Mercury entered Aries on April 11 after over two months in Pisces. Mercury is the messenger of the Gods. He distributes information. In ancient times the messenger would transmit news from the powers that be. The messenger was valued for his speed and accurate transmission of the facts in order for the directives of the king, or whoever had the power, to be received and followed. The messenger would use whatever mode of transportation was at its disposal whether horse, bike, foot or boat. Swiftness, accuracy and conciseness are highly valued. Mercury had to be tricky as well in order to stay alive because often he was carrying valuable information that many wanted silenced, so his life was often threatened and death could be staring him in the face at any moment. Danger was lurking at every corner so Mercury is swift to find shortcuts and don disguises that would hide his identity and fool others. Often the message was written, but in days before paper and ink the message was often relayed through speech, so a good memory was highly valued to accurately transmit the information.
The Saturn/Pluto conjunction in January 2020 in tandem with the eclipses set the stage for the next six months to a year in terms of the bigger picture. Conjunctions always represent the beginning of one way of life and the end of an old way of life. Conjunctions represent birth as well as death. Saturn in Capricorn represents the forms and structures of society that have formed our current traditions as we know it. Pluto represents the death, destruction purging and eventual transformation of those traditions and structures. We got a big glimpse of what Pluto would do in Capricorn back in 2008 on his Capricorn ingress when we entered a recession. Now that Saturn in Capricorn has caught up with Pluto we have an intensification of those same issues in an even larger dose in the guise of Covid-19. Saturn crystallizes and manifests what Pluto has already been transmuting. The outer planets, Saturn through Pluto in combination, create the larger scale evolutionary and revolutionary powers that carry major ramifications and create new eras in life on planet earth. The more personal planets, the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter play an important job in triggering dates and playing out the day to day personal details required in dealing with the major themes represented by the outer planets. Here’s where trickster Mercury played such an important part in the spread of this pandemic and the hidden enemy kind of attack. Mercury has played a key role since the beginning of the year in how information of Covid-19 was handed down and deciphered in a tricky way. Planets are in dignity and debility, depending on what sign they are traveling. Mercury is in debility in Pisces. In ancient astrology dignity is all about where a planet has responsibility, strength and power based upon the geometric rulership schematic. In modern astrology, there is more a tendency to make a psychological assumption that the planet has affinity for a certain sign because the planet and sign have similar qualities. Mercury entered its shadow on February 2 and turned retrograde on February 17 in Pisces. This kept us blind and in the dark about how insidious this virus was and how it was incubating, spreading and growing unbeknownst to us at a rapid pace like a hidden enemy we don’t see coming. We foolishly thought it was only on foreign shores. We were blind to the rampant and invisible spread. It was moving about unseen like a fog or a mist that was hiding what was lurking beneath the haze. Only when Mercury entered Aquarius did we realize the national magnitude and it suddenly became much clearer how bad things were on our doorstep. That’s when leaders and the public started to take more serious government, political and global action to deal with social security. We were in the dark essentially for the entire month of February totally blinded and lost at sea floating through an unreal reality. When Mercury entered its second shadow period on March 10, it passed over the same degrees of Pisces from February. It became rapidly clear just how vast the unforeseen rate at which the virus was spreading and how much illness there really was. The veil was starting to life a clearer scope was in view, but because Mercury was still in Pisces, the sign of its debility, we were still getting fishy transmissions and an abundant amount of confusing and conflicting information. The blame game was in full swing as Mercury in Pisces is highly skilled at deflecting responsibility, scapegoating others and speaking with the voice of martyr, victim or saint and sinner. So while we were moving forward as Mercury slowly moved forward there were still contrary reports from so many officials in the government and medical community. We didn’t know who to believe and in some cases there were out and out lies, deceptions and mistruths. There were amazing amounts of snags in transportation matters and it was difficult to know who was in charge and whose directives to follow. With Mercury having entered Aries on April 12th we have speed and clarity on our side to aid in getting more rapid testing, accuracy and honest transparency. Mercury has neither dignity nor debility in Aries. It has a more neutral strength in this sign. Fortunately Aries is a sign that likes to do battle and is known for quick, decisive, forthright and clear action. We now should be getting the news quickly, rapidly and have clearer directives. Transportation snags and misinformation should start to straighten out and at least there will be a clearer road to follow into the future. This is only the beginning and there is so much astrology to discuss for the remainder of 2020 but that’s for several more postings in the near future. The SaturnPluto conjunction in mid January very close to the degree of the lunar eclipse set the stage for a destructive i.e transformative force meant to purge traditions and world structures. The lunar eclipse brings something of the underbelly of society to light. It’s often unclear how to predict the exact form of events but the timing of things is what astrology does well. For instance, we all know that Saturn/Pluto in Capricorn is about death, destruction, transformation and rebuilding of social structures and traditions but predicting that a Coronavirus would be the instrument to effect that change isn’t necessarily so easy.
The outer planets set the stage for major shifts but the transits of the little guys play an important role in the details. Mercury entered its shadow on February 2 and turned retrograde on February 17 in Pisces. This kept us blind and in the dark about how insidious this virus was and how it was incubating, spreading and growing unbeknownst to us at a rapid pace like a hidden enemy we don’t see coming. We foolishly thought it was only on foreign shores. Only when Mercury entered Aquarius did we realize the global magnitude and it suddenly became much clearer how bad things were on our doorstep and that’s when leaders and people started to take more serious government, political and global action to deal with social security. Now that Mercury is entering its second shadow period and going over the same degrees of Pisces from February, we will uncover the unforeseen rate at which the virus is spreading and how much illness there really is. Get ready for more confusion, lies and deception as to what the truth might be in terms of the widespread rate of infection. We may have to wait till Mercury enters Aries on April 12th to get more rapid testing, accuracy and more honest transparency. Remember that science fiction movie THE BLOB from the 1950s starring Steve McQueen? The Blob Represents Saturn/Pluto. This Mercury retrograde has that feeling where the insidiousness and growth of the monster blob is getting bigger and bigger while most everyone in the town is unaware and going about their daily business. Then, as Mercury turns direct, that which was incubating suddenly makes itself known in full blown ferocity and everyone bands together to defeat the horror of the menace that had been breeding in the background. The enemy is destroyed but society has been transformed in some way. We are brought to our knees and humbled. Saturn leaving Capricorn and entering Aquarius is asking us to take responsibility for social interactions and for doing the hard work necessary to help all humanity. Of course if you don’t face your fears they become your limitations. And, if you don’t do the responsible thing like Social (Aquarius) distancing (Saturn) then fear can eventually take over. If things get worse the negative side of Saturn in Aquarius will make you paranoid of other social groups that bring out the worst in wanting to ostracize those groups. Saturn in Aquarius can represent healthy, responsible quarantine or autocratic herding of undesirables similar to concentration camps. Saturn in Aquarius is air travel bans and restrictions. Saturn in Aquarius eventually wants to strengthen social structures but first it makes us aware of their current blocks and limitations. Venus turning retrograde on May 13 has the potential to reverse the social trend of pulling away from others, but if things don’t abate by May 13 then Venus retrograde will further force a social distancing. Gemini is an education and travel sign so let’s see what reverses in those sectors. We really must be very concerned about the future and not be complacent should this virus seem to disappear over the summer. Mars turns retrograde on September 9 in the sign of Aries and that could bring back a contagion quickly, aggressively and rapidly and we must be prepared to do battle. The only way to do that is to have government prepare now in the probable lull of the summer months. If we do that we will be more than ready to fight this enemy within. Saturn in Aquarius is about the government taking responsibility and testing the limits of democracy. We must be cautious when Saturn retrogrades back into Capricorn in July that we don’t return to “business as usual”. That retrograde will present us with an opportunity to correct our wrong, strengthen our infrastructure and will be a major determinant as to how we use the Mars energy to fight. Mercury has stationed direct at 28 degrees of Aquarius. The trickster planet will now be moving forward over the degrees in which he passed on his retrograde and first shadow from February 2 through March 10. This is when the Coronavirus started its uptick and all the news started coming down the pike around this pandemic, particularly here in the USA. Now and through March 30 as she passes back over the degrees we will see just how severe the situation is. Communication and networking will become more clear concerning what strategy to take, but more importantly news will indicate just how serious the situation is and what will be done to contain it. The first shadow and formal retrograde was about learning of the circumstances. The problem came to light and possible solutions were started to be put in place. Now we will see if the solutions will work and what more needs to be done.
Today's Libra Moon is ideal for trying to bring balance to situations and weigh the pros and cons. Tomorrow the Sun sextiles Jupiter, and with that comes opportunity to communicate wisely about global and foreign matters such as this pandemic. There are options and opportunities to learn and gain information from a broad range of folks in order to solve problems. The Moon will quincunx both Neptune and the Pisces Sun so the mood will still be colored by health matters, confusion and paranoia, but a trine to Mercury can help further deduce more logical conclusions and better implement ways to solve problems. On February 12 I posted a brief observation in my blog that Saturn entering Aquarius around the spring equinox will have a strong impact surrounding our freedom. Here's the direct quote, "You'll get a glimpse of what might happen to your Freedom when Saturn enters Aquarius on March 21." Well, I think we're already getting a glimpse of that with the Coronavirus. The transit of Saturn through Aquarius means many things, but because Saturn represents limits, boundaries and restrictions and Aquarius is a sign of Freedom we can see how this is playing out in world events very clearly around this virus. We can learn about the meaning of major transits by just observing the daily news. I'm particularly focusing on this right now because that's what's in the zeitgeist. Saturn will want to contain things and protect because ultimately the job of Saturn is to restrict and make sure that everything is under control, but he often does it by policing, limitation and applying the rule of law. Countries such as Italy are putting up boundaries and limiting travel. All countries are thinking about their borders. On an individual level so many are restricting travel and making important choices of whether or not to remain in the four walls of one's home and when, how and where to move beyond those boundaries when important to do so. We still have our freedom but we have to be more cautious and adult in our choices. Think of the positive side of Saturn as a parent who forces you to do your homework. We all have to take responsibility for how we react. |
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Joseph Addeo is a New York City based consulting astrologer. Categories
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