Mercury in Taurus

Astrological news this week: Gemini New Moon & a change of direction

Astrological update for the week of May 30 –  June 5, 2022

art by Paula Bella Flores

A New Moon in Gemini, the sign of communication and experiences, offers an opportunity for a new perspective. The ruler of the New Moon is Mercury, the messenger planet, adding to the focus on communication and adaptation. In mythology, Mercury was the only god who was able to travel back and forth to the Underworld, facilitating communication between the gods. Mercury-ruled Gemini teaches us to accept and integrate a wide variety of ideas different kinds of experiences; under its influence everything is considered to have value for its own sake, and there is a keen desire to learn about many things. The Gemini New Moon is the perfect time to set aside our prejudices and look at our world through new eyes.

Making this a little more difficult is the fact that currently Mercury is in Taurus, a fixed sign which does not adapt easily to new situations, and Mercury is retrograde where we are looking more at the past than into the future. There may be some situations that need to be wrapped up before these new eyes can see clearly, especially since Mercury is within range of a square to Saturn which begin in late April before Mercury turned retrograde. Saturn tends to put the kibosh on new ideas, especially if they are half baked, so this is an important time to consider all details before venturing head-first into a new adventure.

The conjunction of Mars (action) to Jupiter (confidence) which dominated the astrology last week is still in effect and can encourage just that kind of head-first impulsivity so care should be taken. Mars and Jupiter […]

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By |2022-05-30T07:53:33-04:00May 30th, 2022|Planetary news this week|0 Comments

4.19.21 – Prepare to be planted as Taurus season begins

“Planted” has a double meaning here, since Taurus is associated with the plants found in nature but also the tendency under the Taurus influence to be planted in one place and therefore immoveable.  Taurus is a fixed Earth sign – the most fixed and inflexible of all the signs because Earth is more fixed than any of the other elements.  Under the influence of Taurus we learn to be guided by the wisdom of the natural world.  Comfort and security become highly important, and the world of the senses becomes our beacon.

The shift of a planet from Aries to Taurus takes us from the intense fire of Aries into the placid yearning for equanimity of Taurus and tomorrow both Mercury and the Sun make that jump.  At that point we will have four planets in Taurus – a stellium of fixed Earth energy to inspire us to be nurtured by the devas and elementals of nature.  Under Taurus we can experience more inflexibility and an inability to adapt to new situations, either from within us or from others in our life, so finding a comfortable place in which we can find a sense of equilibrium will help us to gain the most from this time of powerful Taurus energies.


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By |2021-04-18T19:01:56-04:00April 19th, 2021|Planetary news this week|3 Comments

How to succeed during Mercury retrograde, April 9 through May 3 2017

mercury retrogradeSometimes it seems like we are in a permanent Mercury retrograde period, doesn’t it?  Under Mercury retrograde communication snafus are common and often equipment that we rely on fails to work properly.

I like to think of Mercury retrograde periods as being the ebb tide.  Life doesn’t always move in forward motion – like the tide, there are periods where events rush us towards the shore and other times when we look to the past and must take a step backwards in order to find completion or master a certain issue.

Consequently, Mercury retrograde times are good for re-flection and for finding new wisdom in situations from the past; for re-decorating, re-designing, re-thinking. They are usually not great times to start something new, but we can’t always design our lives around the three weeks, four times a year in which Mercury is retrograde.

Mercury is in the fixed and somewhat stubborn sign of Taurus right now where it adapts well to the lack of forward motion.  However, when Mercury retrogrades back into fiery Aries where it will remain between April 20th and May 15th we will be at the mercy of two opposing forces: the urge of Aries to take dynamic and impulsive action combined with the retrograde tendency to take two steps backward for every step forward.  This will be exacerbated by the fact that throughout this period Mercury will unite with reckless Uranus.  Under this influence there tends to be a lot of impulsive behavior and action as well as words thrown about without too much thought.  Travel is likely to be disrupted and a fair amount of chaos can ensue if we fail to pay attention. However, this planetary dynamic also bestows new ways of […]

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By |2017-04-11T16:57:50-04:00April 11th, 2017|Mercury retrograde|2 Comments

It’s all about Mercury right now

image from Taranak’s blog.  Over the next few days and leading up to the New Moon Eclipse on May 9th, transiting Mercury will make no fewer than seven exact hits to other planets in its march through early Taurus. Mercury is the planet that rules over the mind and the mental function, but also communication and movement.  With Mercury activating this many planets, our minds will be active and energized by new thoughts and ideas and the necessity of adapting to the stimuli around us.

One of the things I love about the mythological Mercury is that as the messenger god he was the only  one of all of the gods that was allowed into Pluto’s domain, the Underworld.  Our mental understanding helps to facilitate our movement through experiences and provides us with a way to process the events in our life in a way that enhances our personal growth.

Mercury is in Taurus at the moment, and the fixed earthiness of Taurus makes the flexibility that Mercury requires more difficult to achieve.  With so many Mercury aspects over the next few days, our minds will be very active and we are prone to changing our minds like our clothing, and shapeshifting and mercurial shifts of demeanor and manner will be the norm.  But Taurus creates resistance to change resulting in a push/pull force pulling us in both directions that may be difficult.

So over the next few days we will find ourselves in this duality of motion versus resistance.  Meditation helps quiet the mind and will help the reality of our situation become more evident and keep the mental confusion to a minimum.  When we can’t make a decision, the time is not yet right and […]

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By |2019-08-26T13:12:47-04:00May 5th, 2013|Mercury|3 Comments

Moving from Aries to Taurus

Mars in TaurusEach sign reacts to and improves on the sign that immediately precedes it, so when a planet like Mars moves from its own sign of Aries, which is courageous and vibrant but can also be impetuous and thoughtless, there is a shift into the more grounded stability of the Taurus influence.  Robert Wilkinson points this out in his post on Mars in Taurus today:

Mars now activates the stabilization of our affairs wherever we have Taurus in our birth chart. Mars in Taurus can be stubborn in doing things its way, so expect more brinksmanship and butting of heads in the political arena. Of course, this is also where once things are on track, they will move steadily forward to the desired ends, since Mars in Taurus is truly the irresistible force and/or the immovable object, sometimes at the same time!

As Taurus stabilizes what began in Aries, and Mars represents actions to pierce through inertias, expect activities that substantiate and confirm recent initiatives and beginnings that began in March and April. Keep developing fields that opened then, keep the disciplined activity going, figure out what you need to sustain the momentum, all while finding ways to enjoy yourself.

Venus and Mercury (which are currently still in a nice trio that includes Jupiter in Aries) are about to transition from Aries into Taurus over the next few days, so it’s a good time to build up the momentum while there’s still some Aries energy motivating us towards action.  Under the Taurus influence we seek comfort and security and tend to resist change.  Taurus offers an opportunity to sink deep roots and build a powerful base of determination so that we can truly enjoy our lives.

Taurus isn’t the […]

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By |2021-04-14T07:24:38-04:00May 13th, 2011|Astrology|0 Comments