I know we’re practically hip-deep into Tuesday, but I started this in my head yesterday–when I was listening to my poor wife barf at 4:30 am in the morning in my niece’s car from motion sickness. We were on our way to the airport for an early flight from Buffalo to JFK. When we were comfortably in our plane seats and what remained of the motion sickness medicine in her stomach had finally kicked in, I said to her quietly, “Fuck Motion Sickness Monday.” She laughed. And it came to me that a lot of us might come to feel a kind of motion sickness with all that’s happening this week: Mercury retrograde, Mercury conjunct to Saturn, another pass of Uranus square Pluto, a powerful Solar eclipse on Sunday and, for those in the US, a shift from Daylights Savings Time to Standard time. (I’m happy about that. I hate Daylight Savings Time with a lot of passion.)
In my horoscopes below, I go over what various sun, moon or rising signs could generally expect, but this solar eclipse and Uranus-Pluto square is probably the biggest part of what’s putting so much in motion now. I talked a little bit about eclipses a few weeks ago, but that was a lunar eclipse. A solar eclipse is a new moon x10. What most muggles don’t know is that various eclipses have names and have genealogies for their cycles called Saros series or cycles.
The solar eclipse on Sunday is Saros 143 and also known as Saros Series 16 North. It was “born” February 15, 1599 at the North Pole and its cycle will end on March 25, 2843. SS 16 N, for short, was born with Uranus and Pluto buddied up together in Aries. Now it’s only Uranus in Aries and they’re about to have static, by a square, with Pluto in Capricorn. Bernadette Brady, in her book Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark, describes this eclipse as “[a] gentle family of eclipses which brings a sense of inspiration or the illumination of ideas. The presence of the Uranus-Neptune combination (in the 2/15/1599 chart) talks of the sudden release of material from the unconscious which brings with it a great deal of insight. These ideas are good and the individual would be wise to act upon them.” I would co-sign on that for the most part. However, the added Uranus-Pluto static discharge means we might see folks upset and in the streets again as we’ve been seeing for the last few years. (They’ve already had this beef 3 times before since 2011. They’re scheduled for 3 more until 2015.)
For me, it gets a little more personal. This eclipse is right on top of my Mercury, so it’s activating that planet. I’m about to go into a level of motion that’s been in process for months. I’ve also been expecting and preparing for it. I’m still not fully ready. More meditation, prayer and just sitting are needed. But I can relate to the inspiration and illumination of ideas. Those are definitely very plentiful now with a good measure of follow-through.
I know a number of astrologers are gravely worried about the financial health of our world economy with this solar eclipse. I can’t say I share their same concern, especially considering its “birth” chart AND even its most recent appearance in 1995. (Remember, solar eclipses come in cycles.) If you look at that year, you’ll see that it was the year that the world wide web, as we know it, was made available to the public. Illumination of ideas indeed! Of course, that was also the year of the OK bombing. So, like I said, people are testy, to say the least, but the next several months will open our eyes. That could lead to motion sickness, of one sort or another, for some. But I do believe we’ll arrive where we need to go and see a lot as if for the very first time.
SPECIAL ENDING THIS WEEK!
I’m offering 30 minute, RECORDED readings at $50 (normally $65) for anyone who is having a reading with me for the FIRST time. It has to be booked during eclipse season (October 8, 2013-November 4, 2013), but it can be scheduled to take place any time within the next six months, until April 8, 2014! To book to meet in person at my office in NYC, click here. To meet by phone or Skype, click here. The other full 60 minute, recorded session is at the regular rate.
…And what’s in motion for you by sign this week…
Aries [March 21st to April 19th]
Taurus [April 20th to May 21st]
Gemini [May 22nd to June 20th]
Cancer [June 21st to July 21st]
Scorpio [Oct 22nd to Nov 21st]
Sagittarius [Nov 22nd to Dec 21st]
Capricorn [Dec 22nd to Jan 20th]
Practicing Astrologer 
What did you learn during this past Mercury Retrograde?
September 13, 2010 — return2thesourceSomehow I knew this Mercury retrograde would be personal. Mercury has gone direct right near my Jupiter and my descendant. I wrote earlier about my Jupiter and a bit about my descendant or 7th house. (More here.) But I’ve had some interesting reflections on Mercury-related issues of late. I feel like sharing a few.
1) There is such a thing as a le mot juste (the right word) and it’s well worthwhile to find it. I’ve known a lot of cyber-bullies in my lifetime on the net, and I’ve spent many keyboard clicks tackling them. Hell, I’ve been called one myself. But I saw something this Mercury retro cycle that I’ve never seen before. I saw a cyberbully get effectively “taken out” with the precision of a sniper, in pretty much two tweets or a total of 280 characters. I won’t bore you with the details, but this cyber-bully (loud-mouthed, know-it-all Sag) went barking up the wrong tree one Sunday morning with some really vicious, violent and unprovoked name-calling against a Virgo woman. She didn’t have to do much but uncover some of his strange shenanigans with his multiple profiles on twitter and the public fact that he had been disbarred. All in two tweets, less than 280 characters, not words. The rest was just other people retweeting her or addenda from other people based on what she had uncovered. He disappeared for week, claiming that his absence was unrelated to her tweets. (Oh, okay!) He hasn’t apologized publicly, but he also has been quiet as a church mouse too, relatively. Brevity is indeed the soul of wit…and kicking ass.
2) People will often do as much as you allow. If you don’t want to get “it” from all sides, then reduce the fallout by setting boundaries or being much more circumspect in what you give out. I definitely had some Mercury-related problems this cycle. One problem I had with clients is that a few were either seriously late (one by an hour) OR who just didn’t show up. So for the first time I had to compose a written policy about cancellations or lateness. I have always had a very folksy practice. In some ways, I will continue to do so. Some fellow astrologers suggested that I ask for deposits and that jazz, but I’m not doing that. I have to keep some measure of trust as a recovering cynic. I think my new policies will work well enough.
I also had to create a more uniform policy for friends in contacting me. That may be harder to fully implement, though. First, you should know this about me that only those close to me know well enough: I HATE THE PHONE. I have pretty much always hated the phone (like since being a toddler), but I’ve wrestled with how to deal with that for most of my adult life. I also didn’t have the right technology to deal with my phone aversions. Screening calls was a godsend when we had answering machines, but the advent of voicemail on a cellphone didn’t allow that to happen. Caller ID helps, but really my problem isn’t really the who. It’s the what. I’m not a chatterer, so I don’t really care who it is: I don’t want to be on the phone unless I have to be. I’m especially impatient with people who live near me. I will travel 2 hours to meet a friend by train and have lunch, but I won’t travel 2 seconds across the room to chat on the phone with a person who’s around the corner. (I’m more forgiving with friends who are farther than a train ride away.) Has nothing to do with the friend or how I feel about the friendship. It’s the phone! So during this retrograde, I gave out my google phone number so I could text people more even from my computer than get on the phone at all. I also did something dumb until I got clear on what I’ve been doing. I got a new and more expensive phone. It hit me that I get high-tech phones to make being on the phone a more palatable experience. But I can’t pretend anymore. I so hate the phone. So I’ve explained to more friends that the best way to reach me is via email or text. All I need are vectors–the where and when to meet. Interestingly, this led to me meeting up with more friends. That felt good. In fact, my best friend and I hung out for the first time in months, instead of crossing paths or texting each other, at the US Open to see Federer fall and Nadal rise into the finals. That was awesome! How’d that happen? You guessed it: by direct message on twitter, text or email. I felt like these things had become real tools for live connections rather than substitutes. I got clear that I can’t do anymore substitutes except for family and friends hundreds of miles away and even then none too much. I’ve got to accept that, and I guess they do too.
3) Name-calling might feel good in the moment when you’re aggressive, but it’s not progressive when you want to solve problems. So you gotta ask yourself as soon as you want to call anyone a name outside of their own in anger: do you want to feel good at someone’s expense or find peace at the benefit of you both? And don’t get it twisted. I am not saying that you can’t or shouldn’t ever call someone out their name. I called Rev. Terry Jones, the guy who wanted to burn Qur’ans in Gainesville, FL, batshit crazy. I still feel good saying that. But I’m a lot more resistant to calling someone anything except their name.
What did you learn during this Mercury Retrograde?