Dionne's Corner

This Mercury retrograde starts 8:44 am PST January 11, 2009 (4:44 pm GMT, January 12 in east Asia and Australia) and ends 11:11 pm PST January 31 (February 1 everywhere east of there). This retrograde moves from 8 degrees Aquarius back to 22 Capricorn, with the inferior conjunction of Mercury and the Sun occurring at 1 degree Aquarius at 7:59 am PST an hour before the Presidential inauguration on January 20.

This Mercury retrograde begins at 8 Aquarius, and retraces ground we experienced December 25 through January 10. The degree is "Beautifully Gowned Wax Figures," symbolizing a "need for public presentation of life virtues and standards," and the need to share our values in some external manner with others."

Rudhyar also says this degree is about "the inspiration one may derive from the appearance of Exemplars who present to us the archetypes of a new culture." It is a degree of fixed symbols of a culture, mental archetypes, and patterns in which we can find inspiration and new ways of dealing with others resulting from new forms revealed to our consciousness.

What we can see are the symbols and sign that "pre-form" what is on the way. We are told that this energy heralds "new collective developments." It is in the Span of "Defensiveness," and the synthesis degree in the Emotional-Social-Cultural level of "Contribution."

According to Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, it is a degree of the "...vanity of the human spirit as it gathers strength" from superficial displays of form and reputation, "here emphasized through personal idealizations." Its formula is Manipulating, Ideal, Ingenious, Specializing, Social, and Receptive. He offers the keyword IMPACT, and says it's a degree of "achievement through the effective dramatization of human character on some level of everyday understanding."

We also find that it is a degree that mobilizes our efforts due to the influence of others' dynamic energy, and we are told that we need "to recognize and identify the values worthy of emulation." This would imply that we need to evaluate the impact various images and people have on us, and how they are shaping the choices we make that determine a future that we're already glimpsing through symbols.

It also indicates that our own behavior can serve as something that others could emulate. We should find ways to externalize our values, our understanding of human nature, and strive to be outstanding in an appropriate way. Just be alert to futile tendencies of trying to recapture obsolete experiences.

Of note is that during this Mercury retrograde period, Saturn re-enters the Virgo zone of The Grand Irrationality, triggering that on-going configuration and making it an active part of the Mercury retrograde lessons for this period of time. It seems that every Mercury retrograde of the past year has something triggering the Grand Irrationality (besides the Moon).

Venus, Mars, and Saturn were activating The Grand Irrationality during the Sept-Oct 2008 Mercury retrograde period. The Mercury RX point in May 2008 featured the Sun in the Gemini zone of the Grand Irrationality, and the one before it in January 2008 also triggered the configuration in major ways. From the January 2008 Mercury retrograde article:

... This stationary degree is conjunct Neptune and septile Pluto and Venus, thus triggering a long term "Grand Irrationality" effect. This is yet another in a string of Mercury sensitive points that are triggering this long wave global irrationality.

A look back at previous Mercury retrograde articles discusses this more extensively, but in just one example, Mercury's RX station in October 2007 at 10 Scorpio put it biseptile Neptune's stationary RX point of Spring 2007. This stationary point is within the "hot zone" created then that will be triggered continuously by Neptune and Pluto throughout 2008-2009 as they respectively biseptile and septile this Scorpio point.

This would indicate that whatever "threshold" lessons, ideas, and perceptions the October-November 2007 Scorpio-Libra retrograde held for us will help us move into our Higher Destiny over the next two years each time the Grand Irrationality pattern is triggered by transits, including the Moon. As a result of deepened relationships and connectedness with life, expect opportunities to teach and be taught how to manage feelings and social-cultural experiences. This will help many to find a group work where they can embrace higher ideals and activities creating a better world on whatever level that group operates.

These energies are on-going. You can reference Spiritual Astrology in November-December 2008 Pt. 2 - The Grand Irrationality and When It Will Be Set Into Motion to learn more about the weird larger atmosphere of the Grand Irrationality that is affecting all of us from time to time throughout the year.

I'll be composing an update shortly providing more information about The Grand Irrationality in 2009. Please keep in mind that since Saturn is now re-activating the larger irrationality pattern constantly over the next few weeks, expect Virgo, Capricorn and Aquarius related things and people to go through choices and changes marking a fork in the road of destiny.

On a final note for today, during any Mercury retrograde period there are always strange twists and turns and returns. However, if it's not a return of something you should have taken care of before then, remember that whatever happens it probably won't turn out the way it seems at the time.

Obviously there are more Mercury retrograde articles coming over the next few days. Future parts in this series will discuss aspects and configurations with other planets, the nature of its coming stationary direct degree influences, how it affects individual birthdays, the coming Inferior Conjunction, and what this Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn is specifically good for.

Copyright © 2009 Robert Wilkinson