Perceptor Provocateur

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Blame the title of this post on my recent descending into the undulating lush terrain of the Spanish language where every infinitive verb ends with the gentle messaging of the letter “r”, and so, our preceptor provocateur, a manic Mercury, pricked our curiosity yesterday changing signs for the second time in only 14 days; an exceptionally quick assault even for this planet of deft mercurial speed. Mercury entered the sign Cancer on July 3rd, opposed Pluto on July 4th, sextiled Saturn on July 11th, conjoined the Sun on July 13th, thereby flagging the impending retrograde station on September 6th, and entered  the sign Leo  on July 17th. Not surprising that this cycle of Mercury has left many of us on Earth breathless amidst an outpouring of collective concern seeking to understand the meaning of our deepest roots.

Walter Cronkite, who was voted “Most trusted man in America” during the Vietnam War died at 92 shortly after Mercury entered Leo punctuating this particular Mercury ingress with a somber remembering of a collective past passing. It feels significant to me that Mercury’s ingress into Leo immediately fused with the Leo South Node directing our attention to a collective past exaggerating social insecurities, rugged individualism, and social privilege. Mercury opposing the Aquarius North Node suggests a time for integrating our individual thoughts and feelings with the aspirations of the whole of humanity; remembering that Mercury in Leo can be a dramatic catalyst infusing our perception of reality with inspiration and creative self-expression.

On July 20 Mercury makes a creative aspect to Mars in Gemini insuring a day of passionate communication with others that can set off a spectacular array of fireworks heralding a new birth in our perception of reality. Our curiosity is pulsating with a living vitality as Mercury sojourns through Leo, and disposing Venus and Mars in Gemini Mercury enlivens our self-worth and desire with heartfelt intelligence. When we are under the influence of Leo we are learning something about “self-love”, and in the arms of Mercury  Leo touches the most tender core of our perception of self-love.

The opposing influence of Leo is Aquarius, the egalitarian face of self-love, reflecting our awareness that each individual has something of value to contribute to humanity. If Leo is learning to give love Aquarius is learning to receive love. On July 30 and 31 Mercury  in Leo opposes Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune in Aquarius offers an opportunity for each of us to increase our awareness of  giving and receiving love by expanding our creative vision of humanity. Learning to share our differences with one another may teach us how to receive each others thoughts, feelings, and unique perceptions of reality.