The Cosmic Story: Mercury in Aquarius Retrograde, 2022 and Cancer/Capricorn Full Moon 2022

 

Mercury retrograde

Friday January 14^th, Mercury in Aquarius goes retrograde for the first time in 2022, retracing his steps as he moves from the evening sky to the morning sky until he moves forward again on February 3^rd.

As we know, when Mercury goes retrograde, it’s time to re-think, re-consider, re-organize, re-do and re-orient ourselves. Since Mercury is between Earth and the Sun, it doesn’t get very far away from the Sun – hence all the retrogrades we experience during the year.

Because Mercury moves back and forth more than any other planet in our solar system, the ancient Greeks named this planet after their god, Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods. (Our planets use the Roman name for these gods, hence Mercury.) Hermes was the only god who had this power to move through the 3 realms of Heaven, Earth and the Underworld. During this Mercury retrograde, he will touch on all three realms. 

 

When Mercury in Aquarius goes retrograde, he squares Uranus in Taurus, which is about to turn direct on January 18^th. When planets station (change direction) they are more powerful. Mercury is also just a few degrees from Saturn in Aquarius, so he picks up the whole Saturn/Uranus vibe from 2021. The question still remains: Are we going to revert back to ‘the old’ or move ahead with ‘the new’ vision?

With Mercury’s quick-wittedness and Uranus’ ability to break down the old and help us think outside the box of 3D reality, we can handle the unexpected change of plans or sudden exciting possibility that comes our way. We’ll have a wild, free mind to find new innovations and ideas. We also have to be aware that when Uranus changes direction, especially in the earth sign of Taurus, it can bring earth changes such as volcanic eruptions or earthquakes.

Mercury in Aquarius gives you an independent, progressive mind. It wants to see the truth in things, and can be stubborn about what it believes because Aquarius is a fixed air sign. While brilliant, it can get stuck in its thinking, so we’re lucky that Mercury is retrograding so we can open up those beliefs and take another look.

Personally, think about what you want to say before you say it, because you might be feeling rebellious and your words could cause damage. Don’t forget, words have power. In the Christian Bible, Christ himself is The Word and the Word creates the world.

This is a great aspect for a wake-up call (have you seen Don’t Look Up?) – our minds need to encompass the tremendous change that has to take place in the social order. Capitalism, at least the way we’ve let it develop, is harmful to our health and the well-being of Earth. It’s time to simplify our lives, because we can no longer live in a ‘throw-away’ society. Even without the dangers of climate change, our garbage is burying us in waste on the land and on the sea.

So Mercury starts his retrograde with this dilemma on his mind. Then he backtracks into earthy Capricorn and meets up with Pluto, the Lord of the Underworld, before he turns back to direct motion. Pluto certainly symbolizes power and in Capricorn, he asks us where we locate that power – in outer authority or inside ourselves? It feels like Mercury is checking to see if we own our authority – do we have sovereignty over ourselves? Sovereignty doesn’t mean doing anything we want to the detriment of others. It means can we live by our values and take responsibility for our choices.

And since Pluto and Mercury meet up at the degree of America’s Pluto return (the first Pluto return found in America’s 4^th of July, 1776 chart), we Americans need to consider if we are being good citizens and taking responsibility for the kind of country and world we want to live in. Are we going to descend into an aristocracy of the wealthy and technological control or are we going to finally create a ‘more perfect union’ that elevates all of us together? The Pluto return asks us to transform our vision of freedom and incarnate it in our lives. It’s time for America to GROW UP!

It reminds me of President Kennedy’s advice: Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. [John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address] It is time for all of us to contribute to a new vision for our troubled world.

If we claim our sovereignty, will we reclaim our place in Mother Earth’s biosphere and finally serve our function – to be good stewards of the Earth? Instead of getting caught up in the media and political craziness, perhaps we could spend more time out in nature, praising the Spirit who created us and our beautiful world? If we can let gratitude and joy replace our fear of Covid and the unknown future, anything is possible.

 

Alchemical Hermes

When Mercury is retrograde, he becomes Hermes Psychopompous, the Guide who can illuminate the dark underworld of our unconscious. One of the ways we use this energy is to bring our night dreams into the light of day and engage with them. It’s time to look at our personal shadows as well as our collective ones. But don’t forget, the Shadow is 99% gold! The twisted part of the shadow can be released and its energy made available for life.

So for the next three weeks, Mercury will be our Psychopomp, our Guide to the Underworld. As such, he is also the magical healer who welds the Caduceus, the staff of healing.

With this Mercury retrograde delivering messages between the Lord of the Heavens and the Lord of the Underworld, stay tuned for important messages!

So Who is Hermes/Mercury?

While astrology understands that Mercury symbolizes the Mind, the myths associated with this messenger god also regarded him as a Trickster – he was called Hermes the Thief! The god of travelers and merchants and thieves! These are also attributes of our mind, especially the left-brain logical mind, which can rationalize any behavior. Carl Jung saw the planet Mercury as symbolizing the mind as dual and amoral, leading to either a positive or negative attitude. Our minds can trick us into believing lots of outrageous stuff if we don’t also use Hermes’ other gift – discernment.

Clever Mercury helps us stay young by sparking our curiosity and having a flexible attitude towards life, helping us meet life’s challenges by analyzing where we’re stuck and adapting our behavior to new circumstances. He also bestows on us a good sense of humor, which we all need in these tumultuous times. 

 

 

Mercury as the Messenger of the Gods could travel through all three realms – the Heavens, Earth and the Underworld. As I’ve said, this is especially true during this Mercury retrograde, where Mercury moves from the heavenly realm of Aquarius back into the earthy sign of Capricorn, until he meets up with Pluto, the Lord of the Underworld.

While there are many stories of Hermes bearing messages to gods and mortals alike, there is one story that exemplifies this crafty character. It is the story of his birth – how he steals his older brother’s cows, tricks him and then creates the most beautiful gift for him. There’s certainly indications of Mercury retrograde in this story as well.

 

I hope you’ll tune into my YouTube channel, The Cosmic Storyteller for my new series: Grandma Cat’s Bedtime Stories for the Soul. I’ll be posting this story of the mischievous god-ling on Friday. So tune in for some mythic storytelling.

The Cancer/Capricorn Full Moon January 17, 2022

 

Cancer Full Moon

A quick look at the Cancer Full Moon coming up next Monday shows us that the Cancer Moon faces the Capricorn Sun conjunct Pluto! This Full Moon is about power. Once again, consider where you give over your power to the state or to another person. This Full Moon is on that Pluto degree I was talking about earlier. It’s a lead up to when the Pluto return is exact on February 20, 2022.

This Cancer Full Moon shows us that we need to nurture ourselves, our family and friends, our community and our world. Cancer is the sign of the Mother, who will protect and defend her children with her life. Since Cancer is a water sign and deeply emotional and creative, emotions might run high. 

 

 Cancer Full Moon 2022

Neptune in Pisces supports this Full Moon, helping us connect to our higher wisdom and to the sure knowledge that Love is the answer to all our questions. This year, with Jupiter joining Neptune in Pisces (they join up in April), if we open our hearts and our imaginations to the spiritual light within us, we’ll always find the answers we need.

With Mars in Sagittarius on the Galactic Center (of our Milky Way), we need to stand for the Truth – not our petty, personal truths but the Cosmic Truth. Which says, Prepare yourself for big change! We incarnated for this, so I know we can do it.

Along with Uranus turning direct on January 18^th, the Lunar Nodes move from the signs of Gemini/Sagittarius to Taurus/Scorpio. The next 18 months will see big changes in how we deal with the Earth and climate change as well as finances as the Taurus North Node connects with Uranus. It’s time to release the secrets and pain of the past so we can create a better future.

May Hermes the Psychopomp guide our steps for the next three weeks and help us discover our heart’s desire.

May the Love of the Goddess and the God be ever in your hearts. Merry Meet, Merry Part and Merry Meet again!

Cathy

The Cosmic Storyteller: Mercury retrograde Dances with the Outer Planets

 

The Cosmic Storyteller:

Mercury retrogrades as Outer Planets Go Direct

  Autumn Equinox: Balance & Release

Fall arrived here in Wickford in a mix of cloudy and sunny weather, but today the clear sky, hot sun and cool breezes made for a perfect September day in Rhode Island. We are blessed to live here at the ocean’s edge. We stand on the borderlands between earth and ocean, between known and unknown. 

That's also true for this time we live in.  We are all living on the borderlands, looking into a mysterious and unknown future.  In reality, life is always uncertain like that, but we Americans have gotten complacent about our well-being, quietly accepting a world on the brink of disaster, instead of embracing much needed change.  Change is the only constant of life.  The world is evolving, whether we want it to or not.  Unfortunately, it's really de-volving.  Earth's biosphere is unhealthy.  It's unraveling each time a species goes extinct from human pollution and over-population.  I just read that 23 more species went extinct this week.

What kind of crisis will wake us up?  I know that if we are brave enough, and strong enough, and wise enough, to consciously evolve with the times, we could create a different kind of world.   

The questions I always ask when discussing modern society is, "What culture poisons its own people and food?"  "What kind of people are we to care so little for our children's well-being that we're not willing to sacrifice our comforts for a better life for them?" 

These are just some questions we could ask ourselves for this important Mercury retrograde period.       

  Ma'at's Scales

The Sun moves into Libra, the sign of the Scales, at the Autumn Equinox. A day when the light and the dark are balanced. It only happens two times a year – at the two Equinoxes, Spring and Autumn. It brings the light/dark back into balance for a moment before it heads back toward imbalance.

That’s what Autumn Equinox embodies – the need to re-balance after the exuberance of Summer’s light and heat (our Southern brethren will be emerging from the dark and cold and embracing new life and heat.). Since we are part of Earth’s biosphere, we too are heading into the cold and dark time of year, a time to withdraw into ourselves and dream of next year’s life. This Equinox is the time to take stock of our lives – asking “what have we learned and where are we headed?”

The Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is celebrated around Autumn Equinox. It is a day to look within and see who you’ve been and what you've done for the past year. To look at your shadow and bring it into the light. It is a time to see, acknowledge and then let go of what no longer serves your life. Because, this night also determines what the next year will bring. As you acknowledge and know your gifts and faults, you have to forgive yourself, make amends when needed and pledge to remember and change. And grow!

This is a night of choice for pagans as well. We sing at the Equinoxes:

Onward we go round the Spiral,

Touching Darkness, touching Light.

Twice each turn we rest in balance.

Make choices on this night.

Make choices on this night.

This is a time to make adjustments within ourselves. It is an adjustment that needs to be made each year as summer passes into fall, in either hemisphere. In our pagan rituals, we ask, “What have you harvested this year? What are you releasing this year? Have you gathered your seeds for the future?”

The wheel of life turns ever onward.

To everything (turn, turn, turn).

There is a season (turn, turn, turn).

And a time for every purpose under Heaven.

(Pete Seeger)

In this time of cultural breakdown and change, the best thing we can do is to return to our roots – to the rhythms of Mother Earth. When there’s trauma, we get whacked out of rhythm with ourselves. So we need to reestablish that rhythmic re-patterning that the seasons, dancing, music and drumming give us. Once we re-establish our own rhythm, we can bring more balance and harmony to those around us. 

Mother Earth’s seasons ground us and can lead us back to center. (Uranus in Taurus is connecting us electrically to Mother Earth.) Every day She helps us understand the different tempos of Life, and grounds us in ‘reality’ at the same time as She takes us into a different reality – the reality of her living Earth.

In Chinese medicine, this is the season of the lungs, skin and intestines, those organs that help us release toxins, and those things that no longer serve us. Just as the trees lose their leaves in the Fall, so do we release what no longer nourishes us, allowing us to make room for new life.

We don’t have to let fear keep us from this next part of our journey into the Dark. For the seeds we hold in the dark will be the ones that blossom next year. Make choices on this night!

"Fear holds you still when you need to move,

and moves you when you need to be still.

Fear makes you silent when you need to be loud,

and loud when you need silence.

Fear closes your throat when you need to breathe.

Fear weakens your hand and blinds your eyes.

FEAR is a danger. Know your fear. Face your fear. Practice."

Elizabeth Vaughan, Warsworn

Maybe you’re wondering what this has to do with Mercury retrograde. Well, we’re here. Mercury is the Messenger god, the one who can travel through all realms of life. If Mercury represents the Mind, then it tells us the Mind can travel all over the cosmos and into the underworld. It doesn’t just stay in 3D reality.

 

Mercury retrogrades are all about purifying our perceptions. We do this by shifting our attention and energy within. If we let our minds race ahead of our hearts, we run into trouble. Mercury goes retrograde so often because it orbits so close to the Sun. From Earth’s point of view, it looks like it goes backwards at these times. Symbolically, we need to take heed. Our society has us rushing around with too much on our plates. Our consciousness can only hold so much before it needs to backtrack and rethink, release, reorganize, redo, and/or remember things. 

The Sabian symbol for Mercury going retrograde at 26* Libra is:  An Eagle and a large white Dove change into each other.   What happens when Love is our will and our will is to do the work of Love?

 

Hermeticism states: As Above, So Below. As Within, So Without. The within and without are the same. If we live in outer turmoil, look for the inner turmoil and tame it. Mercury/Hermes is the Mind and our mind focuses our energy. Where we put our attention matters. Do you see why it’s so important to use this time to tame the mind and let it re-discover silence? When the Mind is silent, the heart can be heard. And then we know what to do.  Then the Eagle will turn into the Dove.

This year, all three Mercury retrogrades are in AIR signs – the signs of communication, learning, connection, teaching, ideas, relationships and inspiration. It means we need to re-think how we live. In Aquarius, Mercury connected us to envisioning our future with our group mind. In Gemini, Mercury helped us re-examine old beliefs so we could open our minds to new ideas. In Libra, Mercury will ask us to incorporate new ideas about justice, balance and fairness between people, in private relationships and in society.

While Mercury moves back through Libra from September 26^th - 27^th to October 18^th, it will square Pluto in Capricorn twice: once on October 1^st before Pluto goes direct on October 6^th and again on November 2^nd when Pluto is direct. This indicates a deep course correction for some of us. Pluto deepens the Mind (Mercury) – whether with deep thoughts or by taking us deep within our own souls, since Mercury is the only god who can travel between realms. Either way, Pluto is definitely a call to the Underworld.

Thankfully, Venus, the ruler of Libra, is in Scorpio, the sign of Pluto’s Underworld, so if we do the work now, she will be there to help us. Help us connect with our deepest wounds, our deepest sorrows and our deepest desires.

 

 

Mercury went retrograde on September 26^th - 27^th at 26* Libra opposite the dwarf planet Eris in Aries. Eris reminds Mercury that we must listen to our hearts if we don’t want discord in our lives. She reminds the Mind that it can stand up for the heart’s wisdom.

Next, Mercury will trine Jupiter in Aquarius on October 3^rd and again on October 31st – November 1^st, after Jupiter turns direct on October 17^th – 18^th. Mercury and Jupiter energies make a powerful combination, for Jupiter opens the Mind to encompass Spirit, community and possibilities. Jupiter moving forward again can open us to outer abundance, good fortune and growth, and can also help us find meaning in our lives. So on Mercury’s third trine to Jupiter on Samhain/ Halloween, you might try to use your Mind to open yourself to your ancestor spirits. Remember, Mercury can travel to the Underworld. They are there to help and heal us if we let them. At least spend some time honoring them.

Finally Mercury doesn’t get back to exactly trine Saturn at 7* Aquarius but it’s close enough at 11* Libra when it turns direct. This aspect will give your mind strength, focus and discipline. Keep what works and let go of what doesn’t.

Pluto in Capricorn going direct will be heading to next year’s Pluto return in America’s 4^th of July birth chart. We are due for a revolution. We can make it be a peaceful revolution of ideas and expansive freedoms if we each stand up for peace, justice and fairness. If we learn to listen to those we don’t agree with, instead of getting snippy about it. Listen and learn.

Individually, Pluto going direct will show us how much of the old patriarchal order we’ve let go of in our lives. The rules live within us. Break the old rules and make new ones.

Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius can now continue what they began with the new cycle of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius that started December 21, 2020. The future belongs to new ideas and new possibilities. We cannot go back to some fake idyllic time -=- although hearing kids out playing in the neighborhood on warm summer nights would be delightful.

Individually, Jupiter and Saturn’s new cycle in Aquarius indicates that the wave of the future is community oriented. Whether we call ourselves tribes or families, like-minded and like-hearted people will build community together. Coming to a town near you soon!

Finally, Mercury retrograde will form inconjuncts to Neptune in Pisces on October 5^th and to Uranus in Taurus on October 11^th – 12^th. With the inconjunct to Neptune, watch out for communication confusion or misunderstandings with others. With Uranus, since both Taurus and Libra are ruled by Venus, the needed adjustment between these two planets might just be to slow down and ground in all the wonderful ideas you’re having. Uranus stimulates the Mind to cosmic proportions, so once again, ground and center before you rush into anything too wild.

With all the interaction with the outer planets, this Mercury retrograde has a lot to teach us about connecting to these big energies. Try to go slow so you can integrate the lessons. This is about showing us how we’re connecting to the collective Mind. Do you have something to share? Now’s the time to do it.

This important Mercury retrograde can be a time for you to expand your vision of your life.  Why are you here if not to take a stand on what is happening in our world.   There is so much work to be done.  Perhaps Mercury will help you find how you can engage in the world.

The New Moon in Libra occurs on October 6^th at 14* Libra, just hours before Pluto turns direct at 25* Capricorn. Mars and Mercury are close to this New Moon, so we might feel like we have to do something, speak out about something or mediate something. It will also inconjunct Uranus in Taurus, so watch out for sudden surprises that you’ll have to make adjustments for.

Find out where Libra is in your chart and you’ll know what areas of life will be effected by the Mercury retrograde. In my chart, it’s all happening in my 5^th house of play, children, creativity and fun. I’m re-writing an old screenplay into a book and it is fun and creative. What are you doing?

Whatever is happening in your world, don’t forget you can always go out into Nature and let Mother Earth ground and center you. The future is not fixed! Let your Mind rest in silence and find your truth.

Happy Equinox,

Cathy

 

 

Fall Song

Another year gone, leaving everywhere
its rich spiced residues: vines, leaves,

the uneaten fruits crumbling damply
in the shadows, unmattering back

from the particular island
of this summer, this NOW, that now is nowhere

except underfoot, moldering
in that black subterranean castle

of unobservable mysteries -- roots and sealed seeds
and the wanderings of water. This

I try to remember when time's measure
painfully chafes, for instance when autumn

flares out at the last, boisterous and like us longing
to stay -- how everything lives, shifting

from one bright vision to another, forever
in these momentary pastures.

~ Mary Oliver ~

(American Primitive)