by Robert Wilkinson
Today we explore specifics of the Superior Conjunction of January 29-30 at 10 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 March 14-15 at 25 Pisces.
To remind you, the superior conjunction occurs when Mercury (mind) conjuncts the Sun (life) when in direct motion, while the inferior conjunction is when Mercury (mind) conjuncts the Sun (life) when Mercury is retrograde. Each operates as a fusion of Life and Mind, but in each “Mind moves in a different direction.”
When either conjunction happens, it indicates that signals, messages, and ideas from either outer sources or subconscious sources will fuse with the life principle. This sets the tone for the lessons involving how our minds are relating to our lives during the weeks which follow the inferior conjunction.
Since its last retrograde, Mercury in direct motion has been moving faster than the Sun. It has now caught up to the Sun and making a “superior conjunction,” beginning a several week period when mind will race ahead of life, heralding things to come when the Sun transits the span Mercury will show us over the next few weeks. 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.
As this Superior conjunction at 10 Aquarius happens on the exact degree where Mars went stationary retrograde last June, it brings a time of forward movement related to how that Mars RX period played out in our lives. It was a time to withdraw from our own and others’ projections, and plan anew. What had been “popular” before that time was no longer popular after that time. This superior conjunction will help us understand how what we left behind is related to our lives in the present.
The Sabian Symbol for the Superior Conjunction
The Solar-Mercurial degree symbol for the Superior Conjunction at 10 Aquarius is “A popularity that proves ephemeral.” In the Marc Jones class notes from The Astrology of Personality, Rudhyar states this degree is one of “ability to rise above vicissitudes of passing fortune,” “faithfulness to self,” dependence upon native endowment,” and “projection.”
In his Astrological Mandala, we are told that this degree is one of “the need to deal with human beings as persons rather than as screen upon which one projects one’s dream and ideal.” He goes on to state this degree contrasts the ideal and the reality, the person and the archetype they seem to represent. He states “the star’s popularity fades away, the person remains.”
He continues that this symbol is about “person versus archetype. This can mean a critical need to self-evaluation.” He offers that this is in the Span of Defensiveness, and is the culminating degree on the emotional-cultural level of the Scene of Contribution in the Act of Capitalization.
Dr. Marc Jones says this symbol is one of “the eternal challenge which comes to an individual at every point of climax in (their) experience, and of the swing of the pendulum between an endorsement and a repudiation of (our) efforts by (our) social group.” He offers that we must “accept the applause as encouragement in (our) self-strengthening” even as we search for “continued sustainment from (our) own ability of being.”
He continues that “a courageous self-confidence and an unflagging faith are worthy of recognition, but only in their moment of significance.” He offers us the keyword APPROBATION, and says when this degree is working positively, it’s one of “a gift for bringing the issues of life to a dramatic consummation at a time of crisis.”
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 seeing how we’ve risen or are rising above life’s “vicissitudes” while reverting to our “native endowment.” We will again take a new look at some things we’re projecting on to our world, as well as those we’ve accepted from our world, and in some cases, step back from them, if only temporarily.
Clearly the coming weeks mark a “climax in experience” where we can become stronger while searching for “sustainment of our ability of being.” Have self-confidence based in what you’ve left behind, and the new things which are more “popular” to you and others than what was in fashion even 6 months ago.
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. This is the time when we stretch out into the future, with a period of looking back coming in March at the next Mercury retrograde.
In this chart, now that Mercury no longer leads the Sun, it leaves Pluto as the “entry to the Light.” Pluto is again on the same degree where it went stationary retrograde last April, so the coming weeks will also have reminders of the various forms of dignified or graceful surrender we’ve done to achieve forms of spiritual victory. So again, our way to “anticipate the Light” is through surrendering with dignity to achieve a spiritual victory.
Pluto will lead the Sun until the brief period before the next New Moon when the Moon will lead the Sun. After that Pluto will again lead the Sun until after Venus conjuncts Pluto in late February. At that point Venus will lead the Sun, moving us from a Plutonic entry to a Venusian entry to 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 at the end of the first third of Aquarius, we enter a time of seeing how to fulfill a greater social, emotional, or cultural “contribution” to our life and/or our world. Many will come to a greater synthesized vision of their greater group work 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 the value of withdrawing from lesser or older things to open a door to greater and newer things. When we learn to see the big picture, we do not fear letting the past go, because we see a greater unified vision of potentials within a larger life context. We now move forward into a greater potential for 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 10 Aquarius we will have “a fusion of life and mind” that will help set a platform in the house where this conjunction occurs in our charts. In blending these principles we will see a shift in our affairs, attitudes, and understanding about those things symbolized by Mercury in Aquarius, as well as the houses where we have Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and Virgo.
Natal points in harmony with 10 Aquarius will see productivity, understanding, stabilization, and unique qualities come forth in that chart house. Natal points in friction with 10 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 March 14-15 at 25 Pisces, a degree that will bring us dynamic purification and catharses resulting from our Soul/Spirit cleaning up our personality.
The Lunar Influence and the Backdrop to What’s Happening
The Moon is at 7 Sagittarius for this Conjunction. That means the focus is on an intensification of feelings that will lead us to forms of emotional rebirth. As it falls in the first decan of Sagittarius and is conjunct Jupiter, there will be a lot of idealistic visions and higher truths to embrace on a new life adventure.
Enjoy the protection you have, and use Venusian signs and signals to anticipate the coming Jupiter SRX degree themes, since Venus is at 25 Sag. This Superior Conjunction is entirely future oriented, helps us see why we have to plan anew from time to time, and turn our attention away from that which fulfilled a dream or potential to greater possibilities to be lived in the future.
The Superior Conjunction falling in Aquarius makes Saturn the worldly 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. Saturn shows us the need for tender care and maintenance of our efforts, especially when they’re still new or fresh. Saturn offers us a deeper understanding of how to fulfill our power in our own unique and individual ways, and being very well aspected in this chart, offers us a favorable steady hand as we move forward into the next adventure.
Summing Up
Because it falls at 10 Aquarius, this Superior Conjunction is related to the past, even as everything else indicates the opening of an adventure into the future. The conjunction is well aspected, showing a productive and fairly fortunate period ahead. There is one affliction, the semisquare to Venus, but as Venus is conjunct Jupiter, and the Conjunction is in a partile septile to Jupiter, this is a period where crucial elements of our life adventure or “Quest” will take shape via decisions to be made in the life area where the Conjunction falls in our charts.
These septiles will bring many to a crucial fork in the road in their lives wherever this septile occurs. Areas affected include 16-20 Sagittarius, 8-12 Aquarius, 29 Pisces-3 Aries, 21-25 Taurus, 12-16 Cancer, 4-8 Virgo, and 25-29 Libra. 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 10:19 am PST, 6:19 pm GMT on March 5. , 1:33 am GMT November 17, just hours before Uranus re-enters Taurus which is followed by the New Moon at 16 Pisces. The Mercury retrograde station will happen at 30 Pisces, a degree of “dreaming the archetype into preformation,” sounding “the creative Word” which infuses the long cycle to come. March will give us a look back at how our dreams of the past created our present, and our dreams of the present will create our future, again learning about how Mercury functions from a retrograde “review and return” perspective.
As I explained in my 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. As Saturn is the ruler of the conjunction, understanding its influence as a factor for weeks to come is crucial to the smooth operation of what moves forward from here.
Because we’ll be dealing with Mercury retrograde energies beginning February 19 when it enters its shadow zone, you should also take a look at the appropriate chapters in my book A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. You can find out all you need about the coming Mercury Retrograde in Pisces, 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 March and April 2019.
Copyright © 2019 Robert Wilkinson
Thank you for the thorough and clear information, not only about what is happening, but also what it means.
Blessings be to all.
Posted by: Nic | January 29, 2019 at 10:16 AM
Robert, thank you for another beautiful post.
Mercury Sun at 10 Aquarius has the makings of an entire new life cycle for me. Seeing the potential and how one might navigate from here on through the year is magic.
Thanks again.
Posted by: Jo Garceau | January 29, 2019 at 03:53 PM
Thank you for this insightful article. I have a question if that is ok. I understand from the text that the planet 'behind' the Sun and catching up with it, 'is leading the sun'. As soon as it passed the sun, it is no longer leading. Do I understand this correctly? Because it I thought that is the other way around? That the Sun is leading (like literally in front) until the planet caught up and surpasses?
Posted by: Lara Lichtgroen | January 29, 2019 at 04:29 PM
Interesting...moon is on my CERES and Venus on Par Fortunae exactamente on both.
hmmmmm
Posted by: chickie | January 29, 2019 at 06:15 PM
Aquarius is a empty house for me. Mercury retrograde natal conjunct sun leo...inferior as you have said. I have found many blessings with it. The sabian symbol is insightful and several other topics touched upon.
Posted by: Nancy robinson | January 29, 2019 at 08:19 PM