Mercury Turns Direct Sunday, March 17th at 1:02 PM PDT and 4:02 PM EDT

Pisces and the intensity of its influence for many weeks now, raised our awareness to the subtle longings we had, for so long, kept submerged.  Old memories, nagging limitations, collective horrors that felt very personal, as well as overwhelming love and support, and a re-acquaintance with the nature of our soul were all part of an emerging picture that began to include the lost parts of ourselves.

It all began in March/April of 2011 with Chiron’s move into Pisces potentiating Neptune’s tentative move into the same sign. It was tentative because Neptune retrograded back into Aquarius in August of 2011 until February of 2012. Neptune will be traveling through the sign of Pisces permanently until March of 2025.

But the March/April 2011 date was significant because, even though it was just an inkling, we began to feel that an important part of us was missing then, imprisoned, or silenced.  A free floating dissatisfaction with the limiting role we were playing in the life we’d built began to emerge.  We were both offended and willing participants in roles that were an affront to the deeper, more meaningful parts of who we were. Unraveling what we’d built seemed overwhelming and unthinkable.  But it began to unravel on its own.  So much for the illusion of control.

Early in February of this year, as though to accelerate the process,  the planets began their cascade into the sign of Pisces.  First Mars, then Mercury, followed by the Sun and Venus, and eventually the Moon, all within a few weeks of each other. Intensifying the mass infusion of Pisces energy was the New Moon on March 11th and Mercury’s retrograde on February 23rd.

There have been feelings of being swept up in a tide, moving in a direction that unravels faster than it replaces.  But we’re adjusting and beginning to have a new appreciation for the importance of living a life that expresses our whole self – a more soulful existence infused with meaning, a life that supports our deepest commitments to ourselves and to all of existence.

We’re not so easy to please anymore, and despite increasing financial pressures, we’re not as easily bought. This has many implications for us and for the culture we live in, and for our actions as Mercury turns direct.

If you look at the Mercury Direct chart, you’ll see Mercury on the left hand side of the chart in pink (see The Planets and Their Astrological Meaning to identify planetary symbols), sandwiched between Neptune and Chiron.  The fact that Mercury moves direct with Neptune at its side means that whatever you allow to move forward in your life has to respect the soulful parts of yourself that have emerged over the past two years, and, more intensely, over the past 6 weeks. Chiron puts an exclamation point on those new demands and sets up the boundaries clarifying what you will and will not accept.

Another important consideration in the Mercury Direct Chart is an Aries Mars moving rapidly toward Uranus in Aries in the first house.  If you look at the left hand side of this chart again, at the yellow circle (the Sun) sitting right on the Ascendant line, just below that you’ll see the purple Mars glyph and below that, in pink, Uranus.  This usually expresses outwardly as determination and force – an emphasis on being a leader, a strong urge to take physical action, and to be effective.  It is a desire to break free of all rules and restraints that prevent progress. It feels rebellious and impatient.

Uranus/Mars in Aries is a fiery influence but watery Neptune, with it’s larger scope, serves as subduing influence.  It’s important, though, that Mars/Uranus and Mercury/Neptune semi-sextile each other in this chart.  This gives them the ability to cooperate even though their energies are completely different. Mars/Uranus wants to break out now, but Mercury/Neptune reminds of the importance of respecting sensitive inner feelings that serve as the guide who understands the big picture.

What does this mean for you?  It means that you’re taking a more respectful approach to yourself these days.  You’re no longer willing to sell your soul to escape a less than ideal situation. There’s too much at stake. You very carefully evaluate your options.

With Jupiter in Gemini traveling along side a Gemini moon,  it is no longer sufficient for the facts to line up, for your education and experience to simply match the requirements of the job.  Now there are intangibles to consider.  How will these new opportunities accommodate your broader needs?  How will they allow you to express forcefully and with sensitivity to the bigger picture?  Will you have access to opportunities to serve the cause you strongly believe in? Does this feel right?  Will this new direction nourish the soul, and, more importantly, will it expand th soul’s influence, strengthen her voice, and move her into a leadership position?  It is important for the soul to take the lead now, especially where your own motivation and decision making are concerned.

It is likely that the soul, though awakened, may need to stir in the alchemical cauldron for a while longer, purifying and transforming into its most potent essential self, at least until Mercury once again reaches the point at which it first retrograded on February 23rd.  That is not until April 6th.

That may feel like a frustrating period of waiting…a situation of being betwixt and between, neither here nor there, with psychic material continuing to surface, old memories put into new context, coming to terms with shame, guilt, and betrayals, old mysteries solved, new ones created, and love that overwhelms the entire process.

Virgo and Libra serve as balancing energies.  Virgo asks that we develop a routine that keeps us healthy, grounded, and organized through this time period. The old routine may not work anymore and something new might take its place. Libra asks that we balance the body’s need for action with exercise than respects its limitations, with beauty that calms its nervous system, and rest that speeds its recovery.  New exercise routines are common when Mars moves into Aries.

We’ve come a long way inwardly since April of 2011.  If it feels and looks to others like you’ve been sliding backwards, failing to achieve culturally defined success, it’s simply that these old definitions are losing their their meaning and viability.  Mass consciousness drives the culture. It’s not the other way around. Inner change always precedes outer change.  The awakening soul is cause for great optimism. The future seems very bright from an astrological perspective.

 

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