MERCURY - MARS, ECLIPSE SHADOWS & PRINCE ANDREW

MERCURY – MARS

Monday 20 October

Mercury conjunct Mars 19 Scorpio 07.55 BST

Mercury will catch up with Mars on Monday morning, at 19 degrees of Scorpio, the position of the Northern Scale “which is considered a very fruitful and prosperous star, associated with riches, honour and good fortune.” (See Deborah Houlding’s website for the full list: https://www.skyscript.co.uk/stars.html)

However, 19 Scorpio is also known as “the accursed degree of the accursed sign”. And we wonder why Scorpio gets bad press!

So with that info in mind, we can figure that this conjunction isn’t easy to interpret but essentially the combo of Mercury (communication) and Mars (war) spells things like sharp words or painful news. The fact that this one falls in complex Scorpio can intensify any matter connected to sex, death, money, emotional bitterness or revenge.

Usually there’s only one of these conjunctions in a year unless they coincide with Mercury being retrograde and making those backward loops. So last year it was just the one in January, this year there are two, both coming up –

20 October 2025 – 19 Scorpio
12 November 2025 – 6 Sagittarius

Retrograde Mercury is not that far away again! Here are the dates for your astrological diary –

9 November – Mercury turns retrograde 7 Sagittarius
29 November – Mercury turns direct 20 Scorpio

I wrote in the blog for this week, try not to fall out with anyone unless you really need to! And do nothing in haste, whether it’s driving or decision making. I definitely think that this is a “handle with care” event.

I’ll be watching this Mercury – Mars conjunction with interest as it falls on my Jupiter. So far it’s already clearly linked to the work (Mars) of writing (Mercury), for deadlines for my new book which was delayed earlier this year (Jupiter rules publishing) for reasons that were not my fault I hasten to add! Those Mercury turning points are also picking up natal positions and I’ll be sharing my stories as part of the weekly blog as usual.

A FEW HOURS LATER…

As I wrote earlier the fact that the now applying Mercury – Mars conjunction falls in complex Scorpio can intensify any matter connected to sex, death, money, emotional bitterness or revenge.

The headlines in the UK are now all about the final downfall of Prince Andrew, whose past continues to catch up with him as Virginia Guiffre’s accusations ring out from her grave (suicide 25 April this year), securing her revenge. No doubt Andrew, and the Queen, believed that the huge out of court settlement in February 2022 would buy him out of trouble. Wrong. Andrew has now relinquished his title the Duke of York and other honours, including the Order of the Garter. Sarah Ferguson will now no longer be known as the Duchess of York.

Although this is said to be voluntary it looks as if it might have come from Charles. He had his Mercury Return last weekend, a clear indication that the conversation would have happened then – Mercury ruler of his 3^rd House of communication/siblings and in Scorpio, obviously a clear significator for the brother in trouble through sexual misconduct and alliance with convicted sex felon Epstein, who also died by suicide. It hardly gets more sex & death than this.

Eclipses have a way of lighting fuses that cannot be extinguished. I think this particular part of the fuse started with Sarah Ferguson’s fall from grace, as covered 23 September, 2 days after the Solar Eclipse, at 29 Virgo which squared Andrew and Charles’ Jupiters at the end of Sag, they share the same Jupiter being born 12 years apart, and two weeks after the Lunar Eclipse 15 Pisces that fell conjunct Andrew’s natal Mercury 17 Pisces:

https://joannawatters.com/duchess-of-york-epstein-eclipses/

I noted then that Sarah has a rare progression – an outer planet, in this case Pluto co-ruler of her Scorpio rising chart, now progressed to 6.08 Virgo, making a partile (exact to the minute) sextile to Neptune 6.08 Scorpio in her 12^th House of self undoing/ambush/those who are lost to us. Saturn over her Moon, exact next April, I also speculated could be banishment but this looks as if it’s happening now, sooner rather than later.

Andrew’s natal Moon is in Scorpio (sign of fall) – so here we locate the fallen from grace partner, sexual misdemeanours, the dead accuser, the deceased mother who can no longer protect him … if it weren’t for Sarah, who has a history of bouncing back, and his beloved daughters I would say he was a suicide risk himself. What a tragedy his life has turned out to be and what long shadows Epstein has left behind him.

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