Within hours Mercury turns direct in late Aquarius. Such a fact might not be perceivable in the stock market where on fears (Sun-Neptune conjunct in Pisces) of the yet unknown reach of COVID-19 and concerns over oil price reductions (Sun-Neptune conjunct in Pisces, nearly exact when announcement was made) literally and figuratively blew the circuit breakers halting trading for a period of time following the market’s U.S. opening bell.
Consider Mercury’s station aligns with the black hole Cygnus X-3 in the waning moments of Aquarius. True, the fleet-footed one prepares to plop winged sandals in Pisces again in but a few days, targeting Neptune to potential exacerbate collective worries and projections whether grounded or unfounded. Meanwhile, a personal antidote exists in the periodicity of Cygnus X-3. The Cygnus period runs 4.8 hours. So when overloaded, overwhelmed to the point of circuit breakers blowing, make a priority of setting yourself aside for nearly five hours. Yep, five whole, uninterrupted hours.
Predictable vacillations occur within the processing of the 4.8 hour period of Cygnus X-3. Processing commences with mental gymnastics. For about an hour the urge to figure it out, to look at things from every possible angle, to consider the inconsiderable wildly rages. Then, mental exhaustion settles in. Good. For the next two hours feelings swell from within. Go with them. Simply let them out. At about three and a half hours, those feelings recede. However, after a drink of water, a washing of the face, a second surge of emotion makes its presence known. Go with that wave, too. It will not be nearly as intense or long lasting as the first wave. This second surge, however, is equally important as the first. Upon purging the second occurrence of emotion an impeccable sense of clarity emerges. From this point, clear, effective and progressive decision-make can occur.
About this Mercury muddle in the market thing... truly I do not see anything that resembles market stability until November. If you play in that pool expect to endure head-snapping days of trading and ups and downs that range in the realm of “unprecedented.” Should you be in the oil market, typically considered to be Neptunian in nature, how about adding an additional consideration to assist investment judgment? In fact, oil forms in Pluto’s realm. It is in fact a possession of Pluto’s domain. Pluto has a funny way about things in his realm. He typically resents the greed grab or interference of mortals, however, sometimes he would take on the surface of the Earth and bestow the richness of his world upon mortals he favored. And by the way, Pluto seems to favor acknowledgment and propitiation of his domain, and more specifically, individuals who render homage to his realm.
Then there’s this Corona virus, specifically the COVID-19 thing. Since many of you have requested a few astrological thoughts, today seems to be an appropriate day to render what can be astrologically derived.
In fact, China did not clearly disclose information about the virus for some time after its presence was known. How long we are not sure. As a result of medical whistle blowers the Chinese government was forced to reveal the existence of the virus. Within China, this took place on 31 December 2019 and their announcement to the rest of the world followed the next day, the first day of 2020.
For the first conscious awareness of the virus I created a chart for 12/31/2019 at Noon in Beijing. Since this is the first acknowledgment of the spreading ailment, regardless of continuing misinformation, intentional or unintentional, this time-date notation offers some astrological sense of what the world confronts.
The spread (Jupiter for expansion) of the virus (Neptune for contamination) can be seen by times when these planets form aspects to one another. Jupiter in Capricorn by transit sextiled Neptune in the COVID-19 chart on 12 February. Words like pandemic became part of our vocabulary, as did accusations of deliberate false information promulgation and cover-up. The first of three sextiles between Jupiter in Capricorn and Neptune in Pisces, in the sky, not related to the chart, began on 20 February. Come 27 July and 12 October two more of these sextiles form. It may be that the subsequent sextiles in the sky relieve the false speculations, panic and fear-mongering that accompanies the announcement chart. Actually, those days might be more clear than transits to a less than ideal horoscope.
One of the comparisons made for COVID-19 is to the Spanish (an intentional misnomer) Flu of 1918 and 1919. The flu barreled in during the spring of 1918, and parallel Trump’s prognostication for COVID-19, disappeared during the warm summer months (Northern Hemisphere reference). In the fall of 1918, the flu returned with a vengeance. According to the Center for Disease Control, estimates suggest 500 million people endured the flu and 50 million succumbed, the majority of those in the second coming of the virus.
Will there be a second wave of COVID-19? Honestly, I do not know how to forecast that. Saturn will not return to degree it was at the announcement of the strain - that should be favorable. Still, there are cautionary indicators of times in which the residents of Earth might want to invoke added vigilance. Given that how Pluto is known to be, at this time, if there is a return, it will be known. But will it be known to the public? There’s a question. It could be that there is an attempt at non disclosure and cover up. Fear not, on 9 November, Jupiter in Capricorn reaches the degree Pluto (22 Capricorn 21) held in the virus announcement chart. By then we should know it’s back on, or an “all clear” can be sounded.
How much panic is warranted in the short term?
On 10 March (as in tomorrow) Jupiter’s transit conjoins Saturn’s degree (21 Capricorn 17) in the announcement chart. Tomorrow as well, Mars sextiles Neptune’s announcement degree and continues forward to sextile the current position of Neptune on the 13th. Likely this is a reality check. With the U.S. finally getting test kits into viable use, numbers should be expected to rise. It may appear grave and potentially overwhelming as the potential for outbreak becomes projected (perhaps over projected?) as on the 16th of March, Jupiter conjoins the degree of Pluto in the announcement chart.
More accurate numbers likely occur on the 17th when Mars in Capricorn reaches the Saturn degree of the announcement horoscope and even more so on the 19th when Mars reaches Pluto’s position of the virus chart. Here we should know more about politicians affected, the status of the military, those on cruises and those positioned to spread the virus such as chain store employees, airport security screeners, heads of port authorities, medical personnel and situations we’ve not yet considered.
Per 17 March, there has been online speculation that the study of previous Corona viruses led to understanding how the virus infiltrates the body. This purports good news at it is something than can be tangibly addressed. Some will claim that inoculations (Mars) will soon be viable (Saturn), however, the reality (Saturn) is that extended effort (Martian momentum) must be applied over time to produce the result and its effectiveness (Mars and Saturn) must first be tested.
Throughout this year three Jupiter in Capricorn squares to Eris in Aries occur: 23 March, 6 July, 15 November. As we move closer to the first of these squares it is reasonable that extreme cautions that cancel or postpone mass events will likely continue as the norm. By early July, perhaps the “warm weather kills a virus” thing takes place in the Northern Hemisphere, which seems to bear the vast majority of COVID-19 cases. And again, November suggests another time of caution, consideration and speculation of the life or dormancy of the virus.
Will COVID-19 wipe out the planet? No. How many will perish? I have no way of assessing such a projection. Can I predict if a person will contract the virus? No. Expect that quarantines and isolation practices and restrictions will be ever increasing until the Sun aligns with Eris on April 12, which is the first astrologically realistic date where the word containment can be accurately applied to any affected region. So, what should we do?
Well, remember that Mercury now sets sights on Neptune in Pisces - imagine that fear and panic and worry and fretting will have its way with the world. Between now and that conjunction on 3 April, work to be the voice of calm and reason in your sphere of influence. Maybe refer back to the previous SkyScraping for the collection of suggestions for the notable transits occurring in the heavens apart from the COVID-19 horoscope. Consider the plethora of influences in Capricorn. Be practical. Be sensible. Be responsible. Practice good hygiene. Eat well. Rest as best you can in these churning time when the collective psychic waves are erratic at best. Engage your spiritual discipline. Maintain the fires of your creativity. Propitiate your favorite and least favorite planets. Stay within the moment and work to reign in wayward speculation.