Plan Ahead: Mercury Retrograde + Eclipse Season
Here's a quick guide to a number of astrological big deals happening mainly between May 26th and June 24th 2021, so you can plan ahead.
This past Thursday, May 13th, Jupiter moved into Pisces. Jupiter is a planet that brings expansion, joviality, faith, optimism, growth and good luck. And because Jupiter rules Pisces, this planet now has the power to really give us its best gifts-- literally and figuratively a breath of fresh air since Jupiter has been constrained in Saturn-ruled signs since the end of 2019. I use the word 'literally' because on the same day, the CDC announced that masks would no longer be required in public in the US. And it really does feel as if things are looking up in a way.
However, there are a few other things happening concurrently that suggest it would be unwise to abandon all caution just yet. For one thing, Jupiter is now copresent with Neptune, which inclines us to get a little hazy when it comes to things like facts and details. For another, Jupiter will retrograde back into Aquarius at the end of July, suggesting there's a bit more restriction in store for us before we're entirely set free.
On the earthly level, the majority of epidemiologists do not agree that going maskless is safe, even if you are vaccinnated.
But in terms of astrology, I present the following. Not to rain on your parade, but to help you plan ahead realistically for the best possible outcome.
Today, May 15th, Mercury moved into the shadow phase of its upcoming retrograde in Gemini from 5/29 - 6/22. Mercury going retrograde indicates a period of rethinking, reworking, redoing and a more inward-oriented communication process. These periods often coincide with frequent misunderstandings, delays, mistakes, and technological breakdowns. Because Mercury is also associated with travel and deliveries, those things may also be disrupted in some way. In my experience, the best way to work with these periods is to leave extra time and space to deal with unforeseen dilemmas, cut people some slack if they offend you, double check your emails before you hit send and take extra care to communicate clearly, ensuring that you understood others as well. I think this is also a superb time for editing and revising, be it a piece of writing or a strategy or a world view or a relationship or anything else. It is not a great time to initiate a new project, sign a contract, or make a major purchase, but it is a great time to revisit, reconsider and refine what you've already been working on.
May 26th, we'll have a lunar eclipse in Sagittarius conjunct the south node of the moon. This will kick off a month of what astrologers call 'eclipse season,' which will last until the next normal lunation, on 6/24. In my experience, eclipse season is draining. This is another period of time where it is not advised to begin new projects. If possible, I think it's best to keep a low profile on the actual days of the eclipses. You may even want to experiment with some of the remedial techniques recommended for eclipses, which include taking a salt bath, chanting Vedic mantras to Ketu (for the one on 5/26) or Rahu (for the solar eclipse on 6/10), and other methods of energetic cleansing, such as the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. This article on energetic cleansing by Katilyn Coppock may be of interest to you, if you want to get super into it. I will write separate posts for each of these eclipses going into more detail (sign up for the newsletter if you haven't already so as not to miss it!) For now, I'll sum up this lunar eclipse in Sag as a time for letting go of a goal or philosophical approach that is no longer useful, which will allow space for something new to grow later on.
May 29th, Mercury stations retrograde at 24 degrees of Gemini. This is within two degrees of a square to Neptune, making the likelihood of confusion, delusion and misunderstandings that much greater.
May 31st, Mars in Cancer trines Neptune in Pisces, enabling an ease of flow between our imaginations and our inclination to react emotionally (rather than respond intentionally). This could certainly be a lot of fun in the right circumstances, like dancing at a music festival, but also kinda dangerous in others, when you consider the number of people who believe the whole Q-Anon business.
June 5th, Mars in Cancer opposes Pluto in Capricorn, while retrograde Mercury forms an exact square with Neptune. The desire for material abundance and security comes into tension with the difficult truths of power, patriarchy, tradition, capitalism, and other nice things. Meanwhile, we are all very confused about what's really going on, and seeing through the fog to reality is unlikely to happen until after July 7th, when Mercury has cleared the retrograde shadow and Neptune's orb of influence.
June 10th, the solar eclipse in Gemini, conjunct the north node of the moon. I'll write more about this in an upcoming post, but most of what I wrote about eclipses above still applies here. Since this is on the north node, instead of releasing something, we're looking at a sudden influx of energy related to communication, curiosity, comparing dualities, and so on. Gemini is ruled by Mercury, so the confusion of the retrograde is likely to play a large part in what comes in at this time. Proceed with caution.
June 14th, Saturn in Aquarius squares Uranus in Taurus. Expect more large protests, social unrest, and manifestations of climate change. The discipline we impose upon ourselves for the greater good clashes with the ongoing destabilization and re-invention of material resources.
June 20th, Jupiter stations retrograde at 2 degrees of Pisces, marking a turnaround point for all of that optimism and expansion. Jupiter will retrograde back into Aquarius on July 28th, where it'll have to live under Saturn's rules and obligations for the social good just a little longer, until December 2021 when it gets to go back to its happy place Pisces. Will this be the return of social distancing and public masking?
June 22nd, Mercury finally stations direct at 16 degrees of Gemini. We can begin to move forward on projects a couple of days after this, though the foggy influence of Neptune will remain a hindering factor until 7/7.
June 24th, a full moon in Capricorn. Finally, the first normal lunation in nearly a month, ending eclipse season. Time to pick yourself up off the floor and get back to... normal? Is that even a thing anymore?
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