If you had a hectic start to your week, you're not alone! The moon's passage through Gemini from late afternoon on Sunday, August 17 through the early morning hours of Wednesday, August 20 caused disconnect and frustration with all things Mercurial for many people - myself included! The beginning part of this week - especially Tuesday - felt like a mini-Mercury retrograde. If you're familiar with astrological cycles, you'll know that when Mercury is retrograde, the things that Mercury rules - communication, speaking and learning, travel, and the transport of anything from one point to another - are significantly impacted, and usually in ways that bring frustration, "wild goose chases," and so on.
But Mercury is indeed direct, and in a very organized and fastidious earth sign - Virgo - with its next retrograde cycle beginning on October 4. If that's the case, why all the confusion and frustration this week? There are two significant reasons for this, one being equally as influential as the other.
The first of the two is that Mercury, the planet that rules Gemini, has been in opposing Neptune in its home sign of Pisces. Neptune represents compassion without borders, dissolving the perceived differences between people and all living things. Because of its ability to activate within us a heightened sense of intuition and mediumship abilities of every kind (including the creative "channeling" done by artists, actors/actresses, spiritualists, and dreamers) by blurring the lines of physical reality to connect us with higher realms of consciousness, it can also bring a certain "fog," a lack of clarity and "spaciness". When Neptune and Mercury connect - especially if it's a hard aspect such as the currently waning opposition - achieving clarity of communication can be challenging. One's capacity for memory recall can be fuzzy, and it's easy to space out on facts and details. It's a wonderful time for connecting to the collective unconscious by way of meditation, spiritual practices, artistic activities, and engaging in eloquent self-expression, but not so supportive of honing in on details! Some of the common difficult tendencies I've observed during Mercury-Neptune transits are an increase in people's inattentiveness while driving (and having to reign in my own wandering mind while driving!), internet connectivity/communication issues in general, a tendency to get caught up in dreamy/unrealistic thinking and "laze" the day away, and a laissez-faire tendency toward organization and promptness.
The second reason for this chaos was the moon's Void of Course status in Gemini on Tuesday. When the moon goes void, all activities and plans made or undertaken during that time are considered to be "null and void," usually quite unpredictable in outcome. A void moon in and of itself can create a certain kinds of confusion or mental fog depending on the sign the moon is in, and when paired with the current Mercury-Neptune opposition, it can really create mayhem, frustration, and unexpected changes on the mental/intellectual and communicative level.
Here are some of the ways these energies manifested in my life this week, particularly on Tuesday while the moon was void:
In addition, I found myself connecting with people via email/phone/text messaging almost frenetically throughout the passage of the moon through Gemini, as if the Universe was guiding me to play "catch up" just as usual...only this time I experienced much difficulty in connecting with people at the scheduled times and was playing perpetual phone tag! I also made calls to learn more about international calling plans in lieu of making a close connection with someone on Twitter (how very Geminian is that?!) and made calls to gather more information on items for my business space. Though none of these events were necessarily life-changing in and of themselves, they further clarify for me the impact that astrological configurations have on our daily lives (and also serve as a reminder that no, we're not going crazy - it's just the planets at play!).
The rest of this week has felt quite different, since Mercury-Neptune opposition continues to wane and the moon has moved from very mentally active Gemini into the home and heart-centered sign of Cancer. Though a powerful Mars-Saturn conjunction continues to intensify in Scorpio, we'll be able to enjoy a much-anticipated quieter inner/outer atmosphere and a gradual increase in mental clarity over the next couple of days. Breathe in the peace, and be blessed!
But Mercury is indeed direct, and in a very organized and fastidious earth sign - Virgo - with its next retrograde cycle beginning on October 4. If that's the case, why all the confusion and frustration this week? There are two significant reasons for this, one being equally as influential as the other.
The first of the two is that Mercury, the planet that rules Gemini, has been in opposing Neptune in its home sign of Pisces. Neptune represents compassion without borders, dissolving the perceived differences between people and all living things. Because of its ability to activate within us a heightened sense of intuition and mediumship abilities of every kind (including the creative "channeling" done by artists, actors/actresses, spiritualists, and dreamers) by blurring the lines of physical reality to connect us with higher realms of consciousness, it can also bring a certain "fog," a lack of clarity and "spaciness". When Neptune and Mercury connect - especially if it's a hard aspect such as the currently waning opposition - achieving clarity of communication can be challenging. One's capacity for memory recall can be fuzzy, and it's easy to space out on facts and details. It's a wonderful time for connecting to the collective unconscious by way of meditation, spiritual practices, artistic activities, and engaging in eloquent self-expression, but not so supportive of honing in on details! Some of the common difficult tendencies I've observed during Mercury-Neptune transits are an increase in people's inattentiveness while driving (and having to reign in my own wandering mind while driving!), internet connectivity/communication issues in general, a tendency to get caught up in dreamy/unrealistic thinking and "laze" the day away, and a laissez-faire tendency toward organization and promptness.
The second reason for this chaos was the moon's Void of Course status in Gemini on Tuesday. When the moon goes void, all activities and plans made or undertaken during that time are considered to be "null and void," usually quite unpredictable in outcome. A void moon in and of itself can create a certain kinds of confusion or mental fog depending on the sign the moon is in, and when paired with the current Mercury-Neptune opposition, it can really create mayhem, frustration, and unexpected changes on the mental/intellectual and communicative level.
Here are some of the ways these energies manifested in my life this week, particularly on Tuesday while the moon was void:
- Unexpected schedule changes and confusion at home led to a second day of chaos in following through on scheduled activities (Monday's schedule was thrown off by a trip to visit a relative who was having emergency surgery out of town - Gemini reconnections and Neptunian themes of self-sacrifice and compassion)
- Unusual wireless internet connectivity issues necessitated my being on a service call for a good portion of the evening before I could make good on work plans
- Dinner was postponed due to my housemate and I having forgotten to prepare any food for the week (Neptune-Mercury)
- An abrupt change in weather threw off outdoor plans
- A friend's flight was delayed due to weather, a very common occurrence during Mercury retrograde cycles
In addition, I found myself connecting with people via email/phone/text messaging almost frenetically throughout the passage of the moon through Gemini, as if the Universe was guiding me to play "catch up" just as usual...only this time I experienced much difficulty in connecting with people at the scheduled times and was playing perpetual phone tag! I also made calls to learn more about international calling plans in lieu of making a close connection with someone on Twitter (how very Geminian is that?!) and made calls to gather more information on items for my business space. Though none of these events were necessarily life-changing in and of themselves, they further clarify for me the impact that astrological configurations have on our daily lives (and also serve as a reminder that no, we're not going crazy - it's just the planets at play!).
The rest of this week has felt quite different, since Mercury-Neptune opposition continues to wane and the moon has moved from very mentally active Gemini into the home and heart-centered sign of Cancer. Though a powerful Mars-Saturn conjunction continues to intensify in Scorpio, we'll be able to enjoy a much-anticipated quieter inner/outer atmosphere and a gradual increase in mental clarity over the next couple of days. Breathe in the peace, and be blessed!
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