More on the Jan-Feb 2008 Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius Eclipse Triggering the Grand Irrationality

by Robert Wilkinson

When Mercury is retrograde in Aquarius it's a good time to re-examine our internal connections, and find what we've lost in the way of ideal visions of a greater way that make us feel like we're contributors to a better world. Take a new look at your internal and external ways of why you do or do not want to be part of a larger group work, and how we can concretize that which feeds our sense of greater purpose through managing collective power.

Many will need to reconsider goals, ambitions, and friendships that are no longer fulfilling, and ways of responding to perceived shared creative vision that are either draining or generating momentum. Through seeing what's being grounded in the way of a new visionary imperative, we can come to mental power and forms of expressing ourselves throughout the rest of the cycle.

Rehearse, research, review, and allow yourself to practice making previous ideas and information part of your integrated power. It's a different learning pace, with things being glimpsed that we didn't before helping us come to a more thorough and well-rounded knowledge of whatever information and views that Mercury brought us before now.

Regard much that presents itself these next few weeks in terms of seeing a larger contribution with others to our world and understanding the emotional-social-cultural connections that are strengthened by cooperation in launching a shared vision. This is the rearranging of groups of people who belong together, which each personality contributing its unique flavor to the overall collective energy.

Find those who share your ideals, and allow individuality to be "uplifted" by the group energy. This is the extension of what we got earlier in 2007 that allowed us to prove our capacity to do what we claim to be able to do, and then mid-year integrate decisions showing a new life allegiance and dedication. Those who searched for the Mystery found a new form of God, Truth, and Eternal Self taking flight in their lives.

Early 2007 we got management skills and efficiency in knowing what and how things work. Saturn configured in important ways with the two Merury stationary direct points at 26 Aquarius and Scorpio since November 2006, magnetising “Efficient Functioning” in whatever ways it has in our lives. It showed as new goals, ambitions, friendships, and group endeavors, and we had opportunities to manage our spiritual energies in ways that prove our ability to deliver a higher power while glimpsing our potential "spiritual community."

As I pointed out in the first article in this series, Mercury does not make many frictional aspects this retrograde period, with only a semisquare to Jupiter. However, during the last half of January and the first Few days of February it will trigger the destiny-producing aspects we know as the Grand Irrationality. This time is when the imagery of the collective consciousness (and Unconscious) can be seen, known, and expressed through Mercury's magic. At worst, unrealistic ideas or delusions arising from mass consciousness. At best, inspired visions bringing more idealistic and altruistic group efforts.

The semisquare between Mercury and Jupiter that rule signs opposing each other show a challenging time of finding ways to reconcile frictions associated with the Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces areas of our charts. As the semisquare is waxing, it will result in "emergent crises" and changes in vision and understanding that will yield new ways to envision things, new goals to aim for and new methodolgies of achievement, with new stability between our imagination and our conrete minds after the retrograde period is over.

This aspect creates internal crises of deciding what we need to learn about a greater reality, how we need to view possibilities, morality, truth, and our future. It challenges us to be able to think "outside the box" while not yielding to vain imaginings or contradictory thinking. This will challenge our ability to concentrate on that which is beyond the structures we're expanding within.

Of course, keep in mind that this crisis is precipitated by the understanding Jupiter is coming to through its recent quintile to Uranus and trine to Saturn. This is a crisis of perception to see a bigger picture as a result of the understanding and stability shown by Jupiter trine Saturn in Earth signs.

So in this front end of the Mercury RX semisquare Jupiter, there will be cross currents between the Gemini/Virgo and Sag/Pisces areas of our charts. It challenges us to be more realistic about where our imagination is taking us and linking the lower with the Higher Mind to embrace a more organized, visionary way of responding to the practical (if obscure at times) opportunities already presenting themselves to us.

This configuration usually accompanies a very high degree of imagination and persuasiveness. Find practical ways of expressing your sense of possibilities at the beginning of this larger cycle without being too extravagant or exaggerated in your perception. This can bring forth a visionary mind able to see things through others' eyes.

This retrograde will be dominated by the Solar Eclipse New Moon of February 6-7 at 18 Aquarius explained in detail in the article, The Solar Eclipse of February 6-7, 2008 in Aquarius. The Eclipse just happens to be exactly trine the New Moon dominating the previous October-November 2007 Mercury Retrograde at 18 Libra, conditioning what we've been going through since then. As I wrote then. that energy involved

... facing consequences for social risks, and the responsibility of individuals to their society regarding behavior... Open to greater opportunities and a greater vision, face certain obvious facts, and move toward multi-tasking or learning new information. Return to the values that can help you express your Higher Self in a joyous, balanced way. Work on how you package your self-expression, and enjoy the productivity...

Mercury is heavily influenced by Saturn and Uranus this retrograde period, since it occupies the sign these planets rule. As these are in a wide orb opposition that will get closer over time, this is a period of seeing what Saturn lessons and responsibilities we've been given since September 2007, and find new perspectives and wisdom from the experience. Make your "daily driver" more discerning, better organized, with an eye to how the details rank in terms of the overall picture.

The specific lesson of the Eclipse affecting this retrograde involves learning to put to good use the "in betweens," or the down times between actions, feelings, and thoughts. Even though everyone is squeezed to the max these days, that's why we must learn how to take moments to recharge while still taking care of business.

These should be specific to the Higher Law of our Being in individual ways. What we share will be a challenge to improve ourselves and our faith. We are all re-experiencing a period of revolutionizing self-improvement at the end of a long cycle of preparing to express it based in our uniqueness.

All in all, this is mainly a favorable eclipse, due to the number of harmonious aspects strengthening the lunation. There are favorable aspects to every planet except Pluto, and a very strong trine to a Mars quintile Saturn. The semisquare to Pluto will be triggering subjective "emergent crises" through an unveiling that will serve to purify wherever it falls in our charts. These can lead us to important insights regarding Pluto's contact with the Galactic Center helping free us from local conditions, narrow thinking, overattachment to rationality, and unhelpful perceptions.

As with all Mercury retrograde periods, review, reflect, research, gather information, and take a new look at your power to change your point of view and interpretations. This gives a chance to shift how you do what you do, how you coordinate your affairs, and indicates future shifts in the areas where Aquarius falls in your birth charts.

And now, a last look back: The Mercury retrograde period in October-November 2006 showed us how to understand the emotional movement of 2006 so we could be more fluid in our responses and feel more deeply. Many got in touch with needs and feelings and became more certain in our focus, and began eliminating unhelpful corrosive tendencies as we moved into new dynamic activity resulting from seeing how we could be more efficient and adaptable. It activated the individual-mental-Spiritual level of “Faith,” and retrograded back to the mental Spiritual and emotional-cultural levels of “Communion.”

The retrograde period in February-March 2007 emphasized the Individual-Mental-Spiritual level of "Federation," then retrograded back through the Emotional-Social-Cultural and Physical levels into the Individual-Mental-Spiritual level of "Management." We saw ways to manage ourselves and our energies, leading to transfigurations as we "left our cocoon," and joined with new friends. Summer 2007 we saw our needs and home experience differently, reworked some things about our everyday lives and experience, and grounded new emotional responses.

Autumn brought us new connections, reawakened some ties from the past, and led us all to a new heart's strength. We learned a deeper communion with others, as well as finished up old karmas and paid some dues while preparing to move headlong toward the very important conjunctions between Jupiter and other planets with Pluto at the Galactic Center. The consequences we faced last Autumn have led directly to the wider vision and energy management challenges confronting us now.

In the interests of easy access, here are the links to the first two articles in this series:

Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius in January-February 2008, Part 1 - Widening Our Communications Within Ourselves and Others Preparing to Launch A Vision

Mercury Retrograde Astrology in Aquarius in January-February 2008 Pt. 2 - What It Means For Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces

© Copyright 2008 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Mary]

Hi Robert I plan to re-read these articles several times before putting them away. I do have a question. Are there any correlations between Mercury retrograde periods, elections, and eclipses that are beyond coincidence? I am thinking that the traditions of the primaries were started due to communication issues and gathering the electoral college, but is there an additional rhyme or reason directly related to astrology or determined by previous understandings of astrology? Whew a mouthful. I love politics like sports addicts like football.

[Felita]

Hi again Robert, needed to read this, you summed up my brainthought, Thanking you for inspiring our future by helping us honor our past and create in our present and to believe in ourselves and the connection with group. Have a great day..
Aum shanti Felita

[gigi]

Hi Robert. Second comment for me. Thanks for another great article they open my eyes a lot. When you refer to the 'energy mannagement challenges' facing us right now what exactly does that mean? If I'm interpreting that correctly I'd say i've personally experienced it as a swing from one extreme behaviour to the other. I have pisces sun and leo moon and in the last few days (after having passed the previous few weeks in a state of balanced bliss) have noticed that my moon's insecurities have propelled me to try and 'perform' for everyones approval. Would this be the energy management issues?

Thanks so much

[scared]

I have lost jobs during last 3 lunar eclipses and mercury Rx. Feb 20 2008 is so close – it is frightening. I am depressed, literally. I don’t want to lose my job given present economic situations but I don’t like me job either – talk about the survival mode. Please write about the next lunar eclipse and how it will affect different signs – I am Aquarius, Sagittarius ASC.

[poetryman69]

Triggering the Grand Irrationality?

Cowering in an obscure corner of the food pyramid

somewhere between tofu and unflavored yogurt

contemplating the juxtaposition of intangibles for all you are worth.....

[Jen]

My birthday is coming on Feb 6th during the eclipse. I have been finding my true emotions coming out all day today (Feb 3rd), and the past few weeks building up to here. Emotionally I am trying to be stable, but I am expressing myself openly and abrasivly with out any one asking for it and it is not me. I can not sleep, I am not even watching the Superbowl right now, my husband and I are both going through major changes, job, moves, etc. I know this will all be for the better in a short while, but the past few weeks, although optomistic, I have berely been able to be patient, or calm, or stop moving. My husband and I both have job interviews on the 6th. I cancelled mine, thinking I would not be feeling ok until the eclipse is over or I might make some rash decision. I usually feel energized during an eclipse, esp solar...what to do?

[jen]

Posting for the guy who has lost his job the past few luners....

I am Aq. Sag As. too!! The past 12 years I have been in that crazy cycle I don't even want to talk about. This year is supposed to be good for us. Better and new ways of making a living, being more career and creative oriented. I have read tons of great things. Love life is supposed to kick up, new awakenings are in the air. It is not a time to be frightful, because you will attract that to yourself. Instead think of those job endings as a positive and that they lead you to something better. In fact focus on what you want your career to be and not about losing a job, this is going to be the year that the job you need will come to you with out having to seek it out....whhew...finally, hun??? Hope this helps, I can help others better than my self right now. Wait until after the eclipse, the 6th, and see if any good news comes to you before the luner. If so, no need to fret! Write your self a check the 7th (after the eclipse) for any amount, it's not to cash, it is supposed to bring abundance in your life. Good Luck...I am going to do it, and maybe even frame it if it works!

[Kristin]

These are exciting and pregnant times for me. Thanks for your continued insight and inspiration. I'm breaking out of winter doldrums by getting some aerobic activity, listening to inspirational music on the ipod, and finding creative outlets. My heart and mind are open, listening and watching for what comes next. Hopefully I will not be overwhelmed by the possibilities and opportunities or stifled by perfectionism.

[colleen]

Hi there,

I'm just curious about something. This mercury aquarius retrograde is different for me this time. People whom I know are aquarius are making all sorts of mistakes, clerical, mathematical, relaying information. These mistakes are not involving them, but certainly are causing me grief as their are accounting errors, which are going to reflect in the future. I suppose some of them I'm not even aware of, which is also a cause for concern. So is this normal for a mercury retrograde, where it's the people whom actually are the sign making mistakes or is this just a fluke or perhaps I never noticed it before.

[Christine]

Wow. This eclipse energy is stirring up some anxiety and weird nameless pressure for me. I have Venus and NN in Aquarius (21 and 24 degrees, respectively - both in House 2) and it has been a long time since I have felt so on edge! I have also been having alot of water-related dreams lately. One more day and hopefully it will peak and I will be able to start calming down...

[Robert]

Hi Mary - You offer a great research project! I've glanced at correlations, but what you suggest could be the work of a lifetime (or at least a major book!)

Hi Felita - Sure. Having a great day and about to vote in the primary.

Hi gigi - Energy management involves finding the self control needed to focus our expressions. Extremes do help us get a grip on how wide we want the pendulum to swing. And yes, it's always a good thing to manage how we are acting or reacting to others.

Hi scared - First, am glad you're now not so scared. Eclipses don't take away anything still valid and useful in our lives, only that which obstructs our future growth into a new light. Why not affirm your openness to finding a better, more fulfilling job you could enjoy and learn from? Fear won't get you a new job, but determination and mindfulness with absolute expectation that something better for you personally will attract something good. It always does, if we don't mess up the thoughtform with impatience or fear.

Hi poetryman69 - Great verse. "between tofu and unflavored yogurt" would seem to be a fermented space - great for digestion! Juxtaposing intangibles would be like placing infinity next to eternity.

Hi Jen - Hope the agitation passed into something productive and/or profound. Perhaps your subconscious is awaiting the shift and as the subconscious is wont to do, is generating impatience and motion for its own sake. Good to start new things after a New Moon, and I doubt any rash decisions could be made during a Mercury RX since little that is rash ever turns out as we think in these times. At least it's now after the Inferior Conjunction, so Mercury is now speeding up, if only a little, each day.

To address "the guy who has lost his job the past few luners," you're finishing up the past 12 year cycle, getting ready for the adventure when Jupiter hits your Sun. Sounds like what you've been reading is hopeful, so nyet problema there. And of course fear does attract more fear, so relax. Write yourself a check, but also stay alert to unusual opportunities to chain yourself to something solid where even a little chance could become a major direction. Expect a miracle and watch it come. Just don't judge it for being not what you expected.

Hi Kristin - Glad you're reawakening to greater inspiration and enjoyment. The fact that you're aware of your perfectionism is a good guard against it jamming your gears.

Hi Colleen - Yes, it's normal for errors to arise due to a lack of attention on the part of those oblivious to Mercury RX. And yes, the effects of this particular RX period are not confined to Aquarians, but to anyone with planets around 15-25 of the Fixed signs.

Hi Christine - Mercury RX can bring messages from subconsciousness that are valuable in the future. In your case, your line of greatest development has been triggered, though it may take a while before you get clear about what the anxiety was about. You should have a lot more clarity in March when Mercury and Venus transit your Venus/NN conjunction. In any case, enjoy the ride, since it promises great growth for months to come.

[violet]

Was curious about the nature of the mercury retrograde effecting Aquarius in love at this time. My boyfriend is an aquarius and I am scorpio with aquarius rising and he has recently been distant and evaluating his life/job etc... We have dated for 4 years and then broke up right before Valentines Day. Normally I don't look to the stars on things like this, but the only other time we ever were having problems was when venus was in retrograde this year? Just wondered. I feel like change is about to drastically happen from this, and perhaps it was meant to be

[Robert]

Hi violet - Retrogrades usually bring up things from the past, things that have been overlooked, and subconscious factors that were previously lurking deep within but not ever exteriorized. What comes up is either overdue for evaluation, or subject to reversals. You've both been dealing with Neptune and learning to navigate despite the lack of clarity. Also remember that he has had Saturn in his Solar 7th, and you've had it in your natal 7th. Both of these influences have required you learn similar lessons about partnership, so it's not unusual to reset parameters so you can move into relationships more appropriate to your evolved experience. On a separate but related note, I suspect you're going to do very well in multiple areas this year.

[larissa]

Hi Robert - what to expect on a full MOON Lunar Eclipse on February 20th?? in Virgo... Should Aries be concerned? (I have not seen anything about this yet) Tx

[Robert]

Hi Larissa - Well, every sign will have mixed results, and since we're not just our Sun sign, it will affect everyone somehow. The stellium in Aquarius and Mars in Gemini should prove good for our tribe.

[violet]

thanks robert!
I feel things are about to change, especially career and future projects. I am still heartbroken about the break up, and have trouble completely letting go but know perhaps it wasn't meant to be for now. He seemed to feel trapped and confined, although I never mentioned marriage or gave him limitations of any sort. I am excited about this eclipse!