The Astrology Blog 1 November 2021
All times in GMT
“One of the first ways to start building your self confidence is to focus on what’s great about you.”
“The more you laugh, the healthier you are. You must laugh more!”
Marshall Sylver – b 19 May 1962 – American motivational speaker, author, and performance hypnotist
CHECKING CHARTS
If you want to see the visual of the wheel with the sign and degree of the planets in your own or any other natal chart, to check against the signs and degrees important this week as outlined in the blog, here’s the usual link to Astrotheme. Enter your data into the boxes provided:
https://www.astrotheme.com/
If you’d rather see a list of your planets in words rather than just in glyphs then use this link –
https://astro.cafeastrology.
MERCURY – TRICKSTER & MAGICIAN
None of the planets symbolize just one thing and all have their “good and bad” sides. Mercury being the Winged Messenger of the gods rules everything to do with communication, news and how we get around, and retrograde periods can play havoc with these issues, from annoyances to total chaos. In the physical body Mercury rules the hands and dexterity. He is therefore the archetype of the magician or trickster/thief, depending on whether he’s having a good or a bad day!
The tricky side to Mercury is found in how the use of language can conceal as well as reveal, the archetype of the thief, the slick talker, the spin doctor, the person who can run rings around us and so on. One of my favourite examples of Mercury duality is Jeffrey Archer with Mercury in Pisces (one of Mercury’s signs of detriment) opposite Neptune (Pisces planet) –
Here is the weaver of tales, the consummate story teller, the man whose books have sold 250 million copies, but whose political career was blighted by scandal eventually leading to imprisonment for perjury. When is it “right” and when is it “wrong” to smudge the line between fact and fantasy? It’s all about appropriateness. In a work of fiction it’s a gift, in a courtroom it’s a criminal offence with dire consequences. (Be Your Own Astrologer)
This week starts with Mercury playing into the Jupiter – Pluto alignment, as these two giants are still travelling on parallel tracks one sign apart. This sequence was the main “applying” astrology this weekend, ie in the making, with the aspect to Jupiter being exact in the early hours of this morning and the more difficult square to Pluto to come tomorrow. These are immediately followed by Mercury coming out of shadow –
Monday 1 November
- Mercury 22 Libra trine Jupiter 22 Aquarius 04.19
Tuesday 2 November
- Mercury 24 Libra square Pluto 24 Capricorn 09.58
Wednesday 3 November
- Mercury out of shadow 01.00
The Jupiter – Pluto is a minor aspect (a semi-sextile) but they’re big planets, both spending months in retrograde loops and both having recently turned direct. It’s a series of three aspects, the first one was in April, the second one was last month and the third and final one will be at the end of November –
- 20 April – Jupiter/Pluto 27 Aquarius – Capricorn
- 11 September – Jupiter/Pluto 24 Aquarius – Capricorn
- 27 November – Jupiter/Pluto 25 Aquarius – Capricorn
So less than four weeks to go before this sequence culminates. If these aspects are important for you personally they’ll link to anything that fits the “out with the old, in with the new” theme.
At a universal level, remember last year when Jupiter (travel, freedom) was also in Capricorn, and therefore in a series of conjunctions (together, major powerful aspect) with Pluto (black holes, endings). This was a clear showing for the arrival of the pandemic and the collapse and near collapse of many airline companies as most of the world went into lockdown.
This morning the headlines included moving pictures of joyful reunions at Sydney airport as loved ones hugged each other for the first time in 20 months, and the news that Thailand had reopened to tourists from 60 nations. This would appear to illustrate how we are learning to live with the virus, and how lockdowns are lifting.
It’s not just the pandemic of course. Ongoing we still have the Taliban control (Pluto) and resulting absence (Pluto) of education (Jupiter) and freedom (Jupiter) for the women of Afghanistan. The volcanic eruptions on La Palma go on, destroying 2000 homes and disrupting education for children whose schools got buried too. Even the freedom to play has gone as the air is full of toxic ash from the rivers of lava (Pluto being Hades, god of the underworld).
MERCURY OUT OF SHADOW
Mercury coming “out of shadow” means that he returns to the position at which he originally turned retrograde, which on this occasion was 25 and a half degrees of Libra. This translates into things like let’s start again, where were we, getting back to plans that had to be dropped or delayed around the time when Mercury first turned retrograde (27 Sept) or discovering the benefits of having made difficult decisions.
Milestone moments with regard to relationship issues are arguably the top of the list as Libra is the sign of partnership and all significant one to one dealings, in our personal and professional lives. Relationships ending at this time are best let go, especially if you feel as if you’re moving out from someone else’s shadow, but conversely relationships starting at this time are likely to get off to a flying start.
The out of shadow moment also signifies that Mercury is back up to full speed, so the time is right to get moving with regard to any matter that is currently important to you. Or you’ll simply find that a matter gathers its own momentum because the time is right, there may be a sense of stepping into the light, or you’ll finally understand something or someone when the last bit of a puzzle slots into place. Look out for lost objects reappearing too!
As above, so below. How hard it is not to push things along, always feeling that we have to make something happen. But if your heart is in it and your desires/intentions are clear then do what is needed, and then stand back. Sometimes we have to get out of our own way.
To give you an idea of the difference in speed, Mercury moved into Libra on 30 August and has been there ever since, going backwards and forwards. At the end of the week Mercury will move into the next sign of Scorpio and will whizz through the whole of this sign in just under three weeks.
This coincides with Venus also changing sign and the two therefore make a harmonious aspect in the process –
Friday 5 November
- Venus ingress Capricorn 10.45
- Mercury ingress Scorpio 22.36
Saturday 6 November
- Mercury 1 Scorpio sextile Venus 1 Capricorn 16.00
We had a Mercury – Venus sextile a couple of weeks ago 17 October when Mercury, on the point of turning direct at 10 Libra, aligned with Venus as she sped by at 10 Sagittarius. At this point Venus overtook Mercury, but as Mercury’s been picking up speed he catches up again. Any Mercury – Venus combination is good news for love or money matters and for some there’ll be a definite link back to events that were unfolding around the middle of last month.
Also note that it’s Venus’ turn to be heading for a retrograde loop so, again, instead of the usual three week journey through a sign this stay in Capricorn is going to be a protracted one –
- Turns retrograde at 26 Capricorn 19 December
- Turns direct at 11 Capricorn 29 January 2022
- Enters next sign of Aquarius 6 March
So Venus in Capricorn for 4 months! I’ll be talking more about this next week but for now also look out for news that has implications about a relationship, a job or money that reach into the beginning of next March.
NEW MOON OPPOSITE URANUS
All of this intense Mercury activity is wrapped around the New Moon that this month falls smack opposite Uranus –
Thursday 4 November
- New Moon 12 Scorpio 21.16
- Moon 12 Scorpio opposite Uranus 12 Taurus 21.27
- Sun12 Scorpio opposite Uranus 12 Taurus 23.58
So the New Moon is when the Sun and the Moon are in exact conjunction and then just as they start to separate again they immediately clash with Uranus at the same degree but in the opposite sign of Taurus.
Uranus rules everything to do with the unexpected, and with things happening quickly. Look out for themes of being caught off guard, of news of the sudden or even explosive kind as the above picture is basically the opposite of Mercury being retrograde. Pay close attention to the information that surfaces for you at this time, from outside (information) or from inside (thoughts). Every idea starts with a thought. Every plan starts with a thought. Some changes are dumped on us but many spring from a thought that then becomes a plan that we can act on.
The hallmarks of this New Moon should be unmissable – things like surprising speed, didn’t see that one coming, excitement, raised eyebrows, innovation, rebellion, shock etc. Uranus is also known as the divorce planet so news about relationships breaking up or people quitting jobs and going off to do something completely different is also on the cards.
At a physical level Uranus (explosion) in Taurus (Fixed Earth) is a clear showing for erupting volcanoes or earthquakes. One of the things I hadn’t appreciated about the La Palma situation is that a volcano can carry on erupting for so long and that the constant tremors and rumbles from the ground are part of the upheaval. Terrifying. Let’s hope that there are no new explosions for them.
The bottom line symbolically though is to expect the unexpected. Make no assumptions and try not to stick to old ways of doing things or cling to any wreckage. Be aware of how life is moving you on and go with it, as fearlessly as you can. Note that this New Moon is in all or nothing Scorpio, an intense water sign that belongs to Pluto, so it’s very much in keeping with the themes already mentioned earlier re the Jupiter – Pluto alignment.
And, back to the quotes at the top of the blog, don’t forget to have fun! If this is missing from your life remember that stress and misery do horrible things to your body and laughter really is the best medicine,
Until next week, with love from Greece
Joanna
