The Astrology Blog 5 July 2021
All times in BST
“Both light and shadow are the dance of Love.”
“The lion is most handsome when looking for food.”
“What you seek is seeking you.”
Rumi – 13th Century Persian poet, scholar and mystic
30 Sept 1207 – 17 Dec 1273
MERCURY “OUT OF SHADOW”
The Messenger’s recent mayhem is coming full circle. When Mercury comes out of shadow this simply means that he finally returns to the position at which he originally turned retrograde. On this occasion, that means –
- 29 May Mercury turned retrograde at 24.43 Gemini
- 22 June turned direct at 16 Gemini
- 7 July gets back to 24.43 Gemini again but this time it’s at full speed and carries on moving forwards
Symbolically this is a moment of reaching the end of a matter, no more to be done, or okay, let’s start again only this time with the right information or in a completely new way.
To put this into sharper perspective the Sun moves through one sign a month. Mercury at full speed whizzes through a sign in two weeks. When he’s involved in a retrograde cycle though these two weeks become two months, which tells us just how drawn out and complex these times can be.
Mercury entered Gemini 4 May and will finally move on into the next sign of Cancer this coming weekend 11 July, but not without picking up some difficult aspects to the slower outer planets along the way –
Tuesday 6 July
- Mercury 23 Gemini square Neptune 23 Pisces 08.41
Wednesday 7 July
- Mercury comes out of shadow approx 19.00
Thursday 8 July
- Mercury 25 Gemini quinqunx Pluto 25 Capricorn 16.34
Sunday 11 July
- Mercury ingress Cancer 21.36
So even this isn’t an easy end to Mercury’s convoluted journey. Slow moving Neptune has also just turned retrograde and currently appears to be “stuck” in the heavens at 23 Pisces (from the end of May to the end of August). Mercury’s long backwards loop starting at 24 Gemini means that he was squaring up to Neptune at the time, making the first exact square on 23 May, then turning retrograde and coming back to repeat the square on 5 June, so this square that’s exact tomorrow morning is the third and final one. Hurray.
To put it mildly this tension and confusion hasn’t helped all the usual retrograde Mercury themes of life somehow going backwards. If you’ve found that something has been stuck on repeat, feelings of Groundhog Day, going around and around in mystifying or emotional circles, struggling to get at the truth or throwing your hands up in despair at other people’s inefficiency or mixed messages, has everyone lost the plot or is it just me, you are far from alone.
So the good news is that this final square is the final major hurdle, it’s a bit like wiping clean a misty window or a fog lifting, but don’t take your eye off the ball until we get past that last minor aspect to Pluto on Thursday. Awkward by name, awkward by nature, the quinqunx happens when two planets align exactly 5 signs apart – ie they have nothing in common. In literal and metaphorical terms this aspect is about incompatibility between two people and also about blind spots. This can link to literal vision and therefore accidents so kill your speed when driving and do nothing in a rush. Also some things will be best left as secrets.
But overall the sense of moving on in the right direction since Mercury turned direct again 22 June is already in evidence. If nothing else the shadows lifting reveal the truth of what you’re really dealing with and practical or emotional solutions/answers/insights start coming to light.
Shadows lifting also link back to the Solar Eclipse that fell on 10 June at 20 Gemini, conjunct the retrograde Mercury and therefore right at the heart of Mercury’s backwards journey. Eclipses are loaded with shadow symbolism so this is the week to expect themes of coming out of the darkness – eg the shadows that have been thrown by others, anything from neglect or damage from your childhood to current issues.
The Sun is the life force and our identity. Solar Eclipses are if nothing else a reminder not to give your power away. Stand up for yourself wherever necessary, and practice clear and firm boundaries, especially while Mercury clears that last square to fuzzy Neptune.
THE TALKING CURE
If you’ve ever been in therapy you’ll know the truth of how powerful it is to talk to someone who a) listens and b) prompts. It is not the therapist’s own opinions, directives or knowledge that make the real difference, and indeed it’s a myth that therapy is about being “counseled” in this way. It’s not about being told what to do but about your own understanding being revealed to you in the process of being heard by an analytical expert.
As Mercury works through this last square to Neptune, whose flipside is sacrifice and grief, you may experience a significant loss or sadness in some area of your life. But the message is no more suffering in silence. I had an example of this last week when confiding a health issue to my best friend. She asked me certain questions that took me along a new train of thought and I found the answers. Once we got talking, it was obvious!
Mercury is at least turning around in his own sign of Gemini and this sign of the Twins is brilliant for uncovering options. Look out for yours, especially if you have planets or Angles at or close to 24/25 Gemini – or 16 Gemini, the turning direct degree – or the opposite sign of Sagittarius.
And one of the best hallmarks of a newly direct Mercury is people getting back in touch. This can be anything from catching up with friends or family to someone reconnecting because they’re ready to talk about something important, or it can even be the reappearance of someone way back from your past.
Last week I had a wonderful and decidedly spooky reconnection with my best friend from when I was in my early teens. Sheila tracked me down online because of wanting to share with me a striking coincidence that related to our lives back then. But the day before her email landed I was thinking about a particular event that was linked to her so she’d been in my thoughts.
It’s by no means the first time that this has happened to me, that someone comes into my mind and then I hear from them. But on this occasion it turned out that she too had been thinking about that same event at exactly the same time, and we hadn’t had any communication for nearly 40 years. Explain that one.
I asked to be remembered to her mum who’s now 88. As an illustration of how kindness can be the most important thing in this life I still remember being admitted to hospital for an emergency appendectomy when I was 14, and in those days family were only allowed in for half an hour in the evenings – strict visiting hours.
As I lay alone in the hospital ward, terrified and in pain, a nurse suddenly bent over me and said, in great surprise, my name – my pet name that family and friends always used. I couldn’t have my own mum but I had Sheila’s mum, a ministering angel. If you have the chance to be kind this week, do it. You never know how much difference it can make and for how many years it will be sweetly remembered. My beloved sister always used to say, “If you can help, just do it. If you can’t, be kind.”
MARS & VENUS IN LEO
If you’ve been following the blog or the current astrology in any other way you’ll know that the love planets are now both in Leo, sign of the Lion. But as noted last week for now the big point is that Mars and Venus both have to struggle through the huge Saturn – Uranus square before they unite on the other side, as we’re heading for a Venus – Mars conjunction at 19 Leo on 13 July.
Last week, between Thursday and Sunday, Mars made the opposition to Saturn and the and the square to Uranus, and this week it’s Venus’ turn to do the same thing. This time the aspects fall either side of that Mercury moment which is a tipping point in itself –
Wednesday 7 July
- Venus 12 Leo opposite Saturn 12 Aquarius 03.37
- Mercury comes “out of shadow”
Thursday 8 July
- Venus 14 Leo square Uranus 14 Taurus 20.26
Leo is the Sun’s sign, so we’ve got an ongoing theme here of Solar symbolism. When I came across all the Rumi quotes I was utterly spoiled for choice but the one about the lion jumped out at me for obvious reasons!
“The Lion is most handsome when looking for food” can be interpreted in all kinds of ways but for me it was about that hunger in all of us, that passion for life and the search for sustenance. When we’re with the right person or doing the right job it’s unmistakable, we feel fed. When we’re with the wrong person or living the wrong life in any way we feel permanently hungry.
Don’t take the crumbs off anyone else’s table, especially if you have planets or Angles at or close to 12 – 14 degrees of the Fixed sign – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius. And get in touch with your life changing passion, top antidote to any dissatisfaction.
At a practical level these aspects can be about instability. If you were watching Wimbledon last week, Mars (rules sports) in trouble was the showing for a stack of injuries, partly because of a slippery Centre Court. Watching Serena Williams go out with an ankle injury (Aquarius/Uranus rule the ankles in the physical body) after just three games was utterly tragic.
But textbook Uranus – you never know which way he’s going to swing – along with the spills came the thrills, most notably the new British player on the scene, 18 year old Emma Radacanu who came into the Championships on a wild card and has sailed through to the second week and captured everyone’s hearts.
In a troubled relationship? If you secretly know that one or both of you is clinging to a sinking ship then this is a tipping point week as Saturn is dead ends and Uranus is the separation planet. New romance starting at this time, including sorting out winners and losers in love triangles (note any train of events sparked at the time of the Eclipse), are also in the super sensitized department. Resistance to change will now be much harder than actually letting go. Two other Rumi quotes that I liked for this week –
Love is the bridge between you and everything
You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens
Also remember that Venus rules money so avoid any kind of financial risk taking or reckless spending this week. I definitely wouldn’t buy anything online (Aquarius – Uranus rule technology) and unexpected bills could also mess up some of our plans!
NEW MOON IN CANCER
The week finishes with Mercury finally entering his next sign of Cancer on Sunday as noted earlier and also with the New Moon –
Saturday 10 July
- New Moon 18 Cancer 02.18
The Moon rules Cancer so this is her sign of “dignity”. Along with Mercury arriving in the same sign this is a positive omen for fresh starts or key developments with any matter related to family, care, home and property. The only slight spoke in the wheel is that it falls widely opposite Pluto (currently at 25 Capricorn) who often carries death/rebirth symbolism, so for some these fresh starts may carry a “back to the drawing board” theme, especially in the light of all the complex astrology unfolding this week. Even so, this is progress too.
Next week will start with the Venus – Mars conjunction (once every two years) and Mercury’s first aspect in his new cycle will be to benefic Jupiter, so I’ll be talking about these events next week,
Until then, with love from Greece
Joanna
