by Robert Wilkinson
Today we explore specifics of the Inferior Conjunction of January 23 at 4 Aquarius. 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 4 Aquarius. It is said that the first third (decan) of any sign deals with the material and actional levels of life, and being the Aquarius decan of that sign, invokes a sub-influence of Aquarius with an extra dose of Venus.
The Sabian Symbol we’ve been given for the 4th degree of Aquarius is "A Hindu healer.” In The Astrology of Personality, where Rudhyar uses the original Dr. Jones' class notes on the symbols, he says this is a degree of "Supremacy of the unsuspected faculties hidden deep within,” “conscious utilization of divine potency,” and “Revelation of Self.”
InThe Astrological Mandala he states the keynote is "the disciplined use of spiritual energies in restoring the natural harmony disturbed by man’s inharmonic attempts to transcend nature through mind.” He notes that this symbol somehow relates to “transcending compulsive and rigid biological drives, while making use, in a refined … way, of what it cannot control,” in service to a goal of helping individuals develop as “self-motivated and responsible individuals freely associating according to harmonic patterns in order to produce a vast spiritual chord of consciousness actualizing the potentials inherent in the archetype MAN.”
He offers that regardless of the karmic shadows and human deviancy, it is the duty of all truth seeking Souls to “tap the vast reservoir of spiritual forces pervading our planet” and use these energies for healing others. He continues that this is a technique which can be used for “healing of physical illnesses” and also for “making whole” whatever has “lost its natural root integration.” He states it involves “self-discipline, purity of motive, compassion, faith in the divine order,” and “the focusing of spiritual energy.” He says this degree falls in the Span of Defensiveness, Act of Capitalization, and Scene of Contribution on the technical degree of the Actional level.
Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, tells us this is a symbol of “self-assertion at a point of effective impact on the world” in “an inner and transcendental reality,” where “a spiritualized self-discipline achieves a magical ordering of the whole course of events, and in its perfecting it provides a spectacular ministry for the minds and bodies of all.” He states “the individual ever dramatizes (their) immortal capacities as (we) translate these into (our) tangible achievements” on some level of life.”
He offers us the keyword of THERAPY. He says that when operating in a positive manner, this degree is "high personal skill in bringing the least of human potentials to some ultimate consummation.”
So we enter a time where Life is moving forward as Mind looks back on a) how we found or expressed these latent skills in the past, and/or b) how current events related to the past are again challenging us to demonstrate this power. This gives us a new look at how we once found the light of living in new ways which restored harmony or integrity in the physical, emotional, and mental levels through applying spiritual techniques, and may need to do it again in the future. This “looking back” involves a technique for acting in ways that make for a greater contribution by the individual to the integrity of the whole and updating it to become more effective in the present.
This conjunction gives us a focus on seeing the connection between physical and mental activities, and reviewing and reflecting on the past to find a way to heal self or others in the present. It shows how to make a more active contribution to the group work set into motion in December 2020, and implies that there are hidden powers to come forth in each of us after a period of review, reflection, and reconsideration of how to apply these skills from the past.
Because it’s a retrograde conjunction in the Air sign of ideal group relationships, see the larger vision, and take a look back to see how you wielded powers which integrated things and people which had lost their balance in material affairs or were fractured somehow. Remember when your got clear in the past about the need for something to be healed, or pulled together to further a greater contribution.
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 Aquarius, as well as a foreshadowing of what will come when Venus and Mars transit this degree in the first week of March. It may also bring flashes of insight or returns related to past Eclipses near this Inferior Conjunction.
Important Dispositors
Because the Inferior Conjunction is in Aquarius, it is ruled by Saturn at 15 Aquarius. This makes Saturn the major player on stage related to this conjunction. With Saturn on the Angel Point, it promises great happiness and “beatitude.” Even though semisquared by Mars, Saturn has a favorable trine from the Moon, assuring stability and/or understanding of what to uplift and what to tame.
Because this fusion of backward and inward looking Mind with Life is ruled by Saturn on a worldly level and Uranus on the spiritual level, we can reconnect with those inner parts of our personality which need to open up to greater truths and futures, with an eye to “demonstrating spiritual power” in the weeks ahead. This will lead us to insights about a more perfect way to contribute to the larger work going on.
This Inferior Conjunction can fuse hindsight and life experience to see how new forms of light, life, and perspectives are coming forth as we practice integration or reintegration techniques. Because of the emphasis on Aquarius, the next 10 weeks until the Superior Conjunction are a time to be open to different visions of the big picture to see how to help something be healed.
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.
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 8 Sagittarius in late November with its theme of becoming aware of inner changes resulting from an intensification of internal elements. Now, at the Inferior Conjunction, we’ve reached the end of the direct influence of that conjunction, and will go into a process where we will take a new look at many things, including the need to take a new look at our subconscious mind and what it’s trying to express.
While Mercury is still slow in speed, from here it gradually speeds up, and will go stationary direct at 25 Capricorn on February 3, a few dozen hours after the New Moon at 13 Aquarius beginning the Chinese New Year of the Water Tiger. It will continue to speed up until it outraces the Sun at the next Superior Conjunction at 14 Aries on April 2. That Superior Conjunction ushers in several weeks of realizations about the dance of the inner male and female and how it expresses in our outer world relationships.
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.
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. Still, from this point on, Mercury gradually speeds up, so the slowest part of the retrograde process is now past!
Once Life gets as far from Mind as it can, then Mercury goes stationary direct, and continues to speed up through its shadow zone and beyond as it prepares to enter unknown zodiacal zones after leaving the shadow zone. 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. As I explain in Chapter 2 of Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend, 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 Kabbalistic 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 we explore this new energy showing 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. 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 early Aquarian and late Capricorn energy productively.
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. (I gave you that information in the top linked article at the bottom of this post.) We can see our ideas from a different angle, find a new focus, and make progress in transformational regenerations that will be the source of much information and activity in the next few weeks. Wherever you have 4 Aquarius will bring a fusion of Life and Mind, especially related to the houses where you have Gemini 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 February 3 (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, the 2019 retrogrades in Pisces, Leo, Cancer, and Scorpio, and the 2020 retrogrades in Pisces, Aquarius, Cancer, Scorpio, and Libra, 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 February 2021 RX in Aquarius, the May-June 2021 RX in Gemini, and the September-October 2021 RX in Libra, you’ll get important information about being guided to your Soul last year, and looking at this RX in Aquarius and Capricorn, the May-June retrograde in Gemini and Taurus, and the September-October retrograde in Libra and Virgo, you can get a comprehensive look at how the 2022 Mercury retrogrades will impact you this year.
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. ((Again, if you’re going to purchase a copy, make sure it’s the award-winning second edition published in 2016 and not the 1997 edition!)
Previous articles in this series:
Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn in January-February 2022 - An Overview
It’s Mercury Retrograde in January-February 2022 –A New Look at the Guide of Souls
The Guide of Souls in January 2022 - Mercury Slowing Down, Preparing to go Retrograde at 11 Aquarius
Copyright © 2022 Robert Wilkinson
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