between the first degrees of cardinal signs. Therefore the Moon’s placement today gives us the opportunity to find a foot-hold and gain grounding as regards to the cardinal T-square planets. It may be ephemeral, but today is where we always find ourselves and Luna is offering a place to get a solid start in becoming aware and deciding how to act.<\/p>\n

Offered In Service<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Len Wallick Mercury will station retrograde on August 20 or 21, depending on your ephemeris or where you live (the difference is a midnight vs noon ephemeris). This past weekend, Mercury entered its echo phase at 5+ degrees Virgo. Also called the “shadow” phase, it indicates a boundary: the point at which Mercury will … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":537,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27279"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/537"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27279\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}