Tag Archives: Mercury in Capricorn

Weekly Forecast December 31: Mercury Enters Capricorn, Mars Trine Jupiter

Solstice Treat. © Pat Paquette, 2012.

For some reason, it feels as though we’ve had our New Year’s celebration and 2013 is already here … maybe because we survived the end of the world. Then, the Solstice is my winter holiday, and my annual celebration of this special day typically doesn’t involve champagne and noise-makers.

Of course, this also is my busiest time of year for astrological forecasts, so I’ve worked on New Year’s Day pretty steadily for the past 10 years. More about that later. First, I want to talk about an interesting item in the news this week, even though it’s kind of old news at this point (I guess it takes a while for things like this to make it into the mainstream).

According to astronomers, a new comet is heading our way that could be as bright as the Moon in 2013. We don’t know yet exactly how Comet ISON will behave; like the much-heralded Comet Elenin, it could break up, or it could get so close to the Sun that it has a meltdown. But if it lives up to early expectations, we could see a celestial phenomenon unparalleled in our lifetimes.

To make the event even more exciting, ISON will be conjunct Mars and Regulus in mid-October, right before the first eclipse in the new Libra-Aries series. In November, the comet will be at its closest point to the Sun, right around the time of a powerful Solar Eclipse in Scorpio and the second Uranus-Pluto square of 2013. Right now, ISON is moving very slowly through Cancer and isn’t visible to the naked eye. That won’t happen until September. Still, we have a visitor in our solar system, apparently a messenger from the Oort Cloud. I’ve been poring over charts all morning and afternoon but need more time to connect the dots. When I do, you’ll be the first to know.

Looking at this week, Mercury, our messenger-in-residence, finally leaves Sagittarius and moves on to Capricorn. Although he’s somewhat subdued in the somber sign of the Sea Goat, he’s more stable. More importantly, he’ll no longer be in mutual reception with retrograde Jupiter in Gemini. I thought the mutual reception might help us work through some details while keeping the big picture in mind – and perhaps it has – but I suspect it has been behind the lingering feeling that Mercury is still retrograde, even though he went direct more than a month ago. We’ll see what happens on Monday morning. Heck, maybe Congress will even come to its senses and pass measures to avoid going over the fiscal cliff.

Also on Monday, Mars sextiles Uranus. Occasionally, these two do play nice together, and they’re also in mutual reception, which is even better. As I wrote last week, this is a superb opportunity to manifest thoughts into reality through action. I normally don’t advise acting on impulse, but this is one time when spontaneity could turn out to be beneficial. That said, it couldn’t hurt to think for a split second before you act.

Mercury sextiles Neptune on Tuesday – good for translating dreams and imagination into practical ideas. On Thursday, Mercury squares Uranus, and it’s back to impulsiveness, this time the dread “foot-in-mouth” syndrome. My advice is to avoid wearing stilettos.

Moving right along, the Little Guy sextiles Chiron on Friday, quincunxes Jupiter on Saturday, and conjoins Pluto on Sunday. Neptune and Chiron were conjunct in 2009 and 2010, and while the conjunction has separated, we’re still feeling some of the healing effects of that influence, especially when the fast-moving inner planets aspect Neptune and Chiron within a day or two. We’ve all gone through an enormous of amount of healing in the past two years. Many of you have told me how you look at things differently, how things that used to bother you don’t faze you anymore, you’re much steadier and calmer, and overall feel wiser and more mature. But we still have our moments, don’t we? Some of the core wounds we dealt with were so deep that we know they will always be with us, even though we are more adept at working around them. The thing is, Pisces feels so deeply and intensely that it may prefer to hide emotions, and Capricorn is the long-suffering, work-through-every-crisis sign. If you feel like you have to cry on Friday, then find a quiet, private place and cry. It’s OK.

Mercury’s quincunx with Jupiter isn’t likely to be more than a blip, although sometimes all it takes is a blip to crash your computer. The biggest Mercury aspect of the week is the conjunction with Pluto. This is when we find out where the bodies are buried and who’s got skeletons in their closet. Within yourself, you may have to do an assessment of your self-discipline. Yeah, I know, I hate it, too. We’d all like to banish the negative voices in our heads, but sometimes they’re telling us something we need to know, and it’s a good idea to listen to them. If, after serious consideration, you think they’re a replay of the Mommy Dearest tapes, you can tell them to go back to hell.

Friday is our happiest day of the week, when Mars trines Jupiter. Gee, he’s behaving so nicely this week, but it’s not going to last long. Next Monday, he goes right back to being a bad boy when he squares Saturn. But that’s then and this is now. Mars and Jupiter in air signs put some additional punch behind our ability to manifest big, bold plans into reality. True, Jupiter is still in detriment in Gemini, and he’s retrograde. Scratch “big.” But you can still be bold, and if your ideas are quirky and offbeat, so much the better. Do write down any flashes of brilliance, because they could come and go so fast that they get lost in your information-overloaded brain.

Before I go, I’d just like to remind you again that if you’re thinking of ordering your StarGuide 2013 Forecast, do it as soon as possible. I’m running a backlog of several days, so order now if you want it near the beginning of the year. Also, if you haven’t joined RealAstrologers on Facebook, please take a moment to “like” my new page. For those who have, don’t be shy about posting. Lastly, I’d like to ask that you also please take a minute to “like” my 2013 video on YouTube. It’s my advertising, and, admittedly, it’s a hard sell when I don’t do psychic love readings, messages from angels, or Sun sign horoscopes – what the majority of people seem to be looking for at this time of year. I hope to have some influence on that state of affairs in 2013, but that’s another story for another time. In the meantime, I need to stay afloat, and I sure could use your help getting the word out. Please feel free to share the video on your own pages.

Thank you all for making 2012 a rewarding year. See you next year.

Wishing you a New Year filled with love, joy, and prosperity,
Pat

Weekly Forecast January 2: Mercury Enters Capricorn

Astrologically speaking, this is a quiet week – perfect for easing back into your daily routine, be it work, school, or life in general. Still, something seems to have changed, perhaps due to a collective expectation that, somehow, 2012 is different.

It’s true that the past two years have been exceptional, and the astrological configuration that corresponded to dramatic events in 2010 and 2011 has dissolved. I’m talking about the cardinal T-square, of course, which reached its peak in July and August of 2010 and then repeated on and off through last spring. Many of us completely changed direction in our lives, and we’re still rocking in the wake of these events passing through.

Top news stories of 2011 ranged from toppled governments in the Middle East and a record earthquake that caused a nuclear meltdown, to courtroom drama, a gala royal wedding, and death of an entrepreneurial icon – all while unemployment scaled new heights and a popular protest movement was born. The unifying factor in all of these events was that everything that happened, happened big. It was not a year of incremental steps toward change, but wholesale revolution.

In looking forward to 2012, it’s helpful to examine two time periods in recent history with similar planetary alignments. First, there was a cardinal build-up in the early 1930s, the beginning of the Great Depression. The configuration began dissipating in 1932, but just like our current planetary alignment, one aspect of the T-square remained: the square between Uranus and Pluto.

The second period is the turbulent mid-60s, when Uranus and Pluto and were conjunct in Virgo. Although the conjunction was exact in 1965 and 1966, it wasn’t until 1968 that the revolution changed civilization as we know it. No aspect of society was untouched. The square that that occurs from 2012-2015 is the first major milestone and test of that conjunction.

Uranus is the planet of rebellion and sudden change, and in the impulsive sign of Aries, you can expect a lot of fire bombs being thrown by individuals fighting for freedom. Conversely, Pluto is the planet of ultimate power and control. In Capricorn, he represents the ruthless power of the empire – the Darth Vader of the zodiac. You don’t need to be an astrologer to do the math. The harder the protesters fight, the greater the backlash will be. And we haven’t even experienced the peak of the Uranus-Pluto square yet. That will start this year, on June 24, and continue through 2015.

Two other major astrological events occur in 2012, both of which we’ve already had a taste. First, Neptune re-enters Pisces after briefly dipping his foot in his own sign for a few months in 2011. Then he turned retrograde and went back into Aquarius. Once Neptune enters Pisces on February 3, he’ll remain there through 2026. If you’d like to know, I highly recommend an article in the current issue of The Mountain Astrologer. You can order a single copy for $7.

The second defining astrological event of 2012 is the Venus transit on June 5, the day after a lunar eclipse. I’ll write a lot more on this subject as the date approaches. Both Neptune in Pisces and the Venus transit hold the promise of a vibrational shift in human consciousness.

Not coincidentally, the biggest story for astrology in 2011 was the “revelation” of a 13th sign. I wrote a long piece about it for TMA, which is in the same edition with the article on Neptune in Pisces (so it’s a great buy). Although the story that flew around the world via social networks turned out to be flat-out wrong, there is strong symbolism in the collective desire to change the cosmic order. Our ancient ancestors saw sea changes in civilization as a clash between the gods themselves. Just as the old gods overthrew cosmic forces – bringing order out of chaos – their children challenged them. Now they, too, have become corrupt and rotten, and the next generation has sounded the cry for revolution.

As for this week, there are no major planetary aspects until Saturday, when Mercury in the final degrees of Sagittarius sextiles Saturn and Neptune. Now, this could end up producing a revolution of sorts, in that Mercury will be just past conjunction with the Galactic Center. We know little about this mysterious point in space, except that there appears to be a black hole there, and it emits powerful radio waves. Pay attention to unusual thoughts on Friday and Saturday. They may contain flashes of genius. Changing your thoughts can change your whole life.

On Sunday (late Saturday on the West Coast of the United States), Mercury enters studious Capricorn and makes contacts with Jupiter and Uranus, briefly reminding us of the changes we have been making and the work we have yet to do. The following day, January 9, is the Full Moon in Cancer. So for the rest of this week, we’re still processing the energy of the New Moon on Christmas Eve as we approach culmination and resolution. Good things are coming in, but you may have to change your perspective to see them as blessings.

Wishing you all much love, joy, and prosperity in 2012,
Pat

P.S. I return to classes this week, so please keep in mind when you order reports and forecasts that it may take me 4-7 days to complete your order. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Weekly Forecast January 10:Mercury Enters Capricorn, Mars Sextile Jupiter

Causeway blocks disappearing into the distance. © Scott Liddell/Dreamstime.com

If it seems like you’re still going back over old ground this week, it’s probably because you are.

Last month, Mercury went retrograde in Capricorn right after crossing the critical degrees of the summer’s cardinal T-square. Mercury and Mars were in close conjunction, too. For many of us, that meant revisiting pressing matters that arose over the summer. Then Mars moved on, and Mercury went back into Sagittarius.

The Messenger returns to Capricorn on Thursday, January 13, and makes a third and final pass over those critical T-square degrees. This is usually when we find resolution. Since Mercury also rules commerce and business negotiations, you may have a chance to renegotiate a contract or verbal agreement that didn’t quite work out for you in early December.

Mercury is a busy little guy this week. Before returning to business-like Capricorn, he makes contact with Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Chiron, who have been tracking so closely over the past several months that I’ve started thinking of them as “the usual suspects.” A contact to one means a contact to all, and the only reliable interpretation I can make at this point is that whatever happened to you over the summer (and what happened in the world at large) becomes a dominant theme again this week.

[callout]Whosoever tells the truth shall be chased out of nine villages. ~Turkish proverb[/callout]

Taken as a whole, this week’s Mercury aspects allow us to see circumstances more clearly, which in turn helps us form a better strategy for moving forward. The Mercury-Uranus square on Monday may be disruptive, but sometimes we need a little disruption to light a fire under us and knock us out of a familiar but unsatisfying and unproductive rut. Doing things the way they’ve always been done is not an option now.

I recently started reading The Discoverers, by Daniel Boorstin, who writes that the obstacles to discovery are “the illusions of knowledge.” The whole book is based on this theme, that beliefs ingrained in human consciousness can prevent the acceptance of truth. The discoverers of these new truths often are vilified and persecuted.

A client recently sent me the following quote, ostensibly an old Turkish proverb: Whosoever tells the truth shall be chased out of nine villages.

Mercury in Sagittarius often results in inconvenient truths, and with a square to Uranus in Pisces, those truths indeed could upset the collective perception. The situation that springs immediately to mind is WikiLeaks and attempts by the U.S. Government to find grounds to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his colleagues.

Mercury in Sagittarius square Chiron in Pisces says that the truth can be painful, but it also will set us free.

Mars sextiles Uranus on Wednesday and Jupiter on Thursday, suggesting that action will follow thought. Since a sextile is a favorable aspect, we can assume that the action should be positive. If you have a chance to act on a situation, these are excellent days to do so. Uranus often introduces an element of surprise, so be prepared to move quickly and decisively.

On Saturday, Mars enters Aquarius, where action benefits the collective, humanitarian causes, technology, and perhaps even astrology. In any event, it’s time to try something new and experimental.

By the way, Boorstin’s book talks about how astrology paved the way for science, a fact often overlooked by scientists and academics. I do believe that we’re on the cutting edge of bringing astrology back in the mainstream, albeit with a new approach that gives it more credibility.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

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Weekly Forecast November 29:Venus Enters Scorpio, Uranus Direct

So much for merry Sagittarius.

Some kind of chaos has been unleashed in the past week, and I’d place my bets on Mercury crossing the final degrees of Sagittarius, which he’ll visit twice more in December as he moves through a retrograde phase. At the same time, troublemaker Mars is moving through these same degrees.

The last few degrees of the mutable signs and first few degrees of the cardinal signs have been activated by the T-square over the past year, and it’s as though Mercury and Mars have been moving through a minefield as they head toward a fateful conjunction with Pluto. How many degrees should be included is anybody’s guess, but for sure, I’d say from the Galactic Center at 27 degrees Sagittarius to about 5 degrees Capricorn, where we had an intense lunar eclipse in late June.

Meanwhile, the lunar North Node is moving backward across the degrees that Pluto occupied during the height of the cardinal T-square this summer.

So what has happened in the past week? Ireland went bankrupt, United States warships are off the coast of North Korea, and WikiLeaks released hundreds of thousands more confidential documents that, at the very least, will complicate international diplomacy. Protests and police crackdowns marred elections in Haiti and Egypt. Full body scanners in U.S. airports almost set off a riot among holiday travelers, emphasis on almost. It’s hard to know what would get U.S. citizens to rebel against ever-increasing encroachment on our constitutional rights.

It’s all got the fingerprints of Pluto on it. Oh … and as if all of that weren’t bad enough, Sarah Palin and Barbara Bush are insulting each other’s ancestry.

The next few weeks are going to be like this, so you might want to put up the deflector shields. Of course, that means you won’t be able to use the transporter.

This week starts out with a square from Mars to Jupiter in Pisces on Monday. You’ll recall that the T-square was in all cardinal signs for a limited time, because Jupiter, Uranus, and Saturn went back and forth between cardinal (Aries and Libra) and mutable signs (Pisces and Virgo). On Friday, Mars squares Uranus, which is stationed and about to return direct at the New Moon. Mars often acts as a trigger to set off the energies of major transits. It’s a fair bet that we’ll experience more “T-square events” in the next three weeks.

Also on Monday, Venus re-enters Scorpio. Between now and December 21, the end of her post-retrograde shadow period, we’ll be processing our experience during her retrograde, from October 8 to November 18. Expect developments in relationships and, to some extent, finances and social situations. Venus also is the planet of diplomacy, so it’s interesting that the WikiLeaks release occurred as Venus is about to return to Scorpio, the sign of secrecy and backroom power brokering.

The Moon enters Libra on Tuesday and immediately forms a square with Pluto, just as Mercury enters Capricorn. Together, these transits add to the energy activating the cardinal T-square degrees. Serious Capricorn isn’t the most fun sign for Mercury, but given other developments, some careful, critical thinking wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Mercury sextiles Venus on Wednesday. If you need to have a serious discussion with a romantic partner or a good friend, this is a good time to do it, and you can rely on any promises or commitments you get.

Mars sextiles Neptune and Chiron on Thursday and Friday. The truth can hurt, or it can set you free. On this day, it should be healing. That won’t be the case later on Friday, when Mars squares Uranus. This combination is volatile, and depending where they are in your chart, you may need to keep yourself surrounded with the deflector shields for a couple of days on either side of this transit. Mars in Sagittarius is speedy and corresponds to traffic. With Uranus about to go direct, this pent-up energy could release so fast that it manifests as a serious accident. Do be careful if you’re driving and observe the posted speed limits. Watch for deer and other wildlife, too (wild critters fall under the provenance of Sagittarius).

The week culminates in Sunday’s New Moon at 13 degrees Sagittarius. It promises to be another whopper. I’ve started my analysis and will post a complete article in a day or two, so watch this space. A few hours after the New Moon, Mercury conjoins Pluto and Uranus returns direct. “Chaos” doesn’t even begin to describe it…

I leave you with a video of our winter storm in Seattle earlier this week. Some people managed to find the silver lining.

Sliding on Kite Hill

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat