by Robert Wilkinson
Today we explore specifics of the Superior Conjunction of February 17 at 29 Aquarius. This “fusion of life and mind” will impact the rest of the Mercury direct period, as well as the first part of its next retrograde up to the Inferior conjunction coming on April 1 at 12 Aries.
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 7 weeks.
Since Mercury is direct in motion and moving faster than the Sun, it now makes a “superior conjunction” that begins a several week period when mind will race ahead of life, heralding things to come. The degree of any superior conjunction shows how our perceptions have caught up with our lives, which can bring forth a new expression of our light.
The Sabian Symbol for the Superior Conjunction
The Solar-Mercurial degree symbol for the Superior Conjunction for the 29th degree of Aquarius is “Butterfly emerging from chrysalis.” In the original Jones class notes offered in The Astrology of Personality, Rudhyar says this is a degree of “Immortality of the real self,” “graduation into a new realm of being,” and “confident projection of self; lack of self-confidence.”
In the Astrological Mandala, he goes on to say that this degree symbolizes “the capacity to utterly transform the character of one’s consciousness by radically altering the structural patterns of everyday living and the types of relationships one enters upon.” He goes on to state this is about “nothing short of a complete renewal of all the implications of being alive as a human individual will do.”
He says this symbol shows us the “potential ability of every human being to participate in a higher realm of evolution after his or her emergence from a critical state of transition.” He gives us the keyword Metamorphosis, as well as “Initiation” in a spiritual sense where we can enter a higher realm of conscious existence. He says this degree falls in the Span of Perspective, Act of Capitalization, and Scene of Management on the Individual-Mental level.
Dr. Jones says this is a degree of our “insatiable appetite for experience” of “intellectual self-assurance,” and of an eagerness “for a complete or effective grasp of all possible knowledge.” This will show us “a continually self-renewing purity” of our mind that shows us how “nature herself springs from her overall potential as spontaneously as (our) ideas come forth from the formless matrix of (our) inner being.”
He offers us the keyword EMANATION. He states that when operating in a positive manner, this degree “is uncompromising faith in the promise of existence itself and in the wonders of a continuing creation.”
So we'll use the ”fusion of life and mind” through the next Inferior Conjunction to look forward, anticipating things to come while experiencing a radical transformation of some sort. Here the light coupled with the inward turned mind results in a transformation of our lives, taking form in some greater Spiritual ideal that reveals our true Spiritual Self.
What’s Up After the Superior Conjunction?
At this conjunction, mind is no longer following life, trying to catch up to it. Now mind races forward as herald, catching glimpses of knowledge, perception, and understanding that shows us where life is headed in the near future.
This Superior Conjunction can fuse foresight and life experience to see how new forms of light, life, and perspectives can come forth these next few weeks. Because this “fusion of life and mind” takes place in the third third of Aquarius, it represents a time of seeing how we may become the articulation of the Light fused with “the Guide of Souls” to offer visions of a greater good, a more ideal sense of fairness, and a more balanced, elegant, mature and responsible way of moving forward at the intersection of Fate Street and Freewill Street on Eternity Boulevard.
As I have pointed out in the first article about the Superior Conjunction, during this Superior Conjunction at 29 Aquarius we will have “a fusion of life and mind” that will help set a platform. In blending these principles we will see a shift in our affairs, attitudes, and understanding about those things symbolized by Mercury in Aquarius.
Natal points in harmony with 29 Aquarius will see productivity, understanding, stabilization, and unique qualities come forth in that chart house. Natal points in friction with 29 Aquarius will see turning points, blocks, braking action, and release of potential. These are the primary “Life-Mind” fusion lessons through the next Inferior Conjunction on April 1 at 12 Aries, a degree that will bring us "visions of our Soul’s path through space and time.”
The next few weeks will externalize some of the themes of last August’s Total Solar Eclipse at 29 Leo, so expect some major events in March, April, May, and June that will show what’s getting shut down from that major event last Summer. Some will gets glimpses of how they’re in the middle of a major transformational process, while others will see a transformed future, once they emerge from their cocoon.
The Lunar Influence and the Backdrop to What’s Happening
The Moon is at 18 Pisces for this Conjunction. That means there will be a lot of vast feelings and a need for closure on old ways, forgiving all you can, during the next few weeks. As it falls in the second decan of Pisces, there will be “containers to explore” as we feel our way through letting go of old insecurities and needs and capturing what we need to feel secure and cared for.
The Sabian Symbol for the Moon implies we will revise many ideas by “returning to sources,” with new environments opening up so we may present ourselves to “the public” for recognition. Whenever appropriate, “put on the show,” rouse others out of their routines and boredom, and generate excitement through sharing your skills. There will be gifts for those who find their genius in “organizing divergent capabilities” for some goal they share in common with others.
The Superior Conjunction falling in Aquarius makes the Saturn the worldly ruler and Uranus the spiritual ruler of the conjunction. As Saturn is in Capricorn, it is its own dispositor and very secure in its own self-awareness and self-expression. We all are having “a new law of life” revealed to us in some way, so gladly take on the discipline or responsibilities that show up.
As the two co-rulers of the conjunction are in a very serendipitous tredecile, some very favorable and unique interactive opportunities will be available for all these next few weeks. I explained more about this aspect which brings interactive blessings and opportunities in the recent Solar Eclipse article on the aspects in play, so please reference that if you want to know more about this special window in time created by the dance of Saturn and Uranus.
Summing Up
Because it falls at 29 Aquarius, this Superior Conjunction interestingly makes no forming aspects with any other planet until it enters Pisces. That implies our Life/Mind awareness is at a transformational threshold unto itself, almost like the “cocoon” that we’re breaking free from these next few weeks.
Examine how your mind is self-insulating from external threats and challenges, as well as “changes in atmosphere.” See if you can’t break free of the wrappings around your understanding, or that which has kept your life insulated as you grew from “worm” to “butterfly.” Your life and mind now have the ability to take wings and fly, but you must break out of that which has bound you up to now.
From here, even though Mercury will outrace the Sun for the next few weeks, it’s going to begin to slow down in speed, and will go retrograde at 11:34 pm PST on March 22, 5:19 pm PDT, March 23 at 1:19 am GMT, at 17 Aries, a degree of withdrawing from some external things with dignity and dispassion. That will give us yet another period where we can learn about how Mercury functions from a retrograde “review and return” perspective.
As I explained in new book Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend, 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.
Because we’ll be dealing with Mercury retrograde energies beginning March 8 when it enters its shadow zone, please take a look at the appropriate chapters in my book A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. You can find out all you need about Mercury Retrograde in Aries, as well as the houses it occupies in your chart.
Here's the Amazon link to the page where you can purchase a paperback edition of A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. You can also get a Kindle ebook at that site, or go to Barnes and Noble for a copy on Nook. (Please note that if you go to amazon, make sure you're ordering the 2015 edition, and not the earlier one. There are plenty of used ones for sale, but they are far inferior to the newest edition.) It's a great resource to check out possible ways the coming Mercury retrograde effect could play out in March, April, May, and June 2018.
Copyright © 2018 Robert Wilkinson
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