14 May 2006 – 20 May 2006
Last Thursday Mercury began a series of contacts that extend into this week and really culminate this weekend when he leaves Taurus and enters his home sign of Gemini. Last Thursday Mercury passed opposite Jupiter raising fact vs. theory issues and brought focus to our communication process. Mercury and Jupiter are involved with messages and publishing respectively and with our thought processes. Mercury then went on to connect in a stimulating way with Uranus on Friday and Mars on Saturday. This week begins with Mercury at right angles with Neptune, and on Thursday he aligns with the Sun. Friday Mercury enters his home sign of Gemini to be followed by the Sun entering Gemini on Saturday.
Jupiter and Neptune have been in and out of an exact square angle for several months. They have remained in a wide square angle since their first exact contact in January. This has been expressed in struggles about secret bureaucracies (they're in Scorpio and Aquarius) and our right to privacy (again Scorpio and Aquarius) as well as the immigration issue's core problem of defining membership and commitment of resources. Since they remain in this rough square angle, when Mercury connects with either planet he is soon to connect with the other. So we have continued to focus on these issues through the bright light of the Full Moon. The Mercury – Neptune square is more about perception than communication and is possibly a bit trickier because of this. Connected in stress, we are inclined to smooth over the rough edges in our perceptions and see the world as we would like it instead of how it really is. Artistically, this is a fertile time for the imagination that happens in slight variations several times each year when Mercury connects with Neptune. We're all inclined to embellish our stories with a little more color or excitement at this time. Some of us may go beyond embellishment into outright shovel work.
It helps that Mercury is with the Sun in Taurus – perhaps the most grounded of the earth signs. But later this week, after passing behind the Sun, Mercury leaves Taurus and enters his home air sign Gemini. The Sun follows him roughly 24 hours later and we are once again without earth planets. Our perceptions need to be closely checked for another reason this week, and that is the alignment of Mercury with the Sun on Thursday as he passes behind our star. Mercury functions best as a perceptive tool when he is objective and has some “distance” from the Sun. When he's joined with the Sun we're inclined to force the facts to fit our wishes. Instead of the shine that Neptune puts on the world, the Sun ignores what he doesn't want to see. Think Emperor's New Clothes.
And so just when we think we're free of Neptune's illusions and fantasies, we need to strive to put our own self-interest aside when we assess situations. But we're not released from Neptune's realm yet. Next Monday, Neptune comes to a stop in our sky and begins four months of retrograde motion. He does this every year, so it's not a millennial event. But whenever a planet makes changes in his apparent motion, the energy of that planet rises. And when Neptune does it, our sense of reality gets tweaked. Sometimes secrets are revealed. Sometimes extraordinary weather occurs. Sometimes man bites dog. If we can understand that we're seeing alternate version of reality, and that extreme outcomes – both good and bad – appear more likely than usual, we can use this imaginative pulse to charge our vision for the future.
Instead of pulling down the shades and living super-cautiously, this Mercury seminar can make music and art more rewarding and meaningful. In fact, one of Neptune's functions is to charge reality with meaning. We can look for guiding clues and, within reason, follow non-logical impulses if we want to sign up for a “Magical Mystery Tour”. We are dealing with “maya” and in one sense a veil is being drawn aside, and in another veils are being drawn.
Finally it's important with all of this Neptunian energy, to be choosy about where we put ourselves. We need to live like the Piscean fishes, go with the flow, listen to our feelings , and flee when we feel like prey. This week the wisdom of Roger Miller applies, “Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd – but you can be happy if you've a mind to.”
Daily Forecasts:
Think big thoughts under the Sagittarian Moon. Mull those long term plans and get out and around when the Moon squares Uranus in the afternoon. If you're feeling foggy or dreamy, you're in touch with Lord Neptune as Mercury comes into square with him.
The Moon goes Void at 1:15pm/4:15pm when she aligns with Pluto. In the midst of the sea foam, there is a sharp rock or two. Once you've avoided the rocks, and maybe got their point, kick back until the Moon enters Capricorn at 7:59pm/10:59pm.
Today and tomorrow form an interlude of practicality under the earthy Capricorn Moon. We can inspire others to work and much can be accomplished.
Up until the Moon goes Void this evening at 7:10pm/10:10pm, major financial moves are favored. Buy and sell, commit and organize your time.
Mercury is lost in the bright glare of the Sun today. We can speak our wishes clearly, but we may not see what does not please us. We may be astounded at the stupidity of others who don't see the situation like we do.
The Moon aligns with Neptune this morning and Mercury enters Gemini early this afternoon. Those Gemini and Virgo people who've felt edgy for the past two days can relax. Their work is done for the moment.
Pay attention to recurring themes in your dreams (no poetry intended). Neptune opens a channel for our deeper self to communicate with symbols. Our grasp of facts and details may be clouded, but the dream messages are clearer.
Long Range Forecast:
June 22nd – Jupiter and Saturn represent the forces of culture and politics in our society. When they interact in square as they do on the day after the Summer Solstice, a shift in the political winds is often the outcome.
Long-Long Range Forecast:
April 14, 2009 – August 21, 2010 - Saturn makes a series of squares to Pluto newly in Capricorn. The end of business-as-usual politics. The nationalistic dinosaurs will enter their twilight times. The transition to organic regional government will not be smooth…the result may be some corporate feudal mixture.
June 24, 2012 – April 17, 2015 - Uranus in Aries forms his first major hard aspect to Pluto, a square angle, since they were aligned in the second half of the 1960’s. Hippie dreams may come true when the ecology and/or petroleum-based economies fail. Plan to live where there is food and water and you don’t need a car. Plan to live where you’ll know your neighbors…maybe even love them. What a thought! We may have to choose between eating grain on a commune or growing very thin in the city.
Notices for Los Angeles area readers:
Ongoing Classes:
1:00pm– Intermediate Class in Predictions. Using the charts of well-known people, the effects of progressions, transits, and solar returns will be taught and explored. The class is open to people who know the basics of astrology.
3:00pm – Beginner’s Class. All are welcome. There are no prerequisites except an open mind and curiosity. This class will cover the signs, planets, and houses and show how to interpret these symbols and analyze birth chart patterns. Call the New Age Bible and Philosophy Center, 1139 Lincoln Boulevard, 310-395-4346 or me, 818-316-0702, for details.
Visit the Celestial Weather Web Site at http://www.celestialweather.com
Copyright 2006 Rich Humbert