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 November 11 at 19 Scorpio. This “fusion of life and mind” will impact the rest of the retrograde period, and many weeks after.
As I offered in earlier articles, an 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.
Mind is now reconsidering territory it’s already seen. This “fusion of Mind and Life” allows Mind to see where the Light has already been, and thereby written in our Book of Light/Life. Mercury, Guide of Souls, now has slowed down enough that the Sun has caught up and they come together for a brief moment. That also means Mercury again leads the Sun, showing Mercury is again the Gatekeeper to the Light.
We now enter a phase of looking back at Life to see how certain things in the past impacted how we got to where we are today. This is “Illuminated Mind looking back at inward, outward, and collective processes which have shaped our Life. As Mercury is retrograde, the degree of the inferior conjunction shows how our perceptions will merge with our Life and bring forth a new understanding of our Light.
The Sabian Symbol for the Inferior Conjunction
This Inferior Conjunction falls at 19 Scorpio. It is said that the second third (decan) of any sign deals with the emotional, social, and cultural levels of life, and being the penultimate degree of the second decan of that sign, invokes a sub-influence of Pisces with Venus.
The Sabian Symbol we’ve been given for the 19th degree of Scorpio is "A parrot listening then talking.” In the The Astrology of Personality, where Rudhyar uses the original Dr. Jones' class notes on the symbols, 19 Scorpio is said to be a symbol of "Dependence upon inner or outer environment for the substance of understanding," "Transmission of knowledge," and "Channel-ship."
In The Astrological Mandala he offers that this degree is one of "the capacity to transmit transcendental knowledge," where those who live "in a state of ardent and sustained faith" can become channels to bring forth a higher or transcendent knowledge or wisdom. He states that "the mind that has learned to be silent and attentive can become attuned" to higher information and "superhuman realizations," but also that "discrimination is needed here to balance the overeagerness of faith."
So this seems to be a technique of "learning from higher intelligences," or at least the ability to bring forth greater knowledge beyond our mundane thoughts. He says this degree falls in the Span of Appreciation, Act of Group Integration, and Scene of Faith on the Actional level.
Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this is a degree of "the raw substance of intelligence" which helps us shape the existence we desire. He speaks of sensitivity to an ideal and/or imaginative "continual reworking of reality," where we can select or reject elements of life.
He goes on to say that this allows us to project the image in which we create ourselves. He offers the keyword CONVENTIONALITY, and states that when operating positively, the degree is "exceptional skill in bringing the whole tenor of transient circumstances to the service of a personal aspiration."
So we enter a time where Life is moving forward as Mind looks back on past transmissions by our inner voice, or our Guardian Angel, or “higher Intelligences.” It is a time to tune into our Higher awareness to see how inner or outer environment conditions ours and others’ comprehend things. Quiet the mind to attune to higher knowledge, and listen to know what previously was beyond our understanding.
Take a new look at the way you heard your inner voice in the past when seeking to know how to act with conviction. If you want guidance, still your mind and listen to your heart. Take your time. Learning to listen to the Higher Self may take a while to secure the connection. See how you were guided by “the voice of the silence” to make wise choices leading you to where you are now.
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. This Inferior Conjunction will bring echoes of past eras when Jupiter and Saturn were in this sector of Scorpio, as well as any Eclipses near this Inferior Conjunction.
Important Dispositors
Because the Inferior Conjunction is in Scorpio, it is ruled by Mars at 25 Libra. This moderates the Scorpio energy, and gives us a deep understanding of the need for “the leaves of seasons past” to fall away from our lives. This implies we will get glimpses of why things and people are no longer in our life, or how each season of life has its own depth understanding. The looking back within a fusion of Life and Mind shows we are finishing our “paying of dues” as old mindsets give way to new understanding.
Going farther back in the chain of dispositors, Mars in Libra is ruled by Venus at 13 Sagittarius. We are now in a time where Jupiter will again resume center stage as the final dispositor of Sagittarius transits to come. Of course, when Jupiter enters Capricorn in early December, Saturn will again be one of the four final dispositors dominating the landscape.
This Inferior Conjunction can fuse hindsight and life experience to see how new forms of light, life, and perspectives are coming forth showing us a new potential future. Because of the emphasis on Scorpio, Libra, and Sagittarius, the next four months are a time to be balanced and focused in riding the wave of the future already in motion! We can now see past magnetism from a new angle, and revision key emotional elements of those experiences and how we understand how listening to the inner voice in the past led us to here and now.
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. We will see actions related to these themes when Mars crosses this degree on Dec 16-18.
Aspects in Play
Remember that in any celestial event, forming aspects show the future and closely partile separating aspects show what’s activated now. In an Inferior Conjunction, the Sun and Mercury conspire to bring separating aspects back into play, with forming aspects activated now and in the future when Mercury goes direct.
As this Conjunction falls just a few hours before the Full Moon, you can find out a lot more about the outer planet aspects by consulting those articles currently posting. Lunar aspects anticipate the oppositional tension, but the favorable trine to Saturn and tredecile to Pluto outweigh the sesquisquare to Jupiter and wide opposition. Mercury and the Sun make favorable sextiles to Saturn and Pluto, and a very powerful harmonizing trine to Neptune provides maximum flow between personal consciousness and collective consciousness. And Venus, being conjunct Jupiter, stirs us in powerful ways to “perform beyond our native endowment.”
So we have dominant favorable linkages from Scorpio through Capricorn to Pisces, and a favorable linkage between Libra and Sagittarius, with the release point Venus square Neptune. Be inspired in your self-adjustments, search for those who are cooperative or need cooperation, and expand your understanding of human nature, human folly, and human confusion. Be adaptable, find ways to communicate with an eye to details and specifics, and be persuasive in sticking to a clear and definite plan.
Elements and the Jones Pattern
The chart of the Inferior Conjunction shows an imbalanced distribution, with 2 planets in Fire, 4 in Earth, 1 in Air, and 3 in Water. This makes practical matters and feelings the primary references, with some inspiration and moderate interactivity. With the conjunction in Water with favorable aspects to Earth, everything is linked productively, with enough confusion and anticipation to keep things off-balance. In the Full Moon article I explain more about the elements opening and closing the Bowl Jones pattern, so please consult that to know more.
This Inferior Conjunction will take us much deeper than before, with many realizations to come over the next 2 weeks due to the Full Moon on the 20 Scorpio/Taurus axis. Keep the mind receptive to “impressions of understanding” how your Life is leading you to Divine Mind, and your mind is leading you to the Divine Life. As the conjunction is in Scorpio, it makes this fusion of Life and Mind operate in a Stabilizing while purifying Experiential mode.
So What’s Been Going On, and What Will Happen From Here?
I’ve explained this “two-step” process of Inferior Conjunctions followed by Superior Conjunctions alternating with each other in previous articles. The last few weeks we’ve been under the influence of the last Superior Conjunction at 12 Virgo in early September. 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 a new understanding due to what has been unveiled since then. We’ve been in a time of discernment regarding our spiritual individuality.
Now, at the Inferior Conjunction, we’ve reached the end of the direct influence of that conjunction, and now will go into a process where we will take a new look at many things, including our supposed alternatives and ways of looking at our choices. Because it is in the Pisces part of Scorpio with an additional Venus energy of the decan, this one will take us through deep and vast “feeling scapes” which will have personal meaning to us, whether linking past and present, or past, present, and future.
While Mercury is still slow in speed, from here it gradually speeds up, and will go stationary direct at 12 Scorpio on November 20. It will continue to speed up until it outraces the Sun at the next Superior Conjunction just before the Jan 10 Lunar Eclipse at 20 Capricorn, after which we’ll see our “group performance” quicken.
So while up to now, Life has been catching up to Mind, it will now outpace it for weeks to come. Once Mercury goes direct and hits its maximum speed, we’ll get the next Superior Conjunction, after which Mind will again outraces Life, exploring ideas and perceptions of experiences yet to occur.
So the Inferior Conjunction marks the point when Mind is being absorbed by Life, or Life takes on the results of subconscious or collective ideas returning to source. For the next short period, Mercury will still be slow in speed and retrograde as the Sun moves forward, putting distance between it and Mercury.
Then 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. The “pulses” of the Inferior and Superior conjunctions of the Sun and Mercury constitute an entire field of research unto themselves. 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 when the “Divine Trickster” slows down 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 Scorpio, it should provide us new ways to understand, communicate, or interpret the signs and signals of our desires, approaches to loss, gain, and regeneration, as well as magnetism as we bring to us what we’ll need in our public function in 2020 when we enter a new life!
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 Scorpio energy productively. This includes all the usual Scorpio themes mentioned in the previous paragraph. The new views, understandings, and reinterpretations shown by this Inferior Conjunction should be considered in the light of the house in which this retrograde 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 late Scorpio will bring a fusion of Life and Mind, especially related to the houses where you have Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and Virgo.
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 November 20 (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 the 2nd edition 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, the 2017 retrogrades in Capricorn and Sagittarius, Taurus and Aries, and Virgo and Leo, the 2018 retrogrades in Aries, Leo, Sag and Scorpio, 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. By taking a look at the qualities of the March 2019 RX in Pisces, the last one in Leo and Cancer, and this one in Scorpio, you’ll get important information about what you’ve been guided to this year. And by taking a look at the February-March 2020 retrograde in Pisces, and Aquarius, you’ll see elements of what’s coming!
Here's the Amazon link to the page where you can purchase a paperback edition of A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. If you want an ebook, you can order one at the link, or go to Barnes & Noble and it's available through Nook.
Previous articles in this series:
Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio November 2019 – A Return to Source Leading us to Evolved Relationships
Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio in November 2019 - An Overview
It’s Mercury Retrograde in November 2019 – Time For A New Look at the Guide of Souls
The Guide of Souls in November 2019 - Mercury Slowing Down, Preparing to go Retrograde at 28 Scorpio
Mercury Has Now Entered its Shadow Zone at 12 Scorpio
Copyright © 2019 Robert Wilkinson
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