by Robert Wilkinson
Today we explore specifics of the Inferior Conjunction of May 1 at 12 Taurus. 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 12 Taurus. It is said that the second third (decan) of any sign deals with the emotional and social levels of life, and being the Virgo decan of that sign, invokes a sub-influence of Mercury with an extra dose of the Moon.
The Sabian Symbol we’ve been given for the 12th degree of Taurus is “Windowshoppers.” In the original Jones class notes Dane Rudhyar published in The Astrology of Personality, he states this degree is about “inner interest in outer life which leads to whole-souled participation and achievement,” “self-projection,” and “estimation.”
In The Astrological Mandala,, Rudhyar offers this degree involves “the fascination of the youthful ego with the products of its culture.” He says this degree represents “the outward longing of the ego,” craving “direct participation with society and the world of other egos,” which requires certain goods and ways of styling oneself for society.
He states “the consciousness surveys possibilities … defined by organic nature (personal abilities) and by the ambition to succeed in society.” Here “the ego becomes aware of what society has to offer,” and turns its attention to the world in an interplay “between the individual and (their) culture.” This is a degree of “being molded by what (we) see and by prospects for growth,” as well as “socialization of desires.” We are told this falls in the Span of Experience, and is the counterpoint degree of the individual-mental and spiritual level of the Scene of Substantiation in the Act of Differentiation.
Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, offers that this “is a symbol of human imagination as the real corrective for (our) experience, enabling each individual to know in advance whether the choices (we) will make are in line with (our) desires.” He speaks of “the continual demand that action follow each tentative examination of life’s possibilities, and that some latent phase of self-awareness be quickened in consciousness.”
He offers us the keyword VISUALIZATION. He says when operating in a positive way, this symbol is “high ability in presenting the immediate potentialities of human achievement and the consequent self-realizations.”
This is a time to use the ”fusion of life and mind” through the next Superior Conjunction to reflect on things which have been, old ways we were led to see what we believed would fulfill our socialized desires. We can get insights about why we felt we needed the “goods and adornment” we sought when establishing ourselves in the public realm.
We can look back at old “ego cravings,” or how we wanted some “direct participation in society” which required us to appear a certain way, or how our ego was socialized in ways that our imagination conformed to our desires and we got what we wanted.
So we enter a time where Life is moving forward as Mind looks back on a) how we were socialized in the past, and/or b) how current events related to the past are again challenging us to take a new look at what we believe we want or need to fulfill some role in society. This “looking back” involves a period of review, reflection, and reconsideration of past individual, social, or spiritual values which led us to accumulate some things which supported how we wanted to appear in society.
Because it’s a retrograde conjunction in the Earth sign of enjoying life by securing what we need for relative comfort, be flexible in your approach and response as you get flashbacks or memories of old social aspirations. Recall times when you were forced to “windowshop” or at least see how you needed to present a distinct picture of yourself to others.
Just remember that all Mercury RX phenomena take a while to unfold, often during a subsequent RX period. Things which happen during a retrograde seem to have a way of moving forward in future retrogrades. This Inferior Conjunction will bring echoes of past outer planet transits in this sector of Taurus, especially recent Uranus transits awakening these themes, as well as a foreshadowing of what will come when Jupiter goes SRX on this same degree in early September, making this a major theme for the rest of 2023 and well into 2024.
Important Dispositors and Aspects
The Inferior Conjunction is in Taurus, and so is ruled by Venus. Venus is in Gemini, ruled by Mercury. That makes this a “mutual reception,” which is a very powerful closed loop of self-reinforcing and modifying energies. This configuration rules all the other planets except for Neptune.
Primary aspects to/from the conjunction include a sesquisquare from the Moon at 27 Virgo, a semisquare to Venus at 24 Gemini, a quintile to Mars, sextile to Saturn, conjunction with Uranus, semisquare to Neptune, and biseptile to Pluto. As you can see, this is a dynamic conjunction with a lot of Octile series aspects in motion, challenging “right action.”
Besides the semisquares and sesquisquare by the conjunction, there’s also a very powerful Moon-Venus-Neptune Mutable T-square influencing 21-28 Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces with the void at 23-28 Sagittarius, showing this “looking back” will open new view and new truths. This gives us 4 point of a Great Octile, an “8 Pointed Star of Dynamic Change. Areas most affected are 6-13 Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, as well as the Mutable zones mentioned above.
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 27 Pisces in March with its theme of “creative imagination allowing us to dominate circumstances” and accepting a deeper connection with self, others, and Source as we let a lot go. 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 ideals it wants to express.
While Mercury is still slow in speed, from here it gradually speeds up, and will go stationary direct at 6 Taurus on May 14. It will continue to speed up until it outraces the Sun at the next Superior Conjunction at 10 Cancer on July 1. That Superior Conjunction ushers in several weeks of realizations about being “crafted to perfection.”
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 Taurus 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 shedding ideas, behaviors, and responses we no longer need. These will be the source of much information and activity in the next few weeks. Wherever you have 12 Taurus 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 May 14 (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 the 2019 retrogrades in Pisces, Leo, Cancer, and Scorpio, the 2020 retrogrades in Pisces, Aquarius, Cancer, Scorpio, and Libra, the 2021 retrogrades in Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra, the 2022 retrogrades in Capricorn/Aquarius, Taurus/Gemini, and Virgo/Libra, and the 2023 retrogrades in Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo, 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 December 2022-January 2023 RX in Capricorn, this April-May RX in Taurus, and the August-September 2023 RX in Virgo, you’ll get important information about being guided to your Soul 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 Taurus in April-May 2023 – Reflections on A Need for New Approaches
A New Look at the Guide of Souls - Mercury Retrograde in Taurus April-May 2023
Mercury Retrograde in Taurus in April-May 2023 - An Overview
The Guide of Souls in April 2023 - Mercury Slowing Down, Preparing to go Retrograde at 16 Taurus
Copyright © 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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