by Robert Wilkinson
Today we take a look at important Sabian Symbols, aspects, and other important factors in play the next three weeks as Mercury is retrograde in Leo and Cancer.
This Mercury retrograde began 8:58 pm PDT July 7, 4:58 am BST July 8. The retrograde moves from 5 Leo back to 24 Cancer, with the Inferior conjunction of Mercury and the Sun occurring at 29 Cancer on July 21. As this retrograde begins in the first decan of Leo, it deals with the material, action, and personal levels of life, and has a sub-influence of Leo with an added dose of Saturn.
Mercury going SRX on the degree of “an impersonal view of the creative process” indicates we all are on the threshold of an extraordinary period where we can look back to see how long some things took to create so that we can get a difference sense of the timeline on our various projects. This gives us a new look at life areas where we have early Leo and late Cancer in our chart, and prepares us for a huge compression in late August and early September, after which everything expands into a larger arena of life.
The Sabian Symbol for Mercury’s Stationary Retrograde Degree
The Sabian Symbol for the 5th degree of Leo is "Rock formations at the edge of a precipice.” In The Astrology of Personality, where Rudhyar offers us the original notes from the Marc Jones class on the symbols, it says this is a degree of "permanence of basic elements in nature underneath temporary changes and emphases,” “endurance,” and “steadiness of self-knowledge.”
In the masterwork, An Astrological Mandala, he goes on to say this is a degree of “the structuring power of elemental forces during the long cycle of planetary evolution.” He offers that “the vast periods of geological evolution” show us “the slow yet magnificent work of elemental forces as they mold landscapes and canyons, rocks, and mountains.” He states “this symbol points to our need to acquire a much vaster perspective on what we are able to do.”
He goes on to infer that as we behold how Nature works, we can understand the planetary consciousness, and in humility and impersonally accept our limitations “as creators of forms and mental achievers.” It is said to fall in the Span of Assurance, and is the degree which fulfills the actional-physical level in the Scene of Combustion in the Act of Stabilization.
Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, states this degree is about the nature of “reality in crisis, offering a challenge … as it pyramids in ramifying involvements until action or decision becomes an immediate necessity.” He continues, “There is no possible sustainment of individuality without an acceptance of difficulty as significant and an accompanying realization that every shift in orientation is a demand for some enlarged self-discovery.”
He goes on to say that “Personality only achieves its stability at the threshold of the risks it is willing to take.” He offers us the keyword of ENDURANCE, and states when operating in a positive way, this degree is our “genius for initial aplomb and ultimate competency in the face of all danger.”
So the theme of this retrograde is a look back at the basic enduring elements in the outer world as well as our inner world, and find a reasonably steady self-knowledge. This will give us echoes of memories of past efforts requiring endurance as we faced crises where “action or decision became an immediate necessity.”
We will have have opportunities to take a new look at whether we’re living in a way that helps us endure, as well as those things in your past which helped us come to “a steadiness of self-knowledge.” While it seems some difficulty is associated with this degree, it is merely for the purpose of our own quickened evolution through the choices we must make, and the “enlarged self-discovery” this leads to.
This retrograde will slow things down so we can take a new look at recent developments. This can help us find new approaches to recent issues related to Leo and Cancer experiences. As with all Mercury retrogrades, some projects may have to be postponed, or a new way found to make something be more relevant to our current life. This can give us insights into why we need to get a new angle of seeing things, going inward rather than keep going in unfulfilling directions. All of us will get glimpses of how our past experiences and choices since the last Mercury retrograde have led us to a new view of Pisces related things in our past.
Short Term Future Triggers
During this Mercury retrograde period, pay attention to the roundabout signs and signals you’re receiving about past and present times you need(ed) to turn your concentration and focus inward. These lessons will be illuminated when the Sun crosses this degree between 1 am PDT July 27 and 1:45 am PDT July 28. The themes of 5 Leo will remain in in focus through the time Mercury re-crosses this degree around August 14/15, when it finishes its 2nd forward motion shadow transit. It the meantime, these themes get kicked into high gear immediately as Mars transits this degree, and we’ll see the value in what has transpired when Venus occupies 5 Leo on July 31/August 1.
It should be a great time to see things we didn’t understand before, or perhaps reclaim something from the past. Here we take a look back and reconsider or renew some prior expression or way of life. We can find a new angle of perspective on what we need to coordinate our lives to express our Soul, and revise and/or renew some things from the past. I gave you a lot about the themes of this retrograde period in prior articles in this series, so please check them out when you’re done here. Links at the bottom of this post.
As with all Mercury retrogrades, we can use this time to take a look back at whatever in the past has recently begun. This one in Leo and Cancers helps us re-shape our way of expressing Leo and Cancer energy in the house where that sign is active in our chart.
Behind the Scenes in this Leo and Cancer Retrograde
While in Leo, Mercury is ruled by the Sun in Cancer. This sign gives Mercury a more immediate feeling awareness, especially about needs, family, and everyday life and experience. When Mercury retrogrades back into Cancer, the Moon will rule Mercury, showing an extremely changeable quality, as the Moon moves into a different sign every 2+ days!
The Guide of Souls ruled by the Sun in Cancer and Moon after that shows sensitivity, caring, nurturing, and adaptability are things to keep in mind as we dance down this Cancerian influenced road the next 6 weeks! As the Sun and Moon are the backdrop to Mercury, they are “King and Queen of the Hill” and rule the “behind the scenes” influence of Mercury, so get used to them both directing the play and stealing the scene over the next few weeks!
Aspects and the Moon
As this retrograde is taking place only hours before the conjunction with Mars, it’s sure to be an intense time! We also have a lot of specializing aspects, as well as Octile series aspects going on, along with a dynamic opposition cut by a sextile and trine. You can find out more about the powerful outer planet aspects in the recent article on the Total Solar Eclipse at 11 Cancer.
Primary aspects in play involve the Moon quintile the Sun, tredecile Saturn, and biquintile Uranus. This will provide serendipitous events to those with planets near 1-2 Aries/Libra, 4-8 Taurus/Scorpio, 10-14 Gemini/Sag, 16-20 Capricorn/Cancer, 22-26 Aquarius/Leo, and 28-30 Pisces/Virgo. The Sun opposed Saturn cut by Neptune in a sextile and trine throws very favorable energies into mid-Virgo, as well as mid-Scorpio. This should be a very favorable retrograde for all planets we have in the middle degrees of the Earth and Water signs.
The Moon at 29 Virgo is on a degree of “the gestative power of the ageless Wisdom,” indicating the wisdom we’ve cultivated up to now will help us focus on this passage between Fire and Water, extroversion and introversion, confidence and insecurity during this Mercury retrograde period. There will no doubt be jolts due to the conjunction with Mars, and with both sesquisquare Jupiter, square Uranus, and sesquisquare Neptune, this “Hammer of Thor” augmented with the Leo square to Taurus indicates a LOT of friction is in the air which won’t go away any time soon, given these configurations will be made as the Sun and Venus, and then Mercury again, make these Octile series aspects over the next few weeks.
Remember, because of the RX quality, it may a) take a roundabout way to get there, b) require a delay before we understand what these things are about, or c) we’ll see how we’ve begun parts of our Leo and Cancer training and preparation, and now have to connect the dots or renew something we neglected.
This completes our initial look at the coming Mercury retrograde period for now. I’ll be posting more as the Inferior Conjunction draws near, so until then, take a new look at how you’re moving into new forms of creative self expression, with crises seen as opportunities to challenge a creative self-mobilization!
A New Look At Mercury Retrograde
If you want to know what we can expect from Mercury retrograde in Leo and Cancer, as well as all the other signs and houses, if you haven't already gotten your copy, please consider getting my award-winning 2nd edition of A New Look At Mercury Retrograde.
The first major work on Mercury retrograde ever written, it offers in-depth information about Mercury retrograde people, Mercury retrograde in the various signs and houses, and what the entire Mercury Retrograde phenomenon is about. If you want to know what we can expect from Mercury retrograde in any sign or house position, it’s all in there.
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.
Previous articles in this series:
Mercury Retrograde in Leo and Cancer in July 2019 - An Overview
The Guide of Souls in July 2019 - Mercury Slowing Down, Preparing to go Retrograde at 5 Leo
Mercury Has Now Entered its Shadow Zone at 24 Cancer
Copyright © 2019 Robert Wilkinson
In recent articles, you've mentioned "fundamental reorientations which have already occurred." Were these definitive, or are there more major ones still ahead in the short term?
Posted by: Diana | July 09, 2019 at 07:00 AM
Hi Diana - Well, given the tag team retrogrades last year, and the themes of surrendering the past 2, I'd say we've all been through "fundamental reorientations." Everyone in my life I know has had major realignment and a refocusing of intention, as well as pulling back from old things while rehearsing for that which is yet to come.
And yes, even more will come during this time of "the end of the end and the beginning of the beginning." Much will move forward, dramatically and forcefully, next January through April.
Posted by: Robert | July 09, 2019 at 08:55 AM