What’s happening this week?
This week’s blog – 4 November 2013
You probably know what I’m going to start with! Yes, Mercury, planet of all communication and information, is retrograde for another week. He’ll be turning direct again on Sunday evening – hurray – but at least for the first half of this week the tempo is still marked slow, or even stop.
This is underlined by the fact that the major aspect of the week is the annual Sun – Saturn conjunction. Saturn has a 29.5 year cycle and therefore takes about two and a half years to travel through each sign (by comparison the Sun does the same journey once a month). So roughly every 12 months the Sun catches up with Saturn, last year we had the first of three Sun/Saturn conjunctions in Scorpio and this week is the second – here’s the pattern:
· 2011 – 13 October – 20 degrees of Libra
· 2012 – 25 October – the aspect occurred just as Saturn had started his slow trek through Scorpio, so the conjunction happened early in the sign, at 2 degrees of Scorpio.
· 2013 – 6 November – 14 degrees of Scorpio
· 2014 – 18 November – 25 degrees of Scorpio
· 2015 – 30 November – 7 degrees of Sagittarius
So, what can we expect? Well, it’s not easy. The Sun is one of the Lights – the light of the day, the other being the Moon, light of the night. Saturn is the enemy of the Lights as demonstrated by the fact that he is in detriment (weakened) in Leo (the Sun’s sign) and in Cancer (the Moon’s sign). So, the life force itself is paramount and health issues must be taken seriously.
With Mercury still retrograde, also in Scorpio, the “stop” message of the Sun/Saturn get together is also very important. Saturn symbolizes barriers and obstacles. He likes building brick walls and saying no. Don’t force any issue that is grinding to a halt. The “No Entry” sign is there for a reason, even if you can’t yet see what that reason is.
Isn’t there anything nice about Saturn? Yes, his more positive face is about realism and “getting it together”. He rewards hard work, discipline and strategy. Look at your toughest challenge, accept the bits that you can’t change and then set about constructing a plan to tackle the rest. In the physical body he rules the bones and the teeth. See your osteopath or make that dental appointment.
Also note that Venus moves into Saturn’s sign of Capricorn tomorrow morning. Usually she spends about a month travelling through each sign but because she’ll be moving backwards and forwards (a retrograde period from 21 December 2013 to 31 January 2014) she will end up spending four months in this sign. Venus of course is Aphrodite, the love goddess, but she also rules life’s pleasures, the sweet things of life and money. So this is the beginning of what could be a constructive cycle. Think about your love life/creative and business ideas, visualize where you want to be by the beginning of next March (the end of Venus’ journey through Capricorn) and set out your stall. In a nutshell, love and success need effort and a plan.
This is backed up by the fact that entrepreneurial Jupiter turns retrograde on Thursday and will go direct again the first week of March. Whatever you work on over the winter can be unleashed in the spring.
So, back to Mercury. He turns direct at 21.13 GMT on Sunday but, for the couple of days prior to that, he’ll be “stationing” – ie, slowing right down in readiness for switching back to direct motion. This is a bit like a plane coming in to land. It can’t just drop out of the sky onto the runway, it has to start its descent in order to arrive bang on target at the appointed time.
There’s some lovely astrology unfolding around this stationing Mercury – here’s the sequence:
Friday 8 November
· Venus sextile (harmonious) Neptune
· Mercury sextile Venus
Saturday 9 November
· Mars sextile Saturn (note that these planets are both malefics though, so even with the sextile this can be combative)
· Mercury trine (harmonious) Neptune for the second time (the first was 1 October)
Sunday 10 November
· Mercury turns direct
Monday 11 November
· Mercury trine Neptune for the third and final time
Overall, this picture has the feel of many things being resolved and plans coming together. Mercury going direct is in itself the green light for finding your voice, making decisions etc, but with Venus and Neptune hugely in on the act there is an extra psychological thread of compassion, empathy and healing. At an outer level this picture bodes well for seeing friends, making definite arrangements, committing to a relationship or a work project and putting finances in order.
I’ll leave you with a checklist for Mercury turning direct:
· Important information comes to light
· Rumours are squashed when the truth outs
· You find the right person to deal with the problem
· People make decisions
· Computer glitches are solved/disputes are settled
· Lost objects are found
Travel plans also get a big tick and I’m off to London next weekend! I’ll be sending out a blog before I go to cover up to 20 November.