Well, this is the last blog I will write in this apartment. Tomorrow I really do go… yes I’ve been moving for the last two weeks, as in gradually shifting stuff day by day, so it’s sort of gone into an unreal state. But there’s something very interesting about a serious de-junk and feeling your life being stripped back to basics and to what is really important. As I sit here in this empty, echoing study, only my desk and computer left, I wonder if this is the essence of retrograde Mercury?
Mercury again is the key player this week, squaring up to Saturn for the second time early Wednesday (exact at 07.12 GMT) – the first time was 25 January and the third and final time will be 11 March. Saturn loves austerity, frugality and minimalism so for me these dates bracket the moving experience. What do they bracket for you? Whatever has been an ongoing challenge reaches its epicenter now – and may include someone not talking to you, not knowing what you want, struggling to learn someone else’s “language”, accepting that there are no immediate answers to a big issue and figuring out how to get back to the drawing board and to make more effective use of your time and skills. In essence, what is needed should now be crystallizing in some way, but with the square to Saturn we always have to be prepared for setbacks or disappointments to characterize the learning curve, or to be consciously aware that trying to rush or push anything at this time will only be self defeating. Slow down, think, wait, one day at a time… it’s still early days. For now there are probably more questions than answers.
Note that retrograde Mercury signals that second thoughts of all kinds are there for a reason and to focus on information gathering. You know what you think, now’s the time to find out what other people’s opinions are. This includes everyone from your other half to someone who’s an expert in their own field. Also be easier on yourself. If a resolution has fallen by the wayside you can always try again, if not tomorrow then at least by the end of the month when Mercury turns. Also note that nothing is written in stone right now, even if you’ve been told that it is.
Mercury makes a minor aspect (a semi-sextile, which means that he is exactly one sign away) to Venus on Friday (exact at 17.09 GMT). Mercury – Venus contacts are textbook for “love talk” of any kind, whether it’s with your other half, being chatted up, or having a heart to heart with someone who’s important to you. In the past I’ve often found this aspect to signal the closeness of girlfriends, and how someone often steps in to help or give support. Note that Venus is still finishing her long trek through Capricorn – one of Saturn’s signs – so loving hands are of the mature, steadying and realistic kind or the best kind of new romance will be of the slowly, slowly kind, gradually getting to know someone and going for the long distance rather than a sprint finish.
Just as you might be thinking that this all sounds rather cool and clinical, never fear. The Sun enters Pisces tomorrow evening (the ingress exact at 18.01 GMT), a water sign associated with huge sensitivity and romanticism. Furthermore the Sun’s first aspect will be a conjunction with Neptune – Pisces planet who in mythology is Poseidon god of the sea, who is on his epic sea voyage through his own sign (the last time being about 175 years ago!).
So we’re making the transition from the air sign of logical but aloof Aquarius into the water sign of Pisces and the realms of Neptune. This is a bit like coming down through the skies in a parachute to land in the middle of a boundless ocean. Start with a willingness to get down to the emotional nitty-gritty, and to look at a situation through someone else’s eyes. Empathy will count for a lot more than usual.
For me the move coincides with the Pisces ingress, and with that sign on my IC (the angle in the horoscope that locates home) it’s perfect for moving to the house with a view of the sea! However Pisces is also about very deep feelings and tears. With the exception of my family home when I was growing up this is the place where I have lived the longest. Closing the door for the last time after 12 years is going to be very emotional.
As above, so below, lots of things are going to be sensitized and emotional in the coming weeks, and especially now as we travel through the last ten days of Mercury’s retrograde journey. Go gently.