by Robert Wilkinson
Today we explore the Superior conjunction of September 30 at 9 Libra and what it promises for the upcoming months. This “fusion of life and mind” will have an extra layer of complexity, as it will be in very close conjunction with the coming Annular Solar eclipse and is tredecile Jupiter, triseptile Saturn, and its ruler is Venus in a Grand Water Trine.
So this Fusion of Life and Mind will also have both Venus and Saturn as factors in “fated” events to come related to returning to Source while building group consciousness as a rehearsal for things to come. This Superior conjunction will be in play through the rest of the Mercury direct period, as well as the first part of its next retrograde up to the next Inferior conjunction on December 5 at 15 Sagittarius.
All previous Superior and Inferior conjunction points, as well as Mercury’s retrograde and direct stations, are triggered by subsequent transits long after Mercury was there. As Mars will transit this point in late August 2025 followed by its transit of the coming Eclipse degree just after that, it will active these themes and/or the results of our “mental fusion” between now and then.
Superior Conjunctions – A Brief Recap
As we covered in part 1, 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 (Mercury direct) or subconscious sources (Mercury retrograde) 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 conjunctions.
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.
The Sabian Symbol for the Superior Conjunction
The Solar-Mercurial degree symbol for the Superior Conjunction falls at 9 Libra, and it is said that the first third (decan) of any sign deals with the actional, physical, and material levels of life. Being the first decan of Libra is has a sub-influence of Libra (Venus) with an extra dose of the Moon. While I've given you a sense of this degree up to now, this is where we go into depth.
The Solar Sabian symbol for the 9th degree of Libra is “Three old Masters hanging in an art gallery.” In the In the original Dr. Jones' class notes on the symbols published in The Astrology of Personality, Rudhyar says this is a degree of “Efficient cohesion of the three ‘souls’ of man; of mind, feeling and instinct,” “integrated wisdom,” and “sagacious behavior.”
In The Astrological Mandala, he says this degree offers us a technique of "the need to return to source during a confused search for new value in a chaotic society.” He speaks about the need to “re-ground ourselves in the great achievement of the past. The number 3 suggest completeness; esoteric traditions speak of the three-fold Soul, or of three fundamental ‘Rays’ – of Power, of Love-Wisdom, and of Intelligence-In-Action,” and he goes on to say that our mediations give us a chance to “return to Source” and get a stronger connection with our “archetypal essence of being.”
He states this degree is about “the finer forms of one’s culture provide the means to do this. The great moments of the collective past become an inspiration for new, yet sound, beginnings.” He gives it the keywords “apostolic succession,” and says this degree falls in the Span of Expectation, Act of Group Integration, and is the technique degree of the Scene of Transfiguration on the Social-Cultural level.
Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this is a degree of our “capacity for embracing a universal reality” in our experience, showing the “effective alignment” of our means of self-expression which further our potential. He states “implicit is the concept of the past and the present as irrevocably in partnership,” with our heritage giving us “the foundation for the achievement (we) desire.”
He offers us the keyword ACCORD. He states that when operating positively, the degree is a “gift for bringing people and events together in high appreciation of the greater values of life.”
So this “Fusion of Mind with Life” involves some form of “rebeginning” where we align ourselves with the finest examples of culture we value. This should focus “illuminated mind” so that we can craft forms of awareness aligned to the spiritual heritage we value.
In Libra, this conjunction should give us a “beautiful perspective” which helps us get and stay clear about our current ideals and dreams of a better future aligned with what we venerate from the past. This brings a technique of emotional or social self-strengthening and clarity through re-identifying with ideal forms which once inspired us.
Again, because Venus is the ruler of the conjunction and is in Scorpio, it will bring a certain intensity as we go deep to find inspiration. This promises the beginning of different forms of “group consciousness” coming together as a result of activities done together in the past. Venus is ruled by Mars and they are in trine with each other and Saturn, facilitating the flow in every case.
The Moon is septile Venus, making this a “backstage fork in the road of destiny,” with hot zones around 16-20 Virgo, 8-12 Scorpio, 29 Sagittarius-3 Capricorn, 20-24 Aquarius, 12-16 Aries, 4-8 Gemini, and 25-29 Cancer. If you have something in one of these zones, it will affect how this conjunction plays out where you have 9 Libra in your chart.
Who Leads the Great Light Now That Mercury is Ahead of It?
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.
When Mercury outraces the Sun and moves ahead of it, it no longer "leads the light." Now 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 beginning November 25 at the next Mercury retrograde. November and December’s RX will give us a look back at the “new lands” we “immigrants” have entered since January, as well as the “new identity” we’ve found since then.
In this chart, since Mercury no longer leads the Sun, we now have the Moon in Virgo as the short term “gateway to the Light.” After the Solar eclipse, Mars will lead the Light until the next Interior conjunction at 15 Sagittarius in early December.
The study of which planet leads the Sun is a crucial but often overlooked part of understanding how the planets work in sequence.
What’s Ahead?
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 9 Libra, we enter a time of learning techniques of emotional and social transfiguration which will be a source of strength and inspiration as we move into the Autumn. This will lead to new perspectives and understanding about the place optimism has in our expectancies, and promises interactive serendipity and unique gifts and circumstances for those with planets or points near 2-6 Pisces/Virgo, 8-12 Aries/Libra, 14-18 Taurus/Scorpio, 20-24 Gemini/Sagittarius, and 26-30 Cancer/Capricorn.
This will give us a chance to articulate our Light fused with “the Guide of Souls” to find how we can touched and be touched by images which inspire us to reconnect with Source to bring forth more beautiful, balanced, or refined emotional or social expression. This is the prelude to the coming Solar eclipse on October 2, so please take a look at those 4 articles to understand how this conjunction impacts that eclipse, and how that eclipse will shut down some things so this newer understanding can take shape.
The house this conjunction falls in shows where Mind now leads Life, and will open doors of perception wherever it falls, with many things “coming together in the Light of Mind. Because of the aspects I’ve mentioned, this is both a “fork in the road” conjunction and a “high specialization and quintessential serendipity” conjunction with a Grand Water Trine to stabilize the flow.
This should actually be a fairly pleasant period, so welcome the “return to source” which inspires you to reinterpret your vision, your ideal, your position in the collective consciousness. Despite what’s being left behind as a result of the past and coming eclipses, this conjunction promises opportunity, a more abundant view, and prepares us for a new chapter to come as we dance at the intersection of Fate Street and Freewill Street on Eternity Boulevard.
Summing Up
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 on November 25 at 23 Sagittarius. Because it’ll be dropping in speed by early November when it enters its Shadow Zone, get whatever you need to get in motion now, preparing for Mercury to “crash into retrograde” by the second week of November.
As I’ve mentioned in other articles, we’re still in the middle of a run of many years where each has its own specific Mercury retrograde theme. You can find out more about that in other Mercury retrograde articles explaining the various specific themes for each year (This year it’s 23 Sagittarius which we’ll get a new look at in late November through early January).
All significant Mercury events give us a chance to check in with our inner Mercury to make sure we’re listening to its knowledge so we may be guided to our Souls. By how our Mercury works, we are led to the “Active Intelligence” of Divine Mind, or scattered confusion because of the inability of the lower mind to know anything.
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. 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 in Sagittarius beginning November 6/7 when it enters its shadow zone beginning at 7 Sagittarius, 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 Sagittarius, or the previous one in Virgo and Leo, or any other sign retrograde, as well as the houses it occupies in your chart. Of course I'll give you a lot more about the coming retrograde in mid-November.
Here's the Amazon link to where you can order your paperback edition of A New Look at Mercury Retrograde at the new lower price. You can also find it on Kindle. It’s a great reference source where you can check out possible ways the Mercury retrograde effect is playing out in all the retrograde periods in 2024.
Copyright © 2024 Robert Wilkinson
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