The Astrology 16-17
Mercury in Leo is challenging retrograde Uranus in Taurus. Mercury is far enough behind the Sun at this time so that while it’s attuned to and aligned with the Sun’s intention, Mercury can more easily carry out its own business of thinking, communicating, and travel. Mercury in Leo can spark creative thinking. Retrograde Uranus in Taurus represents the unconventional. For example, last time I flew to Chicago, a very large man in the seat ahead of me was crocheting and he was wearing a very colorful crocheted poncho. That’s not what anyone would have expected to see. Uranus in Taurus can destabilize security.
Note: What I focus on very general and universal observations. You may or may not have a personal experience that you would describe as similar. The planetary phenomenon can play out in a number of ways, and the area of life where an experience that’s similar to what I write about will occur varies from person to person. Whether or not you experience the transit at all, or merely as an observer, as well as the intensity and outcome of that experience will always depend on how the transit aligns with your personal chart (the alignment of planets the day, time, and place you were born).
Lastly, there’s no doom and gloom here. Now to the personal stuff.
The Vibe: A SHORTLIVED DIFFERENCE OF OPINION
Intense and dramatic performances and speech are appreciated and applauded when seen in the theater, but not so much when the drama plays out on a street corner, in a meeting, or on the evening news. The drama may intensify briefly, but like every event, it will fade. The gift or takeaway from experiences that feel challenging or unsettling is insight that you can use to make decisions and choices for yourself. Taking time to apply creative thinking can help you see things from different perspectives. Using your insights to reshape or rewrite the status quo may be called for now. The challenge for you may be accepting that a difference of opinion today doesn’t have to be carried with you. Take away the best and leave the rest.
Today’s Haiku
A big fish struggles
Testing line, skill, and resolve.
Catch. Photo op. Release.
Update on August 17
I wrote about the potential for a “short term difference of opinion” that could cause drama due to a performance on a street corner, in a meeting, etc. The active planetary players in the drama were Mercury in Leo and retrograde Uranus in Taurus. Mercury is associated with communication–speech, email, reports, messages–as well as the ways that communications are shared; for example, computers, online, postal; trains, planes, cars, and bicycle carriers; phones, and so forth. I said the drama could play out in a variety of ways. Uranus represents sudden and unexpected disruptions.
My Own Street Corner Drama
I was driving home in the late afternoon on a road with a 40 mph speed limit and 4-way stop signs at every intersection. As I slowed to a stop at one of the intersections, a man on a bicycle whizzed past me on the right side. He barely tapped his brakes before barreling through the intersection. I was annoyed. When I passed him on the next section of road, I honked at him. I’d say it annoyed him A LOT that I honked, because at the next intersection, he pulled up beside my car and called me a bitch. He yelled a few other things at me and another driver honked at him. Then in the 2 or so seconds before the light turned green for us to proceed, he pulled away from the intersection and started to cross a 4-lane highway. Drivers can see a long distance in all directions at that intersection, so anyone who was also thinking of jumping the light or running the yellow light could possibly have avoided hitting the guy on the bicycle. No one was hurt. My car doesn’t have a broken window or scratches down the side. But I did put 2 and 2 together in the aftermath and saw the drama for what it was.
No, planets don’t cause things to happen. But they can be understood to indicate the prevailing conditions in the same that way we can look at dark clouds and expect rain will fall somewhere and when the thermometer reads 90 degrees, we know the air temperature is very, very warm.
Astrology is a set of principles and procedures used to organize information so the information is useful. It cannot be used to indicate absolute outcomes, because everyone has freewill to choose. We can choose how to think about things and choose behaviors. Or we can react and then have to deal with the drama on the corner.
Have a great weekend!
