Mer(cu)ry Retrograde, and Happy Full Moon!

You've probably heard the hype about it. A total lunar eclipse with a Full Moon (in Gemini) aligns with the winter solstice as well as the Sun's transit to Capricorn, an extremely rare phenomenon that hasn't happened since 1638. To catch tonight the most visibly stunning lunar eclipse seen in North America in several years, stand outside around 3:00am EDT, look up, and enjoy. Or, if you're a morning person, you should be able to catch some eye candy until around 5am tomorrow.



Witnessing this phenomenon serves to remind us of our part in a much larger play happening around us. With the Sun and Moon moving into earth and water signs (respectively), we have an opportunity to be wise and pensive, with patience as a functional virtue. In fact, patience and tact are going to be crucial in the upcoming days, as out Sun heads for the wake of some dense planetary aspects amidst a Mercury retrograde cycle.

A brief history lesson can help us to know what to expect from this rare and powerful astrology.

Fast paced Mercury and fiery, passionate Mars have proved a powerful pairing with retrograde cycles recently. Back in August, at the head of Mercury's last retrograde station, the conjunction (and subsequent separation) of Mars with romantic counterpart Venus in cardinal Libra created a very unstable scenario for relationships. Trust was an issue, which led to feelings of isolation when we realized that we could not reliably communicate with and interact with one another.

Next, it was Venus' turn to trick our eyes and move backwards through the zodiac in early October, just after a second conjunction with Mars. When Venus turned around to relive its past, Mars pressed forward and never looked back. Later that month, Mercury stepped in to conjoin the wayward Venus just as Mars entered fiery Sagittarius to add a dramatic and potentially volatile aspect to our relationships. As a result, arguments and misunderstandings were the theme for early November, all the way up to the 17th when Venus stationed direct.

This Mercury retrograde, which began Friday the 10th, is affected by another strong aspect with Mars: a three-way conjunction with Pluto as an overbearing third wheel. Said conjunction occurred last week in the early degrees of Capricorn, an aspect that created a powerful cardinal square to the Moon's ingress of Aries. Studying the patterns of Mercury and Mars, incorporating the drama and intensity of Pluto, and considering the power of the early degrees of these cardinal signs (Capricorn and Aries), one can see the amassing of some very powerful energies around the next big happening: the alignment of the center of our solar system and the center of our galaxy this past Saturday*.

Communication and its failure being the operative downfall in Mercury retrogrades, remember to think before you speak. Especially with Mars and Pluto involved, we are to quick to overdramatize a situation, and even quicker to assess blame and start an argument. Relax. The energy of tomorrow represents a bubbling over of forces, and you will feel less pressure afterwards. Sit down face to face with someone you trust this week, and relay off them your uncertainties. Their feedback will help you not only with your issues at hand, but also to establish reliable communications with someone who you care about. They will similarly appreciate the experience.



Looking forward now, the disintegration of the action in early Capricorn paves the sun a road of acquiring practical knowledge and experience, especially as it distances itself from retrograde Mercury. Sun in Capricorn is a time of practicality: an opportunity to assess your failures and/or open your ears to learning from the successes of your superiors or ancestors. Additionally, Venus is in her echo phase (covering new ground since her retrograde cycle), which gives us an increased appreciation for the beauty and love of our close friends and family (in true holiday spirit).

Mercury stations direct two days before the New Year, and 2011 kicks off with a Moon in Sagittarius, marking a perfect opportunity to make a realistic resolution for the New Year. 2010 was an exciting year for astrology, and writing about it has been a challenging, complex, and incredibly rewarding experience. We'll talk soon about the astrological offerings of 2011.

Until then, happy winter!


*Happening once a year, the Sun's alignment with the galactic core often gives us some rare insight about ourselves. Whatever you spent this past Saturday night doing alongside this alignment is indicative of your ideal relationships, and the connections you made probably taught you something about the way you interact with those close to you (or those you want to bring closer to you). However, this major alignment acts now only as a factor in the equation that sums the great powers of this upcoming solstice/eclipse/transit/Full Moon.