19, 20, 21 ~ March 16, 2005

Depending where in the world you are, Mercury goes retrograde on the 19^th, the Sun enters Aries on the 20^th and Saturn turns direct on the 21^st. You’ve probably heard you astrologers caution you as to Mercury retrogrades. Sure, everything having to do with paperwork, e-mail and communication goes amuck. There is a way to work with Mercury retrograde constructively. This Mercury retrograde occurs in Aries. First, take your finger off the trigger of the rapid fire communication urge. Think, before writing, speaking or screaming. Imagine what result will be produced by blurting in the moment. Compare that with a spoonful of restraint, possibly a dose of communicative pleasantry and a well-thought statement. On 29 March, Mercury and the Earth align. At this point, you can best attend to all wayward communications, statements that require reissuing and soothing talk, e-mail or IM ruffled feathers.

On the northern side of the world Spring commences; in the Southern Hemisphere fall begins. This change of seasons occurs at the equinox, which more or less means equal night. A balance of light and dark results in terms of actual daylight, and a resetting of cosmic balance also applies. A critical turn in the natural ebb and flow of life causes reflection, consideration and suggests the tidying up of disorderly elements such that one’s personal life matches the collective rhythms. Even the simple aspect of the weather enforcing a change in the style of one’s dress symbolizes these shifts. The message seems simple. Things are changing in the natural annual cycle. Act accordingly. What worked three months ago, probably won’t work now. Stay current. Stay timely. Stay seasonal.

Saturn offers a subtle little cycle of its own right now to enforce the seasonal pattern. Actually, it’s current stimulation takes us back eighty-two days. Honest, it’s worth counting back. Saturn offers half of a 164 day cycle found in odd black hole system, SS 433, which it now opposes as it stations to resume direct motion on the 21st.

SS433 dictates a need for clarity of one’s own inner energy. This can suggest the simple rest/effort axis or it can indicate the flow of energy between the chakras in the body. Regardless, one must be in synch. The Capricorn black hole entity that Saturn opposes insists upon integrity. The issue of integrity arising here urges an individual to do what they know to be their cosmic purpose in life regardless of other factors. Consider this a reminder. Even though you have a job, family, yard to rake, store to visit or e-mails to forward, you still have a destiny and purpose for existence.

Truly, the last couple of weeks have tossed up a series of obstacles for many to encounter. The ultimate application is to ask a simple question that has a most difficult answer. Did the obstacles impede the path of your progress toward purpose and destiny to confirm your commitment to your life’s cause, or did those buffets seek to remind you that a more spirit-driven stratosphere exists at a different altitude and on a different course? So hard to know.

The trinity of planetary effects at hand helps reshape the purposeful course in life. Mercury offers mental pause, reconsideration and the re-articulation of principal issues. The Sun’s seasonal reference urges a good clearing out of debris, restoration of longer range vision and the recreation of vitality. Saturn’s change of course provides a correction toward one’s more cosmic drive in life, regardless of a touch of an “on the edge” feeling.

It’s a gourmet feast of planetary and galactic energies. Strive to be well seasoned.