{"id":70598,"date":"2013-10-01T00:16:39","date_gmt":"2013-10-01T04:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/?p=70598"},"modified":"2013-10-01T00:22:32","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T04:22:32","slug":"sun-square-pluto-mercury-shadow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/astro-daily\/sun-square-pluto-mercury-shadow\/","title":{"rendered":"Sun square Pluto, Mercury shadow"},"content":{"rendered":"

The man who told his story last night about battling cancer, twenty years ago when he was 31 and still feeling indestructible, described his Zen moment of insight as he drove to the public library to research everything he possibly could about his condition:<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo by Amanda Painter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI realized, in that moment, that there is nothing to worry about; that all those things we spend time worrying about do not matter — that we\u2019re not these personae we think we are. We just put on these uniforms for this inning of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to describe asking a psychologist friend if he\u2019d always be able to remember that truth; the friend replied, \u201cNo, you\u2019ll forget. You\u2019ll go back to being your usual self. The trick is to try and remember it just once in a while and be kind to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is something about that anecdote that resonates with today\u2019s square between the Sun and Pluto, as well as Mercury entering shadow phase, which is the initial overtures of its Scorpio retrograde period. <\/p>\n

The Mercury retrograde connection may be the most obvious. Every time Mercury does its retrograde dance, we\u2019re afforded access to layers of inner awareness that are less apparent when our mind (and its planetary symbol) is rushing forward, focused on externals. If you can get past the travel SNAFUS and mixed communications and electronic glitches, Mercury retrogrades can offer profound insights. <\/p>\n

During the shadow phase, we can sometimes get a subtle preview of the material to come — or, at least, a sense of the general landscape. Eric and Len often call it \u2018an echo from the future\u2019.<\/p>\n

The trick is to remember whatever magical \u201cA-ha\u201d you\u2019ve experienced once Mercury stations direct — particularly once it finishes its post-retrograde shadow phase. Once Mercury leaves the section of zodiac it just traveled through three times (twice forward, once backward), the lessons it held can get a little hazy in the review mirror. There\u2019s ground to be made up, and it\u2019s new and exciting and now<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The connection between that man\u2019s story and Sun-Pluto is a little less obvious, but I think it goes something like this: There is an arrogant side to Sun square Pluto, as described by Isabel Hickey; a tendency to be ruthless with our fellow human beings and willful (witness the current game of chicken in the U.S. government). When the Sun squares Pluto, there is a need to \u201cgo deep\u201d (as in, deep within yourself) to regenerate negative attitudes, which result from a resistance to change.<\/p>\n

Resistance to change is usually a fear-based reaction. It\u2019s the fear of the unknown; ultimately, it translates to a fear of that ultimate unknown: death. Any kind of surrender can tap into \u2018the ultimate surrender\u2019 — and Western culture doesn\u2019t do \u2018surrender\u2019 well. It\u2019s obsessed with controlling everything from one\u2019s image on social media to whether the worms can get at one\u2019s body through the casket.<\/p>\n

A square, however, asks us for action. The traditional take on Sun square Pluto is that the Sun is pushing to maintain \u2018self\u2019, while Pluto is asking for surrender and transformation. <\/p>\n

Is it possible to allow your \u2018self\u2019, represented by the Libra Sun, to re-frame the idea of balance or equilibrium to mean something other than \u2018status quo\u2019, and therefore not lock horns with Pluto in what feels like a life-or-death ultimatum? <\/p>\n

If we occupy that still point at the center of the scales, is it possible to maintain a sense of self that is based on something other than \u2018willful resistance to change\u2019 or \u2018fear\u2019? As in, a sense of self that can surrender, because it knows that transformation is not anything to worry about, it\u2019s just another inning in the game?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all easier said than done, of course, and mixed in is a clear imperative to engage with the process. \u2018Surrender\u2019 is not \u2018apathy\u2019. But Mercury entered Scorpio, the sign of sex, death and transformation yesterday. Let\u2019s see what secrets it offers up. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The man who told his story last night about battling cancer, twenty years ago when he was 31 and still feeling indestructible, described his Zen moment of insight as he drove to the public library to research everything he possibly could about his condition: \u201cI realized, in that moment, that there is nothing to worry … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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\/70598"}],"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\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}