by Robert Wilkinson
Following up on the general meaning and function of the "Inferior Conjunction" between the Sun and Mercury, today we explore specifics of the Inferior Conjunction of September 30, 2015 at 8 Libra. This “fusion of life and mind” will impact the rest of the retrograde period, and many weeks after.
Because this particular Inferior Conjunction is an extremely important event due to when and where it's happening, this is a long article that will pull together a comprehensive overview that ties together past, present, and future.
The inferior conjunction is when Mercury (mind) conjuncts the Sun (life) while retrograde. This indicates that signals, messages, and ideas from either outer sources or subconscious sources will fuse with the life principle, setting the tone for the lessons involving how our minds are relating to our lives during the next four months. Since Mercury is retrograde, the degree of the inferior conjunction shows how our lives will merge with our perceptions and bring forth a new understanding of our light.
The Sabian Symbol for the Inferior Conjunction
The Sabian Symbol we’ve been given for the 8th degree of Libra is “A blazing fireplace in a deserted home.” In the section on the symbols in The Astrology of Personality, taken from Jones’ class notes, Rudhyar says this is a degree of “Constant presence of unseen, sustaining agencies in every worthwhile activity,” “Great depth of initial effort,” and “Providence.”
In the Mandala he goes on to say this is a degree of "the need to realize that even through the most empty hours a spiritual power is ever ready to welcome and warm up the wayward consciousness returning to center.” He states this degree holds “hope of recovery and rebeginning,” regardless of what we’ve abandoned in the past after an essential experience.
He speaks of the possibility of “finding our way back home,” where we link a vision with the reaction to that disruption in our psyche. He states “within the abandoned great dream, some intangible and warm ‘presence’ remains: the ever-renascent hope for a rebeginning.”
So “the fusion of life and mind” available via this Inferior Conjunction is through the Light of a new beginning to something we abandoned, or “a way back” to an element of our “essential being” or “spiritual home.” Here we put together an old ideal with a new way to view it and experience it, and can find “unseen sustaining agencies” in our efforts. He says this degree falls in the Span of Expectation, Act of Group-Integration, and Scene of Transfiguration on the Emotional-Cultural level.
Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this is a degree of “naïve reality, or of the basic law of the cosmos whereby all things tend to continue steadily in their accustomed function.” He says “here is the burning desire or capacity for passion which establishes (our) loyalty to each object of (our) self-projection and instruments (our) more consistent self-orientation through each phase of personal responsibility to the world in which (we find ourselves.)
He offers the keyword GUARDIANSHIP. He states that when operating positively, the degree is “an exceptional gift for enlisting both men and the natural forces of life in the service of self and its dominating vision.”
So we enter a time of the fusion of life and mind that offers us new insights about previous life renewals, and what we drew on to find hope. This one can lead us home to the core fire in the place where we nourish ourselves and each other, host others, and find light and warmth in a solitary place.
The period ahead will transfigure us in some emotional or social way, so check out your expectancies and take a balanced view of how your past can assist your future. And remember that due to the Mercury retrograde effect, signs and signals may come in roundabout ways, like echoes from the past, or memories coming up from the subconscious mind. This can help us all find a renewed and inspired inner point of focus and equilibrium.
This Inferior Conjunction can fuse hindsight and life experience to see how new forms of light, life, and perspectives have come forth in collective consciousness the past. The next four months are a time to embrace a renewal based in a hope through seeing the past through different angles and interpretations and finding alternative views or understanding.
Because this “fusion of life and mind” takes place in the first third of Libra, it’s transfiguration time! This Inferior Conjunction invites us to take a new look at ideas, signs, and signals of whatever duties, responsibilities, and realities we’ve been forced to learn since October of 2010.
That point in time initiated a year of learning lessons associated with 8 Libra, because the Sun conjuncted Saturn on that degree. If you experienced a renewal of some sort between October 2010 and October 2011, over the next 4 months you may get flashes of insight that give you a new understanding of how those choices led you to where you’re at right now.
A benefit of Inferior Conjunctions is they offer us views of how we prepared in the past for current attitudes and ideals, or conversely, through the retrograde lens see how past attitudes and ideals led us to where we’re at right now. When Mercury gives us a backward look or alternative view and understanding of something from the past, it also in a strange way prepares the ground for the future when other planets cross this degree.
For example, our last Inferior Conjunction was on May 30, 2015 at 9 Gemini. That energy has been in play the past 4 months. In public forums and the news, I’ve seen reports and articles directly related to the 500 year cycle that was set into motion when Neptune and Pluto conjuncted at 9 Gemini in the Summer of 1891, and made several more passes over this degree through 1894. Perhaps the events of the past 4 months were directly related to those long wave energies set into motion over 120 years ago?
Aspects in Play
Remember that in any celestial event, forming aspects show the future, and separating aspects show the past. Because this Inferior Conjunction falls so soon after the recent Full Moon Lunar Eclipse at 5 Libra-Aries, all of the outer planet aspects are identical. You can find more about the outer planet aspects in The Total Eclipse Full Moon in Sept-Oct 2015 Pt. 4 where I explain some things about the sesquisquares and novile series aspects involving Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
Inner planet aspects of note include the Moon biquintile Mercury and the Sun, bielftile Neptune and trine Pluto, creating a very tight Grand Earth Trine. That will prove extraordinarily stabilizing in the world of practical affairs. The coming period will bring concrete gains for those who joyously mobilize and do whatever it takes to “juggle the mountain of baggage.”
Mercury is sextile Saturn, Venus is conjunct Mars (out of sign), trielftile Saturn, and sesquisquare Pluto, and the Sun is decile Mars, septile Saturn, opposition Uranus, quincunx Neptune, and square Pluto. Overall productive and annoying, with the power of integration and release provided by the Sun making a powerful forming Cardinal T-square.
We got a dress rehearsal when Mercury went stationary retrograde making that same square. This throws the void to Cancer, encouraging self-nourishment and self-gathering. Avoid insecurity and defensiveness, getting crabby, or clutching at the past. This can also provide relief and/or release of the potential we set into motion between July 2013 and June 2014, when Jupiter was in Cancer and hosted a bunch of powerful conjunctions in that sign.
Since the Sun and Mercury seem to be doing a handoff with each other with one making forming aspects the other just made, as well as the separating aspects the other made, their aspects are important. The Solar aspects described above drive the energy, with the quincunx to Neptune forcing adjustments in comfortable assumptions. The growth is in anticipating what is yet to come, and letting some things melt down as a prelude to a re-focus of emotional intensity.
The interesting anomaly is that while Mercury makes a very productive sextile to Saturn, the Sun makes a septile. That creates “fork in the road of destiny” choices ahead. Those most affected will have planets or angles near 7-11 Libra, 29 Scorpio-3 Sagittarius, 21-25 Capricorn, 12-16 Pisces, 4-8 Taurus, 25-29 Gemini, and 16-20 Leo. If this affects you, welcome the huge changes that will redeem a promise and lead to inspiration and freedom!
The element spread is similar to that in play at the Lunar Eclipse, with the only change here of the Fire Moon there becoming the Earth Moon here. This yields 3 planets in Fire, 4 in Earth, 1 in Water, and 2 in Air signs. And as with the Eclipse, Jupiter leads the Inferior Conjunction, which I also explain in the above linked article.
What’s the Backdrop to What’s Happening?
The fact that the Inferior Conjunction falls in Libra makes Venus the ruler of the conjunction. As Venus is in Leo, it’s in a powerful mutual reception with the Sun. This makes them the final dispositors for all the other planetary energies except Neptune in Pisces. Since the Sun/Venus mutual reception also ruled the Eclipse, you can find out more in that article.
So Just How Does the Process Work?
The Inferior Conjunction between Mercury and the Sun is the second step in a two-conjunction process. The first step is when Mercury conjuncts the Sun in forward motion after its retrograde period. This is called a “Superior conjunction.” Most recently this occurred at 1 Leo on July 23, 2015.
That “fusion of life and mind” marked the beginning of Mercury getting out in front of the Sun. That has given us “explosions of heart power,” or inspiration, or bursts of activity since then. Now we are in a different Sun/Mercury phase of operation, where we confront a time of hope and renewal. The “pulses” of the Inferior and Superior conjunctions of the Sun and Mercury constitute an entire field of research unto themselves.
As Mercury is faster than the Sun at any “Superior Conjunction,” after that event Mind again outraces Life, gets ahead of the Sun, and explores ideas and perceptions of experiences yet to occur. That’s what we experienced between late August and mid-September, when Mercury began to slow down.
After Mercury gets as far forward from the Sun as it can, it begins to slow, eventually going stationary retrograde. By then it is slowing rapidly. That marks the second step that leads to the point when Mercury again conjuncts the Sun while retrograde. This is when Mind is being absorbed by Life, or Life takes on the results of subconscious or collective ideas returning to source.
Then Mercury, still slow in speed, becomes distant from the Sun anew as the Sun moves forward while Mercury is still retrograde. Eventually Life gets as far from Mind as it can, Mercury goes stationary direct, and begins to speed up preparing for the first step anew in a different part of the zodiac. I explain this process in greater detail in A New Look at Mercury Retrograde.
Mercury, or Hermes, the “Guide of Souls”
All Mercury retrograde periods teach us about how Mercury functions. Mercury’s duality is “Life/Death,” so we can get a new look at how our consciousness and responses are either creative, destructive, or both, to cite the venerable Kabalistic Arhat Paul Foster Case. Mercury is where we learn if our mental processes are creating chaos and disorganized scattered conditions through ambivalence, and thus come to see how to use discernment to coordinate various functions to bring forth perfect knowing how to do whatever needs to be done.
As the backdrop to how our mind and life relate to each other, perhaps we can learn how to deal with Mercurial energies in ourselves or others from a different angle of view, organizing or reorganizing or ideas, perception, interpretations, and way of communicating. We can see or find new ways to understand, communicate, or interpret the signs and signals of our existence through looking back on the discoveries we made and views we acquired in past cycles when Gemini was prominent.
All in all, the coming 4 months will bring interesting returns, reflections, and rehearsals of how and what we’ve dealt with in the realm of relationships, including old personal or business partnerships, and how fairly we treated other or were treated by others. We can see our ideas from a different angle, find a new focus, and make progress in some form of transforming initiative that will be the source of much information and activity in the next few weeks.
Once the Inferior Conjunction happens, whatever has seemed delayed, postponed, or dragging along will move forward soon. This can bring forth a greater holistic vision of how events and people are connected, as well as why we must rethink some things, people, and plans.
Generally, the 11 days before the inferior conjunction (fusion) of mind and life is a good time to take a new look at how you can bring out your inner wisdom by adjusting to a future vision or broader perspective that's opening for you. It's also good for getting a new point of view regarding what your imagination is willing to consider and how to coordinate your life to reorganize it productively.
It's great for intuitive flashes, insights into the larger collective consciousness and unconsciousness, and seeing how you're being led to see elements of your Soul you may not have recognized before now. So think back on what's happened in the past couple of weeks, and find a new way to view how those things may symbolize the future somehow.
Just remember during retrogrades, especially Mercury retrograde, that often things that don't turn out one way lead directly or indirectly to other things somewhat related manifesting down the road. It's as though nothing should be taken at face value, and often what we do or think during Mercury retrograde creates odd echoes in the future that take different shapes, or different functions related to the original intention.
Because we’ll still be dealing with Mercury retrograde through October 9 (and to some extent for the 2 weeks after that while Mercury is still in its shadow zone, if you haven’t already, you can find out a lot more about these very important 3 week periods by getting a copy of my TISBA Award winning 2nd edition of A New Look At Mercury Retrograde. As you know by now, it offers in-depth information about Mercury retrograde people, Mercury retrograde in the various signs and houses, and what the entire Mercury Retrograde phenomenon is about. If you want to know what we can expect from Mercury retrograde in Libra, as well as all the other signs and houses, it’s all in there.
As I’ve mentioned before, it is written for both astrologers and laypeople. I have just about everything you could want to know about Mercury retrograde, including how it works, what it means, celebrities who have it in their charts, historic events that happened during Mercury retrograde, and what signs are involved in future Mercury retrograde periods.
By knowing more about 2014's Mercury retrograde periods in Pisces/Aquarius, Cancer/Gemini, and Scorpio/Libra, as well as 2015’s Mercury retrograde periods in Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra, you may see patterns in what was going on in your life, what you were taking a new look at and why, and how this "looking back" influenced your choices as you moved through past events. And taking a look forward, we see Mercury retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn in January 2016, Mercury retrograde in Taurus in April-May 2016, and Mercury retrograde in Virgo in August-September 2016. It’s all in the book!
Here's the Amazon link to the page where you can order your paperback or ebook copy of A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. It is an invaluable resource for understanding past, present, and future Mercury retrogrades, so get your copy today. Just make sure you get the 2015 edition, and not the 1997 first edition, since the second is a far superior product!
And as usual, here are links to recent articles on what this Sept-Oct 2015 Mercury Retrograde in Libra is all about:
Copyright © 2015 Robert Wilkinson
"Once the Inferior Conjunction happens, whatever has seemed delayed, postponed, or dragging along will move forward soon. This can bring forth a greater holistic vision of how events and people are connected, as well as why we must rethink some things, people, and plans."
Wow! what an interesting perspective if we consider the issues that have been main stream these days: Climate change, migration, peace(war), cooperation/alliances....
Thanks Robert and blessings be to all.
Posted by: Nic | September 30, 2015 at 10:47 AM
Thank you Robert for your insight and guidance throughout the trans formative time. I have my Ascendant at 1 degree 20' Sag and my Sun at 19 and 35' Leo (born 1956, Biryusinsk, Russia). Looking forward for a big change while standing at “fork in the road of destiny”.
Posted by: Aleksas | September 30, 2015 at 02:42 PM
Thank you for always offering on opening for the Flow of universal energy to me and through me. The word "renascent" captured my eye today. Friday I noticed a bank near me that had been renamed to that. Following the nudge of coincidence, I found the beautiful poem written by Edna St. Vincent Millay on Bartleby. Amazing! Here is a link: http://www.bartleby.com/131/1.html
Posted by: Rhondalark | October 19, 2015 at 07:27 AM