Mercury is really booking now, travelling about two degrees per day and dominating the astral aspects this week via its contacts with four planets (in sequence Jupiter, Neptune, Mars and Pluto). In Cancer through July 5th, Mercury is cautious in communicating and yet incredibly perceptive in a non-intellectual way. The concept of feeling something or someone out easily fits the description of Mercury in this deep running water sign that is archetypally protective of family and whatever it holds dear. Mercury’s interactions with the other planets this week may correlate to a high degree of changeability in thought processes and the way we perceive things. Anything that opens us to a new way of thinking contributes to the evolutionary process. However, on the earth plane where most don’t contemplate life from a cosmic viewpoint and are generally reactive in nature, the planetary movements could result in volatility. Mercury is now catching up with Mars in Cancer and in orb of a conjunction that will be exact this week, meaning the warrior planet has already or will be making the same aspects as Mercury. While some of us may be open to the opportunity to access the Martian burst of energy that has the potential to pop our perceptions wide open to the cosmic call of the outer planets, others may engage in a ruthless game of Truth or Dare.
Repeating a theme frequently covered in this blog over the last couple of months, on June 27th, Mercury again touches the ongoing inconjunct between Jupiter in Libra and Neptune in Pisces, which are mere minutes apart in their alignment. As the faster moving planets have been aspecting the Jupiter/Neptune planetary pair from positions, first in Gemini, and now in Cancer, they have acted as megaphones for the otherwise inaccessible alignment between the planets of philosophy and spirituality. The archetype of Mercury is focused on how we create the reality we perceive through thoughts, and the reality we mutually create with others through communication. The tense Mercury/Jupiter planetary pair potentially creates a snowball effect to whatever is on the mind so it is important to cultivate a balanced way of evaluating what is happening. The harmonious Mercury/Neptune aspect delights in the fluidity of language to describe what we experience, the more poetic the better, yet could lose sight of simple truths right before our eyes, especially if there is intent by others to obfuscate.
The archetype of Jupiter represents truth-seeking, an adventure in itself these days. In Libra that could translate as the truth of how we relate to each other and whether or not our approach to another has the kind of integrity where neither the individual nor the relevant association of individuals (from partnership to the global village) is compromised. Jupiter in Libra looks for win/win solutions. Neptune in Pisces, a sign ruled by Jupiter before Neptune was discovered, represents a different sort of truth, one that takes into consideration a much larger perspective which is beyond the rule set of life on earth. The archetype of Neptune looks at where we are on the collective evolutionary path, which encompasses not only material reality, but more importantly a spiritual one where words and deeds are a reflection of our current state of being as developed not just in the spiraling cycles of life, but those over lifetimes. The evolutionary intention of Neptune, its ultimate truth of existence, is to be wholly in a state of love. Wing-footed Mercury providing a vibrational access point to these philosophical and spiritual perspectives may be brief but with focused attention could yield profound results.
June 28th through July 2nd is when the rhetoric surrounding truth and daring really heats up. Mercury and Mars come to their exact conjunction in Cancer, then successively oppose Pluto in Capricorn. The archetype of Mars represents our drive and approach to fulfilling our desires, from the sexual to the spiritual and everything in between. The sign determines the flavor of those desires and in Cancer Mars’ warrior nature is put in the patriotic service of home and family. Many countries, for example, especially the family-oriented U.S. with its Sun and other planets in Cancer, are being forced to re-define their identities to be more inclusive and pluralistic and this is causing severe fear-based resistance. The U.S. based fundamentalist movement narrowly defines “family” to the point where total familiarity (i.e. white Christian) creates the illusion of security.
With Mercury and Mars united in Cancer, verbal communication is generally quite robust, but also combative if the mind-set propelling the discussion is coming from a fierce commitment to whatever it believes. Interestingly, both Mercury and Mars are “out of bounds” at the time of their conjunction (i.e. beyond the furthest reach of the Sun’s declination), and theoretically responding to a higher authority that is beyond the Saturn-governed rule-set that is mostly limited to material constructs. For those who subscribe to an earth bound reality, Mercury/Mars out of bounds can appear as “wild card” behavior or rash speech that inflicts irreparable cuts. However, with this duo attuned to the higher call of the outer planets to become conscious of the nature of the true Self, this becomes an opportune moment to “break the mold” of limited thinking incapable of experiencing the all-inclusive family of human beings.
We would do well to take a good look at our thought and behavior patterns in need of a reboot, because when Mercury and Mars oppose Pluto, with its all or nothing nature, the correlating effects on the unconscious mind can be highly disruptive at the very least. These polarized planetary vibrations correlate to battle lines being drawn and words that push buttons with the accuracy of a deadly weapon. It will be interesting to see how the senate’s health care reform bill, which is due for a vote this week, fares under these aspects. It surely won’t be pretty in the current divide and conquer political climate. For those of us playing a cosmic level game of Truth or Dare, we could better serve the evolutionary intent by asking questions such as “Why am I so fiercely attached to a way of thinking, however familiar, that makes me and/or others around me feel so bad?” or “What inner battle must I wage in order for my spirit to be free of the tyranny of the ego mind?” The dares could be: “Look at a challenging colleague or family member straight in the eye and tell them something from the depths of your heart,” or simply “Love yourself.” If we can experience, or at least remember what it is like to be in a state of love, that conscious act will push the pause button on the destructive thought patterns otherwise churning up manufactured trouble unabated.
Here’s the data (using Pacific Time and planetary positions rounded to the nearest whole degree, unless otherwise noted):
June 27 – Mercury square Jupiter at 14° Cancer/Libra at 11:21 a.m.
June 27 – Mercury trine Neptune at 14° Cancer/Pisces at 5:23 p.m.
June 28 – Mercury conjunct Mars at 16° Cancer at 12:51 p.m.
June 29 – Mercury opposite Pluto at 18° Cancer/Capricorn at 5:34 p.m.
July 2 – Mars opposite Pluto at 18° Cancer/Capricorn at 4:58 a.m.
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