by Robert Wilkinson
While Mercury is now direct, it will be in its shadow zone through June 7, 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, where we can keep things on track despite the Great Fracturing of June!
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 SD Moon degree the exact degree where Mars and Saturn will conjunct in August, setting a new 2 year cycle into motion.
We can now take what we reviewed, rehearsed, researched, or found new information about that helped us remember and/or reevaluate some things and move forward with a larger view and contemplation of what has been and what will be, especially in the houses where we have Taurus, Gemini, and Virgo, since Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo, and has been retrograde in Taurus. I gave you some of the possible effects of Mercury in the houses in the article Mercury Retrograde in Taurus in April-May 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! (Yes, I know Mars is still RX, but now that it’s past the opposition, things will gradually speed up.) 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 a lot of friction in the air, mainly due to the Mutable T-square making for some very scattered energies, there are also some very strong specializing and spiritualizing aspects in the chart of the direct station. This is the end of many weeks of the Grand Earth Trine, stabilizing many elements of our lives so we can prepare for whatever happens during the Great Fracturing indicated by the Grand Mutable Crosses of June.
With the very favorable trine from Mercury to Jupiter and Pluto, those houses where we have Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Virgo, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Pisces will show a lot of practical understanding and harmony, helping us establish solid foundations for the long range Jupiter trine Pluto that’s been in play for many months. And as I introduced in part 1, the number of spiritual aspects involving the novile, septile, and quintile series aspects promise the next 13 weeks will bring numerous important changes, realizations, and challenges to accept changes that have been cooking for quite a while, and allow for the minor specializations and gifts available these next few weeks.
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 Christfest Full Moon in Gemini-Sagittarius in May 2016 Pt. 1 – Agitation, Activation, and Distribution As Mercury Goes Direct and the Sun Opposes Mars. Part 2 covers the Sabian Symbols and 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 is 8 degrees farther along, and is part of the Mutable T-square, since it conjuncts Saturn, and squares both Jupiter and Neptune. Besides these things, and the triseptile to Mercury discussed in part 1, the most significant factor is that it occupies 10 Sagittarius, the degree of “forced growth” where Mars and Saturn will conjunct this August.
Most of the other aspects in play were discussed in part 3 of the recent Full Moon. Besides the aspects we’ve already explored in this SD chart, we also see Moon decile Pluto, Mercury conjunct Venus, vigintile Sun, and quindecile Uranus. Venus is in an out of sign conjunction with the Sun and opposition to Mars, decile Uranus, and quadraelftile Pluto, Sun is opposed Mars and Saturn and is novile Uranus and binovile Neptune and sesquisquare Pluto. We finish this brief tally with Mars biquintile Uranus. Most of these are specializing, spiritual and/or gestative, all powered into action by the Sun opposed Mars, marking the beginning of the end of the Mars retrograde period.
So we now begin to move into a time of intense inner and outer changes that will test our character as we show we know what stabilizes 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 August 2016, when Mercury goes retrograde at 30 Virgo and by mid-September goes direct at 15 Virgo, in exact trine to this direct station at 15 Taurus, as well as Mercury’s January direct station at 15 Capricorn. September will bring many things together that have been promised by Jupiter, and show the core truths of the seeds awakened by Pluto since January 2015. These seeds have sprouted into various forms during the past several month, and this will continue through the rest of the year.
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.
The January 2016 helped mobilize us to escape from some adverse circumstance or condition via a “cosmic visitation.” We opened to different ways of seeing responsibility and duty, “the goodness of life in trials of regeneration,” and some form of “administered responsibility.” We’ve learned to exercise our 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 youus into higher and greater effective ways of living and doing your Being.
This one will help us see where we find absolute stability, and show us our inner resources that we’ll draw on as we walk on through the storm. This will bring us even more information and insights about recent life events that may have caused distress through situations where others were being too aggressive, or where we had to defend our point of view, even if we didn’t want to.
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 ideas, understanding, and vision into deeper experience and feelings, and then as we feel our way to fundamental facts, we will be able to act on that sense of things. This in turn will lead us to even newer understandings and visions, which will again lead us through feelings into actions.
From here we move forward into a clearer, more focused and effective future! Stay alert for “forced growth” that will yield a new era beginning in August. While there will be aggravating conditions, and sometimes things will be going everywhere and nowhere simultaneously, remember this is the nature of the collective field, and we always have the power to do as we need to and not be a victim of circumstances.
This one promises many gifts, and a lot of realizations that we’ve been waiting on for a long time. Follow through, trust in your innocence, accept and/or give gifts as you can, and accept this is a rebeginning of a long term growth in your life. After the fracturing, much will be cleared out so that we can move in specific directions in August with the focus being wherever 10 Sagittarius falls in our charts.
Mercury stationary direct links past, present, and future in new ways. This one puts the focus on values, resources, and character building through seeing to the core of things, paying attention to details, and following through on simple practical methods. Your understanding will lead you to deeper and vaster feelings of possible futures. 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 Taurus, or any other past and future retrogrades in all the other signs and houses, if you haven’t already, please consider getting a copy of A New Look At Mercury Retrograde from Createspace.com 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 the January 2016 retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn, you can find out more about what we can expect from the coming 2016 Mercury retrogrades in 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 the links to all the previous articles on what this April-May 2016 Mercury Retrograde in Taurus has been about:
Mercury Retrograde in May 2016 – How Will the Inferior Conjunction in Taurus Manifest in the Future?
Mercury Retrograde – Time For A New Look at the Guide of Souls
The Guide of Souls in April 2016 - Mercury Slowing Down, Preparing to go Retrograde at 24 Taurus
© Copyright 2016 Robert Wilkinson
Great two post on Mercury S/D. I am amazed at how so many things are following the path of energies described in the Full Moon and these two posts. Truly helpful nd enlightening. Many thanks Robert,
Blessings be to all.
Posted by: Nic | May 22, 2016 at 07:06 PM