Astrology: Mercury ahoy!
By: Janette Dalgliesh – Confluence Daily is your daily news source for women in the know.
12-18 April
If I had to sum up the theme of this week’s astrology, it would be “don’t believe everything you think!”.
And also “time to think new and delightful thoughts!”
Not because you HAVE to (though honestly, if your thoughts are making you miserable why wouldn’t you?).
But because this week there’s more than one big bold invitation to explore new perspectives, new opinions and new ideas.
That goes from the personal to the societal, as ever.
And it’s a good fit for the weekend festival of Easter – a festival which still has links to the ancient pagan world of Babylonian goddess Ishtar and the lunar cycles of European Spring Equinox.
This week starts with the weird-but-fabulous septile aspect between Mercury and Mars.
Whip-smart Mercury, messenger of the gods and expert at all forms of communications and systems, sits at the very tail end of dreamy everything-is-everything Pisces.
Action-hero Mars sits in radically innovative Aquarius.
The angle they form from the perspective of Earth is one seventh of a circle (just under 52º)
This septile angle is said to have mystical or spiritual qualities, and to indicate where someone might ‘rise up’ to transcend what they have previously assumed to be their own limits.
What does this mean in practical terms? I’m glad you asked!
As the owner of a human brain, your life is shaped by your brain’s opinion of who you are, what you’re capable of, and what’s possible for you. We call this your identity.
That identity is a complex set of thought habits and beliefs, constructed by your brain out of all of your past experiences.
Perhaps you’ve always seen yourself as someone with low self-esteem or intense resentment.
Not only does that identity tend to inform all the decisions you make and the actions you take – it even informs how you feel about yourself, so it can become a kind of self-perpetuating phenomenon.
And because you’re living life from inside it, sometimes it feels like it is ‘reality’.
The good news is that your brain can be literally and physically changed by your own conscious thoughts and actions.
The astrology here is an amazing opportunity to birth a brand new and more supportive identity.
Mercury, ruler of our own thoughts and the brain, meets up with Mars, who loves to take action – in this dance where we can go beyond the limitations of what we thought was possible.
When we find actions that connect us to a new identity – one we like better – it helps rewire our brains to match.
If the old identity was ‘low self-esteem’ then the ACTION might be striding around the house (yes, you can do this while in isolation) as though you were queen of the Universe.
If the old identity was ‘girl who hates her body’, then the ACTION of slowly and sensuously eating something you absolutely love can be a potent and loving gift of pleasure for your body.
Actions help your brain build a new identity WAAAAY faster than just thinking about things.
It’s a great start to the week, but there’s more.
Less than a day later, Mercury moves out of dreamy Pisces and into fiery Aries.
Of course Pisces, where he has spent more time than usual thanks to the recent retrograde, is great for tapping in to our dreams.
But it is a slippery place. It’s hard to get traction when you’re walking along the seabed, and Pisces is nothing if not oceanic in its quality.
In Aries, Mercury is ready to explore the bold spirit of adventure, launching new initiatives and fresh beginnings.
You will definitely feel the difference. Especially because after lagging in Pisces for longer than usual, Mercury will ZOOM through Aries in less than three weeks.
Think fast and furious, no stopping to smell the roses or navel-gaze in dreamland.
This is Mercury in full Aries mode – eager to be first out the gate, the leader of the pack. Aries says “follow me, lads!” and doesn’t even wait to see who’s coming along.
Ruled by Mars, Aries holds a flavour of the hero which is invaluable if you’re gearing up to do any kind of impossible quest.
It’s a fabulous follow up to the Mercury-septile-Mars energy.
But wait, there’s more!
Two days laters, Mercury at 1º Aries forms a square (90º) angle with the Lunar Nodes – North Node at 1º Cancer and South Node at 1º Capricorn.
The edgy flavour of the square is a powerful invitation to awaken something in ways we haven’t yet done. Even if we think we’ve already done the work we’re being called to do – we’re not the same person we were last time, we are just a little more evolved than last time in some way.
The Lunar Nodes are hypothetical points in the sky which represent the relationship between Earth, Sun and Moon.
They’re always exactly opposite each other, so when a planet hits the square angle it lights them both up equally, hauling our attention to the dynamic of our relationship to our own past and future.
The South Node represents everything we brought with us – our innate gifts and talents, the things we’re comfortable doing and naturally good at doing.
The North Node represents the wide horizons in front of us, the new things we seek to learn, to master, to explore.
We go out of our comfort zone into the North Node, and we recharge and refuel by spending time with the South Node.
With Mercury creating the square angle and waking up this dynamic, we’re invited to examine our own thoughts and assumptions about our own past and our own future.
Having that magical septile, and then Mercury in bold Aries, is wildly helpful for this work.
And the work might not look like you expect it to.
This is North Node in Cancer, which is the most nurturing sign; the sign which seeks to connect at a soul level in a way which asks ‘how can I help?’
We’re so conditioned to think of courage as being all about the adventure OUT THERE.
This is also a time for wondering about the adventure within – the terrifying possibility of acknowledging and expressing our own emotional needs, the scary prospect of allowing intimacy in ways we’ve never considered before.
This could apply within 1:1 relationships, or it could apply to your own relationship to the collective.
You might ask yourself “how am I being of service to the people I came here to help?”
Or “how can I talk to my people from a place of vulnerability and compassion?”
And the answer might be bolder and more courageous than you’ve ever experienced.
Here’s the key to remember: the stars do not dictate who you are or what happens to you.
YOU get to make the choices.
YOU are the one in charge.
YOU own your own life, and every decision in it.
This week is likely to help you feel it in new and delightful ways, if you let it.
Some ways to play with this week’s astro:
- Take some bold and inventive action to begin getting your brain to open up to your next (and even more potent) identity. Even if you’re in complete lockdown, this is possible. If you’ve always dreamed of being a writer or an artist or a thriving entrepreneur – ask ‘how would that girl do this action?’ when you’re doing unrelated things like cooking a meal or folding laundry.
- Explore some bold new ways of thinking. Get aware of your own thoughts, especially any that feel bad to you. For example, if you’ve been thinking “I’m supposed to hold it all together for my kids” try a more forgiving and compassionate thought such as “all my emotions are valuable and it’s okay for my kids to know I am human and I cry”. Or if you’ve been thinking “this is no time to be selling my stuff” try a new thought such as “there are some people who really need my stuff right now, and it would be mean of me to withhold it from them”
- Consider using the weirdness we’re all living through as an opportunity to quadruple the ways in which you take boldly kind actions towards yourself and others.
- Consider this a brilliant week for opening up to brand new ideas and perspectives you haven’t entertained before – especially those which hold the possibility of a brighter future. No, we can’t do detailed planning for it yet, because we don’t know what post-COVID looks like. But we can SHAPE that future in the here and now, and that starts with our thoughts.
From here in my small house in south-east Australia (where we’re heading into Autumn right now), I’m sending out big love to all my Spring-oriented northern friends.
At this festival of rebirth (not a million miles from ancient Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of fertility, love and war) this is a brilliant opportunity for us all to craft a whole new reality.
What would you like YOURS to be?
EXACT TIMES (US EASTERN)
- 10 April, 6:41 AM – Mercury at 28º Pisces septile Mars at 7º Aquarius
- 11 April, 12:48 AM – Mercury enters Aries
- 12 April, 1:18 AM – Mercury at 1º Aries square True Node at 1º Cancer
Janette Dalgliesh has one mission in life – to wreak more joy in the world. That means no more walking through the day like a zombie, doing the job-from-hell, twisting yourself into a pretzel to suit other people, or putting off those secret dreams you’ve had since childhood for yet another year. Janette uses her unique blend of astrology and neuroscience-based coaching to help people take charge of their own lives with love, inner peace, fun and deep contentment – no matter the external circumstances. You can connect with Janette via her website Resonant Joy, or over on Facebook.
