After today’s Leo Full Moon has peaked at 6:09 pm EST / 23:09 UTC, you might want to take (or better yet, make) a turn. It’s better to participate actively than to let things turn as they may. It’s also better to observe and take a hand rather than take a chance by judging or drawing conclusions before the opportunity for your turn presents itself.
Taking turns is almost certainly something you learned at a very young age. Even though it is a learned behavior, it is also a very natural thing to do so long as one masters certain skills.
The most important skill to master when it comes to taking turns is patience. Waiting for your turn, knowing when it is and responding appropriately with good timing is not necessarily natural.
Fortunately for all of us, Mercury’s current apparent motion in Aquarius will help you to know when some major turns are in store. As a bonus, it will also allow you to place those future turns in context with some strikingly similar turns of the recent past.
One major crossroads indicated by currently retrograde Mercury is its second (of three) sextile aspects to Saturn’s first (of two) sojourn’s in Sagittarius. That second sextile from Mercury to Saturn will take place on Thursday at 6:39 am EST (11:39 UTC).
A sextile aspect from one object or point to another represents a separation of 60 degrees on the zodiac circle and in the sky. It always takes place between signs that differ in elemental identity (fire, earth, air or water), yet also between signs with elemental characteristics that support each other.
In the case of Thursday’s sextile from retrograde Mercury (in Aquarius) to still-direct Saturn (in Sagittarius) the elements in support of each other are air (Aquarius) and fire (Sagittarius).
Air and fire support each other in real life. One of the necessities of getting a fire started and keeping it going is sufficient ventilation. Likewise, once going, a fire warms surrounding and circulating air — a tendency that has come in handy for the survival and wellbeing of our kind for thousands of years.
The support air and fire have for each other in real life translates for how astrologers interpret sextile aspects between fire and air signs. Additionally, relatively swift Mercury’s retrograde motion (relative to slow Saturn, that is) translates to how you can make some correlations of your own for Thursday and further down the road, regardless of how much you know about astrology.
First off, realize that between today and Thursday you should go slow and yield the right-of-way as much as possible while still keeping your own wheels on the road in forward gear. That’s the basic strategy going into and out of today’s implicitly powerful Leo Full Moon.
Even now, however, you should begin to look both ahead down the road to Thursday and back in the rear view mirror. Aim that backward glance toward the first of three successive sextiles from Mercury to Saturn (of which Thursday’s will be the second).
The first sextile from Mercury (at that time in direct motion through Aquarius) to Saturn in Sagittarius took place on Jan. 5. While attempting to recall what was going on for you specifically at that time, you should also take into consideration what was going on with the astrology then so as to draw some intuitive parallels — as symbolic air and fire would have you do.
The first sextile from Mercury to Saturn followed (by less than 24 hours) the immediately previous Full Moon in Cancer. As Eric noted yesterday, that Full Moon was an “emotionally dramatic scenario.” Additionally, less than two hours before Mercury’s first of three sextiles to Saturn, Mercury entered its echo (or “shadow”) phase, passing the point where it would eventually resume direct motion again on Feb. 11. That began the “overture” preceding the opera constituting Mercury’s period of apparent retrograde motion back through the first half of Aquarius.
Hence, you have some valuable information from both the astrology leading into Mercury’s first of three sextiles to Saturn, and your experience of it. You can apply that information towards the second such occasion on Thursday. Maybe it will not be as dramatic a scenario, but maybe also you can (with the awareness astrology bestows) make a difference in how this next turn turns out. It’s worth a try.
Looking further ahead, Mercury’s third and final sextile to Saturn will take place at another auspicious time for interactions between the Sun (representing what is ideally a fully conscious awareness) and the Moon (usually corresponding to a more visceral and different form of consciousness).
That’s because Mercury’s third and final sextile to Saturn will take place just over a week after Mercury has resumed direct motion and gotten up speed (resuming to its normal expressions again). It will also be just over 24 hours after the second Aquarius New Moon in a row (on Feb. 18 for most of us).
The second Aquarius New Moon on Feb. 18 will break a pattern in place since October of last year. That pattern consisted of five successive New Moons in the first degree of a successive sign.
The New Moon on Feb. 18 will be in the very last degree of Aquarius, turning the pattern of the previous five months on its head. That second Aquarius New Moon will be followed immediately by the Moon entering Pisces literally seconds later, the Sun entering Pisces literally minutes later, and Mercury’s third and final sextile to Saturn just over a day later.
It all adds up to quite a turn, one way or the other, following Feb. 19. Fortunately, it’s a turn you can plan to participate in now. It all begins by taking a conscious hand on the steering wheel, and making a wise turn (based on your experience following Jan. 5) on Thursday.
All you have to do is what you already know. Get a grip, commit, and follow through with your part in the scheme of things. With the astrology of previous turns available to assist you with awareness, there is no question that you will be up to the task of taking turns yet to come.
Offered In Service
Len is available for astrology readings. You can contact him at lenwallick [at] gmail [dot] com.
Len, this is brilliant! Just what I needed to get me through the day, through all the work I need to get done, and through February, and through winter… I am really looking forward to a change in seasons, and a change in the monotonous rut my life has burrowed into during this cold winter. I am looking towards the Aquarius new moon on 2/18 to come out of hibernation, that’s my groundhog prediction.
When Mercury stationed retrograde at 17 Aquarius, Jupiter was at 19-47 Leo, opposite my natal Pholus/Mars conjunction in the 7th (19-35/19-29 Aq), and wow did I see Pholus (and Mars) in action like never before! It is all hanging on still like a blanket of snow, forcing me inward to sit by the fire and review situations I prefer to keep out of view. Lava slowly creeping in the aftermath of the sudden explosion, churning up and burning up old resentments. It’s March 3rd I’m a little nervous about… but I can’t wait for this retrograde to be over, more than usual.
I know exactly what was going on 1/5 as well, it was intense, but a lot of good things too, actually it was a start of several things, and then an abrubt stop of a number of things, some having just started. I hope that makes sense! I have a natal exact Mercury/Saturn sextile in my chart making a yod with my ascendent. I find it to be a good combination to help learn to say what you really mean, and what not to say. Though for me Saturn is in Pisces and Mercury is in Capricorn, and I like earth and water. Just not the frozen kind.
I meant to ask, is the full moon part of a yod with Uranus and Pallas? The moon is conjunct my ascendent during this full moon, with the Sun exactly splitting the distance to the degree of my exact Mercury/Saturn sextile. Suddenly things open up into view, like coming out of the woods into a vast field and open sky, big puffy clouds, and the bright Sun.
Hi Beths – it’s a Kite, which involves MO/UR/Pallas in the three fire signs forming a Grand Trine, and the Sun opposite the Moon and sextile the other two. It’s all within about one degree as well, so this should be very interesting in terms of applicability.
Thank you Amy. Yes of course, the yod is a sextile only, I see it now. My astro vision has been foggy lately. Definitely interested in knowing more about the Kite formation, and how Pluto sitting in between the Sun and Pallas, and Chiron sitting in between the Sun and Uranus, plays into it all… I guess the Kite and Saturn are bringing structure and stability and realization of abilities, and the full moon a completion, but there are other factors that seem to indicate a possible sudden shift.
Len, this is really quite helpful. Thank you!
18th paragraph second sentence 4th word..?
Just completed a 20 square foot raised garden bed while hangin’ with the dog! How auspicious is that!
I absolutely Love you man! You’re a groovy cat.
Jere
18th paragraph second sentence 4th word..?
The word is “new” – do I get a prize? or do you need my interpretation? 🙂
..Always hip to interpretation!
I’ve seen the Universe in its entirety (shit you not) several times. Funny thing, it’s always different!?!
Jere
Jere: Then you are doing the Universe much better than i. Another reason to be grateful for you. Too often just seeing past my nose is a problem for me.
Honestly Len, I prostrate myself in your presence. See, my vision’s of the Universe were ‘highly’ unnatural, extremely ephemeral, and nothing I would ever attempt to conjure again!
Peace
Jere
If I thought Pres. Obama talked to an astrologer I would think it was you Len. It’s not the 1st time I’ve noticed that your thinking style resembled his. As this Full Moon in Leo falls only 2 degrees from his natal Sun, the present astrology’s vibrations clearly resonate with his birth chart. Even so, just the transiting Saturn at 3+ Sagittarius opposing his natal Moon at 3+ Gemini would account for his cautious wording. Also, transiting Juno at 8+ Leo squares the President’s natal Neptune at 8+ Scorpio and the transiting south node (11+ Aries) is conjunct his natal Eris at 10+ Aries, while transiting Neptune has just left the degree of his natal Chiron (5+ Pisces retrograde).
If you are the one Obama confides in then I’m sure you have alerted him to the 3 passes of transiting Mercury (trine his natal Moon) to transiting Saturn and feel reassured he will make decisions in accordance with that info. Ever so grateful Len!
beths, the full moon in Leo is in a grand trine (not a yod) with Uranus and Pallas, and with the full moon on your ascendant opposite the transiting Sun that “splits” the space between your Mercury and Saturn sextile would be the definition of the pattern called the (transiting) Boomerang, an extension of a yod (your ascendant, Mercury and Saturn combination). I don’t doubt for a moment that things opened up for you!
A note following my comment to Judith’s blog (regarding money’s influence) is that Venus in this Full Moon chart is at 9+ Pisces which conjuncts the U.S. natal (Sibly) Nessus also at 9+ Pisces. I remembered that in the story of his rape of Heracles wife, that Nessus was able to kill Heracles indirectly through false information (given to Heracles’ wife) and the poison soaked cloak he wore (that the wife wrapped around her husband Heracles). That might be important to know in the coming weeks; that Nessus can operate indirectly and even after death if his lies are believed.
beths: Thank you! Looks like you have already made some cogent correlations to this Mercury retrograde on your own. Thank you for sharing them! You have my empathy regarding what appears to be your expressed desire for the Vernal Equinox to come hither with greater haste, but none of us can make that happen (so far, thank the starry skies). Please consider one thing however, instead of worrying about the end of Mercury’s second echo phase, make a plan for the Virgo Full Moon that follows soon after (on March 5) to act as much as possible be done with what came with Mercury’s retrograde station. The separating Venus-Mars conjunction (the first of three this year) with Uranus between them in aspect to the opposed luminaries at the time should support your follow through with the plan in some way as to help you move on even as Mercury does. Worth a try.
Amy: Thank you for helping out by adroitly tagging the aspect beths was referring to. You are all that’s great about Planet Waves. And you are all great!
Patricia: You are most welcome.
Thank you, Jere! Correction made. As always, i’ll get by here with a little help from my friends, and i’m proud to consider you a friend to my service here. Best of luck with that raised garden bed, and best regards to your faithful canine companion, great poet!
Barbara: Thank you for being so much more kind and gracious than than i probably deserve. Unfortunately, i’m not The President’s astrologer. Would that it were. It would be a worthy challenge, at least most of the time! Thank you also for the ingenious notion of correlating this Leo Full Moon with The President’s chart – it would be interesting to observe the details of his day today and make correlations to the astrology. Finally, thank you for joining Amy in contributing service to the query from beths, and for your reiterating your note regarding Nessus.
Len, remember when….President Reagan – the idol of all things Christian – was the President – and it came to public awareness that Nancy Reagan had been consulting an Astrologer for, OH, so many years?
Thank God!…… She likely saved him from assignation and helped pave the way for ending the cold war. I presume she helped us avoid Nuclear War. Lets pray now – that some astrologer is firmly consulted in this white house today..:)
Cowboyjam: Oops! You saw it after i made the correction. You see, i made an error and Jere was kind enough to note it. Before i corrected it to “New”, that errant 4th word was “Full”. It’s all good, and you are deeply appreciated here as well.
🙂
Cowboyjam: Thank you for mentioning the late Joan Quigley, (astrologer to Nancy Reagan and others), who transitioned from Earth just recently. Please see below a link to Amy’s beautifully written memorial to Ms. Quigley.
http://members.planetwaves.net/astro-obit-joan-quigley-astrologer-to-the-reagans/
Len, just wanted to share with you how true your comment to me on your Full Moon in Leo article was. When I read it, I read it but only realized I had only read it but not understood it or grasped it until the Full Moon yesterday (Tuesday-Wednesday). I was thinking of writing right away because in all the great experience that it was, I remembered you and also what you said. I’ll just say a little bit. I was waiting for this Full Moon, in fact I thought it was a day earlier so I had to wait for the next day, in a good sense because I was prepared and had time, then on that exact day, I knew it was going to be that night so OK, also unexpectedly I came across articles concerning this Full Moon from different sources, I was not looking for them, they came to me, so to speak, and one was a link to EarthSky posted by Robert Hand which showed how it was going to be seen in the sky from sunset all the way to sunrise, focusing on the Moon, Jupiter and Regulus. Well, I was born Asc Sagittarius, Jupiter is transiting my ninth, so in Saggy style I arrived late to the rise of the Moon, went to the highest floor of my building to see it and took some pictures, wasn’t so great as I expected but I had seen it (sorry if this is taking too long…well…) . Later though, at about two in the morning here, I went out alone to buy some cigarrettes while I had forgotten already of the Moon but as I walked out of my building there she was, and there was Jupiter, it was Beautiful, the night so peaceful and it was my first time seeing Jupiter, knowing it was Jupiter what I was looking at, I was truly so filled with happiness and joy that I even surprised myself but I was alone and I suddenly realized that but instantly as I thought that, I had to open a gate and as I moved my hand with the keys toward the gatedoor, I realized having been given a gift of a keychain with a photo of a very loved girlfriend of mine who passed away, but it was not sad. In the night, with so few people, I suddenly had the answer right there in my hand, as sometimes happens in a Sagittarius/Jupiter kind of way, one looks always for an answer somewhere out there and many times it’s right in front of you, in this case, in my hand,I was not alone, spiritually, well… I chose to approach anyone on the street and tell them that Jupiter was in the sky because I had to share this moment, so I picked two young strangers who seemed to be friends and told them “Hey, excuse me,could I tell you guys something…” and went on, I received smiles and laughter and couldn’t help but wonder what it must have been like to point at Jupiter, them looking up and then looking at me and me being Asc Sagittarius, I wonder what they saw, makes me kind of laugh. Well, I had to walk a lot and during that walk, with so much feeling, all good, I realized what you wrote to me, no matter how far what we have in common, and I felt this, not only as if there were no barriers between people anymore but also no barriers between living beings, nature and the universe, it is all one. I could also feel the moon’s fear, I think Jupiter helped me take a look at that feeling, that fear for safety, it was like a tender fire feeling afraid every now and then by a fleeting too strong rush of wind or air,but it was alright, I was so happy and kept on looking up at the sky, it was like seeing God somehow, although far but still seeing my maker like hey there he is, I also felt like all illusions of perception dispelled as I looked at it to the point I thought my sight was getting clearer, like seeing a dream come true right before my eyes. Well, thank you Len if you put up with this long comment and I thank you also for such wise comment of yours, which I remembered and by that gave me more understanding. I’m surprised, how did you know this was going to happen? That that was the feeling? that that was going to be experienced? Well, awesome, so… Thank You
You don’t have to answer those last questions, they are more like affirmations wearing a question mark and I’ll also say I didn’t see Regulus, Big City Sky, you know.
Thanks again
Nicolas – Thank you in turn for your gratifying and deeply appreciated comment. How did i know? Please allow me to paraphrase Pynchon in response: every dog has its day, and a very hard working dog just might be accorded more than one day. Being (akin to the fictional character Sirius Black) somewhat of a dawg myself, my answer to you is that it was simply a good day for me. Of course, i do have my not-so-good days, especially those when i know what i want to say (or write) but not how to phrase it as succinctly or clearly as the other (truly great) writers here at Planet Waves (compared to whom i really am a dawg). However, if you and the rest of the readers here can simply bear with me through those not-so-good days, the occasional better days should more that provide you with a return. Faithfully yours in scruffy service (Arf!) – Len
Len, thank you. Yes, take action (participate actively) was your recommendation that I need to heed, and I have been avoiding (partially because of the mire communications can get bogged down in with Mercury retro). But, I need to take the time to be clear and speak up. I appreciate your advice regarding the March 5th Full Moon, and I am going to make a conscious effort to make it happen. It’s an interesting chart. My natal T-square is pretty highly activated. And patience was your other recommendation. It’s been difficult to be patient these days!
Also, the word forced came up for me, forced into a few things, backed into a corner, but I suppose that could be because transiting Pluto is conjunct my natal Mercury. Though I am doing a stellar job of keeping it from pulling my emotions down into the pit of despair. (That’s a little Jupiter in Leo talking, I never publicly give myself credit like that, it feels a little strange. Though I suppose not letting it get the best of me could be related T-Saturn conjunct my moon/sn…).
And, you don’t have any bad days here on Planet Waves Len!
Be – Thank you! I always wondered about the astro boomerang. Astrology in action. It’s like a stream flowing in the spring as the snow thaws.
I have another inquiry if you have a moment, no worries if not- the Jupiter/Saturn/Pluto conjunction in 2020 (in early December 26/28/24 Cap I believe) is conjunct my Sun. Any thoughts on how to start thinking about this? My brain goes blank so far when thinking about how to prepare, how this might play out…
Thank you both for all of your wonderful writing! It is inspirational.
hi beths,
Essentially we are talking about 3 separate conjunctions, Pluto to both Saturn and Jupiter, and then Jupiter to Saturn. Then there is each one’s separate conjunction to your Sun, symbol of consciousness and sense of self. They are all going to deal with structures of various kinds and they all mark the end of another cycle(s) as well as the beginning of a new cycle(s).
For the world as a whole, Pluto conjunct Saturn would mark a new beginning where the rawest of energies need to be restricted and require structuring while there will likely be a reduction of available resources. In the case of Jupiter conjunct Pluto, an old cycle that began in December 2007 is ending and a new cycle begins that will bring a powerful urge to broaden possibilities. The cycle between Jupiter and Saturn that began in 2000 dealt with how to handle resources will end and a new cycle actually begins in Aquarius (0 degree) in December 2020.
Saturn makes only 1 conjunction to Pluto in January 2020 and Jupiter will make more than 1 conjunction to Pluto but all 3 planets are in and around late Capricorn for weeks before Saturn and Jupiter move on to Aquarius. However, the powerful energy of Pluto will be carried forward with them into their one and only conjunction in Aquarius. It is energy that demands transformational ideas (Aquarius) of all things Capricorn in nature; laws, institutions, traditions. Much of what will begin in 2020 is already taking shape now and relates to societies.
For an individual it would depend on the house or houses where late Capricorn and early Aquarius fall in his or her birth chart. If planets are located there, as is your Sun it will be a personal period of transformation as well as for your community and country. By being a Capricorn Sun person you should roll with this period better then many others and in fact, should take the lead in some of these new beginnings. By accepting that they are inevitable and by looking for ways to restructure the obsolete methods, etc., you can get ahead of the ball. Be prepared to take on more responsibility and work with people who are able to grasp the bigger picture that will become more obvious as time goes on. Thanks for getting us all thinking about it beth.
be