Hi Everyone, At 6:22pm PDST on May 30th, Mercury turns back to its direct motion at 22 degrees of Taurus. The few days before and after this date can often feel like we are intensely focused on certain issues or thoughts that have us captivated. What's happening is that Mercury is barely moving or completely stationary, which is akin to the needle of a turntable being stuck in groove. There can be a tendency to react strongly to whatever we are thinking, and approach these with an all-or-nothing attitude. Also, our thoughts may be intense because they are actually revealing an aspect of our unconscious, inner world struggling to see the light of day. Usually, it is best to try to work out our own thoughts by ourselves before expressing them as they could come out quite strongly. And yet, it is simultaneously important to recognize that whatever is coming up really could be quite important. It's just a matter of separating 'what' you are dealing with from the 'way' you decide to deal with it. If necessary allow a process to take place within yourself before expressing it outwardly, unless, of course, it simply cannot be done. The truth is that life often doesn't allow us to take time out and we have to do the best we can to deal with whatever is coming out into the open. Things should smooth out and feel like we can move forward by early Monday or Tuesday.
Jupiter Aligns with Neptune (and Chiron too) This major transit has officially begun. Jupiter conjuncted Neptune for the first time on May 27th (Wednesday) at 1:12pm PDST, and will do so two more times before Jupiter moves on into Pisces. This transit will last until early January and is already having a very significant effect on how we are perceiving the world. There are some wonderful characteristics of this transit but first let's look at the more negative ones. Neptune can create illusion, fog, uncertainty, and idealism and alongside Jupiter's optimism we can feel that things are much better than they really are. Perception is important, but in a case like this, it can also lead to a severe letting down or bubble bursting later. Let's give a specific example. Right now, the price of gas is going up and people are wondering how this can be. The common view is that it's the coming of summer. But take a look at this article. http://www.realclearmarkets.com/news/ap/finance_business/2009/May/29/oil__gas_prices_defy_recession__crude_hits__66.html The view presented in this article is that the rise in prices is not due to increasing demand, but to the BELIEF that demand will increase. This is because it has become common to think that the recession will be over by the end of the year. So production is being ramped up and the prices rise as we get ready for things to return to normal. Things are going to return to normal?? Huh!! To astrologers this is to be expected and has nothing to do with what is actually going on but with the Jupiter/Neptune lens through which the society is looking. If we examine the actual data, we see that unemployment is rising, large business credit card companies are going bankrupt, more layoffs are expected in many industries and our car companies are declaring bankruptcy with no one knowing what the future landscape for this area of our economy will look like. The list of unresolved problems is huge. So, why are we so optimistic? Well, part of it is that we want to be. We are tired of feeling negative, so we decide to feel better, even if there's no evidence for it. But the 'environment' astrologically encourages us to do just this. Have faith and it'll all be fine. Even blind faith is OK, at least for now. The real problem with this, as I see it, is that the fundamental issues that got us into this mess have not been addressed, both economically and in the larger societal context. The needed reforms are not being made and will not be made as long as people believe that things will turn around without these changes. The transits that follow this Jupiter alignment with Neptune are far more serious than any we've seen so far, so unless the proper steps are taken to deal with the causes of the problems that got us here, we are still open to a major falling apart of our economic and governmental systems. Just look at what's happening in California and you'll see how serious things are becoming. No one can know what would happen if things got even worse. On a personal level however, things are very different. This transit is a beautiful one for the development of compassion and sympathetic understanding. We may find that we are engaged in the emergence of a new faith and understanding towards Life itself and our connection to something higher, whatever terminology we use for that. This is a time for healing of old wounds (Chiron) by forgiveness and the adoption of a greater understanding of others that is impersonal and universal. There is a chance that our health care system may be reformed if we can take advantage of this short window to do so, since the idea that health care is a 'right' rather than a privilege can resonate now. This is a mystical time. The boundaries between self and others and society are blurred right now enabling us to understand viscerally the challenges we face together just because we're human, doing the best we can, and that we do share a common destiny in so many ways. This is also an aspect of the healing we can do for ourselves and the world in general. At the same time it is wise to remain aware that blind trust in people is an invitation to being used and conned. Whenever clarity is lost, which can occur right now, we must proceed with more caution, not less. It's best to separate one's worldly affairs from our personal and private approach to spirituality and transformational growth. The inner and personal one can thrive right now, while we may want to handle our financial affairs in a more practical way. Finally, I want to suggest that we can be inspired powerfully right now. We can sense an awareness inside of things that we usually only dimly perceive. That awareness is of our highest Self, the god-nature that is our truest foundation and which we share with Life itself. It's often a matter of allowing these deeper feelings to take root in us. There's nothing necessarily to do per se, just allow something inside us that's always been present to simply Breathe. www.sherschoolofwisdom.org.
