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 April 1 at 12 Aries. 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. This one ties previous Venus retrogrades to current Mercury retrogrades!
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 12nd degree of Aries is “A flock of wild geese.” In "the Astrology of Personality," where Rudhyar uses the original Dr. Jones' class notes on the symbols, 12 Aries is said to be a symbol of “A soul as yet socially immature and unadjusted; not come down to full and concrete expression,” and “self-discovery.”
We are told in the Astrological Mandala that this symbolizes "an idealistic reliance upon a mental image of universal order.” He states the wild goose is the spiritual bird Hamsa of Vedic wisdom, a symbol of our eternal Soul-Spirit as it flies through the sky in a precise order with others of its own kind.
He offers that the flight of wild geese shows us “a remarkably geometrical V-shape moving through the sky, but also that this flight is seasonal and therefore attuned to planetary rhythms. Thus, it symbolizes cosmic order, in contrast with the social-political order within a nation” symbolized by the preceding symbol.
So this is “order made visual on the background of the clear sky, … a ‘celestial’ type of order, even though it is earth-born birds which reveal it by their ability to keep their flight structured. This symbol therefore refers to the Soul-consciousness as visualized by the heaven-oriented mind. Yet this Soul-consciousness can be called transcendent because it has not yet become ‘incarnated’.”
He continues that this symbol is one of “Cosmic Order.” He says it falls in the span of Realization, and it's the second (counterpoint) degree of the individual, mental, and spiritual level of the scene of Desire in the Act of Differentiation.
So this Inferior Conjunction indicates we’re getting a new perspective on the cosmic order we’ve been living up to now, and perhaps get glimpses of an even greater cosmic order beyond that. This is the time to take a new look at the journey of your Soul, and see the others who are in your “flight group,” with each of you taking the lead at the right time.
According to Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, the degree is one of “the irresistible aspiration and indomitable desire for freedom which represents the real core of personality,” where our everyday lives are the “manifestation of (our) immortal potential.” He offers that this symbol may seem irresponsible and even capricious at times, but through it all one can see “the undeviating course characteristic of the migratory fowl and so a promise of obligations to be met and ideals to be realized.”
He offers us the keyword INSOUCIANCE. He states that when operating in a positive manner, this degree is "a completely naïve independence or an ever-immediate capacity for rising above any given involvement in experience.”
So we enter a time where Life is moving forward as Mind looks back on a cosmic order we’ve glimpsed in the past, or gets signs and signals of the cosmic order we’re living via the symbols and activities of our everyday lives. The keyword means “carefree,” “light-hearted,” “unconcerned,” and “nonchalant.” Of course, these have a variety of ways they can be interpreted.
Still, this is a degree of instinctive movement toward our “home,” whether near or distant, and our ability to migrate as we know we need to, whether physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual “locations.” Because it’s in Aries, we’ll get focused (hopefully with an open mind) to new initiatives, new spiritual truths, and understand how we ALL are “the wild goose” flying to our spiritual homes.
Just remember that all Mercury RX phenomena take a while to unfold, often during a subsequent RX period. Things that happen during a retrograde seem to have a way of moving forward at future retrograde. Right now we’re all receiving blessings since December 2017, and this can help us take a look back at how our lives have been transformed and freed via forces Uranus awakened between 2011 and 2016.
So we enter a time of the fusion of life and mind that offers us new insights about past and present communications showing us the path of our Spiritual journey across space and time. This can bring insights that will liberate us to fly free, being our authentic selves demonstrating a cosmic order. Take a new look at recent new developments in doing your Being, and open to a greater view on your life!
Looking Back, Looking Forward
The period ahead will show us glimpses of the future, and ways to re-envision the future we’ve been living since the Grand Fire trines of 2017. Interestingly, this one closely follows the track of the 2005 Mercury RX between 2 and 15 Aries, and overlaps the 2009 Venus retrograde between 30 Pisces and 16 Aries and the 2017 Venus retrograde between 26 Pisces and 14 Aries.
Add that this Inferior Conjunction also falls where Uranus transited between May and September 2013 and March 2014, and we can expect our “glimpses of higher order” to be directly related to events that transpired during these periods. 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 Inferior Conjunction can fuse hindsight and life experience to see how new forms of light, life, and perspectives have come forth after periods of adjustment, planning, and training in the past. The next four months are a time to embrace new ways of managing transitions into the future already formed by seeing the past through different angles and interpretations and finding alternative views or understanding.
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. January 2019 will bring powerful manifestations of what is set up by this Inferior Conjunction.
Aspects in Play
Remember that in any celestial event, forming aspects show the future, and the Conjunction makes only a few, but two very heavy aspects! There’s a pentelftile from the Moon, square to Mars and Saturn, and binovile to Pluto. The square to the Mars-Saturn conjunction promises a rough ride for some, and a new look at new roles and new disciplines already accepted and being lived.
We will have “forced attunements” which will help us find types of “elementary understanding” as we search for the Mystery. Those who are willing to adjust their perspective will find striking revelations that let them know they can come up into the Light, or must drill deeper to find that which will bring Light to the Life.
Other forming aspects (including those that are barely separating and partile) show the Moon opposed Venus (out of sign), quintile Mars and Saturn, quindecile Jupiter, opposed Uranus, and sesquisquare Neptune; Venus is trine Mars and Saturn and quadranovile Jupiter; Mars is semisquare Jupiter, conjunct Saturn tredecile Uranus, bielftile Neptune, and conjunct Pluto; Jupiter is triseptile Uranus, trine Neptune, and sextile Pluto; Saturn is tredecile Uranus, and Uranus is semisquare Neptune.
Of these, the most prominent are the squares from Aries to Capricorn, the Mars-Saturn conjunction trined by Venus and tredecile Uranus, and the Moon opposed Uranus quintile Mars and Saturn, setting up a special configuration throwing a huge amount of blessings into 7-11 Cancer. In fact, serendipity and gifts are in the air for those with sensitive points around 1-5 Gemini/Sag, 7-11 Cancer/Cap, 13-17 Leo/Aquarius, 19-23 Virgo/Pisces, and 25-29 Libra/Aries.
, and the very powerful Mars in its home sign of Scorpio conjunct Jupiter, trine Neptune, and quintile Pluto. Super efficiency!To remind you, Uranus semisquare Neptune anchors the very frictional energies of the Rhombus Diamond and its frictional cutting, grinding, and polishing process. It also puts the Individualizer at odds with the Collectivizer, which symbolizes the widespread “willful delusion/confusion,” as well as the assertion of the individuality challenging any tendency to drift, deceive, or procrastinate while illusions are being weaved.
Elements, Dispositor Backdrops, and the Jones Pattern
The element spread is identical to the recent Full Moon, showing very strong Earth emphasis, followed by Fire and Water, with only the Moon in an Air sign. Because the Moon in Libra is the only Air planet, what interactivity there will be primarily involves paying dues, doing repair and/or reconstruction work to correct the damage of past “storms,” and remembering we are never alone, and are as surrounded by Light, Life, and Love as a fish by water.
From now until the Sun conjunct Uranus on April 18, Mercury again leads the Sun. Mind will temporarily “lead the light” until then, and after then, Uranus will lead the light until Mercury conjuncts Uranus on May 13, after which Mercury will again lead the Light. This will continue for many months after that, since no other planet will lead the Sun until after the Superior Conjunction in early June, when Uranus will again lead the Sun, but from Taurus instead of Aries.
We have now moved into a brief period when we have THREE “final dispositors” for all the other energies. We have Venus in Taurus, ruling itself and the Moon; we have Saturn as the final dispositor for planets in Aries, Scorpio, and Capricorn; and we have Neptune as a “standalone” in Pisces. Because Mars is going to be in a Saturn-ruled sign until November, Saturn’s influence will only grow stronger as the weeks roll on, since it will be the final dispositor for all the planets in the last week of April and first 13 days of May, and the ruler of both Mars and Jupiter until November.
This Inferior Conjunction occurs during this period where we will have a “Bowl” Jones pattern with the occupied span between the Moon in late Libra and Venus in early Taurus, with no planet between Gemini and Virgo except TransPluto, a vast and subtle long wave influence. I discuss the Jones patterns at work in each Lunation article, so if you want to know more, please refer to the recent Full Moon article discussing the pattern.
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 29 Aquarius on February 17, 2018.
That “fusion of life and mind” marked the beginning of Mercury getting out in front of the Sun. The period since then has brought us through a major transformational period, where we “graduated into a new realm of being,” and have totally changed something in our lives in the area where we have 29 Aquarius. This reoriented our perspective, and we’ve been moving through a process of metamorphosis since mid-February.
Some will remember people and conversations in the past that are connected to something being reconsidered, researched, or rehearsed now, while others will reconnect with people and views from the past to come to a new understanding of a divine order they once shared with others. 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 mid-February and the second week of March before 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. As this Inferior Conjunction falls in Aries, it should provide us new ways to understand, communicate, or interpret the signs and signals of our future through looking back on fiery understanding and emergent developments since this time last year.
All in all, the coming 4 months will bring interesting returns, reflections, and rehearsals of how and what we’ve already dealt with in the realm of learning to use Aries energy productively. This includes all the usual Aries themes, such as opening to new vistas and life chapters, seeing how to be less edited in our responses while also being more diplomatic, acting with precision in the NOW once the plans have been clarified and set, and moving forward, not allowing the ghosts of the past to create ambivalence that would blunt our ability to act in a clear and direct manner.
So the new views, understandings, and reinterpretations shown by this Inferior Conjunction should be considered in the light of the house in which this retrograde and inferior conjunction is happening. 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. Wherever you have mid-Aries will bring a fusion of Life and Mind.
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.
A New Look At Mercury Retrograde
Because we’ll still be dealing with Mercury retrograde through April 15 (and to some extent for the 2 weeks after that while Mercury is still in its shadow zone), if you haven’t already, you should get a copy of A New Look At Mercury Retrograde. It offers in-depth information about Mercury retrograde in the various signs and houses, and what the Mercury Retrograde phenomenon is about.
By knowing more about 2016’s Mercury retrograde periods in Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, as well as the 2017 retrogrades in Capricorn and Sagittarius, Taurus and Aries, and Virgo and Leo, and 2018’s retrograde in Aries, you may see patterns in what has been going on in your life, the different things you’ve been taking a new look at and why, and how this "looking back" has influenced your choices as you moved through past events. And, by taking a look at the qualities of the coming July-August RX in Leo and the November-December RX in Sagittarius and Scorpio, you’ll get important information about what to expect in the months to come!
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.)
If you want to go back to any of the previous articles in this series, they are linked at the bottom of this article:
Copyright © 2018 Robert Wilkinson
Thank you Robert. This inferior conj. took place just conj. my natal moon in 11th house. I am at a point I launch a new project which I have been working on since May 2016, and which has been based on self growth work I have been doing since I came back from Thailand in March 2013, where I worked for 10 months.
Posted by: Kate Minogianni | April 07, 2018 at 07:16 AM