We entered 2009 with an electrical charge in the air; a crisp, crackling  current that awakened our mind from a heavy stupor. Our perception of  what our future can be has been infused with innovation and originality and now is the time to break down the walls of our conventional thinking. The planet Mercury has  boldly entered Aquarius and if we inhale the fresh cosmic breath being offered we may find ourself thinking more freely than we have in many years. On January 5 Jupiter follows Mercury into the arms of Aquarius and for the first time in twelve years our celestial good fortune is companion in arms with our celestial communicator promising us fortunate communication if we resist the temptation to lock dismissive horns with ideas different  than our own. When ever Mercury and Jupiter entwine in the sky  above we on the ground below are guaranteed that some event in our life will expand our conscious awareness.

When we are under the influence of Aquarius our thoughts turn toward the needs of humanity and preferring an extended world view we tend to shun our cloistered tribal concerns. Aquarius is that aspect in each of us giving birth to something holy unexpected and unknown within ourself that we want to give in benefit to humanity, which is why Aquarius insists upon individual freedom supporting the welfare of the group. It is not surprising that Aquarius is our cosmic wake-up call  reminding us that while we are one -of -a -kind originals we are also each one made from the same celestial dust.

Mercury is slowing in the sky preparing to station retrograde on January 11 reminding us that we need to reassess our thinking. In Aquarius it is more than possible that we will be challenged to reconsider our attachment to what we believe and the best advice I can give to those of us who want to  expand our  perception of what the future can be is to remain mindful of those times when we get prickly listening to what others are saying. Mercury has some unfinished business with Saturn before conjoining Jupiter,the North Node, Chiron, and Neptune, suggesting that before we can expand our consciosness and step into a future full of possibility we need additional self-discipline in our communication skills especially in learning how to separate fact from fiction, fantasy from reality.

The Sagittarius Full Moon is stimulating a restlessness within each of us which may be pricking our dissatisfaction with the way things are. This is especially  true for those of us born with a strong influence of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces at 21 degrees. This is not a negative experience, in fact, this Full Moon is spurring us onward to fulfill our dreams of the future aided with a tempering of our expectations of what that future will be. Gemini and Sagittarius have difficulty concentrating on the mundane concerns of life and yet this is exactly what we are challenged to do. One lesson taught, and hopefully learned, under the influence of this Full Moon is the necessity to create “boundaries”, which means to respect both the sovereignty of ourself and others. Another lesson offered is learning to take responsibility for fulfilling our commitments by keeping our mind focused on the goal and taking one precious step after another. In other words, this is not a fortuitous time for  entertaining distractions.  We need  to be watchful of becoming discouraged if things are not moving as fast as our mental imagining. The trick this week is to give ourself enough mental breath to “realize” what we think and feel, separate and distinct from others, without escaping into imaginary flights of fancy.

The exuberance of the Sun in Sagittarius opposing the Moon in Gemini conjures a wild horse ready to bolt, which is exactly what we may feel like doing because this Sagittarius Full Moon makes a Grand- Square to Saturn in Virgo opposing Uranus in Pisces, and corrals our expansive vision for the future.  Remember this Full Moon is teaching us about boundaries and corralling our vision for the future can actually work in our favor if we accept the celestial challenge and become more methodical in accomplishing our goals. It is also possible that this transit will highlight where in our life we tend to give up too easily fostering frustration, regret, even resentment toward others.

A real treasure of this Full Moon is found in the supportive relationship between Mercury and Jupiter reinforcing that we can accomplishment our goals but it will require self-discipline, an unwavering commitment, and personal sacrifice.  Hours before the Full Moon, Mercury, the ruling planet for Gemini and Virgo, entered Capricorn  straight into the arms of Pluto a clear signal for transforming our perception of social power, authority, and leadership. Jupiter, the ruling planet for Sagittarius and Pisces, is in the sign of Capricorn and having recently made a trine to Saturn is valiantly navigating a stormy sea of uncertainty. Together, Mercury and Jupiter in Capricorn are helping us achieve what we imagine our future to be by keeping our feet firmly planted on Earth.

The first aspect the Moon made in Gemini was to nourish Venus in Aquarius which accentuated the universal theme of “human value”, and insured that we can experience grace and beauty in the arms of this Full Moon if we put our judgement from the past to sleep and awaken our appreciation for each unique expression of life. This Gemini Moon is also nourishing the North Node, Chiron, and Neptune Aquarius, which is helping us heal a deep wounding to humanity by opening our mind and heart to the unimaginable. Aquarius is that aspect in each of us learning to receive from others, and with the help of the Full Moon after-glow our thirst for new experiences and our quest for the unknown can guide our discovery of the full potential of what the human imagination can accomplish accompanied by self-determination.

Discerning how successfully we communicate in our relationships is on the rise. Yesterday, Mars entered Libra, the celestial signifier of diplomatic negotiation. And, today Mercury and Venus indulge in a discriminating kiss in Virgo directing our attention toward a thoughtful deliberation in our communication skills. This is not a time to be brash or impulsive, remembering that Mars recently made a square to Pluto, our impatience with our self and others is being reined – in and our celestial guides are directing our attention toward a measured assessing of our current situation before asserting our will. Mars, the God of War, is seeking balanced negotiations; solutions and resolutions that consider the interests of each person involved. Never an easy job having been made more irritating today as Mercury and Venus quincunx Chiron and the North Node in Aquarius. We are warned not to allow our analyzing and discerning to become overly determined and rigid to the point of suffocating our mental breathing. Chiron and the North Node in Aquarius are offering us the opportunity to open our minds to the new and unconventional and the influence of Virgo can ground our hopes and wishes if the threads of discrimination are masterfully interwoven into the intricate fabric of our life.

Hurray! Mercury stations direct today and all our mishaps magically disappear, well not entirely, nothing is ever as it seems when we are under the influence of Mercury. The last 21 days of life on Earth have been a series of obstacle courses testing our reflexes under stress, challenging our attachment to obsolete ideals, and demanding that we look into the eyes of our emotional denying which is often the culprit for things “breaking down” during a Mercury Rx.* If any one reading this post thought Mercury’s Rx was tough, take a deep breath and exhale slowly, because our real work is just beginning if we are serious about creating the life we want. Mercury is our celestial messenger traveling between our dreaming and our waking translating our every sensation into image and form, which is one reason why Mercury retrogrades three times each year encouraging us to re-consider what we have created in our life.

Mercury is the androgynous personification of our conscious and unconscious perceptions of our self and our life. As princely ruler of Gemini, Mercury is operating full force giving us the mental strength to change our perceptions of what life has to be. Our mind is our most powerful ally determining the quality of our life, and yet, we understand so little of what it actually means, primarily because science has traditionally focused on “what something is” rather than “what something means”. Understanding our mind requires experiencing our mind and that is a mysterious and uniquely individual journey requiring that we join hands with Mercury, our teacher, our navigator, our liberator.

What is significant about Mercury’s directed motion, besides facilitating our ability to actualize whatever lessons we recently learned during the retrograde period, are the celestial conversations exchanged with the outer planets which are indicating long term change and lasting transformation. In early July Mercury will make a second trine with Chiron, the North Node, and Neptune indicating that our mind is once again receptive to new ideas and information. When under the influence of Aquarius we are learning how to receive from others, usually in the form of ideas, on the deepest level love, and our toughest lesson under the tutelage of Aquarius is our accepting what we are given as an act of genuine acknowledgment and appreciation for the contribution of another.

Mercury will quincunx Jupiter in Capricorn and square Uranus in Pisces softening our rigid attachment to the images and forms of our reality, and challenging us to be more inclusive of the thoughts and feelings of others without sacrificing what we think and feel. When under the influence of Pisces we feel the long shadow of our longing for union tempting us to sacrifice our individuality so it is important to create clearly defined boundaries between our ideas and the ideas of others. Are you hearing the voice of independent thinking? The last aspect Mercury makes before leaving Gemini is an opposition to Pluto Rx in Sagittarius promising us mental freedom if we open our mind and encourage our wild child spirit creative expressing rather than the destructive expressing of frustration, fear, and fanaticism.

*Terry Lamb offered this sensitive understanding of Mercury Rx in her June Forecast.

At the moment, there is a predominance of the element of air circulating in our celestial landscape transporting our Earthly experiences as if they were origami birds leaving us little choice but to flow with the current spread our wings and fly. I actually feel that this is a golden moment of enlightenment infusing us with conscious awareness of the limitations we create and the barriers we erect because we are attached to ideas acquired long ago. The Sun and Venus are in Gemini, a retrograde Chiron in Aquarius side by side the Aquarius North Node, and both Mercury in Gemini and Neptune in Aquarius stationing retrograde on the same day. Add the Moon in Aquarius, on May 26th, translating the influx of celestial breath to Saturn, Mars, Uranus and the South Node, and we begin to understand the connecting purpose of air moving laterally in boundless expansion. If we allow our mind to move in tandem this series of transits is offering us a birds eye view of our experiences gleaming a fresh perspective.

Think of air as the expansive space of your mind, your mental breathing, your inhaling and exhaling of experiences. The extraordinary number of planetary bodies currently in air signs are providing us with a lovely atmosphere for consciously awakening from a deep slumber, all we need be is open to changing how we think. Change is never easy, usually met with resistance out of fear, hence a deep slumber. The element air is not intrinsically motivated by fear it is seeking the mental intimacy experienced in connecting with people, places, things, and ideas. When any planet stations retrograde it is time for us to become intimately acquainted with that planet by turning our attention within and gaining a deeper understanding of how that planet manifests in our lives.

When Mercury turns retrograde the universe is showing us the working of our conscious mind every time we experience disrupted communication in the world, and in this way, helping us work to stabilize our mind. When Mercury is Rx in Gemini we are experiencing that aspect in our self which is of two minds; curiously inquisitive and restlessly disruptive and definitely prone to disconnecting when overwhelmed with responsibilities.

When Chiron turns retrograde it is time for a deep wounding from our past to surface and we may experience something currently in our lives as wounding to our self esteem. When Chiron is Rx in Aquarius our wounding has something to do with our attachment to our ideals and our healing has something to do with learning to receive the ideas of others.

When Neptune turns retrograde we experience that aspect in our self that is deeply dissatisfied with the limits of our physical experiences and we longingly turn our face toward a union with something that will dissolve our separateness in the world. When Neptune is Rx in Aquarius we are aware that our ideas can be barriers isolating us from others and that we can dissolve these barriers by becoming more sensitive to the ideas of others. During this Rx station Neptune was occulted by the Moon and anytime the Moon steps between the Earth and another planet it is a definite sign that our unconscious is absorbing the full intensity of the encounter. Because Neptune is in Aquarius it seems likely that we will experience the dissolving of our mental barriers on an intuitive level which could bring us and others a deeply healing experience as long as we do not indiscriminately loose respect for our sovereignty out of fear of our separateness.

The element air is teaching us the art of connectedness within ourselves and with others by helping us see, through our daily experiences in life, where we are rigid in our thinking and show us ways to be more opened minded by paying closer attention to the movement of our conscious mind. Remember, the distance between our contentment and discontentment is a single thought.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/28/birds-eye-view/feed/ 2 laurenlesko Mercury in Flight http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/15/175-2/ http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/15/175-2/#comments Thu, 15 May 2008 15:13:31 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=175 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

Yesterday was one of those astrological EUREKA days when a beam of celestial wisdom filters into consciousness and I grow with additional appreciation for the invaluable insight astrology offers human experience. I hesitate to write about my daily experiences but astrology can get mired in abstractions and sometimes the only path toward understanding the significance of celestial phenomenon is to include a personal experience or two. Keeping this thought in mind I will cautiously continue to write this post. The astrological signature of yesterday was the Taurus Sun square the Leo and Aquarius Nodes bringing an atmosphere of resistance to our experiencing the day. It seemed likely that we on earth would encounter someone during the day who would challenge our self confidence, trigger our sensitivity to being rejected, or question our allegiance to privilege. Turning my mind to thoughts of a meeting I had scheduled to discuss the possibility of publishing my writing I felt gratitude for the celestial wisdom gently warning me to take caution in how I choose to interpret my experience.

The Nodal Axis is the celestial points where the Moon crosses the ecliptic every month and they have a lot to do with how we manifest what we are feeling. The South Node, our point of least resistance, rears it’s head when we make decisions based on our past which are often inappropriate for our current life situation. The North Node, our point of growing in consciousness, rears it’s head when we make a decision that is entirely new for us but miraculously makes sense in our current life situation. Each nodal axis highlights a different issue in our unconscious. The Leo and Aquarius nodal axis puts focus on individuality; the Leo South Node reflecting comfort and familiarity with social privilege for a few individuals, and the Aquarius North Node reflecting the opening of our mind enabling us to honor and respect the sovereignty of every individual.

My natal nodes are in Leo and Aquarius and one of my points of least resistance is feeling rejected by authority figures, and yes, my sensitive buttons were pushed when I presented my writing for another’s approval. During the meeting my familiar red flags flared and it would have been second nature for me to feel rejection and loose self confidence; instead, I felt confident with my writing and turning my face to the Aquarius North Node I discovered an open space in my mind that helped me understand that the people in authority were giving supporting advice and encouragement to help improve my writing rather than reject my writing. I clearly saw that life is not a popularity contest, an unfortunate affliction of Leo, but a process of self unfolding that requires developing self – confidence which honors the unique self expression of each individual. Nothing definite was decided but the door was left open and I feel encouraged that something will develop in the future. What impressed me most with my humbling experience was realizing, yet again, that how I perceive my life determines how I experience my life, and that the gift of astrology provides me with the map of my perceptions and expectations helping me navigate my experiences of life. The more I grow in awareness of myself the more I realize that I am the individual creator of my reality and every action I make is creating the reality I experience.

Today, the waning Moon enters Aquarius at 12:27 pm CDT and so begins our week of introspection, a time when we internalize the illumination offered by the full Moon now passing. The time for taking action is temporarily on hold while we reconsider our actions of the last week. The lunar phase now ending began with an Aries New Moon and the entire month has been reflecting our unconscious will “to be” and our creative impulse to take action in the world. Tomorrow, the Aquarius Moon will square the Sun in Taurus alerting us to a conflict between our conscious and unconscious selves that has something to do with stubbornly holding onto ideas which have finely crafted our perception of who we are “way back when” but now are frustrating our creative impulse to grow and to change.

The Moon is our comfort our safety our sense of belonging in life and the Sun is our core identity expressing our unique and individual journey in life. When the Moon is in Aquarius we feel secure keeping our emotions cool and calm giving us the distance to intellectually understand what we are feeling. When the Sun is in Taurus our individuality is seeking physical expression through something that has value for us. It can be hiking in nature, changing the decor in our home, relaxing at the local spa, curled up in a corner reading a book, sipping a glass of savory wine, listening to our favorite piece of music. The choices are endless and one is not more important than another. What is important is that we are creatively expressing our individual value and self worth. Once, every year, the Aquarius Moon will make a square to the Taurus Sun and when that happens we on earth are made aware of the necessity to change a ridged emotional pattern that is defining our individual value and self worth.

The first aspect the Moon makes in Aquarius is a quincunx to Saturn in Virgo signaling the time to be discerning of what emotion is rigid, defensive and inhibiting our emotional fulfillment without falling foul of criticizing ourselves or others. The jewel in today’s celestial crown is the harmony between Mercury and Jupiter insuring we enjoy a day of intellectual expansion and ease of conversation. This contact is also softening the approaching tension between the Moon and Mercury suggesting that our minds may be wrapped too tightly around some idea that makes us feel secure but is in fact preventing us from being open minded and expansive. The Moon conjoins Chiron, North Node, and occults Neptune, all in Aquarius helping us become more comfortable with our uniqueness and less in need of approval from others. The last aspects the Moon makes before leaving Aquarius is a quincunx to Mars and a sextile to Venus reminding us that our self interests are not mutually excluding of the needs of our tribe, be it family or community, and to weary of the temptation to sacrifice our emotional needs as the Moon prepares to enter the sign of Pisces.

The Aquarius Moon is void of course on April 29 at 8:25 pm CDT and enters Pisces at 9:11 pm CDT.