In.Stability - Embodied Astrology for Mercury Retrograde & the Libra New Moon (October 16, 2020)
Photo credit: Josh Marshall
Alternative title: Everything is Temporary.
A.)
We are all aware. That things are changing. Fast. (1)
How tempting it is though, to pretend otherwise, to tell ourselves that we can hold on to what we already know.
Isn’t it funny, this holding on? So often, we grip upon stagnancy, discomfort, boredom, pain. Pleading, begging. Don’t take it away! What will I do without this familiar?
Not that change is always thrilling.
No.
And, not that all of us have really had the kind of stability that we can rest into and trust for a long time.
Plenty of folks know change as a constant – tiring and traumatic.
But, this too, can be familiar and hard to imagine otherwise, or leave behind.
The unknown is an awesome and terrifying place.
And, in these moments of transition, once the familiar has been departed from, it really is a free fall, at least for some amount of time, we’re caught between this way and that, but don’t really belong anywhere. (2)
How many of us have consciously chosen any of it?
We’re all just caught up. In these random birth patterns. Carrying around our bags of bone, blood, flesh, and hormones. None of us remember asking for it. The only choice we have is in the variants of how we play along. There’s no promise of reward. No rest. No quiet. No assurance. (3)
Being obsessive is understandable. Are your muscles gripped and aching too?
What will happen when ……………………………………………… ?
B.)
In the sky there’s a map that’s always moving. (4)
Destinations are what you make of them. But, if you relax and stop trying to find “the way” a path is always there, inviting. (5)
Notable happenings of light and dark – when the luminaries meet – mark the passing of time and measuring of process. (6)
Today is a day like this. (7)
A day with a night that’s dark. But you’ll have to leave your illumination if you want to try to see within it. (8)
The map is showing a large triangle. (9)
The most stable of shapes. The most harmonious.
It’s amusing then, to note that one point of this stable, harmonious shape is held by the omen of change, (10) while another point is held by a trio of moving muses: challenge, death & overwhelm. (11) The third point is held with love, but love in this particular configuration isn’t the kind of love that just accepts and cuddles you in softness. This love is high critique and exacting nuance. It points out all the ways you’re getting in your own way. Its language is actually healing, but to hear that underneath its harsh tone is a discipline. (12)
To be a disciple is to agree to the drills. To practice. With patience.It’s not about just rushing out and being great or knowing wtf to do. (13)
It’s a slow and steady humbling.
It’s a careful tending to subtle, numinous beauty
which can only be seen once the debris that clouds its source has been cleared away. (14)
The clearing out will take its time. It's not a simple or straightforward kind of thing. (15)
The first task is to remain. With the mess, with the blockage. With its mass and depth. (16)
From there you might remember how some of this all came to be.
Trace a pathway through your memories, and don’t forget, that the body’s memory is often clearer and sharper than the mind’s.
So be like a spider in her web. (17) Sensitive to vibration.
When you catch upon a juicy morsel, wrap it up and hold it close. Turn the insides into liquid. Turn what’s solid into fluid.
You won’t be able to move on until you know what you’re moving on from. (18)
Like Carl said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious. It will direct your life and you will call it fate.” (19, 20)
——
Endnotes
1. 2020 is a death year that began with the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in late Capricorn and will culminate with the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in early Aquarius. As we move into 2021, astrological symbolism points to massive societal changes and structural shifts. At this point, most of us probably see the writing on the wall, so to speak, but we don’t yet know which way “things” will go. The US (the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases), is set to pull out of the Paris Agreement on November 4, 2020 per Donald Trump’s agenda. If this happens, it will severely undercut collective/global efforts to reduce emissions and transition to renewable energy sources, locking us (everyone) into a future of guaranteed rapid environmental destruction and increasing social inequities. And, of course, there’s a whole lot of other stuff that’s rapidly intensifying elsewhere in the world too, most of which is interconnected with the environment and the ways that humans use it, fight over it, and pretend like we own it. And… of course, there are all the things in our personal lives which are changing and intensifying and also not unconnected from these larger world events.
2. The transition from Capricorn to Aquarius describes a transition from what has been built and steady for a long time into something new. Capricorn energy prefers a dependable outcome and likes to repeat what has already “worked” in the past. Aquarius sees new solutions and innovates. Their energies are both determined and potentially quite harsh. In their transitioning dynamic there can be remarkable clashes of power between the old and the new. We will experience this in our inner lives and personal relationships as well as in the larger world – especially institutional structures and governance.
3. Neptune and Pluto, two outer planets, that describe transpersonal, collective energy, have been moving in a sextile pattern since the 1950’s. This aspect will reach its final perfection around 2040. My take on this significance is that it shows us the true end of an era. Unconscious forces of death, which reside in humanity’s urges for power and manifestation (life) overwhelm us until they are made conscious. At the point of full consciousness (as we get into the 2030’s) we will either be consumed (total or near-total extinction) or will experience a profound shift in our collective consciousness which allows humankind to live in greater balance with the earth’s forces and our own potentiality.
4. Astronomy
5. Astrology
6. The lunar cycle and the Moon’s phases
7. October 16, the Moon is new at 23º Libra (the Sun and Moon both come together at this degree)
8. The new moon is square to Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter. The energetic of this square is tense and overwhelming and it’s hard to feel optimistic about much in any kind of lasting way with this influence. Almost anything that has pleasant potential also carries the weight of responsibility, pressure, failure, endings or is otherwise dampened by such sensations in other areas of life.
9. A Grand Trine
10. Uranus at 9º Taurus
11. Saturn at 25º Capricorn, Pluto at 22º Capricorn, Jupiter at 19º Capricorn
12. Venus at 16º Virgo
13. The Sun and Moon (new moon) oppose Mars (retrograde) at 20º Aries
14. Venus rules Libra (the sign of the new moon) and therefore is the “ruler” of this new moon’s energetic. At the new moon, Venus is in a strong applying opposition with Neptune in Pisces. One symbol for the Virgo/Pisces axis is of the disciple or devotee in relationship with divine energy. Chop wood, carry water. To serve Spirit is to see that Spirit is here in all things. Virgo’s lessons are to cleanse, purify, and organize. It understands that ritual, simplicity, cleanliness, and humility are keys to moving beyond the obscuration of ego and into direct connection with the divine. Both Venus and Neptune are vibrations of love. Venus describes human-level love and attraction that arises and exists between material forms. Neptune describes transcendent love and the powerful magnetism of the universe that connects everything within it. In their opposition, it may feel that love is obscured or blocked. There is incredible tension between the spiritual force of love and the material/practical/logistical reality of relationships between our bodies (which are, in fact, individuated and separate) and their needs. We long for connection with one another that resonates entirely, but feel stuck and trapped by details, time, complaints, neurosis. How do we move through the blockages that our material lives erect between our hearts and their wisdom? Presence, faith, and surrendering of our personal details and petty complaints are required.
15. Mercury stationed retrograde this past week on October 13 at 11º Scorpio. It stations direct at 25º Libra on November 3. A Mercury retrograde period of time is usually a time when our mental energy is more internal and reflective. Thoughts and communications may get confused if we are trying to move forward or be productive or “achieve” things. This is a time when we are supported to remember and revisit the past and work with issues that need resolution or repair. These experiences can be both extremely literal (like something breaking and needing to fix it) or very much a metaphor for relationships, interactions, and personal energy and mood. It’s useful also to consider Mercury’s “shadow”. This is when Mercury is moving in direct motion before and after its retrograde, but over the same degree range. The shadow of this retrograde began on September 23 and will end on November 20.
16. Scorpio’s energy of “fixed water” describes deep emotional content that is old, complex, and firmly established. Mercury retrograde in Scorpio describes a deep dive into emotional issues: entanglements, insecurities, desires that may feel forbidden/taboo, fears/phobias. Money, sex, death, trauma, and power are some keywords for Scorpio’s domain.
17. Scorpio Season is coming and Mercury’s retrograde and shadow last for almost its entirety. Work with Scorpio’s energy with Holland Andrews and me in a Scorpio Season attunement ritual practice. I’ll offer exploration into astrology and Holland will guide a somatic/vocal practice that brings us into our intuition and empowerment to cut cords and access our magic. Live/online event is September 18 11AM PT. The recording will be available through November 21.
18. Mercury’s retrograde from Scorpio into Libra describes the need to bring issues/sensations that are deep and possibly quite subconscious into a place of more visibility and objective awareness. Over the next several weeks, we are supported to review the contracts/agreements we make with others and with ourselves, especially concerning relationships and issues of behavior. We want to look for the roots of our behaviors before we attempt to modify them. We may need to review commitments and rework arrangements if we are feeling stuck, dishonest, or only partially present with ourselves or others. This is an excellent opportunity for depth work, therapy, personal reflection, and open, honest, transparent sharing. The potential of all this “work” is quite profound. As we head into the end of the year, there is abundant energy for shift and transformation, and a lot of possibility for expansion and freedom. But we need to prepare ourselves by clearing out some space in our emotional holding tanks and cutting cords with energies that don’t serve our future goals and evolution.
19. Carl Jung
20. At the new moon, Mercury (retrograde) is opposite Uranus. Due the shadow of Mercury’s cycle, this opposition occurs three times over the retrograde period: October 7 and 19 and November 17. This opposition suggests the possibility of quite radically awakening to some of our unconsciousness motivations and behaviors and recognizing and shifting emotional blockages and outdated patterns. Uranus wants awakening and freedom. If you bring these priorities into your inner/personal/relational work, you will support its energy. If you try to hold on tight because you’re scared of change, you will not support its energy and you will risk inviting more chaos arising in yourself or others. If/when chaos arises try to see where there are potentials for liberation and move towards the opportunity of freedom.
I’ve been a little overwhelmed by the podcast in recent months and didn’t make a Libra Season general podcast, nor am I planning on releasing a general podcast for Scorpio Season. Your Scorpio Season audio horoscopes and the extended month-ahead content for subscribers will be published next week though! And, in the meantime, here’s a rundown of some of the more notable astrology from now through the end of the year. Follow me @embodiedastrology for regular astro updates :)
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