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Mercury in Sagittarius

Mercury in Sagittarius

I first published this post a few years ago – the ages and dates have been updated. These days our walks are on the beach and her school days have been replaced by university…the rest remains the same.

There’s a line in the great Aussie movie The Castle where Dale Kerrigan is introducing us to his family.

‘Steve is also an ideas man- that’s why Dad calls him the ideas man.’

Ms T and I love the movie and love that line. We say it to each other all the time.

‘You’re an ideas girl, Mum.’

‘You’re an ideas girl, Sares.’

A lot of our ideas come when we’re walking- something we do together at 6am most weekdays. It’s a little like an active meditation. It’s something about the sun coming up, the birds waking up, the smell of the gums and banksias and whatever else is in bloom that pushes the narrow chatter of detail from our brains and opens our thoughts up to something more expansive.

We’ll talk about everything from the things we’d invent if we could (mine is the inbuilt drum kit in car steering wheels), to what events each group of birds would be in if there was an Olympics (the ducks were doing synchronized flying the other morning), to where the snails live when its dry, to seriously where does that much mucous come from when you have a cold. The big stuff: ‘if you could be any road sign, what would it be?’ For the record, mine would be ‘dangerous curves.’

We also solve more relevant problems, like the issues she could be having with her business studies assignment, or the character problems in her short story for English, or the major work she’s undertaking for Visual Art for her HSC.

When we’re walking it’s as if our minds are cleared from the every day and the horizons to our thinking are pushed past where we can see them. Anything is possible. The sky isn’t the limit but, rather, a starting point.

For Mercury in Sagittarius the mind is expansive and every idea a journey – albeit one with many distractions, rambles and stop-overs along the way. This post will be much the same, I suspect.

According to a podcast I listened to in the car the other day, the human brain is hard-wired to be able to deal with distractions. The theory being that the simple act of focusing too hard for too long on something could have dire or even fatal consequences.

Whilst cavemen didn’t have the ding of an email arrival or the tweet of a new twitter entry to distract them from what they were supposed to be doing, they did have other concerns. Imagine concentrating all your energy on, I don’t know, making a slingshot only to have a lion eat you because you weren’t alert to the distractions.

The question the host asked was: Were Ugg and Thug Multi-taskers?  Mercury in Sagittarius certainly is!

The premise is that “expansive environments… inspire expansive thoughts.” And there is no more expansive a thinker than Mercury in Sagittarius. Not only are his ideas big, in fact, bigger than big, but it doesn’t occur to him that they can possibly fail. Mercury in Sagittarius isn’t just a big thinker, he’s an optimistic big thinker. But this isn’t just normal glass half full optimism, Sagittarius optimism is an absolute faith in the future, the Sun will come back out tomorrow type of optimism.

In Sagittarius, Mercury is really not big on details or organization – that’s what Gemini and Virgo are good for. The Sagittarian concept is too big for that…besides, details just put limitations and boundaries around what is possible.

In order to think this big, Mercury in Sagittarius needs room and freedom to move. The more space the better. His thirst for knowledge is immense – but not in any dry, abstract sense. He needs to have a passion for the subject in order to have his interest maintained.

And if he has a passion for a subject? It’s communicated with immense enthusiasm – perhaps even that of a zealot. At his worst, he will preach rather than discuss – not because he wants to push his ideas down your throat, but because it simply doesn’t occur to him that his beliefs will not also be good for you too.

Mercury in Sagittarius is open-minded but also has his own blind spots. He’s moralistic and intolerant of prejudice – unless it’s his own. He’s a straight talker but a crappy listener. He can be tactless and politically incorrect. He does, however, mean well.

He doesn’t do spin and, unless he has the Moon in a water sign or his Sun in Scorpio, won’t pick up on underlying tensions – he simply doesn’t have the inclination to do anything other than telling it as it is.

If you aren’t fine, don’t tell him that you are…fine, that is. He’ll have moved on already – you are, after all, fine. Want to piss off a Sagittarian?  Too easy – talk in riddles, subtleties and hints. Whilst he loves fun, and laughs easily (and can often make those around him laugh easily), he doesn’t play mind games.

For the next few weeks, allow your thoughts to fly, think big, dream big, plan big…Let them soar, as a balloon…you’ve got plenty of time to put reality into practice when Mercury shifts into Capricorn.

I’m here at home sitting in my armchair, listening to my mind at play.

I’m building buildings, I’m ploughing hilltops, I’m crossing oceans… only thinking.

… I could go anywhere, do anything…only thinking.

Only Thinking, by Mi-Sex

Think this reads like you? If you are a Sagittarian, have Mercury in Sagittarius or Mercury in close aspect to Jupiter (especially the conjunction) or Mercury in the 9th house, this may be just how you tick… 

Mercury will be in Sagittarius from December 13 through to January 5 2019.

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Mercury retrograde revisited and something about the balsamic moon…

I told you last week about my Mercury mishaps this time around.

There have been more…

I’m off to Sydney this weekend for a 60th birthday party. I’m staying down into next week in order to show my face in the office, but hubby is coming home on Monday. When I booked his return flight I forgot that our daughter had changed her work hours so that she could fly to Sydney on Wednesday – as such she won’t be able to pick him up from the airport.

A minor issue, but a hassle never the less.

Then there was the time when I booked my boss on a flight to Brisbane for a meeting and both of us forgot that his calendar would be on Sydney time while Brisbane has no daylight savings (don’t get me started).

I don’t normally get impacted by Mercury retrograde. I do everything that I’m supposed to do and usually sail through unscathed. Not this time.

Having said that, nothing has happened that we haven’t been able to fix – albeit with some rework…another Mercury word.

One thing I’ve found Mercury retrograde is fabulous for is bright ideas. Perhaps it’s because Mercury for me is in Pisces and retrograde natally in the 12th house, but the best creative ideas I’ve had have happened when Mercury is retrograde.

This time around was no different. I’ve had a novel jump into my head that I want to write now. As in right now. The problem is I’m already editing one and drafting another so I’m mustering some discipline from somewhere and merely writing copious notes in the hope that it will still be a shiny bright idea when I can get onto it (hopefully) in February.

I read something in a cookbook today that really described not just Mercury retrograde, but the retrograde motion of each of the planets. It was in Nigel Slater’s Christmas Chronicles which is, incidentally, an amazing Christmas/seasonal cookbook.

“For all it’s bare twigs and pale, watery sunshine, winter is very much alive. Underneath the fallen leaves, things are happening at a rate of knots; new life burgeons. Bulbs are sprouting, buds are bursting through grey bark, new shoots push their way to the surface. Many plants require vernalisation, a prolonged patch of low temperatures, in order to grow… (I sometimes feel I do, too.) A secret world quietly doing what it does this year. A study in renewal, rebirth, new life.”

When planets are retrograde their energy is turned inward. Despite the frustration we often feel, we need that space and that slowing down too.

Anyways, Mercury will be direct Friday morning (my time).

In other news, with a New Moon just around the corner, we’re now in the balsamic phase of the Moon. The energy associated with this is one of rest, recharge, and finishing.

As you get ready to set your intentions for the New Moon in Sagittarius, take a look back at the mini-goals you set for the last cycle. Sometimes it helps to symbolically clean the slate by either actually finishing something or tidying something – even if it is just a drawer or your desk.

 

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Mercury Retrograde…the story so far…

Hi all,

I’m sitting at Sydney airport waiting for a flight home and just thought I’d drop by & give you a few Mercury retrograde stories to have a giggle at my expense over.

We’ve been in Canberra for the funeral of a very close friend. To be honest, it freaked me out quite a bit – not just the grief, but something else. I’m not sure whether it’s because this is the first time I’ve lost a friend of my age and vintage. I’ve been extremely fortunate…touch wood… Seriously though, I suppose that it brought me smack bang against my own mortality – and yes, I’m fully aware that this isn’t about me.

Having said that, my friend leaves a fabulous legacy in an amazing family and lasting changes in the community and the causes that she was an advocate for. Sixth house Aries stellium at work…literally. As deeply sad as it all was, she did have a good send-off.

Anyways, getting to Canberra from the Sunshine Coast is costly and difficult so we opted to fly to Sydney on Sunday and hire a car to drive the remaining 300kms.

Conscious that Mercury was retrograde I built in plenty of contingency. Even so, we were pleased when informed at the car rental desk that we’d scored an upgrade. #winning

We weren’t so pleased when we got to our assigned car and found another family piling into it. Yes, they’d double-booked the vehicle.

The upgrade magically disappeared and we were led to another car. This one had a flat tyre.

‘No it doesn’t madam.’

‘Really? What’s that if it isn’t flat?’

‘Maybe a little bit deflated?’ he suggested hopefully.

Twenty minutes and another car we were on our way.

Strike one to Mercury.

In order to take the time off to attend the funeral, I was doing the blue-arsed fly thing, ie running around like a mad woman (sorry, it’s an Aussie saying). I’d set up the print version of Happy Ever After and because Mercury is retrograde had checked and rechecked things like the trim-size (ie the size of the book), the page numbers, the cover proportions…everything. So when the digital proof came through for approval I checked it another few times and ticked the appropriate box.

In the hotel, I was catching up on some work and saw that an email had come through from my cover designer advising me that the cover version she’d sent through was the low resolution one for my approval and not the final version.

So, I had to edit the book, pay the cost of the changes and pretty much start over.

Strike two for Mercury.

Last night when we got home from the funeral I had an email waiting for me from bookings.com. One of the B&Bs we’d booked for a New Zealand trip early next year is no longer able to accept guests so our booking has been cancelled. The booking was made last time Mercury was retrograde. As annoying as it is, I can’t help but hope that everything is okay with the owners.

Strike three to Mercury.

This afternoon when we settled down at the airport to wait for our flight home I opened my email to find one from Singapore Airlines. We’re flying with them to Singapore and Penang next April. The email was to advise me that due to an aircraft change (?) the extra legroom seats we’d paid for were no longer available. Yes, that booking was also made last time Mercury was retrograde.

Strike four to Mercury.

Once I finally got the book design right I also ordered a box of paperback copies of Happy Ever After from the printer. As we sat in the bar this afternoon another email popped through with the shipping confirmation. Normally I wouldn’t consider checking it, but Mercury retrograde and all that… That’s when I noticed that while I’d changed my billing address to Queensland, my shipping address was still our old house.

Strike five to Mercury.

All of it is solvable, all very much #firstworldproblems – I’m super conscious how lucky I am to be travelling. It is, however inconvenient and time-consuming to fix. It’s also very Sagittarian that each of these issues relates to travel plans or publishing – especially given that Mercury is currently 9th house (using placidus house systems) for me at the moment.

In the case of the issues with the book printing and shipping, both of these could have been avoided if I’d slowed down. But I didn’t.

Mercury slips back into Scorpio on Saturday bringing us face to face with whatever unfinished business is lurking in the shadows.

Venus too is doing a similar thing as she crosses back into Scorpio in the early hours of Monday morning. Venus is still retracing her steps from before she went retrograde at 10 Scorpio back at the beginning of October. It’s definitely a time for exposing truth and manipulative behaviour…

I’d love to know if anyone else has any Mercury stories they’d like to share…

Update:  And just for more Mercury randomness? Sitting across the aisle from me in row 1 on our Jetstar flight was a friend and fellow writer. In Sydney for meetings with her publisher, she mixed up her times and almost missed her flight down – and then realised when she had landed that she’d forgotten her credit cards. Aaaah Mercury, you trickster you…

 

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Mercury in Pisces

 

I rarely go to the movies. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it, just that I have limited downtime and it isn’t a priority. The other night though, my daughter and I saw The Greatest Showman. Oh, the spectacle! We both loved it.

On the way home, as we were talking and replaying the music, my daughter said ‘I nearly laughed at the words in that Million Dreams song, Mum. That’s so you – it’s why you can’t sleep. You have all those ideas and things running through your head.’

It’s so true. If you’ve seen the movie, have another listen, if you haven’t, google it on youtube. The song is pure Mercury in Pisces:

They can say, they can say I’ve lost my mind
I don’t care, I don’t care, so call me crazy
We can live in a world that we design

When I was first learning astrology, I was told – by someone who should know better – that because my Mercury was so “bad” (yes, the word was used) that I would have had trouble learning as a child, and functioning at any level of seniority in the workplace as an adult.

The truth is very different. I had no difficulties at school. I graduated high school with a very respectable ATAR that got me entry into a top Aussie Uni to study Economics and Political Science. I graduated from there with respectable marks.

At the time I was told all of this, I was managing multiple changes, and complex IT and relocation projects. Rather than being unable to deal with responsibility, the way my brain is wired allows me to juggle multiple completely unrelated problems simultaneously.

So was that astrologer wrong? Not necessarily. There’s no denying that my Mercury is, according to the texts, in a pretty crappy state:

  • It’s in Pisces- a sign where it is in both its fall and its detriment ie is absoflippinglutely not comfortable. The mode of operation in Pisces is at odds with the way that Mercury prefers to operate.
  • It’s in the 12th house – almost like being in Pisces twice over – hidden away, living in its own head.
  • It’s retrograde – so almost like being in Pisces three times over.

According to traditional astrology, my crappy Mercury couldn’t get any crappier. Unless, perhaps, if it was in Pisces in the 12th, and also conjunct Saturn. My BMF – who runs an international multi-faceted operation – has that placement and, like me manages to cope just fine.

What that astrologer told me all those years ago, is a commonly held belief relating to Mercury in Pisces. We have our head in the clouds, we live in a fantasy world, the reality of pretty much anything is beyond us.that’s true. It’s also something that many Pisceans will point at and laugh and use as an excuse:

‘Oh, ooops, there were consequences to that?’

‘Oh, ooops, I can’t help it, I have Pisces in Mercury. I can’t be expected to think.’ Cue cute giggle.

Yes, I’ve heard both – and more. Sadly it’s these people and the shadow “woe is me” side to Pisces that many people think of when they think of Mercury in Pisces. They overlook the beyondness and the possibility of Pisces. The power of dreams that become real.

The thing is, I’ve somehow learnt to adapt well to my Mercury – and I’m not alone. Consider all the other successful Pisceans who have done the same. People like Alan Rickman (Sun Pisces), Elton John (Sun Aries), Robbie Williams (Sun Aquarius), Tony Robbins (Sun Pisces). And that’s just for starters. people who have dared to dream – and turned that dream into reality and an inspiration for others.

Since meeting that astrologer, who should have known better and will remain forever nameless, I’ve grown to love my Mercury. In fact, with what I do, Mercury is in the best possible placement that it could be. If I was to invent a Mercury placement for a romantic fiction writer, I couldn’t have planned it better. My brain operates fluidly – there are no boundaries between reality and fantasy, logic and creativity. I can segue relatively seamlessly from the heads of my made-up characters to the reality of the office. My characters, once created, take on their own life and are real to me. That’s how my Mercury operates.

Over the years I’ve worked out what suits me and how I need to protect myself and my thoughts from overwhelm:

  • I learn best in isolation, I learn best through absorption, I learn best when I allow myself to feel my way and trust my intuition.
  • I work best when I have a number of things on the go. My brain doesn’t like to be contained – it needs to wander into possibility and fantasy. It closes down when there’s no escape route in sight.
  • I process best when I have a safe place to express emotionally, and the space to do so.
  • I schedule time to be away from everyone for short periods of time – it’s too easy for me to absorb the mood of others. The boundaries where you end and I start can be so thin as to be almost invisible. This is why, from time to time, I’ll disappear from Facebook. I absolutely have to.
  • When on conference, I try and choose accommodation away from the group and have me time before and after sessions. It’s the only way that I can make sense of what I’ve learnt.
  • Left to my own devices I’ll drift from project to project. It’s why I work best to deadline. Even though I self-publish my fiction, I pre-set delivery deadlines with my editor – and make sure that I stick to them.

There is no doubt that Mercury in Pisces works differently to Mercury in other signs. But that’s what it is – different…not better and absolutely not worse.

There’s a lot about us that frustrates those with Mercury in more classic Mercury signs.

  • There’s the way we flit from subject to subject and somehow end up where we were in the first place.
  • There’s the way we can have conversations with other water Mercuries where very little is said, but much is understood.
  • There’s the way we disappear into our own head to the extent that we can play out an entire situation and believe that’s the way that it is.
  • There’s the way that we don’t necessarily want to talk about those feelings that are most important to us, because it’s inconceivable to us that you really don’t know how we’re feeling – after all, we probably know how you’re feeling…it’s already become part of us.
  • There’s the way that you can hurt us with your “honest” feedback – you may have already forgotten, but it’s now part of us – we can’t separate from the words.
  • There’s the way we vacillate or delay when making personal decisions – not because we can’t, but because we’re fighting with what our head says and our heart feels. We could also be struggling to separate what we want from what we’ve absorbed from you.

Other water Mercuries “get” this. Air Mercuries, in particular, struggle with the idea of it – or should that read the no idea of it?

As Mercury moves into Pisces today, we’ll all have to deal with a little of this. My best advice? Don’t fight it, go with the flow. Wherever Pisces is in your chart is where you need to look reality in the eye and then deny its existence.

If you want to know more about Mercury in Pisces, check out this post.

Doing it for yourself…

If you have your chart already, look for the symbol for Pisces – that will tell you what part of life you need to allow your thoughts to drift in whichever direction they choose – even if right now none of it seems rational. For now, it’s about imagination and possibility.

If you don’t have your chart, read this post on how to get one.

If you don’t know what the houses mean, check out series 1 of the Toolbox or this post.

If you don’t have any idea about your birth time, or can’t be faffed working it out, you can follow the solar guide. Of course, if you know where Pisces is in your chart, you won’t need this guide:

  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Pisces, Mercury will be transiting your 1st house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aries, Mercury will be transiting your 12th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Taurus, Mercury will be transiting your 11th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Gemini, Mercury will be transiting your 10th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Cancer, Mercury will be transiting your 9th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Leo, Mercury will be transiting your 8th house.
  • If your Sun of Ascendant is in Virgo, Mercury will be transiting your 7th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Libra, Mercury will be transiting your 6th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Scorpio, Mercury will be transiting your 5th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Sagittarius, Mercury will be transiting your 4th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Capricorn, Mercury will be transiting your 3rd house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aquarius, Mercury will be transiting your 2nd house.
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Mercury in Aquarius

Mercury moves into Aquarius later today or the wee hours of tomorrow morning – depending on where you live.

Yeah, so what? I hear you say. ‘I’m not an Aquarian,’ you say, ‘so it can’t affect me.’

Yeah…nah. The thing is, the movement of the planets provides the planetary or astro weather forecast for all of us. That means that like it or not, Aquarian or not, for the few weeks that Mercury is in Aquarius, whatever part of your chart is ruled by Aquarius will be where you start to ask more questions, look for more knowledge, want to know stuff.

It’s also a good few weeks to do some future planning, get your head around the latest and greatest app or social media platform and to have that relationship talk that you’ve been needing to have. Actually, I lied about the last one. It’s not a great time at all to do communication that is deep and meaningful in nature. Wait for Mercury in Pisces for that – and bring tissues….just saying.

Want to know more? Of course you do – especially if you have Mercury in Aquarius, or Mercury conjunct Uranus. Duck over and have a look at something I prepared (much) earlier. The link is here.

Doing it for yourself…

If you don’t have your chart, read this post on how to get one.

If you don’t know what the houses mean, check out series 1 of the Toolbox or this post.

If you don’t have any idea about your birth time, or can’t be faffed working it out, you can follow the solar guide:

  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aquarius, Mercury will be transiting your 1st house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Pisces, Mercury will be transiting your 12th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aries, Mercury will be transiting your 11th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Taurus, Mercury will be transiting your 10th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Gemini, Mercury will be transiting your 9th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Cancer, Mercury will be transiting your 8th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Leo, Mercury will be transiting your 7th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Virgo, Mercury will be transiting your 6th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Libra, Mercury will be transiting your 5th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Scorpio, Mercury will be transiting your 4th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Sagittarius, Mercury will be transiting your 3rd house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Capricorn, Mercury will be transiting your 2nd house.

Mercury will be in Aquarius until February 18.

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Mercury in Capricorn

Mercury is poised to move into Capricorn and my attention has turned to matters of business – or rather business results and business planning. That makes sense – Capricorn is 11th house stuff for me, so it’s at this time of the year that I start putting some structure behind and around and under my goals. I gather the results from last year, analyse the problem and set some strategies. It’s line in the sand time.

Having Saturn in Sagittarius over the past couple of years in my work zone and squaring my Ascendant, Sun and Moon has taught me a lot about what I want – and more about what I don’t want. It’s also made me more aware of how I need to focus in 2018 on those activities that will bring me closer to my goals. It’s these things that I considered when I did my business planning for this year.

Anyways, I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that right now – I’ll bore you with those outcomes closer to the New Moon. Besides, as practical as Mercury in Capricorn is, I’m aware that talking about finances, planning, business and cost/value propositions isn’t at all new-agey – it is, however necessary.

Back to Mercury in Capricorn, here’s a link to a post from a few years ago that could help you understand this placement more. If you have Mercury in Capricorn or Mercury conjunct Saturn, give it a read.

In other news, it’s my parent’s wedding anniversary today. Fifty-four years ago – when Mercury was also in Capricorn – they said I do. A Scorpio-Aquarius match. Just saying…

Doing it for yourself…

While Mercury is in Capricorn, we can take a little of this energy now to put our own lines in the sand and put some frameworks in place within which strategies can flourish, risks are mitigated, resources are managed, and targets achieved.

Anyways, this influence will, of course, be best utilised in the part of life that Capricorn rules for you. If it’s your 10th house, have a think about what strategies you need to put in place to further your career or get the job you want. If it’s in the 7th, think about your relationships and relating. Naturally, you won’t have a spreadsheet on this (although maybe you might…?) but what plans could be put in place to bring you closer together (if you’re in an existing relationship) or help you find your way into a new one. Perhaps you might plan to join an online dating agency or enrol in evening classes or even set targets to get out and about…just putting some ideas out there, but I’m sure that you get it.

The point is,  every part of life can be subject to the Mercury in Capricorn treatment.

If you don’t have your chart, read this post on how to get one.

If you don’t know what the houses mean, check out series 1 of the Toolbox or this post.

If you don’t have any idea about your birth time, or can’t be faffed working it out, you can follow the solar guide:

  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Capricorn, Mercury will be transiting your 1st house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aquarius, Mercury will be transiting your 12th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Pisces, Mercury will be transiting your 11th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aries, Mercury will be transiting your 10th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Taurus, Mercury will be transiting your 9th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Gemini, Mercury will be transiting your 8th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Cancer, Mercury will be transiting your 7th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Leo, Mercury will be transiting your 6th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Virgo Mercury will be transiting your 5th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Libra, Mercury will be transiting your 4th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Scorpio, Mercury will be transiting your 3rd house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Sagittarius, Mercury will be transiting your 2nd house.

Mercury will be in Capricorn until 31/1/18.

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Something about cazimi…

Wednesday 13 December 2017

Sun conjunct Mercury

Moon in Libra

The Sun and Mercury meet up today in a conjunction that is more than your average planetary joining together. Those of you who have been reading along for a while will know that this is known as cazimi.

But for everyone else, what does it mean? What is cazimi? While it sounds as though it’s something that Harry Potter would say as he waved his wand about a bit, it’s actually that point when the Sun and Mercury are as close together as they can be.

When Mercury is within, say, 8° of the Sun, it’s said to be combust – and combust is not a good place to be. It’s about being so blinded by the light that you can’t see straight…or think straight. If you have Mercury within 8° of the Sun natally, you might be the one who says you’re often overlooked – or not listened to – as though your opinions can’t be seen beyond the light of the Sun. Right?

Up to 17° is referred to as being under the sunbeams – but I digress.

The thing is, there’s no need to feel alone in this – given that Mercury is never more than around 28° from the Sun, the chances are fairly high that your Mercury could be less than 8° from your sun.

Cazimi, on the other hand – that point where Mercury and the Sun join in a golden glow of uber understanding and concentration – is a very, very good place for Mercury to be…however briefly. It can bring with it a blinding flash of seriously, just how clever am I?

The aspect is exact at 11.48am or thereabouts (Sydney time), but Mercury is said to be cazimi within around 17’ of arc. No, I’m not going to do the calculation for that and I can see your eyes beginning to glaze over. The one thing I want you to take away from this is that in that golden period of time, Mercury is elevated to the pure Mercury-ness of it – yep, even when Mercury is retrograde.

Speaking of which, Mercury is retrograde, so not thinking straight already. This cazimi might, therefore, not be as cazimi-ish (yes, I made that word up) as a cazimi normally is…but it’s still a cazimi.

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Mercury Retrograde…here we go again

I don’t know what made me look again at the instructions for the piece of work I was about to start this morning, but something did. And I saw a piece of information I’d missed the first time through. An extremely vital piece of information. The sort of information that would have led to not only embarrassment but hours of rework when I absolutely don’t have time for hours of rework.

Then there was the decision yesterday that I almost made that could have almost cost us money – and a reasonable amount of it. Ummmm ooops.

I have no idea how I missed it, but Mercury is pretty much stationary and will turn retrograde tomorrow. Actually, I do know how I missed it – that tends to be what happens when I’ve got my head stuck in book writing mode, I don’t really know what’s going on in the sky.

Anyways, Mercury will be retrograde from tomorrow. By now most of us know what this means, and can prepare and act accordingly – if you’re the preparing ahead type, that is. If you’re not sure about what it means and how to deal with it, your survival guide, or How to Survive and Thrive During Mercury Retrograde is here.

Now, I’m off to back up my manuscript.