By Amanda Painter
So, I had this wacky dream Wednesday morning. Partly awake yet still in the dream world, I thought to myself, “Oh yeah — that’s about the current astrology with Mercury, the Sun, Uranus and Eris.”
Photo by Amanda Painter.
The dream was filled with all kinds of interrupted and detoured travel, risks while driving, back-tracking, getting lost (even though I was only trying to go a short distance); I was cut off from communicating with the people I was trying to meet, yet ended up having this involved conversation with a stranger about a woman who, many months ago, nearly undermined a collaborative endeavor — thanks to projecting her unprocessed issues onto the situation (without owning up to it).
I’ll spare you an analysis of my dream (and no need to offer me one), but I wanted to mention it because it seemed to cover so many potentially relevant themes.
The primary astrology involves Mercury moving from its conjunction with Uranus in Aries (which was exact Wednesday) to a conjunction with the Sun (exact tonight into Friday, at midnight EDT / 4:00 UTC). From there, Mercury and the Sun both conjoin the dwarf planet Eris in close succession: first Mercury meets Eris on Saturday, then the Sun does the same Sunday. It all happens quickly enough and close enough together on the zodiac that we can look at it all as one event.
Monday on Planet Waves, Eric described the Sun-Uranus conjunction in Aries as potentially coming with a discovery “in the form of a disruption that demonstrates the extent to which you’re in the matrix.” It’s worth considering whether that happened for you, because the Sun (representing your ego consciousness) and Mercury (your intellectual mind and communication, and also related to travel — think Mercury retrograde SNAFUs) are carrying awareness of that discovery/disruption with them to their meeting with Eris.
Now, tonight’s Mercury-Sun conjunction looks great for thinking quickly and communicating your ideas to others. Self-expression is especially natural in Aries. Which means you’ll need to remind yourself to pause and listen, too.
A Mercury-Sun conjunction can get a little egoistic (doubly true in Aries, the sign of “I am”), and that egoism isn’t helped if you have a blind spot in your awareness. Blind spots happen easily with the planets of mind and ego so close together.
It’s that potential inability to see into your own shadows or to look beyond your own experience that could trip you up as the Sun and Mercury approach Eris. Barrel straight ahead into the weekend, and you might not notice a reactive or passive-aggressive impulse to express some part of you that feels left out or unvalued.
Mythological Eris has a reputation for stirring up chaos due to having felt slighted. We all have this part of ourselves; some part of your identity that you’ve set aside or diminished. You might know who in your early years first ‘banished’ or pointedly ignored that part of you.
You might even be able to list situations that trigger the hurt you carry around this part of yourself. Possibly you’ve noticed that the less aware you are of this trigger and its internal origins, the more likely you are to act out (or speak out) against those who seem to be ‘causing’ it — and the less likely you are to take responsibility for your reactions. I can see this clearly in the woman I talked about in my dream (and I’m well aware that, in dream-speak, she represents a part of me with the same tendencies).
Eris is not all bad news, however; neither is bringing the Sun’s awareness or Mercury’s articulateness to her, however she shows up in you this weekend (and you might already be noticing her). In the same way that a disruption by Sun-Uranus may have showed you your immersion in a pattern, allowing you to choose more consciously how you interact with that pattern, Mercury and the Sun conjunct Eris gives you a choice and an opportunity.
You can choose, if you’re aware of that cast-aside part of yourself, to express it consciously, constructively, respectfully and in a safe space — rather than unconsciously letting it shoot out in ways that undermine you, your important relationships and the sense of acknowledgement and being valued that you desire. Through conscious expression, you can bring a measure of unity to the facets of yourself that may often seem at odds with one another.
True, it can feel like a big risk to express and acknowledge the parts of you that feel unloved or unworthy, or that tend to be passive-aggressive or self-sabotaging. As my dream suggested, it’s not a straight path: it can be full of detours, backtracking, unexpected encounters and limited ability to communicate. You might feel lost and then find yourself far from where you thought you were headed. That’s not always a bad thing.
Amanda, I believe you’ve nailed it insofar as my patterns this week. I really appreciated your article, and hopefully your wise words might assist me in not further harming relationships important to me by having my petulant little child blurt out inappropriate comments with mercurial speeds and in a gratingly loud voice at those I care for. Thanks for the warning.
I want you to know along with other writers here I truly appreciate, I really look forward to your articles. In just the short time the site has been a daily constant for me I believe you’ve grown as a writer and communicator before my very eyes. Congratulations on your work.
Thank you, Tana. Just curious: how long has PA been a “daily constant” for you? And what drew you here in the first place?
Amanda, I came initially here about 18 months ago give or take a month or so. It has always been a really interesting site, but between you and Len somehow the last 5 or 6 months seem to have just been a terrific blossoming of everyone’s talent (believe me everyone has such talent, and Eric’s insight originally brought me here).
From a personal perspective I feel as though the Uranus Pluto Square has definitely changed my perception, but it seems somehow your writing has blossomed with its changes as well. I came because I was searching for my own personal spirituality. This sight’s offerings kept me. I’m still working on everything else. Im a late bloomer. LOL! I’m over 60.
Very helpful, dear Amanda. Thank you.
I’m anxious to see what will happen when the sun & mercury conjoin with Eris. After reading a couple reviews over the weekend I have some feelings today of lack of recognition for some of my recent performances in a play festival. That’s my ego talking, but I’m also feeling my inner Eris. Although, I’ve had these feelings before, and I am privy to my “blind spots”. Four years ago I might have done something like post a cryptic Facebook rant, or send a passive-aggressive tweet about how critics suck, or how true talent never gets proper recognition.
Amanda, I appreciate the forewarning, particularly as I prepare to embark upon a journey and monthly meeting with a group of people, one of whom I always have to hold back from any strong verbal encounter, primarily because he tends to be a bully and intimidate others by being so disrespectful of their opinions. I tend to be the one to have the courage to “put him in his place” out of the 16 of us. But usually at great cost to my own emotions. Last month, I chose not to give him my energy and left much more calm and aligned with who I really am. Your posting has reminded me to be ever-so-vigilant again and restrain from taking the bully on allowing others to do so, if they are so inclined. I prefer to be responsible for me and thank you for reminding me to do so, great piece!
Pisces Sun: that is a tricky situation, indeed. In general, I totally agree with the idea that somebody needs to stand up to a bully, and, “If not me, who? If not now, when?” as the old saying goes. But you make a good point about not getting sucked into his energy, or giving him too much of yours (which really amounts to not letting him *into* the core of you/your energy).
It’s not the easiest thing in the world to learn, but it’s not the hardest, either, to learn how to stand one’s ground and speak up for oneself from a neutral place, without feeding the beast or letting it in to suck you dry or unbalance you. It’s something I’ve been working on for at least a couple years with my spiritual counselor/healer, and seems to be one of my main lessons to practice and master — along with the art of discharging that emotional flare-up as quickly and easefully as possible when someone *does* manage to suck me in.
I wish you luck navigating that balance!
:: Eris, powerful Eris. I wholly appreciate the fresh + positive portrayal astrologer Henry Seltzer is bringing to the table around the Eris archetype, recognizing the stealth feminism required of us to survive/dismantle/correct the many violations of this patriarchal world – Eris might say – ‘by any means necessary’. Thanks for the heads up, Amanda!
http://www.astrograph.com/learning-astrology/Eris.php
a_priori — that’s a really interesting and potentially useful reinterpretation of Eris. I’ll have to check out that link. Thanks!
Also, this article came through my inbox this morning. Somewhat unsurprisingly, it feels related to the astrology and this blog post. My take on the astrology is not that we have to stuff our hurts and the anger related to them — to the contrary, we do *need* to express it; we just need to do so consciously and appropriately (ideally) so that we’re not just perpetuating the (unwanted) patterns that stem from these often-unacknowledged facets of ourselves.
The article is about how allowing yourself to be angry — and letting it serve its purpose of pointing you toward what you need to change in yourself — ultimately helps you to get angry less often:
http://mainetoday.com/blog/living-smart/want-to-be-less-angry-let-yourself-be-angry-theres-a-productive-way-to-do-it/
Stunned by what I’m learning about Eris, which conjoins BM lillith in a prominant place in my natal chart. And boy, does it ever. Great piece, thank you!
Guilty as charged. There is nothing more horrifying, yet sobering, to realize that when I thought I was doing the right thing that I actually did the opposite (especially when it affects others). Doing my shadow work sometimes feels like looking at a bottomless pit. I seem to see-saw from low self-worth to big, fat repulsive ego in an instant at times. I realize that finding balance with this (integration) is absolutely crucial for me and that understanding and awareness of it requires further steps of living the correction and being continuously mindful of the pattern. Neptune conjunct my Mercury just makes the blind spot bigger and takes me longer to realize what the truth and reality of the situation and experience is – plus the times I actually get it, then lose the importance of staying focussed on it. Impulsive Mars needs to be reigned in also and put to better use for the focus.
Amanda, I feel like a porcupine – you just rolled me over and poked a finger in my nice, soft, vulnerable underbelly and I thank you deeply for that. You’ve pointed out the hidden jewel in my pit. Thank you for the weekend homework.
a-priori: I do believe that Eris has a method to her madness that we have yet to fully comprehend. I think we need to keep our minds open to the fact that our archetypes are changing and if we are stuck in our old perceptions and beliefs of them we won’t be able to recognize and actualize the potential of the ‘higher’ patterns that are attempting to come in.
Thank you Amanda. This is resonating for me right now.
Amanda, I am drawn to your clear prose, your astrological knowledge.
I have a few books that have and are helping me deal with people Piscies Sun spoke of. From reading the other posts, too, I wonder if it would be appropriate to list a few here? Do I have your permission ?
Best always
Carolynkc
Carolynkc — by all means, please list the books you’ve found to be helpful! I love it when we’re able to share resources here. Just note that if you’re posting links (rather than just titles and authors’ names), you can only put in one link per comment, otherwise your comment will get stuck in moderation. So if you have multiple links, give each one its own comment (or else just list titles and let people Google it themselves.)
Thanks! And I am gratified to know people are resonating with this post.
Thanks for the excellent tour through Eris-land Amanda. I can identify with much of what you’ve articulated in this article, thanks for the clarity, and to the others for sharing their experiences. FeElina like the prickly part of the porcupine! :^)
Ichrak
That’s, feeling*
So glad to have these insights today. Yes, the pity party started when yet again I saw the new staff “puppy,” a recent college grad who seems to know everything and easily wins everyone’s confidence, headed down the hall to talk with a team working on a project that I want to work on.
But, I took a step back, looked for something to feel grateful for, and in fact, I do have a wonderful project that I’ve been entrusted to do, and it’s actually pretty cool. I’m going to focus on that. Having this perspective on my “cast-aside self” is encouraging. Thank you!
Amanda, this is so helpful, even as my anger is so intense I can’t see straight. It’s undirected anger looking for a culprit. I wish I would have read this sooner… But that’s ok. Better late than never. Thank you!
Oh, thank you so much for the dream Amanda. It helped me remember mine of the same morning.
I was in my Aunt and Uncle’s house in CT; they were extreme Catholic devotees attending church almost daily (in real life and the dream). I loved them deeply in the dream (as I had, in real life, when they were alive). They were trying to give me their home but I knew it wasn’t right for me. I walked out of their house saying “I know you have loved this house for 35-40 years but I do not want to live here” walking away to their “but where will you live?” I turned once and said “I do not know. But what I do know is that I cannot live in soil that made the life you lived”.
Yikes! And here I am holding space for women to walk through the world with an integrated brain and pelvic floor, to engage their sensual and creative expression, and deep in my being those old influences still persist.
I am so grateful for the coverage you and Eric are doing on Eris. I should have seen her influence coming with all the women whom have recently come en masse wanting to address their sensual and sexual shame.
It’s time we call home those outcast aspects of ourselves and give them a paint brush, some clay, a new journal or a blow torch. Some of those outcast aspects are the juiciest, friskiest and most frolicking, and interesting, aspects of our being. Here’s to the Goddess of Discord learning about stillness, coherence and the integrating points of synergy.
Let’s just eat that Golden Apple.
So. Does the woman in the dream ever get to apologize, change and move on, or will she be asked to suffer eternally for acting on her unprocessed (possibly unconcious), certainly painful issues?
How does one recover and make amends for actions of that sort?
KD Mathias: that sounds like a set of questions perfect for therapy or a similar counseling/healing modality.
Who exactly is “asking” you to suffer? Someone you hurt — or yourself? We can do a wicked job of beating ourselves up emotionally; in either case, it often takes a safe space held by a neutral party in a counselor/counselee dialogue to sort things out and move on. Good luck!
Wow! I’ll have to pass on that advice to your “dream girl”.
Rather good advice for all of us as individuals and collaborators. We all fill/fulfill those roles at some point in our lives, don’t we?
It’s great advice! After the jumble of the Uranus/Pluto shake up I could use the extra support to put it all in order and tend to the yet un(self)-loved parts of myself. Thanks everyone!
Amanda…spot on about Mercury and the weather! I have actually been undermined a few times myself in my silent lucidity…dreams are currently under new management from cosmic centaurs zoning in on the scientific impairments…mostly from body snatches and corpses…(lol)
Sincerely!
I AM