Mercury Retrograde in Virgo 2016 by Lalia Wilson

Mercury goes retrograde early Tuesday morning, September 30^th, 2016. (By “going retrograde” I’m referring to the phenomenon of its appearance of traveling backwards as viewed from the Earth, our home planet. Mercury’s travel is always forward when viewed from the Sun.) Mercury’s position on the 30^th is at the last degree of Virgo. Mercury stations direct, that is it appears to stop and then move forward as seen from Earth, near midnight of September 21 and 22 for American viewers. This direct station is at the 15^th degree of Virgo.

                Many students of astrology fear Mercury retrograde. After all, everything goes wrong, doesn’t it? But there are other and more positive ways to look at Mercury retrograde. In general, Mercury retrograde is a perfect time to do things over. Anything that needs a fresh do-over should be on your chore list for the coming Mercury retrograde. You can wait for something to break down, to call itself to your attention, or you can be pro-active and possibly avoid any breakdowns. In particular, what house of your chart is the one in which Mercury is retrograde? That house is the place to look for a Mercury retrograde project so that you can maximize the energy of Mercury retrograde. Here are some ideas:

First House: Redo your look, if Venus is obliging. Select humble colors for wardrobe and make-up. Buy work clothes—not fashion statement clothes, some items that are useful for dirty chores, leather work gloves, and other utilitarian items.

Second House: Examine your income. Perhaps it is time to go on one of the websites that shows salaries for your field so that you can see if your pay is commensurate with that of your peers. Look to see what you need to do to raise your salary and begin taking actions.

Third House: Is your vehicle up to date on needed service and repairs? You take your chances when you don’t tackle these items in a timely matter. Schedule repairs and service, if you haven’t already done so.  Catch up with your correspondence, your address book, your siblings and your neighbors. Time has gone by and perhaps you have been out of touch. Now is the time to get current on what is happening.

Fourth House: It’s time for household repairs. A major renovation needs some Pluto and some Venus energy, but fixing squeaky doors, and other minor fixes are all Mercury. Go through the inside and outside of your home and get those chores done! You will prevent future problems down the road.

Fifth House: Organize all your art and other creative projects. It’s a good time to finish a lot of these. Any project that you don’t finish now, be sure to organize it and put it away so that the project is not scattered over your living space or your work space. Quilters and knitters, know that I’m speaking to you.

Sixth House: It’s time to organize your medical records and health regimen.  Do you have your health records centralized and organized so that you know what information to give your health professionals? Are you following medical advice regarding diet, exercise and other health practices? If not, now is the time to fix this.

Seventh House: Maybe it is time to have an audit of all your significant relationships. Are you receiving as much as you are giving? Are you giving as much as you are receiving? Mercury is telling us to balance relationships so that we avoid future problems.

Eighth House: It is time to look at budgets, tax matters, and investment income. If you don’t keep a close eye on these matters, it is time to at least do a semi-annual review (the other review is when you are facing a tax deadline). How well are your investments doing? Where are you spending your money? Do you need to make a change?

Ninth House: It is time to look at your philosophical and religious life. What inspires you? Are you happy with your current religion? Do you need to alter your beliefs? Take some time to reflect on what inspires you and let that become more a part of your life. This could be foreign travel, the ocean, meditation… Spend the time to reflect on this and make needed changes. You will be happier with the result.

Tenth House: Are you pleased with your reputation? How are you known to others? What can you do to align the real you with how you appear to the world? This may be a time to ask others how they see you and to absorb those comments without immediately responding. Get feedback from a number of different sources to discover what the message for you might be.

Eleventh House: Are your friendships and associations providing clarity and happiness to you? If not, why not? Are there friendships or memberships that you need to let lapse? What friendships and organizations uplift you? How can you receive more positives from them?

Twelfth House: What have your dreams been telling you? Don’t know? It’s time to start, or return to, a dream journal. Get yourself a journal and make regular dated entries. Dreams speak a symbolic language that is most easily interpreted by the dreamer. Sometimes it takes months of dreams and journaling in order to see the themes that are being pushed forward by your subconscious. Now is the time to do this.

                Please get back to me with more ideas for good projects for each house when Mercury is retrograde. I’m always looking for good ideas! Lalia W at aol dot com. 

The Astrology of April 2016

It will be a busy time this month. A host of celestial influences will spark action around the globe. Here are some highlights.

We have a New Moon/Supermoon on April 7^th at 18 Aries 04. As pioneered by Richard Nolle, the Supermoon is a heightened time for natural disasters and for mass events. A time to be wary. The window is open the first two weeks of April.

On April 9^th the Sun conjuncts Uranus, the planet of sudden surprises, freedom and awakening. Uranus acts by big calamities sometimes. It is also associated with winds and tornadoes. On April 11^th the Sun conjuncts the new planet Eris. We don’t know much about Eris yet—though she was named for the goddess of Discord. Uranus is moving towards a conjunction with Eris, which forms in June and September of this year and again once next year. The last time these planets were conjunct in Aries was in the early 16^th century, a time of major historical change which included the invention of the printing press and the Protestant Reformation. It didn’t all happen in a year then, and it will not happen in a year now. But major changes are coming for the planet.

April can be a difficult time in the US. During the current era there is a pattern of the fixed star Formallhaut rising and the fixed star Denebola setting which applies to the mid latitudes of the US—a swath that includes North Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC, most of West Virginia, all of Kentucky and Tennessee; carving out a region that extends to the Pacific Ocean and includes San Francisco, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, St. Louis and other cities and portions of states. (This longitudinal swath extends at northern latitudes around the globe.) The open window is from April 9-29 every year in the current era. For more specifics on this phenomenon, see the work of Bernadette Brady.

Among the events facilitated by this opening in past years are these:

·         The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on 4/15/1865

·         The sinking of the Steamboat Sultana with 1,800 deaths in Memphis, Tennessee, on 4/27/1865

·         The San Francisco Earthquake on 4/18/1906 which killed 3,000-6,000 (see painting above)

·         The Ludlow Massacre, a union-busting confrontation that killed 39 people in 4/20/1914

·         The Ohio Penitentiary Fire of 4/21/1930 which killed 332

·         The Texas City Industrial Disaster, a fire and explosion which killed 581 people, on 4/16/1947

·         The 1974 Super Tornado Outbreak of April 3^rd and 4^th 1974 which killed from 1,490 to 1,635 people (just before the range of dates)

·         The Waco-Branch Davidian Event in which 86 people died on 4/19/1993

·         The Oklahoma City domestic terrorism event on 4/19/1995 killing 168 people

·         The Columbine mass shooting, 4/20/1999, which resulted in 15 deaths

·         The Virginia Tech Massacre on 4/16/2007 which killed 38 people

·         The Tornado Outbreak of 4/25-26/2011 which killed 363

·         The West Fertilizer Company Explosion in West, Texas, which killed 15 on 4/17/2013

Multiple tornadoes occur at this time of year; only the two with the most damage are listed. Slightly out of geographic range, but in this timeline, were the sinking of the Titanic on 4/15/1912 with 1517 deaths, the Deepwater Horizon ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico on 4/22/2010 with 11 deaths at the site, and the psychologically devastating Boston Marathon Bombings on 4/15/2013.

         If you look closely at these events you will notice that a number of deaths are from human error or misbehavior. The ship sinkings, the industrial accidents, the union confrontation, the penitentiary fire, the Branch Davidian confrontation and more could have been avoided by more concern and compassion for others and greater attention to safety. What events in the future can be prevented by calm heads and thinking about how people can escape a fire? This is why it is important to look at potentials and consider alternatives before events are triggered.

We begin the month with the social planets Jupiter and Saturn retrograde. We end the month with five planets retrograde: Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Mars and Pluto. Asteroid Juno, the indicator of partnerships, marriage, and treaties, is retrograde all month in the early degrees of Scorpio. What does all this retrograde mean? It means we are processing the nature of these planets and asteroids. We are internally dealing with old issues. For the social planets, Jupiter and Saturn, we are looking at religion, law, and our social contract with each other. With Mercury, we are advised to clean our own personal concerns up—paperwork, clutter, any backlogs. With Mars, which goes retrograde less often, we need to look at how we act. Mars retrograde is a time for handling old business, not starting new. Particularly, for Mars, no new love affairs, weddings, or elective surgery. Overall, the month, because of these retrogrades, shifts to a kind of nostalgic sentimentality. There is a strong desire to have things be simpler, like the old days. However, we will wake up when the planets move forward again to see that the old days had their problems and that we can do better.

Sabian Symbols are a way to dig down into the meaning of each of the 360 degrees of the Zodiac. Here, as is commonly done, the degree and minutes are rounded up. Degree areas highlighted this month include:

·         19 Aries, the New Moon: A magic carpet hovers over the depressing reality of everyday life in an industrial area.

·         21 Aries, Uranus all month: A boxer is entering the ring.

·         23 Aries, Eris all month: A woman in pastel colors carrying a heavy and valuable but veiled load.

·         Mars, being nearly stationary all month, only occupies two degrees, 8 and 9 Sagittarius:

o   Sag 8: Deep within the depths of the earth, new elements are being formed.

o   Sag 9: A mother leads her small child step by step up the stairs.

·         Saturn, which moves slowly, only occupies two degrees, 16 and 17 Sagittarius:

o   Sag 16: Sea gulls fly around a ship looking for food.

o   Sag 17: An Easter sunrise service draws a large crowd.

·         Pluto is at 18 Capricorn all month: A Union Jack flies from a new British warship.

·         Neptune is at 11 and 12 degrees of Pisces:

o   11 Pisces: Men traveling a narrow path, seeking illumination.

o   12 Pisces: An examination of initiates in the sanctuary of an occult brotherhood.

·         Chiron occupies only two degrees this month as well, 23 and 24 degrees of Pisces:

o   23 Pisces: A materializing medium giving a séance.

o   24 Pisces: A tiny island seems lost in the broad ocean, but its happy inhabitants have created a world all their own.

So how can we put this information about the Sabian Symbols together? The New Moon and Uranus positions seem to refer to the public mood in the US, and perhaps other places, and the US presidential campaign. The Mars degrees seem to refer to volcano activity and going to safe places. Saturn with the sea gulls brings up the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean. The Easter sunrise service could indicate the Pope’s efforts to bring compassion to this situation. The degrees of Neptune and of Chiron all seem to refer to the migrant crisis, including the Greek island of Lesbos where the Pope and the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch will meet soon. These degrees certainly call upon us to be compassionate and lend whatever aid we can to these displaced people. Omitting Eris’s degree for now, this leaves Pluto’s degree of the Union Jack. It may refer to the Panama Paper scandal, which includes information about accounts held by the family of British PM David Cameron—and world leaders and others around the globe. This Panama Papers scandal will directly confront the privileged 1% whose day of power may be ending.

We can also look at the highlighted degrees in our personal charts to see what they mean. In what house is Uranus transiting, where “A boxer is entering the ring?” Wherever that degree lies in your chart, you are being urged to step forward and take a stand. Similarly, where is your lost island at 24° Pisces? What are you materializing at 23° Pisces? Where are you seeking illumination at 11 Pisces? Where are you forming new elements at 8 Sagittarius?

Finally, let’s look at 23 Aries, where Eris spends all month: “A woman in pastel colors carrying a heavy and valuable but veiled load.” What can this mean to you personally and for our world? A woman in pastel colors implies that her gift or burden is something nice; she is dressed to please others. The item is heavy and valuable, but veiled, concealed. It may be a physical object, but more likely it is a heavy spiritual object. Where is a gift of the spirit coming to you? Where does 23° Aries lie in your horoscope?

Some astrologers (and other intuitives) like to see only the positive in situations. This denies reality. When hard aspects are predominate, someone in the collective will act them out. It only takes a very few people to wreck mass havoc as we’ve seen in some of the examples given above. You, as an individual, can choose to use these energies for the positive. I urge you to do so. But to assume that all 7 billion people on the planet will do so is foolish. We are not so evolved that some among us will avoid giving in to the lowest expression of the hard transits of the times. Do what you can to be your highest self. Do what you can to encourage the same for others. That is the best possible in today’s world.

To wrap up, April 2016 is a busy, eventful month. When people are compassionate and work together, time will pass quickly and much will be accomplished. When people choose to be divisive, to pick fights, to abandon compassion, then the results will be quickly felt and not pleasant. Much of the potential difficulties of this eventful period can be alieved by acts of love and charity toward others. So may it be.

I'm putting a couple of links here to my recent articles combining astrology and tarot.

First some of the positives of using tarot. http://www.atatarot.com/reflections/04-05-16/an-astrologer-looks-at-the.html

Next a technique of combining astrology and tarot for diviniation.

http://www.atatarot.com/reflections/04-05-16/tarot-scopes.html

All the best to you in this changeable month of April 2016.

Lalia