“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
~ Ferris Bueller
Take Mercury’s function in the larger pantheon of our planetary archetypes. This tiny planet negotiates the boundaries between the solar self (our natal Sun) and the world. It’s like a messenger, translating the Sun’s raw will into intelligible action. When Mercury is direct, the solar force of life is unimpeded. We’re oriented toward our worldly endeavors with little space for self-reflection. In her book titled Mercury Retrograde, Pythia Peay writes "Mercury retrograde presents us with the golden opportunity to look back over the experiences of the previous three months, and to process and digest our feelings.” Drop in and let yourself feel all the changes happening within you and around our world. Whatever your mind's been chewing on, take to heart the lessons and digest the experience. Much can be completed during this time. With Uranus still squaring Pluto, you may be surprised by what has to be let go. All that matters is what you choose to create with the new found space and available energy.
Since December 21 of last year we’ve seen some of the most explosive astrology I’ve ever studied. From the back-to-back-to-back retrograde transits of Venus, Mercury, Mars and Saturn, mixed in with the uber powerful grand cardinal cross, to a host of other events that served to rattle our cages, we’ve been forced to look at who we are and what we’re doing on this planet (see previous posts) with increasing awareness surrounding the consequences of our actions. On the microcosmic level that translates into each of our unique narratives. On the macrocosmic level there is no shortage of examples; Climate change, corporate corruption, resource consumption, etc.
Mercury retrogrades out of Scorpio and into the constellation Libra, where Mars spent the first eight and a half months of this year teaching us how to assert our will in a balanced way that's in right alignment with the highest of all. With the autumn equinox well underway, it's harvest time. Caveat emptor, the assorted lessons of 2014 could recycle once again if we refuse to let these old patterns die.
With Saturn rounding out two and a half years in Scorpio (complete on December 23, 2014), transformation of our tired old ego structures is essential. While old habits die hard, the intensity of the upcoming eclipses will light a fire under our asses to create a more balanced discipline in all areas of our lives. With a full lunar eclipse (exact at 3:55AM PDT on October 8) and a partial solar eclipse (exact at 2:25PM PDT on October 23) sandwiched between Mercury’s retrograde transit, your old stories, thoughts and fears may tug at your awareness. Remember your true nature and let old identifications burn up in the wildly creative Grand Fire Trine formed by Jupiter, Mars and Uranus.
Back in April and May these masculine planets joined Pluto to form the highly combative grand cardinal cross. Now these heavy hitters are playing harmoniously with one another. In other words, where we once felt beat down by all the resistance, now we embody our strength in resilience. The atmosphere is ripe for extremes in every direction, so beware. If we recognize our self-grasping tendencies and transmute them as they arise, in favor of altruism.
“The only cause of happiness is an altruistic mind. The only cause of suffering is self-grasping.”
~ the venerable Garchen Rinpoche
Pay attention to what comes up for you this month. Bring your awareness to your center as often as you can. Journal your thoughts, ideas and feelings. Wait to share or act on them until Mercury goes direct. If what you wrote/discovered holds true come November, feel free to act on it. In many cases you may just need to exorcise your thoughts or feelings through the written word, without projecting it on to your loved ones and engaging the world in your process.
Let this retrograde take you all the way in and guide you to the balance you seek. Get up close and personal with the cognitive dissonance of this human condition in such a way that you don’t use it to identify your Self with the story of your life. Where this dissonance once validated and perpetuated your story, there’s no better time to let that story die a ritual death (a wonderful time to create a ritual around completing old patterns is on or around the lunar eclipse) and reconcile the resistance and use it as the fuel we take into the winter months.
Whatever you're creating, producing, designing in a good way will be vastly supported by the transits to come in November and December. What we digest this month will open us evermore to the creative shakti of this universe. After all the thoughts and emotions we processed this year, much can be gained by letting the mind rest and dropping into the natural great peace of your heart's imagination. What can you create with all the energy previously spent fixating on your old thought forms and ego identifications...?
"It All Starts Now" ~ Alan Watts
http://cryptik.squarespace.com/home/it-starts-now-alan-watts.html
