Tag Archives: Mercury in Pisces

Weekly Forecast April 1: Venus Enters Gemini, Mercury Direct

I was going to write this week’s forecast as an April Fool’s spoof, but every joke I could come up with had too much truth in it. Life is stranger than fiction. As I’m so fond of saying, God is a comedian.

In astrology, the trickster is Mercury, who speaks so eloquently that he can fool anyone into doing anything. That’s why he’s so useful in business negotiations, not to mention political speeches – activities that can go very badly when Mercury is retrograde. Just ask Rick Santorum.

I hope you’ll pardon me while I go off on another one my tangents for a moment. I’ve been thinking about the race to find the Higgs boson, the so-called “God particle” – the Holy Grail of physics. Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) say they think that 2012 will be the year they find it. Never mind that physicists have been searching for this puppy for 40 years, and after billions of dollars spent on particle accelerators taking up enormous tracks of underground real estate near Chicago and Geneva, they have only “hints” that the Higgs boson exists – evidence they concede could be flukes in their data.

The punch line of my April Fool’s spoof was going to be that physicists looking for the Higgs boson have discovered that it exists only in their imagination, literally turning the Standard Model of physics on its head. But that may turn out to be no joke. CERN itself explains the stakes with crystal clarity: “If it turns out that we cannot find [the Higgs boson], this will leave the field wide open for physicists to develop a completely new theory to explain the origin of particle mass.”

Well, there you have it. The currently accepted scientific theory of how the material universe exists rests on one subatomic particle that mathematical calculations say should exist, but that no one has ever seen. Ponder that for a minute. Maybe it’s not so much the Holy Grail but the Big Foot of physics. And these people dismiss astrology as a superstitious pseudo-science!

The second beat of my punch line was going to be about how astrologers come to the rescue of the Higgs hunters, but that’s not a joke, either. Imagine how our society would be different today if half of one percent of the money spent on searching for the elusive Higgs boson had been spent on researching the correlation between outer planetary cycles and human civilization. And here’s the kicker, and a question for physicists: Once you establish that such a correlation exists, then you have to search for the mechanics of how it works. And that puts us right back to the question of what bridges energy and matter – the same conundrum confronting physicists in their search for the Higgs boson.

Wouldn’t it be a fine joke, too, if it turned out that the Higgs boson existed but couldn’t be isolated under laboratory conditions? The entire methodology of Western science would be smashed faster than a proton in the Large Hadron Collider. Indeed, this is the main reason why astrology can’t be scientifically “proven.” The problem isn’t with astrology, but with the method of proof.

So, why am I bringing up all of this now? Believe it or not, there is a method to my madness. I’m only half joking about the Higgs boson being in scientists’ imagination. Somewhere along this line of scientific inquiry, we’re going to find out that thoughts are life-forms that may even have mass. And perhaps that will lead to the mystery of what binds not only matter, but the belief matrix, both individual and collective. Why are people’s beliefs so entrenched that they will ignore the truth, despite evidence to the contrary? My guess is that it has to do with brain chemistry – what makes people feel good. And that puts us solidly back in the territory of Mercury, the trickster. I wrote about this connection two years ago, as we approached the cardinal T-square.

Mercury currently is retrograde in Pisces, where he’ll return direct on Wednesday. Pisces is ruled by Neptune, which symbolizes the dissolution of boundaries. This is the realm of the imagination, and that’s why it’s so tricky. We don’t know whether what we see, feel, or believe is real. This is the place where we get creative inspiration, but nothing will come of it until we apply the critical analysis of Virgo. Luckily, we’ve got both right up until Mercury re-enters Aries on April 16. By that time, Mars in Virgo will be direct, too. In the meantime, we’re in primetime for research and revision. That applies not only to work projects, but to your entire belief system.

Two other major astrological events take place this week. First, Venus enters Gemini on Tuesday. This is a very big deal, because we’re in the final countdown toward the 2012 Venus transit, which will occur on June 5, the day after a lunar eclipse. My read on this event is that new information will be downloaded into the collective conscious. As I was researching past Venus transits, I noted that the transit in 1639 coincided with the beginning the so-called Age of Enlightenment. Some astrologers may consider it the Age of Endarkenment, seeing as how discoveries in science, especially astronomy, created a rift that relegated astrology to the scrap heap of superstition. That particular Venus transit was in Sagittarius, sign of organized religion. While the new philosophies that emerged were detrimental to astrology, the big breakthrough was that the stranglehold of the Church on people’s minds was broken, leaving humanity free to explore new ideas and independent paths to spirituality.

I’ll write more about the Venus transit in Gemini as the alignment approaches, but for now, I just want to point out that it could indeed herald a breakthrough in our understanding of how matter is formed out of energy. It just may not be what we think. And, for that matter, we may come to understand how what we think makes all the difference in the world.

Venus also is the star of this week’s Full Moon in Libra. I’ve been incorporating the lunar reports in my weekly forecasts due to time limits, but I’ll make an exception this week and write a separate post. I’ll also have Part II of Ruth’s new series on the planetary rulers in Soul Astrology. I thought I’d scheduled it for this past Wednesday and just realized this morning that I didn’t hit the right command. Happy Mercury retrograde.

Much love and courage to all,
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Weekly Forecast February 20: New Moon in Pisces

© Dan Collier for Dreamstime.com

Twice this past week, I worked so late in the editing room that I missed the last bus home. That meant walking a mile up a steep hill at midnight, in the rain, dragging a pack full of books.

As I struggled to put one foot in front of the other and keep going, it occurred to me that this was a good image for the astrological period we’re moving through, which won’t end until Mars returns direct on April 13. Saturn will still be retrograde, which will have its own set of issues, but at least we won’t feel so dragged down, demoralized, and obstructed.

That said, it does appear that some good is coming out of the combined retrogrades of Mars and Saturn, with the latter in the relationship-oriented sign of Libra. Saturn turned retrograde two weeks ago and has been sitting at 29 degrees Libra, where he’ll remain until March 4. By the time an outer planet has reached the last degree of a sign, we’re ready to move on to the next lesson. But there’s still something we have to learn about commitment in relationships and maintaining inner balance while interacting closely with others.

Conflict is a natural part of any relationship, but Libra seeks to avoid it in an attempt to “keep the peace.” Under retrograde Mars, with the help of Venus in Mars-ruled Aries, conflicts are being provoked that ultimately will help restore the balance in circumstances that have been out of equilibrium for too long, often due to those attempts at keeping the peace. If you’ve been embroiled in conflict for the past week or two, take heart. Events are unfolding to help you move past it and find higher ground. But you will have to do a lot of heavy lifting. You can’t expect that the other person will make all the concessions. At the same time, you can’t be the one who caves and gives up everything just to avoid more conflict. In fact, you’ll just be deferring it.

The other conflict-averse sign of the zodiac is Pisces, but for different reasons. Whereas Libra strives for harmony and balance, Pisces seeks oneness through dissolution of boundaries. However, confusion can be the result, as Pisces is a psychic sponge for everyone else’s thoughts and feelings. As a result, she may not have a strong sense of self, and she needs time to figure out what she really thinks and how she feels. That makes it hard to stand up for herself in a conflict, so she tends to avoid it. (Please remember than when I talk about the signs, I’m referring not only to the Sun sign, but anyone with that particular energy dominant in their chart. It may be your Moon or Rising sign, or a stellium of planets in a particular house or sign. The only way to know for sure which energies are dominant in your chart is to consult with a professional astrologer.)

So, that’s the heavy news for this week. The good news is that we have a lovely Pisces Moon on Tuesday conjunct Neptune and Chiron and sextile Jupiter. Neptune is the modern ruler of Pisces, traditionally ruled by Jupiter. So it’s significant that this New Moon aspects both planets. This is the first time in hundreds of years, by the way, that we’ve had a New Moon in Pisces conjunct Neptune. The last time it happened, Neptune hadn’t even been discovered.

Chart for New Moon in Pisces

Click on image to enlarge

Neptune rules sleep, dreams, the deep psyche, the collective unconscious, past-life memories. There is magic here, and yet there are pitfalls. We’re in an area where lines are blurred, and we can be tricked into thinking we see something that’s not there. Dreams become illusions or delusions. This is where Truth is a moving target.

Pisces also is the sign of empathy and compassion. With the New Moon conjunct Chiron, the wounded healer, we can have greater compassion for our own wounds and, thus, for those of others. Only when we accept our own flaws and weaknesses can we accept them in others and make a heart-centered connection.

Before leaving Pisces on Thursday, the Moon conjoins Mercury as the latter is about to oppose Mars. This is likely to be a difficult day, but there may be room for the kind of dialogue I described above. Just be advised that it could be painful. Getting through it may require struggling to put one foot in front of the other, in the dark, until you get to the top of the hill.

Saturday’s Sun-Jupiter sextile is much happier. Blow off steam from a tough week by going out to a special breakfast with friends and family. Or, you may just want to sleep in and have coffee in bed.

Speaking of bed, I’ll repeat last week’s recommendation to keep a dream journal with you. I’m hearing many reports of vivid, weird, and otherwise unusual dreams. Write them down now so that you can decode them later.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat