by Robert Wilkinson
Today we explore specifics of the Superior Conjunction of September 20-21 at 29 Virgo. 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 November 27 at 6 Sagittarius.
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 Virgo is “A man gaining secret knowledge from a paper he is reading.” In the original Jones class notes offered in The Astrology of Personality, Rudhyar says this is a degree of "the understanding which is built on patient steady work and persisting aspiration" and the "fecundative power of ancient wisdom.
In the Astrological Mandala, he goes on to say that this degree is where, due to a crisis, we should "seek to realign the renewed consciousness with the primordial Revelation of the Truth of Man,." And is a technique for tapping the "essential realities of what Man (the Human Archetype) represents and signifies in the universal Order" to find "Root Knowledge" providing safe foundations for rebirth. Here old inertias and obsolete structures can be replaced with new patterns that will "lead us to the other shore."
This is a technical degree finalizing Virgo energies, where we see how to find essential knowledge that can help us discover and develop new productive life patterns. He states this degree falls in the Span of Experimentation, Act of Stabilization, and Scene of Education on the Individual-Mental level.
Dr. Jones says this is a degree of "the world's conservatism, and of the refusal of nature to surrender any part of her heritage unnecessarily." Here "the fixity of ideas" of a culture protects its "hidden wisdom and unsuspected ways of knowing." Here we learn "deeper awareness is merely a broader reference or a further application of stabilities which constitute a universe at large."
He offers the keyword DISCOVERY. He says when this degree is operating positively, it symbolizes "imagination brought to the full of its powers through conscious effort."
So we'll use the ”fusion of life and mind” through the next Inferior Conjunction to look forward, anticipating things to come while being moved by a deep understanding based in patient study and application of knowledge so it becomes wisdom. Here we have a vision to take into the future of deeper awareness we may rely on within a universal frame of reference.
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.
Also remember that when Mercury outraces the Sun and moves ahead of it, it no longer "leads the light." Now "Life" leads "Mind" even as Mind blazes the trail the Light will follow these next few weeks. And in an extraordinary event, we now are back in a time when we have NO planet leading the Sun, so we have no way to “anticipate the Light.”
The only exception to this situation is when the Moon closes in on the Sun during its "Old Moon" 3rd Quarter and Balsamic phases when it’s in Leo and Virgo. Ordinarily we wouldn’t have any planet again “leading the Light” until the Inferior Conjunction in November at 6 Sagittarius. However, this year Venus goes retrograde, forms its Inferior Conjunction with the Sun on October 26 at 4 Scorpio
After that Venus leads the Sun until Mercury again makes its November Inferior conjunction, after which Mercury will “lead the Light” until the Superior Conjunction in late January 2019, when Venus will again lead the Light. The study of which planet leads the Sun is a crucial but often overlooked part of the study of how the planets work in sequence.
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 Virgo, we enter a time of seeing how to “ground the plan” in ways that are perfect for us, being educated in wisdom that’s been cooking deep within us for a while. Of course, some will also come to wisdom as a result of where their Mind leads their Life.
This will give us a chance to articulate our Light fused with “the Guide of Souls” to find or offer visions of a more enjoyable life plan, a simpler physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual heath discipline, with the ability to use the knowledge we’ve been learning for quite a while in forms demonstrating our wisdom as we dance 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 Virgo 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 Virgo.
Natal points in harmony with 29 Virgo will see productivity, understanding, stabilization, and unique qualities come forth in that chart house. Natal points in friction with 29 Virgo 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 November 27 at 6 Sagittarius, a degree that will bring us a more dynamic emotional or social engagement where we will have to demonstrate skill and fairness as we “play the game.”
The Lunar Influence and the Backdrop to What’s Happening
The Moon is at 13 Aquarius for this Conjunction. That means there will be a lot of idealistic visions and ways to make a greater contribution that will outlive us. As it falls in the second decan of Aquarius, we will understand many different pieces of the bigger picture, and bring form to the spiritual pulses we heard beginning 1998 when Uranus went SRX on this degree. That awakening to this “barometric” type of energy continued after then, and in 2004 Neptune went SD on this degree, moving these energies into the “Dreamscape” affecting us all.
The Sabian Symbol for the Moon implies we will find a point of view where we can observe our life from a place of peace, and retreat to the world of inner space where we may find the truth of our Soul. This degree helps us through feeling today what the metaphoric weather will be tomorrow.
The Superior Conjunction falling in Virgo makes Mercury the ruler of the conjunction. As Mercury is in Virgo, it is its own dispositor and very secure in its own self-awareness and self-expression. We all are having a new plan or functional order being introduced to us in some way as a result of past wisdom now ready to use in practical ways, so enjoy a) reading the manuscript which will illumine your mind, and/or b) offering the knowledge you have received in forms of practical wisdom the world needs.
Summing Up
Because it falls at 29 Virgo, this Superior Conjunction anticipates the coming Equinox, “pre-conditioning” those seasonal energies about to be launched. At the end of its sign, it makes only one aspect that isn’t out of sign, a very powerful septile to Jupiter at 21 Scorpio. Many will experience a conflict between old and new perspectives, with a willingness “to face chaos” as they embrace a new life order. What do you love? Turn away from all that would block or frustrate that love.
These septiles will bring many to a crucial fork in the road in their lives wherever this septile occurs. Areas affected include 27 Virgo – 1 Libra, 19-23 Scorpio, 10-14 Capricorn, 1-5 Pisces, 23-27 Aries, 15-19 Gemini, and 6-10 Leo. If you have a planet or point in these zones, you have an adventure waiting for you!
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 5:33 pm PST on November 16, 1:33 am GMT November 17, just hours after Venus goes SD at 26 Libra. The Mercury retrograde station will happen at 14 Sagittarius, the exact degree it went SD in December 2017. This will give us a look back at those “Ageless Wisdom forms” set into motion back then, and 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 my latest 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 October 28 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 Sagittarius and Scorpio, as well as the houses it occupies in your chart.
Here's the Amazon link to where you can order your paperback edition of A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. You can also find it on Kindle or Nook. It’s a great reference source where you can check out possible ways the coming Mercury retrograde effect could play out in November and December 2018.
Copyright © 2018 Robert Wilkinson
Harmony on not in my Chart. This is in my Ascendant. Let God do his magic <3
Posted by: helina | September 21, 2018 at 07:58 AM
Thanks for the clear and precise information.
Blessings be to all.
Posted by: Nic | September 21, 2018 at 07:15 PM