{"id":44396,"date":"2011-08-22T00:01:05","date_gmt":"2011-08-22T04:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/?p=44396"},"modified":"2011-08-22T21:15:42","modified_gmt":"2011-08-23T01:15:42","slug":"mercury-stations-direct-astrology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/astro-daily\/mercury-stations-direct-astrology\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing the Ordinary, All at Once"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chairs near the outdoor dining area, Dance New England dance camp. Photo by Eric.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today is Monday, Aug. 22, 2011<\/a><\/strong>. A few hours before this post went up at midnight Eastern time, Venus and the Moon changed signs, both jumping onto the mutable cross \u2014 Venus ingressed Virgo and the Moon entered Gemini. These changes remind us that the Sun is about to enter Virgo in a few days. There is a plenty happening this week, a diversity of factors that otherwise might be ordinary but when taken together present a situation that is worth navigating carefully.<\/p>\n

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A mentally-driven, analytical Moon-Venus square colors the day’s energy, which I would translate to: put your needs into words, and don’t be too picky about having them met. Be happy to meet responsive people who are willing to empathize with you. Notice when someone is not responsive. Moon-Venus squares are famous for their challenges with receiving, and for pushing away what’s offered to us. Therefore, receive and be grateful; or guide others gently in the art of doing so, if it’s something you’re already good at.<\/p>\n

We might be tempted to play the ‘feelings versus thoughts’ game — claiming that one thing is more important, or more valid or comprises the proper approach to intuition, but this aspect puts them in the same approximate place. Ideas can lead you deeper, if you feel them for what they are. It’s not always necessary to emote, which is different than to feel (which means to sensate inwardly). One particular aspect that’s been brewing for weeks and peaks this week cautions against doing too much outward emoting. That would be the Mars-Saturn square, which builds through most of the week. Mars in Cancer meets Saturn in Libra at a right angle, which could feel like the clash of the cultures (or a conflict of needs) in relationship. That said, empathy does not mean giving away your power. You may feel a kind of emotional stress that suggests you really need to be free of something. Once again, be willing to empathize as best you can, including with yourself, and remember what you feel as this aspect builds to a peak Thursday.<\/p>\n

This could be an angry aspect, but it doesn’t need to be. Squares present events that remind us to take action. Especially with Mars involved, they remind us to honor our desires despite what limitations we may perceive.<\/p>\n

Other aspects this week present a sequence of meaningful, interesting transitions. We’re now at the very end of the Sun’s cycle through Leo. As the Sun moves toward its transition to Virgo Tuesday morning, you might feel that cycle draw to a close. The Sun makes aspects in its last moments in the prior sign \u2014 there’s an opposition to the hypothetical point Transpluto, and an opposition to Neptune.<\/p>\n

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With this combination, I suggest you be careful about judging yourself in any way (especially with that Mars-Saturn aspect in the mix). Be careful in particular imagining that others (especially a group of any kind) are judging you, a thought form that you might be inclined to project outward, given the combination of factors in the environment. Even if personal growth is a virtue, judgment (real or imagined) would not count as such. This is the kind of energy that reminds me of a performer who does something on stage, decides it was terrible and that everyone hated it, but it turns out to have been a great show. The self-judgment piece of this comes from Sun-Transpluto in Leo, and the group\/delusional\/projection part of the idea comes from Sun opposite Neptune in Aquarius. There are other interpretations of this arrangement; that’s the one that came out.<\/p>\n

This is also the week that Mercury stations direct in Leo, which happens Friday, Aug. 26. For the next few days Mercury will be extending itself out to the end of the retrograde phase, seeming to stop and proceed forward in Leo. These last few days of the retrograde can be tense; they don’t usually bode well for accessing rational thought or making calm decisions. Do your best. Try to get things off of your calendar to the extent possible and put whatever plans that you may have for making important commitments on hold. For how long? Until you get the information you need, that missing bit that you may not have noticed was missing (that’s why we have astrology \u2014 to remind us to look for things we might not have seen otherwise). Work ahead when possible; use idle moments to get work done.<\/p>\n

For all these reasons, this is a week to be a little extra vigilant in your business and personal affairs. It’s not that anyone is trying to cheat you or take advantage of you; rather, so much is changing all at once that you may lose track of things. Do a quick systems check at least once a day to make sure you remember what you need to do, or attend to. If you must sign something, that is, if you cannot declare that “Mercury is stationing, I’ll get back to you next week,” or make an excuse, then read things carefully and a little skeptically. Get the opinion of someone you trust, who specializes in what you’re inquiring about.<\/p>\n

While all of this is happening, the Moon is moving toward the end of its current cycle. We passed last quarter on Sunday and the New Moon in Virgo is at 11:04 pm on Sunday, Aug. 28. I know that many people use the New Moon to set intentions. I’ve found that these last few days of the lunar cycle are particularly useful for getting clear in those designs, releasing your old plans and leaving yourself flexible for whatever new commitments you want to make. It’s nice that this New Moon happens early in the sign with Mercury direct, and in a conjunction to a young, vibrant Venus, who is now in one of her unofficial homes, Virgo \u2014 the sign of the goddess, not as a symbolic offering (as in Taurus) but in her actual form, holding the space of the Earth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is Monday, Aug. 22, 2011. A few hours before this post went up at midnight Eastern time, Venus and the Moon changed signs, both jumping onto the mutable cross \u2014 Venus ingressed Virgo and the Moon entered Gemini. These changes remind us that the Sun is about to enter Virgo in a few days. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":""},"categories":[1734],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44396"}],"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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44396\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}