Mercury Stationary Direct Affecting October, November, and December 2015 Pt. 1 – Living Our Immortality

by Robert Wilkinson

Mercury goes direct in motion October 9, 7:58 am PDT, 10:58 am EDT, 3:58 pm BST, 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. It is now stationary at 1 Libra, affecting that area in our lives for 3 months to come.

Mercury, or Hermes, "the Guide of Souls," is also known as the Divine Trickster, as well as all lesser models. What does Mercury going stationary direct at 1 Libra hold for us? Perhaps it would be useful to take a look back on what the last Mercury direct station brought us since June 2015.

You will recall that the last time Mercury went stationary direct, it was at 5 Gemini, with some very dynamic aspects! Mercury was sextile Venus, quintile Jupiter, semisquare Uranus, and square Neptune.

So the 4 months before this retrograde in Libra that began 3 weeks ago featured productivity, unique opportunities and openings, with a need to rein in eccentricity and willfulness, and a need to be clear about what roles we are and are not playing. This can bring reform wherever we have Gemini in our charts, and show us a way out of confusion, ambiguity, or ambivalence.

Earlier this year, the stationary direct degree in February was 2 Aquarius, promising us all “Nature’s challenge,” and some had a “cosmic visitation” that galvanized them into action. That period between mid-February and mid-May is extremely important in showing us what is to come in January 2016, when Mercury goes stationary retrograde on that exact degree!

Stationary retrograde and direct points become “hot spots” set into motion by future transits. Interestingly, this SD point at 1 Libra will be set into major motion between November 8-13 when Venus and then Mars transits 1 Libra. Those will set this archetypal energy into motion in a huge way.

Following the usual pattern, this station at 1 Libra trines the previous two direct stations at 5 Gemini in June and 2 Aquarius this past February. Looking back on previous retrogrades, the October 2014 SRX point at 3 Scorpio trined the June 2014 SRX degree at 4 Cancer, trine to the Feb 2014 SRX degree at 4 Pisces and the same degree as the Nov 2013 SD degree at 3 Scorpio. That entire period from late 2013 through January 2015 gave us opportunities to learn, adapt, and communicate, using the emotional intelligence we cultivated between Summer 2013 and Summer 2014 and facilitated by these Mercury stationary points.

Throughout the past two years, we've activated new responses to the feeling-knowing (emotional intelligence) awakened during the radical shift humanity went through at Winter Solstice 2012. This feeling-knowing was stabilized for good or ill in the Summer of 2013, and should now be a part of our emotional makeup.

This year, the first 4 months were dominated by Mercury’s direct station at 2 Aquarius, showing us glimpses of a greater, broader way to make a contribution to our world through some sort of direct action. We mobilized in some way, rose to some occasion, and weaved or re-weaved something of our understanding so we could be guided to our Soul using the qualities of 2 Aquarius.

Over the past 4 months, due to Mercury’s last direct station at 5 Gemini, we’ve been glimpsing new discoveries in perception and action, with an eye to understanding something about “social propaganda,” and finding something we feels need efficient reform. Whatever had been repressed or bound up in some way exploded on to “the front page” of our lives.

Now we face 4 months of being guided to our Soul using the qualities of 1 Libra. Again, how we use those realizations to coordinate those into our lives over the next 4 months will show us our way to a different way of expressing our archetypal Self over the next few weeks.

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 that it falls at 1 Libra, it shows us that we’ll understand something about transfiguration, immortality, and “ideal perfect forms.” This marks the entry into a new idea or ideal in how we want to live and represent our sense of perfect action to our world.

The Sabian Symbol for Mercury’s Direct Station

The Sabian symbol for the first degree of Libra is "A butterfly made perfect by a dart through it." In the notes from Marc Jones’ classes on the symbols in The Astrology of Personality, Rudhyar says it is a degree of a "symbolic death that is initiation into spiritual reality and wisdom," "sudden awakening," and "craving for inner light."

In the Astrological Mandala, he states this degree is one showing us "the immortal archetypal reality that a perfect and dedicated life reveals." He goes on to say that this initiates a “coming together,” where “the descent or externalization of archetypal realities is gradually occurring,” involving “metamorphosis of ‘worm’ into butterfly,” symbolizing “the possibility of being transformed” into more than we are, perhaps even becoming an Initiate, an Adept, or a Perfect Human.

He continues that “the perfect butterfly thus represents the outcome of the process of occult discipleship,” where we begin to live a standard of perfection greater than we’ve ever known. He finishes with explaining this is an actional phase, “because in it the perfection of individual activity is revealed and immortalized. This is the symbolical Transfiguration,” where the human is “made sacred, becoming the embodiment of a pure archetype. He states this degree falls in the Span of Expectation, the Act of Group Integration, and Scene of Transfiguration on the Actional level.

Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this is a degree of a degree of pure potentiality as it is conditioned through imagination. We are told this degree contains "elements of individual consciousness emerging from primordial formlessness," and wisdom deriving from our willingness to embrace new experiences.

He says we come into “identifiable being through the nature which has been molded” for us, which we refine for our self-expression. He offers us the keyword ARTICULATION, and when positive, it offers us "awakening to the need for some more whole-souled focus of character."

So we now stand on the threshold of 4 months where “the Guide of Souls” will in some way lead us to forms of actional transfiguration, and being "made sacred" so that we can live some form of archetypal reality perfect for our Higher Self. That doesn't mean it will be easy. But it will show us elements of our immortality.

Of note is that this SD degree is the same as the Mars conjunct Saturn degree of July 2010. That implies that what we confront over the next 4 months leading us to forms of transfiguration has some of its roots in the two year period (July 2010-August 2012) governed by that conjunction. That implies those Libra archetypal initiatives somehow will be front and center via Mercury’s influence these next 4 months, perhaps in some form of renewal of view or understanding. Another possibility is that we shall be able to see what was happening then in ways that show us how we will be moved to act in the near future.

Aspects in the Shadow Zone

We will also be re-tracing our Libra lessons from now through October 24 due to Mercury still transiting its “shadow” span, ie, the span it’s in since it went retrograde at 16 Libra. Of course there will be residual echoes for the next 14 weeks as well.

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 an important conjunction, along with deciles, noviles, semisquares, septiles, sextiles, squares, biseptiles, quincunxes, and triseptiles with other planets, showing we’ve been getting a full range of experience that has brought inner conflicts, spiritual realizations, turning points, productivity, and sacrifices, and created some space in our lives that will be filled with new activities in the very near future.

It now begins to move forward. This direct period is interesting because Mercury immediately makes a strong biseptile to Pluto followed by a simultaneous triseptile to Neptune and sextile to Saturn, powering up the Grand Irrationality! Major sea changes and forks in the road of destiny very shortly down the road!! This shows a culminative turning point in how we express what we are in our world, with aftershocks coming in the 2nd and 3rd weeks of November.

After that Mercury makes few aspects until the quincunx to Neptune at 8 Libra on October 18/19, followed by a septile to Saturn and square to Pluto on Oct 22-23, after which it leaves its shadow zone. It is interesting that last Mercury direct after its RX period it triggered the Grand Irrationality just after it left the shadow zone, and now it’s going to trigger it just before it leaves its shadow zone. This will directly relate to events in late August, when Mercury first made the biseptile to Pluto and triseptile to Neptune, and late September, when the Sun made those aspects from early Libra.

Other aspects of note while Mercury is in its shadow zone are Sun opposition Uranus, sesquisquare Neptune, semisquare Saturn and then Jupiter, and quintile Pluto just as Mercury leaves the zone. We also see Venus square Saturn, then sesquisquare Uranus, square Neptune, and trine Pluto, Mars binovile Saturn, trine Pluto, conjunct Jupiter, and quincunx Uranus just as Mercury leaves the zone. The outer planet action involves Jupiter trine Pluto and Saturn sesquisquare Uranus.

So it seems that Jupiter will provide some great stability along with Mars, but the Sun and Venus will mainly provide tension, and Saturn’s hip deep in anchoring that tension. Lots of culmination and fulfilling Saturn’s lessons as we move toward the inner planets conjuncting Saturn a few weeks from now.

So the new archetypes are here and ready to be lived. The Now is here. What roles are you willing to become?

We’ll close today with a reminder that though Mercury is about to go direct and won’t be retrograde again until January, the retrograde we’ve just experienced will affect the coming months until the next Mercury stationary retrograde at 2 Aquarius in early January 2016. If you haven’t already gotten your copy, if you want to know more about the qualities of Mercury retrograde in Gemini, Libra, or any other past and future retrogrades in all the other signs and houses, you may want to go over to Amazon or your local bookstore for a paperback copy, or to the Amazon or Barnes and Noble ebook websites, and get the new 2nd edition of my book A New Look At Mercury Retrograde.

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, and 2016’s Mercury retrograde periods in Aquarius/Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo, 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.

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! It's a great resource to check out possible ways this Mercury retrograde effect could play out over the next 4 months.

In part 2, we'll continue to examine what we can expect over the next 4 months now that Mercury is direct.

© Copyright 2015 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Ann]

Thank you Robert, this has been very helpful.

[Nic]

Very interesting post and very clear too.Rings a lot of bells at a personal level and it will be interesting too to ponder how these energies shift the world current events.
Blessings be to all.

[H]

Thanks for this excellent news Robert - the station is conjunct my natal Jupiter in 4th (part of stellium with Uranus, Mars & South node). Really enjoy the info. on Sabian symbols - now know Jupiters degree/symbology & 'funnily enough' penned a poem re a Butterfly 'magical moment' the night of 5th October - dedicating it to my Dad (would have been his Birthday) - all prior to reading this - lovely synchronicity ;-)
With Nic re how Wordly events will shift - "Jupiters' stability" sounds encouraging.
Love to All, Namaste H