by Robert Wilkinson
Mercury goes direct in motion 10:40 pm PDT August 7, 6:40 am Greenwich August 8, and speeds up for the next 10 weeks. This shows a quickening of the ability to coordinate, put things together, understand the whole and the parts, the process and the larger cycles. Mercury, or Hermes, "the Guide of Souls," is also known as the Divine Trickster, as well as all lesser models. It is now stationary at 2 degrees of Leo, affecting that area for 3 months to come.
We are told the symbol is "An epidemic of mumps.” Rudhyar ways this is a degree of “Constructive inconveniences of life in developing communal values,” “self-sensitiveness,” and “subtraction from things.”
In "The Astrological Mandala" he states the keynote is "the spreading power of individual crises through a collectivity.” He notes that this symbolizes “a process that affects the entire society,” which implies that any individual crisis may affect far more than just that individual.
He goes on to say that mumps are a childhood disease, but it can have serious consequences for adult males who catch it. He also states that “what was an individual issue is now seen as a collective danger. Thus we are dealing with the infectious spread of individual experiences.”
I have seen this degree work in terms of “gain through subtraction,” where we are prevented from going certain places and/or doing things with others. I believe this has to do with our occasional need to separate from routines, places, and people so that we are not “infected” by what’s going on “out there.”
So it represents a “quarantine” of sorts. If we take an alternative interpretation of the symbol from “The Astrology of Personality,” then we see “the school closed by an epidemic, children play together.” That could imply this degree is about closing a place where people congregate to learn, freeing them to associate or not outside of that environment. So if you cannot do something, or go somewhere, then play with others to cultivate your heart, the source of all immunities.
Definitely pay attention to how individual dis-eases, malfunctions, obsessions, and compulsions have the power to spread through the collective. Be careful what you accept, believe, or pass forward in the way of emotional and mental “dis-eases” you may inadvertently picked up from another, whether past or present.
Of note is that this is only 1 degree from where Mars went stationary direct in March 2010, setting a platform where we finished re-working our self-expression and began to move forward into the very dynamic Summer that followed when both Jupiter and Uranus entered Aries for the first time. In another coincidence, Jupiter now occupies the exact degree of the powerful Gemini Solar Eclipse of June 2011, offering us teaching, protection, and higher awareness about what has left our lives since that Eclipse.
When you're done with this article, you can learn more about the Jupiter lessons that will be showing up as influences the next 3 +months by going to The Solar Eclipse at 12 Gemini June 1-2, 2011 Pt. 1 - Who Does It Affect and for How Long? and The Solar Eclipse at 12 Gemini June 1-2, 2011 Pt. 2 - How Will It Manifest? And if you want to know more about the long wave period influenced by the Mars stationary direct point, please check out Mars in Leo Is Stationary Direct - Finally!
In any case, we should all start seeing, hearing, and understanding things that point the way to some Mercurial technique of how we have been and continue to be "guided to our Soul," given Mercury, or Hermes, is known as "The Guide of Souls." Given where it falls at 2 Leo, it shows us some way to find connectedness on inner and outer levels that can make us more sure in our creative self-expression.
The symbol is oriented toward combustion, action, and assurance through forms of creativity, play, self-expression, and other expressions of the Fixed Fire that Leo symbolizes. This follows the combustion of 1 Leo, and precedes the independence of 3 Leo.
Marc Jones says 2 Leo is where we see “personal capacities wholly out of hand, and of the momentary appeal of escapist ideas whenever the self fails to remain alive to its own immediate needs or ultimate interests.” Here we learn our “absolute necessity” to “retain a passionate sensitiveness” to the importance or “organic usefulness of everything” we encounter in our lives through Mercurial experiences.
He says the keyword is INFECTION, and when positive, this degree is "continual self-dramatization as the basis for participation in current affairs.” The implication is that through Mercury, we have opportunities to grow into a Soul expression through being sensitive to what is and is not useful in our lives, and separate from people and things that could “infect” us with that which we do not need or does not interest us.
We will also be re-tracing our early Leo lessons from now through August 22 (with residual echoes for the next 14 weeks.) Mercury going direct will re-activate many of the aspects it's made over the past few weeks. At various times over the past three weeks, it's made important conjunctions, noviles, septiles, sextiles, quintiles, binoviles, trines, quincunxes, and triseptiles to the other planets.
It now begins a new set of aspects, initiated by a quincunx to Neptune, followed quickly by a triseptile to Pluto and septile to Jupiter. That Mercury goes stationary direct in the Leo zone of the Grand Irrationality will make the next few months extremely important, especially since Jupiter is entering the Gemini zone, showing 4 points of the 7 pointed Star pattern will be lit up big time!
This stationary direct points sets up major “forks in the road of destiny” for all of us wherever we have 2 Leo in our chart over the next 4 months and to a lesser degree beyond then. It will especially affect those with planets or sensitive points near 7-11 Capricorn, 29 Aquarius-3 Pisces, 20-24 Aries, 11-15 Gemini, 2-6 Leo, 24-28 Virgo, and 16-20 Scorpio.
As I noted in the article The Astrology of Destiny On The Move in July-August 2012 - Sun and Mercury Triggering the Grand Irrationality, this pattern will be triggered each time the Moon moves through one of the hot zones. That article offers the Lunar trigger points in late July and early August. Other trigger points in mid and late August include August 15-16, 19-20, 23, 26-27, and August 30-31. You can find out more by referencing 21st Century Astrology – What is the Grand Irrationality and Why is Everything So Strange? I’ll write more about this important set of decisions and new “forks in the road of destiny” in the near future.
Over the next three weeks, while it’s still in its “shadow period” from 2 Leo to 12 Leo (the set of degrees traversed three times during the forward, then retrograde, then forward movement), after the aspects listed above it will make a binovile to Mars, then triseptile to Neptune (again setting the Grand Irrationality into focus), and finally a trine to Uranus. After it leaves its “shadow span,” it sextiles Jupiter, quintiles Mars, and sextiles Saturn on its way to entering Virgo on 7:32 pm PDT, August 31, about 12 hours after the “Blue Full Moon” in the Western Hemisphere. (The Eastern Hemisphere will get its “Blue Full Moon” on September 30.)
During this “shadow period” that lasts through August 22, other major aspects happening involve the on-going Sun semisquare Venus (lasting through mid-September), sextile Mars and Saturn, quintile Jupiter, and a double sesquisquare to both Uranus and Pluto. We also see Venus tredecile Mars and Saturn, square Uranus, trine Neptune, and opposition Pluto, as well as Mars conjunct Saturn with both quintile Pluto.
By August 22, Mercury will move out of its shadow span and enter its next "unknown zones" where the themes of this retrograde will be played out in forward motion. So for the next three weeks, expect some very productive intersections of past and future, with a promise of new responsibilities and ways of “doing our Destiny” when Mars conjuncts Saturn and sets a whole new 2 year cycle of Mars-Saturn governed activity into motion.
Also, given that Venus will transit Mercury’s retrograde degree span between September 7-18, Mercury has fulfilled its function as a “herald,” preparing the way for Venus to capture the value of this retrograde experience. We may get an “after the fact” appreciation for something we’ve already been through, and help us to see the value in a more well-rounded set of insights and understanding of recent events that always occurs after a retrograde period.
So at the end of this retrograde period, we find ourselves poised to use our times of being quarantined from certain people and situations to learn to play, or be creative, or find joy of natural and spontaneous self-expression. We are definitely at a fork in the road of our lives, both individually and collectively, and the next 4 months will prove very strange, with lots of obsessive-compulsive irrational behaviors happening everywhere. The world is definitely getting crazier and weirder by the day, and this stationary direct point activating the Grand Irrationality is only going to intensify the strange atmosphere!
We should get new insights into what’s been awakened the past two years, what’s left our lives the past 14 months, and find new ways to express our natural creativity so we can enjoy life to a greater degree. This will be a time of new self-expression, with lots of pleasures to be found by leaving behind relationships and activities that would “infect us” in negative ways.
As the Sun rules Mercury, it's time to find illuminating ideas to integrate our enthusiasm, and express our integrity in natural ways. Some of these may resemble old ways of expressing our natural instincts, or it may indicate a return to illuminated speech, thoughts, or ways of coordinating our lives so they more naturally express our Soul.
The coming 3 months promise major closures on old relationships that may have been “infected” with some form of human “virus,” whether greed, irrationality, compulsive behavior, fear, hysteria, or any of the other malfunctions that plague humanity. This will open us to new ways to play, new ways to use our times of solitude, and new ways to relate to children, creativity, and enthusiasm. This is the next step in learning new forms of natural self-expression related to the new beginnings of 2010-2011.
We’ve now had opportunities to reshape our courage and heart expression, new insights into what’s ended and why so we could come to a more natural peace. So now that we've done our rehearsals, reviews, revisions, and/or research on how we can coordinate the parts of this emerging process during the past 3 weeks, it's again time to get it on!!!
Here we face the future, and do what we must to weave elements of that future into our current life and affairs. We continue to divorce attitudes and interpretations no longer appropriate to our emerging process, and can see the interconnectedness of life as we find our unique place to doing our Being in a vaster field of activity.
We now begin to ride the edge of extremely dynamic change, finding new forms of self-expression related to the new futures that began Summer 2010 which stabilized between June 2011 and June 2012. Mercury direct will open many views and perspectives over the next 3 months, leading to a natural and powerful new set of views in November.
We now have gone through a process of learning how to look at the past with different eyes, seeing the storms and trials we’ve overcome as ways to rehearse how to deal with what is to come. Through retrospection, we have had opportunities to call up old powers in new ways that will help us in the next few months.
We're now able to express ourselves in new ways. It’s a time to gain higher awareness related to the old “skins of personality” we’ve shed, as well as old ghosts from the past, and we now can be enthusiastic in living life on our own terms through more natural ways of self-expression and being quarantined from people and situations that are not healthy for us. Keep opening to new creativity, new pleasures, new things to learn and new ways to interpret meaning.
So see how you’ve “gained through subtraction,” remember we’re entering a very weird time when a lot won’t make much sense, and remember the insights you’ve gained show you why you get to find peace in releasing the past after proper reflection. The Inferior conjunction at 7 Leo has been helping us to see what is permanent and what is transitory, and assisted us to know archetypal patterns that may be influencing us beyond the “fashion of the day.”
On the whole this retrograde period has been innovative, awakening, liberating, productive, and stabilizing. Much of what was promised in mid-July will be stable factors in our lives between late August and November, so take advantage of this inspired time of many discoveries to secure a more enjoyable self-expression however that’s appropriate.
Open to new understanding, new views, and new ways of separating from circumstances that don’t help you enjoy yourself or express your creativity naturally. We’ve just been through an incredibly creative and productive period where many things have been stabilized, and we can now more forward on the basis of the insights we’ve gained these past several weeks.
Things will speed up considerably for the next three months, so go for a new freedom in new realms of activity while showing courage in demonstrating what’s truly indestructible in your existence. Innovation, revolution, and new ways of interpreting, understanding, and communicating are in the air, so be creative and open to the joy of new discoveries!
© Copyright 2012 Robert Wilkinson
Mercury covers half my natal chart, all in third house. These past few weeks have been Titanic and I'm weathering abrupt and dissolution, disillusion, and terrible negativity in my longest and deepest relationships. I'm not generating it (that I'm aware of). The dynamics are bizarre, almost evil, and the distancing seems sadly final.
To have this happening across the board is tremendously scary. I am changing from it, that's sure, and flexing fast between trust and bewilderment, relinquishment and grasping. But having read your words here, I now understand that I am being protected from something or urged to move on. Either they are in quarantine or I am. And after weeks of feeling deeply rejected, I now feel relieved (as of duty or previous assignment).
I am in tears as I understand how deeply I *really* miss my former people. I don't want to leave them or let them go; collectively they represent decades of love, more years of it than I've lived to give. I miss them so much. But the new ones who have come are gentle, and I will accept what I find on the other side of this time.
Your clear language is always a comfort as I move through major disruptions; thank you and bless you.
Posted by: ka | August 06, 2012 at 06:50 PM
Hi Robert,
You wrote that "Marc Jones says 2 Leo is where we see 'personal capacities wholly out of hand...'" How do you understand that phrase "wholly out of hand"
2 Leo is my Pars Fortunae, closely conjunct my MC. You said to another poster that Part of Fortune has to do with personal joy, is that right? My joy has felt severely challenged lately, not for external reasons, but an internal sorrow that has been hard to kick.
To ka, I really relate to how much grief and loss is involved in letting go of former people, even ones that have brought us pain. Mumps can be fatal, after all. But deaths come with new life and new opportunity for untold healing. Keep the faith and take heart.
Posted by: shakti | August 06, 2012 at 10:38 PM
The phrase "gained through subtraction" has enormous connotations. Through all the trials of the past couple of years, I have noticed that certain seemingly small annoyances have resulted in over-the-top reactions on my part. These emotional outbursts have shown me that there was much more to it than the trivial event. There was something much deeper and fundamental to my existence that was coming to the surface. Indeed, all the timelines you describe here are accurate to the day. Now is the time of complete overhaul and forward action. Thank you Robert for confirming.
Posted by: kathryn simova | August 07, 2012 at 12:05 AM
I very much feel at the end of a massively hard cycle and the forks in the road of destiny are really evident. 22nd is my 43rd birthday so I'm looking forward to paddling my canoe downstream after a 180 turnaround in my approach to many things. Thanks Robert
Posted by: Ladyleokaz | August 07, 2012 at 02:23 AM
I'm with Ka.
Posted by: rogue12 | August 07, 2012 at 08:55 AM
Gain by subtraction indeed!!! I just had a very Mercury direct experience and upon receiving new information, it was ABUNDANTLY clear to say no to an opportunity that popped up just before Mercury went Rx and reappeared today. Unsurprisingly, it dealt with my Merc-ruled 6th!!!
Posted by: Matt | August 07, 2012 at 03:27 PM
Somehow I've lived through the Saturn, Venus and Mercury retrogrades. In some ways, I did good work and actually accomplished some important things. But they were not the things I wanted, and so much that is critically important is left thrown to the wind. It's been absurd. I can't seem to get a straight, clear, actionable or satisfactory answer anywhere. My best reaction has been to laugh because everything has either been over the top or slow as molasses.
Ka - I'm sorry you are suffering so. I know what it is like to have literally everything fall apart, people very close to me turn evil, and to experience a general exodus from nearly every relationship I had nurtured. Gone. It's heartbreaking and disorienting. Hang in there. There is still love on the other side.
Robert - Thank you. Your insight and sharing always reminds me of so many things I need to remember, and reassures me that we are all walking this path, at this time, together.
Posted by: Tolly | August 07, 2012 at 08:33 PM
Thank you Robert for your constant generous sharing. Your compassion for everyone always shines through.
During this Mercury Retrograde period my wife and I attended the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers' Gathering in Lame Deer, Montana. Many miracles happened there. The Grandmothers are truly amazing, full of humility and compassion.
The most noteworthy thing was when the great great great niece of General George Armstrong Custer appeared unexpectedly at the Gathering. Before she was allowed to speak she was duly vetted by competent elders there. She then proceeded to make a simple, humble, formal apology to the Northern Cheyenne Nation for the deeds of her relative. It was truly historical, standing as we were on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation grounds. The "Custer Battlefield" is just a few miles from Lame Deer, where we held the Gathering.
There were also riders who re-enacted the journey of the Northern Cheyenne people from Oklahoma back to Lame Deer, Montana. The riders took the horses onto the Ceremonial Grounds at Bear Butte, South Dakota, when they passed that way. Horses had not been in that place since the 1950's. At the end of the journey the riders brought the horses into the Pow Wow Grounds where we were holding the Gathering.
There were also people at the Gathering who brought wolves to be a part of the Ceremony. Wolves are very special to the Cheyenne People. They have been extinct there for a long time. It was wonderful to see them return. They met the horses and came into the arena with them.
Many prayers and talks were given by the Grandmothers. It was a magical time. We are so sorry that you were unable to attend, but know that you were there with us nonetheless.
Namaste. All My Relations. dcu
Posted by: dcu | August 07, 2012 at 11:56 PM
Ya me too everyone. I had to push away and delete an old friend and her husband!
I had to let go of another friend because i think or feel that this old friend poisoned his attitude towards a newer friend. I felt sad but relieved that I am leaving the abusive and constantly negative advuce giving that thus person feels they obsessively have to try to shove down on me and nit relenting when told that thanjs I got it.
Posted by: Micheline | August 08, 2012 at 05:33 AM
@dcu: Thank you for sharing your experiences. I got chills running up and down my spine when reading your story.
Over the past 2.5 years, I have watched almost every person from my past fall away from me, or I have walked away from them. I know now it was necessary to find myself. Recently, I have found wonderful people coming into my life. It is scary, but it is true that space is made in loss to gain more than we thought possible. I can testify.
Posted by: Iris | August 09, 2012 at 03:01 PM
@dcu, what a great and beautiful counterpoint; it gave me chills too. @shakti, Tolly, and Iris, thank you so much for the compassionate reassurance -- part of the worst of all this has been facing forward with no idea what will be met on the other side. And rogue12 and Micheline, I'm pulsing light and especial love to wherever you are.
Happy birthday, ladyleo; a week after yours is my 44th. Here's to effervescent coming year, that's my vote. Further up and further in. <3
Posted by: ka | August 10, 2012 at 08:29 AM
I very much feel at the end of a massively hard cycle and the forks in the road of destiny are really evident. 22nd is my 43rd birthday so I'm looking forward to paddling my canoe downstream after a 180 turnaround in my approach to many things. Thanks Robert
Posted by: paris | September 24, 2012 at 02:47 PM