The heat of last week’s Capricorn Full Moon aligned with a powerful Mars/Pluto/Jupiter T-square is somewhat of an opening salvo for continued planetary intensity culminating with “the Great American Eclipse” in August. The G20 summit of the largest industrialized economies of the world ended this past weekend amidst days of violent and destructive mass protests in Hamburg, Germany. After all participating countries but the U.S. reaffirmed their commitments to the Paris climate accord and the U.S. insisted on separate “America only” paragraphs in the summit’s closing statement, the BBC dubbed the group the “G19 +1” referring to the world’s leading country as the singleton bucking collaborative efforts on trade, immigration and environmental issues affecting the entire planet. A befitting representation of the archetypes at play at the Full Moon, the summit showcased the world’s leading powerbrokers in action with a backdrop of more than 20,000 local police forces attempting to control the fierce self-determination of an estimated 100,000 “anarchists” on the streets. Additionally, North Korea ratcheting up of the threat of nuclear war provoked the U.S. and other regional powers to scramble for a strong, coherent response. Record heat waves and raging wildfires in various places also correlate to the pressurized aspects unfolding at this time.
On another level, the wake of this intense bundle of planetary influences can be used to initiate or continue a transformational process. For example, a friend reported to me a situation where a supervisor asked an employee to follow a standard protocol at work (Sun/Mars opposite Moon/Pluto) but the employee, who is very unhappy being in a subordinate position, had a huge emotional reaction against what was perceived as a control issue (Jupiter square the Full Moon). If open to using the highest expression of the archetypes highlighted at this time, the employee may venture into his subconscious and see unrecognized fears operating therein (Mars/Jupiter/Pluto – adventures into the depth psychology spurred on by the luminaries representing heart and soul, the Sun and Moon). The next step would be to make a commitment to work with the fear as it emerges into awareness simply by letting go of the need to resist it. Seeing how much we fear our feelings may reveal how little responsibility we take for our psychological state. The more we blame others for what is happening, the less we own our part in it and end up creating the feeling of disempowerment. Perhaps the best archetypal lesson the Full Moon T-square with Mars/Jupiter/Pluto will give is to demonstrate how the act of fighting against something (our own internal thoughts or the external words and deeds of others) reveals how we attempt to resolve our own pain by projecting it, sometimes violently, onto those around us. Impulsive Mars moving in tandem with the Sun in Cancer for the next month increases the potential for higher levels of reactive behavior so vigilance is advised.
There is only one major aspect occurring this week that has the potential to stimulate just the kind of philosophical conversation we need right now to inquire into the nature of consciousness – if we can muster the willingness to step back from the heightened action long enough to gain a broader perspective on how we fit into the bigger picture of disturbing events occurring in our lives and on the global stage. Mercury in Leo in a harmonious sextile to Jupiter in Libra on July 14th can assist in the process of internal breakthroughs. The Mercury in Leo archetype represents creative thinking that, at its best, is also fun. Being playful in our approach to self-discovery can be an act of healing itself. Jupiter in Libra represents the spiritual law of balance and fairness in our relations with others and in our approach to whatever we value. Since Mercury moves relatively quickly through this degree space, its alignment with Jupiter will last only a few days, but it can correlate to a mind-expanding optimism that is open to new ideas. Furthermore, Mercury and Jupiter are also aligned with Neptune in Pisces, forming a three-planet configuration called a “yod” (a 60° sextile and two 150° inconjuncts). Also known as the “finger of God,” the yod represents the opportunity to align with an evolutionary path. Coming back to the deepest motivation behind fighting, under the influence of the yod aspect, the choice offered may be to cease fighting against our own destiny on this planet. Consciously choosing to live the life we are given without complaint commences an active participation in it and brings about a greater willingness to pay attention to how thoughts govern our quality of life. The apex planet the yod, all-is-one Neptune, draws the Mercury/Jupiter expanded mind into mystical realms. If we can stop fighting/resisting long enough to allow this to happen, we could channel the gift of the yod into a form of creative expression (Mercury in Leo) that reaches the soul (Neptune in Pisces). Once the pathways of perception open in this space, we will be able to recognize the utter futility of trying to control any outcome. The answer to a yod is always found by shifting the inner attitude, not an external goal-oriented approach. Using the Neptunian archetype attuned to the non-material cosmic realms, we may realize the solution to all that fighting is to lay down our arms and just be.
Here’s the data (using Pacific Time and planetary positions rounded to the nearest whole degree, unless otherwise noted):
July 14 – Mercury sextile Jupiter at 15° Leo/Libra at 1:46 p.m.
Leave a Reply