The Astrology Blog 3 October 2022
All times in BST
“The first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego. The second half is going inward and letting go of it.”
Carl Jung
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Carl_Jung
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”
Charles Darwin
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Charles_Darwin
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WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK?
Short answer, not a lot. But it’s definitely a case of quality rather than quantity. We don’t have long lists of astrological aspects – planets aligning with each other, for good or ill – but we do have three major events.
1 ) MERCURY STATIONARY DIRECT
Mercury made the turn from retrograde to direct motion just yesterday morning –
Sunday 2 October
- Mercury turns direct at 24 Virgo 10.09
Mercury turns retrograde for 3 weeks at a time, 3 times a year, so once every 4 months. So Mercury is now “stationary direct”, appearing to stand still in the heavens. My favourite analogy for these times is to think of this as a plane taking off. It doesn’t jump directly to 33,000 feet but makes a steady climb until reaching cruising altitude, which translates into Mercury getting back to the position at which he originally turned retrograde. That moment in itself is called “coming out of shadow” and can also be a revealing time.
However Mercury turning direct (now) is, in my experience, more powerful than the coming out of shadow moment (17 Oct) and last week I posted the list of the kind of things to expect, which I’ll repeat at the end of the blog. The list is compiled from my own observations over the years, the things happening in my own life or those closest to me, along with stories from clients.
I always know when Mercury is turning as one or more of the things on the list start to happen! This week it was the last point on the list, the one about finding what you’ve been looking for, and my missing item was my spare car key. As I’d managed to lock myself out of my car back in the spring (ie the key inside!) I’ve got into the habit of keeping my spare key in my handbag.
I’m not a big bag lover, my handbags are for phone, keys, cash and a few other items but definitely not of the Mary Poppins variety, just essentials – which makes it even stranger that it took so long to realize that the spare key was missing. I had the house upside down and searched under the car seats with a torch. Nothing.
When I met with my friend for beach time at the end of last week I told her this story and she said the obvious, you must’ve dropped it somewhere. I thought this unlikely as it’s on a clunky key ring but, after she’d gone, I suddenly thought that the most likely place to have lost it would be the beach, I wouldn’t have heard it fall onto sand.
So I asked inside the taverna and was immediately met with, Yes! We wondered whose it was. We’ve had it for about three weeks! Lol.
CHANGING YOUR MIND …..
Top story in the news is the U turn on tax cuts for the wealthy. What was announced under a retrograde Mercury turned out to be totally unviable. Liz Truss wasn’t even going to get the numbers to get the proposal through a vote and, when the top members of her own party started to make objections, she must’ve known she was in serious trouble. Top Tory Michael Gove said he didn’t believe it was right and that it was “a display of the wrong values”.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63114279
So pay close attention this week to anything that’s not working in your own life, and especially if that’s anything linked to situations that have evolved after the last three weeks. If you’ve made mistakes don’t beat yourself up, something that most of us are really good at, so easier said than done. But put necessary changes in place and wherever possible know that you’ve done your best in the conditions at that time, and move on.
2 ) MERCURY TRINE PLUTO/PLUTO STATIONARY DIRECT
All of the above is strongly underlined by the fact that Mercury’s first aspect after turning direct is to Pluto, planet of endings/new beginnings. This falls at the end of the week, when Pluto is also stationary direct –
Friday 7 October
- Mercury 26 Virgo trine Pluto 26 Capricorn 04.53
Saturday 8 October
- Pluto turns direct 26 Capricorn 22.54
This is a huge finale. Pluto has been retrograde since 29 April so this turning point is pretty hefty. It’s also Mercury’s last aspect in the end degrees of Virgo, and one that he’s already made twice, before changing sign again next week. Decisions made under such conditions are likely to be irrevocable, but that’s not always a bad thing.
This can be about adaptability as well as slamming doors shut behind you. See this article on the subject –
Don’t wait for change to be thrust upon you, seek out new methods or technologies, see how they work, learn something new even if you’re terrible at it. The essence of adaptability is being able to recognise that if something goes wrong, it’s not a mortal wound. It’s about understanding that, with an experimental mentality, you might find something better –
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220915-how-adaptability-helps-you-bounce-forwards-at-work
Anyway to put the Mercury – Pluto link in perspective here’s the relevant journey so far, that started back in August –
- 21 August Mercury in Virgo trine Pluto 1st time
- 26 August Mercury enters Libra
- 3 Sept Mercury opposite Jupiter 1st time
- 10 Sept Mercury turns retrograde at 9 Libra
- 18 Sept Mercury opposite Jupiter 2nd time
- 23 Sept Mercury slides back into Virgo
- 27 Sept Mercury trine Pluto 2nd time (retrograde)
- 2 Oct Mercury turns direct 24 Virgo
This week –
- 7 Oct Mercury trine Pluto 3rd and final time
- 8 Oct Pluto turns direct 26 Virgo
Next week –
- 10 Oct Mercury enters Libra 2nd time
- 12 Oct Mercury opposite Jupiter 3rd and final time
- 17 Oct Mercury out of shadow – back up to full speed
So as well as the huge alignment with Pluto this also boils down to one more week to go of Mercury in Virgo, not returning to this sign again until end of next July. A great combo for careful and well presented analysis, flipside is fault finding or perfectionism of the inappropriate kind.
Clock when something is “good enough” and wrap it up, and/or note that if someone is determined to find fault then for sure they will find it. Don’t be held to impossibly high standards. When Mercury gets past Pluto and then re-enters Libra at the beginning of next week, sign of true negotiation, there’ll be the chance of meetings, conversations etc in which people are actually listening to each other and trying to find the genuine compromises.
3 ) FULL MOON IN ARIES
Sunday 9 October
- Full Moon 16 Aries conjunct Chiron 14 Aries 21.56
Chiron the Wounded Healer has been sensitizing the middle degrees of Aries for months now –
- Chiron turned retrograde at 16 Aries on 20 July
- Chiron will turn direct again at 12 Aries on 24 December
The moment of the Full Moon in the same place therefore highlights the Chiron issues. Health issues may come full circle or reach resolution in the light of new info or treatment. But it’s not just about bodies. Aries is the sign of the Self so watch out for wounded egos! If you’re handling any kind of tetchy or touchy situation Full Moons are notoriously times when feelings run at their highest or bottled up feelings spill out. It’s when someone lashes out that you know you’ve touched a real nerve so, again, pay close attention to the dynamics of your closest relationships, especially over the coming weekend.
Also look out for the situations that will be best handled if you take your own ego out of the picture. Also clock the ways in which you can embody the healer’s spirit, where you can pour oil on troubled waters, soothe ruffled feathers or tend to a dented ego, especially a child’s. A healthy ego state doesn’t happen by accident. It comes about through the process of validation, consistency, acknowledging insecurities, letting the child know what it is to be human, and learning the paradox that the world doesn’t revolve around them but that they matter.
This Aries Full Moon conjunct Chiron is a fabulous omen for self healing, so it doesn’t do any of us any harm to remind our own inner child of these truths.
Until next week, with love from Greece
Joanna
MERCURY STATIONARY DIRECT
What to Expect – out of our control
- Decisions dropped on us, tipping points and turnarounds for the better – even if it doesn’t seem that way we’re being steered onto the right path
- Events that started around three weeks ago reveal their full significance or consequences. Matters that have been stuck now start to pick up speed OR are no longer important
- Breaking news, expected or unexpected, that affects you or someone close to you
- Information comes to light, the truth outs, secrets are revealed or feelings are declared – you’ll have the chance to see things as they really are
- Your own or other people’s changes of heart/mind either way – ie from no to yes or vice versa
- Light bulb flashes of the “I get it now” type insights
- People get back to you or you get back to them – deals get done and papers get signed
- The right person appears to deal with the frustrating problem beyond our own expertise
- The reappearance of someone or something that was first important three to four weeks ago
- Finding what you’ve been looking for – whether it’s lost objects, spiritual needs or the right partner
What to Do – within our control
- Engage fully with who or what enters your life or springs back to life, especially with who or what is motivational for you
- Say yes to a date, or do the asking yourself – this person could be a whole new journey of discovery
- Initiate conversations – you’ll be amazed at what they reveal and where they lead
- Have you been over thinking it? Resolve to stop talking about something and just DO IT!
- Turn negatives into positives, say yes to yourself, take head out of sand, muster your courage and determination – there’s at least one thing that, with some renewed energy and a fresh approach, can now come good
- Stop people pleasing, pretending or avoiding. This includes letting go of resentments or anything you’ve been stewing over – be true to you
- Tackle the things you’ve been putting off and make those decisions, especially when changing anything that’s suited others but which isn’t that great for you
- Make job applications or chase up one already made – insist on an interview, it could be the best thing you ever did
- Update and upgrade your phone, tablet or desktop, and get your head around using new technology of any kind that could be useful to you
- Fill up your diary with things to look forward to, out in the world where possible or online. Plan in immediately at least one thing that you absolutely love doing and can still do regardless of whatever restrictions you’re up against – life is still to be enjoyed, not endured J