by Robert Wilkinson
While Mercury is now direct, it will be in its shadow zone through May 3, 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 2 weeks, expect some very productive intersections of past and future, giving us a chance to show what we’ve learned since March! Again, the theme has been and continues to be about past, present, and future "withdrawals with dignity" allowing space to express new ways to do our Being!
As Mercury’s direct station happens a little over six hours before the New Moon, you can find out more about the patterns shaping the next few months by re-reading those articles posted last week. As Mercury goes direct, almost all the planetary aspects are the same, with a few exceptions, mainly the Moon.
If the aspects in play right now are any indication, we’re collectively at an interesting juncture of emergent Aries energy in square to established Capricorn energy. The squares are waxing, so symbolize emergent forces, and with where the positions are right now, this is precipitating some things directly related to 2014-2016, when Uranus and Pluto traversed the parts of Aries and Cap currently being stimulated.
In the bigger picture, besides this major sign square, we are still in the midst of the longer term “action beats” of the very heavy Uranus semisquare Neptune. This is the waxing semisquare, and indicates an emergent conflict between the collective consciousness and the individualizing pulse striving to make itself manifest. These will be in play for the rest of 2018 and beyond!
In this chart, the Moon is at 17 Aries, the exact degree where Mercury went stationary retrograde 3 weeks ago. This puts a major focus on what we’ve withdrawn from with dignity, or what we need to withdraw from, with dignity. It’s an old Moon, completely future oriented and able to release visions of the future.
Major forming (and partile separating) aspects from the Moon include a semisextile to Venus, square to Mars, opposition to Jupiter, and trine to Pluto. The opposition with a sextile and trine is very productive of understanding and stability despite the “Tension of Opposites” involving Venus and Jupiter. This throws very productive energies into the Cancer void, promising a union of the old and new, the established with the innovative.
Monitor expectancies, and see what it takes to integrate emotionally or socially to achieve a measure of what you hope for. The Sun conjunct Uranus lights up the Saturn tredecile Uranus, showing the Light of serendipity for those who choose to enter a new Life of Harmonics with others in their “Cosmic Choir.” The very favorable linkage between Scorpio, Capricorn, Pisces, and Taurus should be very good for all with planets or points anywhere between 14 and 24 degrees of those signs, as well as Cancer and Virgo.
There are 2 septile-series aspects in play at this direct station. We see Sun triseptile Jupiter, which like the tredecile, brings the Jupiter triseptile Uranus back into play. And we have Mars biseptile Uranus, just coming off its septile to Jupiter. So while all these are not tight to all the others in the series (Sun is too wide to be biseptile to Mars, Mars too wide to be septile Jupiter), together it lights up a lot of sectors that will bring “forks in the road of destiny” to all those affected.
These zones include 21-25 Scorpio, 13-17 Capricorn, 4-8 Pisces, 25-29 Aries, 17-21 Gemini, 8-12 Leo, and 29 Virgo-3 Libra. If you have something in these zones, you have recently turned a major corner, made a crucial decision, or done something to move your destiny in the direction of your choice which will continue to play out over the next few months, especially as Mercury transits the Aries zone, as well as when the inner planets transit the Gemini zone.
Again, most of the aspects other than the Moon’s are identical to those in the recent New Moon chart, so please consult them to understand the larger pattern at work in the present. The main harmonics are found in the favorable “4 note chord” involving planets making sextiles and trines between Scorpio, Cap, Pisces, and Taurus, released through the Aries planets.
If we include the closely separating partile aspects, this chart shows a huge number of specializing aspects! We have 1 quintile, 1 biquintile, 2 tredeciles, and 2 quindeciles. Besides the 2 triseptiles, among spiritual aspects we have only 1 novile and 1 binovile.
Quintiles, biquintiles, tredeciles, and quindeciles bring out gifts, while the elftile series aspects bring forth spiritual realizations. Noviles show us points of realizations going into or coming out of gestation, while septiles put us at spiritual forks in the road of destiny. If you want to know more about these aspects, when you’re done here please go to The Specializing Aspects Pt. 1 – Quintile, Tredecile, Decile, and Biquintile and The Specializing Aspects Pt. 2 – The Quindecile and the Vigintile, as well as The Spiritual Aspect Series – The Novile, Septile, and Elftile Harmonic Aspects where you’ll find more about the meaning of these aspects and the glyphs associated with them. Also, remember that all of these set up harmonic resonance void points all over our charts.
So from here Mercury moves forward! We can now take what we reviewed, got a new understanding of, 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 Gemini and Virgo, since Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo.
As it was retrograde in Aries, those house(s) in our charts have been the areas where our review, reflections, returns, reconsiderations, and/or rehearsals have taken place. I gave you some of the possible effects of Mercury in the houses in the article Mercury Retrograde in Aries in March-April 2018 – 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! This is the end of the first of many retrogrades, so move forward quickly to get as much accomplished as you can! To note, even though Mercury is about to zoom forward, we’re still looking at both Saturn and Pluto about to go retrograde in April, marking the beginning of a long review of what both those planets have introduced to us in 2018.
Once we get to late May and Mars begins to slow, we’re in for about 6 months of tag-team retrogrades involving Mars, Mercury, Venus, and then Mercury again. Get everything you can in play for the next few weeks, with an eye to the roundabout dance the planets will be doing from June to December!
So things should start moving forward anew fairly quickly. Right now, it’s a good time 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.
Past Mercury Retrogrades and What They Taught Us
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 retrograde 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 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 us into higher and greater effective ways of living and doing your Being.
The May 2016 retrograde gave us insights into what would bring a greater stability, and the inner resources we would draw on as we walked through the storm of June, July, and August. We saw where we had to mobilize, or defend our point of view, or administer some form of expertise. Many things began to come together on the practical level during those months, preparing us for the latest retrograde period.
The August-September 2016 retrograde brought us communications, insights, or interactions from the past that will help us “escape from a narrow destiny.” Those who are willing to rise to an occasion to transcend their limited past have increasingly found themselves living a new destiny. The December 2016-Jan 2017 stabilized the Earth pattern in our charts, and led us into this year’s pattern of Mercury retrogrades which will combine Earth and Fire.
The April-May 2017 retrograde gave us unique insights into past losses, and we understood why some things had to die and be buried if we wanted to be where we’re at right now, or alternately, we knew what had to end this Summer to open the door to a life renewal in the future. The August-September retrograde unveiled many things, opened the door to a much more inspired and brightened life, and we began to follow a longing for new ways to live.
The December 2017 retrograde gave us all unique blessings, some of which are yet to come, and we’ve just been through a period of being exposed to various forms of an ancestral wisdom we’ve been learning to use. That review helped us come to understand “the power of our spiritual ancestry.” It gave us a new look at the wisdom-forms Saturn brought us in 2016 and 2017, and brought us to the threshold of the new life we’ve just opened to.
From Here We Move On
Things related to Mercury will speed up considerably for the next three months, so flow with the new YOU you’re experiencing! Meditate on the symbol “A triangle with wings,” since that’s the foundation for Mercury to move forward. Some will experience pure “Be-ness” in self-transcendent ways, imagining a new form of natural expression. As this station was close to the New Moon, clearly the next month the themes of this direct Station will be front and center!
Concentrate, give a new interpretation to old ideas, embrace the changes as part of “the cutting process” that will make you pleasing and valuable to others. At this time of inspired practicality and practical inspiration, we continue to open to new ways of understanding things, new ways of envisioning what we want to see, and new communication needs. These will naturally lead us to know what to do. Just remember to take time to feel what needs to be felt, interact with those you need to interact with, and enjoy what needs to be enjoyed.
Search for a new way to view and understand everything you’re seeing, since this is a time of direct action with so much Aries in the air these next few weeks. When you know what you need to know, then act with precision and focus in the NOW, using your awakened Aries energy to do what you need to do. After you see what must be done, then do it, and then take the time to enjoy what you’ve done. You could experience a surge of spontaneity and freedom!
A New Look at Mercury Retrograde
In a final plug as Mercury moves forward in its shadow zone, for those who want to know more about the qualities of Mercury retrograde in all the signs and houses, please consult your copy of the expanded 2nd edition of A New Look At Mercury Retrograde, available on Createspace.com and Amazon. It's a handy reference text for everything you could want to know about Mercury retrograde people and Mercury retrograde in the various signs and houses. It explores how Mercury retrograde people think and work through things, and possible ways parents of Mercury retrograde children can facilitate the roundabout interpretive and communication styles in their child’s development. 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.)
© Copyright 2018 Robert Wilkinson
Comments