Mercury opposite Jupiter

Astrological news this week: Time to regroup and reassess under peak retrograde

Astrological update for the week of September 12-19, 2022

art by Jane Ray

Peak retrograde. With Mercury having just turned retrograde last week, there are currently seven planets in apparent retrograde motion. Repeating my comments from last week: When there is a preponderance of retrograde energy it can feel like we’re spinning our wheels, especially if those planets are triggering something in our chart. Mercury retrograde issues tend to be specifically about communication, but we also have Jupiter retrograde (examining missed opportunities), Saturn retrograde (revisiting our obligations), Neptune retrograde (urging a more creative sense of reality) and Pluto retrograde (the insistence of fate to take the wheel). With the addition of Chiron retrograde (peeling off the scab one more time in order to heal the wounds), there is a great deal of looking into the past that needs to be done.

As one reader commented last week, retrogrades can bring challenges as well as gifts and that is true for everything related to astrology. The persistent pulling back the veil to reveal one more error that needs to be corrected can be annoying and irritating and can make it difficult to feel that we’re getting any traction, just like in the old movie Groundhog Day. Sometimes we just have to keep re-doing our lives over and over until we get it right.

Saturn/Uranus square. The Saturn/Uranus cycle of 2021 brought up a fervor of revolutionary (Uranus) rebellion against the structures which hold our societies in place (Saturn).  This cycle ended last year, but the two planets are just a degree apart from an exact alignment now and that will continue to tighten until mid-October. This is a reactionary time which, considering the […]

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By |2022-09-12T08:03:50-04:00September 12th, 2022|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Planetary news this week: August 9, 2021. A chance to regroup and rebalance

by Lynn Hayes.   There are no major planetary alignments this week, and the big square aspect between Saturn and Uranus that has dominated much of the year so far is mostly dormant now.  Saturn and Uranus will be between 7-8 degrees from exactitude between now and October before moving together for their next confrontation towards the end of December.  That is not to say that the stress between control (Saturn) and liberation (Uranus) is over, but the intensity has been ratcheted down a notch so real change can take place.

Dates and times are given in EDT and UTC, please adjust for your time zone.

Monday, August 9th.   The energies of Sunday’s Leo New Moon are still vibrant but fading somewhat, especially after the Moon enters Virgo at 10:55 am EDT/2:55 pm UTC.  The Moon influences us from within, whereas the Sun influences us from the outer world.  When the Moon is in Virgo, the sign of analysis and details, those details become more important to us and how we feel and react takes a back seat.  This can make it easier to get things done, improve productivity and generally be more capable and efficient.

That will be somewhat more difficult on Monday with an opposition from Venus (beauty) to Neptune (transcendence) which peaks at 8:19 pm EDT/12:19 am Tuesday UTC.  Under this aspect there is a longing for more magic, and too much efficiency and analysis can harsh the mellow. This will be especially true just before midnight EDT/just before 4 am UTC when the Virgo Moon aligns with Mars creating some rough edges and conflict.  Because of the hour, it could be difficult to sleep especially if you are working some things out in your mind.

Tuesday August 10th. The Moon […]

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By |2021-08-10T07:28:48-04:00August 9th, 2021|Planetary news this week|2 Comments
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The meaning of Mercury in Cancer: May 28-August 4, 2020

art by Ellen Uytewaal

Mercury, the planet of messages and information, is typically in a sign for less than a month, but because of the upcoming retrograde it will remain in Cancer until August 4th.  Any retrograde Mercury period is important since a retrograde planet applies greater emphasis and tends to dominate the astrological influences. This year, however, when Mercury turns retrograde on June 18th it will  just one of five planets in retrograde (followed by Neptune a few days later for a total of six).  You may want to catch up on this article about the summer of retrogrades.

But back to Mercury in Cancer.  Cancer is ruled by the Moon, the luminary that governs our emotions and our secret inner selves.  To understand Cancer you need go no farther than the Crab which is one of Cancer’s symbols.  With a soft tender shell in their youth, the Crab is very vulnerable and tender, caring deeply for others and for the world as a whole.  However if the Crab is hurt or wounded it may develop a hard shell in later years making it difficult to express those tender feelings.

Mercury is typically objective and seeks a certain amount of order in our thinking and transmission of information, but in Cancer the need for an open mind can be subsumed by feelings and sensation.  Cancer thrives on a sense of being at home, both physically and with our families or our tribe – the people with whom we feel more at home.  Much is being written these days about our “quarantine tribe” – the people that we are closest to and choose to spend time with even while in quarantine […]

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By |2020-05-29T08:17:11-04:00May 29th, 2020|Planetary cycles|3 Comments
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