by Robert Wilkinson
While Mercury is now direct, it will be in its shadow zone through February 14, after which it enters its next phase of moving through "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 many things beginning to pull together that require our immediate attention.
Here we enter a time of dramatic release of energy, changes in direction, shifts in emphasis, and very stable practical grounding based in seeing clearly to the core of things. This time moves many things forward in the realm of practical action, with the Sun illuminating and powering up the themes of that which has mobilized us to leave behind adverse conditions and get it in gear.
We can now take what we reviewed, rehearsed, researched, or found new information about that helped us reevaluate something and move forward with a larger view and contemplation of what has been and what will be, especially in the houses where we have Gemini, Virgo, Capricorn, and Aquarius, since Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo, and has been retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn. I gave you some of the possible effects of Mercury in the houses in the article Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn in January 2016 – What It Means For Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces
Since it is now direct, if there have been misunderstandings or delays these past 3 weeks, it's all moving forward from here! We should be able to use the different information, views, and approaches we’ve been examining through the retrograde lens these past several weeks to find a new understanding of what needed work in our inner and outer world.
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 will continue to see more facets to approaching a more balanced life and a new way to live and BE our higher ideals.
The Good To Come
While there is some degree of friction in the air, it is outweighed by the tremendous good promised by this direct station. And as noted in part 1, the great number of spiritual aspects involving the novile, septile, and elftile series aspects promises the next 13 weeks will bring numerous important changes, realizations, and challenges to apply faith in practical ways to transcend dualities in several life areas. With the very favorable trine from Mercury to Jupiter, those houses where we have Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces will show a lot of practical understanding and harmony, helping us establish solid foundations for the long range Jupiter trine Pluto in play for the next several months, culminating with the Grand Earth Trines of April and May. This will be great for those with planets in middle and late Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.
Because this station falls so close to the Full Moon, you can find a lot more about the aspects, configurations, and Jones patterns at work by going to The Full Moon in Aquarius-Leo in January 2016 Pt. 1 – The Light of Healing at a Turning Point in Faith. Part 2 covers the dispositors that dominate the backdrop of this period, so check that out as well. Part 3 goes into greater depth regarding the aspects and other factors in play in that Lunation, many of which are present at this direct station of Mercury.
The main difference between the Lunation chart and this chart is the position of the Moon. In this chart, the Moon makes a sesquisquare to Mercury conjunct Pluto, providing a bit of a goad to all of us to move forward into new work at the dawning of a new day in our lives. We also find an out of sign trine to Venus, a just separating quadranovile to the Sun, a powerful quintile to Mars, and a quadrelftile to Uranus. The quintile to Mars offers us an opportunity to show how we’ve specialized our ability to function at a high level of social interaction, since Mars is the exact degree where Saturn went stationary retrograde in 2013. The next several months will bring many opportunities to function at that “ambassadorial” level of interaction.
As I noted, at its station Mercury is just minutes from an exact conjunction to Pluto and septile to Neptune, thus engaging the Grand Irrationality. This indicates major shifts in the world, with old archetypes dying and new archetypes appearing. The degrees of Mercury, Neptune, and Pluto make it clear that the call to renewal we’ve all heard for the past 2 years is now going to take clear shape in new forms that require a bit of “tender care” while we drop unnecessary things. This primarily impacts planets and angles near 1-4 Libra, 23-27 Scorpio, 14-18 Capricorn, 6-10 Pisces, 27 Aries-1 Taurus, 18-22 Gemini, and 9-13 Leo.
Another powerful configuration active right now involves Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus. We find Venus septile Mars and biseptile Uranus, Mars septile Jupiter and triseptile Uranus, and Jupiter triseptile Uranus, making for FOUR points of a Great Septile, a seven-pointed Star of Destiny. Those most affected by this powerful “fork in the road of destiny” energy have planets or angles near 20-24 Virgo, 11-15 Scorpio, 3-7 Capricorn, 24-28 Aquarius, 15-19 Aries, 7-11 Gemini, and 28 Cancer-2 Leo.
So we now begin to move into a time of intense inner and outer changes that will help us stabilize our lives in practical ways. Mercury direct will open many views and perspectives over the next 3 months, and the insights we receive and weaving we do in that period will lead us to a new Mercury retrograde era by April 2016, when Mercury goes retrograde at 24 Taurus and by mid-May goes direct at 15 Taurus, in exact trine to this direct station at 15 Capricorn. That will mark a significant point in time of stabilizing the seeds awakened by Pluto since January 2015 that will further sprout in purified form as a result of Mercury’s current conjunction to Pluto.
Past Mercury Retrogrades and What They Taught Us
In the 2012 Mercury retrogrades, we went through a process of learning how to look at the past with different eyes, seeing the storms and trials we had overcome as rehearsals for what was yet to come. Through retrospection, we called up old powers in new ways that helped us in late 2012. Mercury retrograde in November 2012 put us on the threshold of being able to know without thinking, directly experiencing communication rather than having to go through a linear evaluation of hearing and interpreting words.
Due to the Mercury direct point at 6 Pisces in March 2012, the same degree where Neptune went stationary retrograde in June 2012, we awakened to a new dedication, a new set of motives, a new intuition, and a new way of bringing closure to old ghosts. We then finished letting go of those ghosts, and after the June-July 2013 Mercury retrograde in Cancer, we felt a new permanence, a new courage, a new fearlessness, and a new way of knowing how to live whatever “Ageless Wisdom” is ours to live.
The Oct-Nov Mercury retrograde in Scorpio helped us reorient and focus, and eliminate desires and stuck feelings we no longer needed to carry. We found a deeper togetherness with people and experience, and found an ability to cooperate with others in building something.
The February 2014 Mercury retrograde in Pisces and Aquarius gave us new insights into collective consciousness, and through a sequence of “graduating into a new realm of being,” rose to a challenge and cooperated with others to bring a metaphoric “forest fire” under control. We saw our interconnections, examined our deeper feelings and aspirations, and found new ways of managing our energies at the close of an old life cycle, all of these wherever we have 19 Aquarius through 4 Pisces in our charts
The June 2014 Mercury retrograde in Cancer and Gemini gave us new insights into needs, habits, and feelings, where we went through arguing pros and cons relative to a major life shift that already happened previously. We learned to practice adaptability and patience as we saw what had to be pruned back or reshaped in our world.
The October 2014 retrograde in Scorpio and Libra gave us a new understanding of how we and others are or are not cooperating as we build some things to be enjoyed in common, and now we can find peace in "letting go, letting G_d." We took a new look at the past to see what needed repair or reconstructions, and then moved forward by retiring in peace in October 2014.
The 2015 January-February retrograde in Aquarius gave us a new understanding on some things we didn’t understand before, with the unveiling helping us re-evaluate something related to the areas where we have Gemini and Virgo, as well as any houses ruled by planets we have in these signs. We found ways to free ourselves from adverse conditions, and now are free to move forward into new discoveries.
The May-June retrograde in Gemini gave us new techniques of communicating at a distance, and offered some the beginning of telepathy. That was a time of new information, new discoveries, and new ways of evaluating things related to where we have Gemini, and some areas melted down so that some things repressed in our minds could break loose.
The October 2015 retrograde helped us learn what needed repair or reconstruction in our lives, and many were offered opportunities to bust misconceptions, and make progress in their vision despite limiting conditions. It featured pioneering new initiatives, and new ideals, Whether through direct or indirect information or realizations, we received insights, returns, and understanding about things we didn’t know about before the retrograde began.
This past retrograde we just finished helped mobilize us to escape from some adverse circumstance or condition, and offered some a “cosmic visitation.” We have reworked or gotten new information about life areas (houses) where we have late Capricorn and early Aquarius, and are now able to weave the seeds of transformation shown us the past year into new ways of being led to our Soul.
So as Mercury now goes direct in motion, open up and be receptive to expressing different ways of seeing responsibility and duty, since the direct degree involves “the goodness of life in trials of regeneration,” and some form of “administered responsibility.” Exercise your divine power of Economy of Energy, purify what needs purifying, let go of what needs to be let go of, and allow the quickening to move you into higher and greater effective ways of living and doing your Being.
Things related to Mercury will speed up considerably for the next three months, so flow with the greater vision and understandings that have been revealed and will continue to be revealed over the next weeks and months. We can follow our experience into new visions and new understanding, and then act on that new understanding with precision and deliberation. While it’s time to say goodbye to old limitations and relationships, it opens new collective awareness and the possibility of being given gifts if we just don’t insist on knowing everything all the time.
From here we move forward into a clearer, more focused and effective future! Stay focused on the bigger integrated picture as you move through some peculiar and non-rational yet productive circumstances and developments, and see what’s important and what isn’t, what’s core and what’s peripheral, and the place and function each part plays in a greater whole or process. So this links past, present, and future in a new way of approaching duties and responsibilities, as well as how to display effective power publicly. inner and outer relationships. Your feelings will lead the way to greater vision and understanding. Then you’ll know what to do and when.
A New Look at Mercury Retrograde
In a final plug as Mercury goes from retrograde to direct, for those who want to know more about the qualities of Mercury retrograde in Aquarius, Capricorn, or any other past and future retrogrades in all the other signs and houses, please order up your copy of the new 2nd edition of my book A New Look At Mercury Retrograde from Amazon or your local bookstore for a paperback copy, or to the Amazon or Barnes and Noble ebook websites.
The first major work on Mercury retrograde ever written, 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. I go into how Mercury retrograde people think and work through things, and possible ways that parents of Mercury retrograde children can facilitate the roundabout interpretive and communication styles in their child’s development.
Of course, 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. Besides getting insights into this just-past retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn, you can find out more about what we can expect from the coming 2016 Mercury retrogrades in Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn.
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 January 2016 Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn has been about:
Mercury Retrograde – Time For A New Look at the Guide of Souls
The Guide of Souls in January 2016 - Mercury Slowing Down, Preparing to go Retrograde at 2 Aquarius
© Copyright 2016 Robert Wilkinson
Thank you again Robert for your constant insight and encouragement. You are much appreciated by many people, including me!
Posted by: Clay Uptain | January 26, 2016 at 10:27 AM
Spot on! I have had a glimpse at the Universe's sense of humour and had a laugh. So much good and abundance is right ahead of us, even when we may still feel and sense the unknown. Great line:" the possibility of being given gifts if we just don’t insist on knowing everything all the time." Later followed by great guidance and clarity as to gain understanding.
Again thanks a lot Robert. No doubt that having just read your book on Mercury Retrograde has been of great help too.
Blessings be to all.
Posted by: Nic | January 26, 2016 at 11:13 AM