Our Sagittarian Beacons of Light

Your friendly anarchist astro-reporter, Willow, in the cottonwoods

Photo: Willow's Mama

The Sun entered Sagittarius November 21, and we've officially broken the surface of our difficult and disturbing subterranean travels through Scorpio.

This Scorpio season was particularly challenging with the planet that rules challenges, Saturn, in the sign, colouring a seemingly never-ending Mercury retrograde through Scorpio (October 21 - November 10) that kept some of the darkest and most fearful subjects stuck on our minds. We were dealing with all the challenging aspects of the Scorpionic mind: paranoia, depression, dread, darkness, triggering conversations and information, detrimental thinking, intrusive and obsessive thoughts that gave us little rest, worst-fear subjects preying upon us, emotional and psychological difficulty that took us down for a death roll or two.

For those stuck under Saturn's thumb in Scorpio, there were some bleak Mercury retrograde moments, indeed.

To add to the challenge, we experienced Neptune and Chiron stationing direct in tandem (November 13 and November 19), stirring up painful confusion, illusion, over-sensitivity, disappointment, devastation, sadness, free-floating anxiety with no discernible cause, feelings of isolation, psychic overwhelm, exhaustion, disturbed sleep, and a strong desire for escape.

The Chiron in Pisces station was a particularly painful release point - and a time when many souls went on to the afterlife.

November has not been the easiest of months.

But now, layer-by-bleak-and-scary-layer, we re-surface from the subterranean Scorpionic depths.

Mercury completes its final challenge - the last conjunction to Saturn in Scorpio - on November 25 at 7:54 p.m. Central Standard Time. It will take a few days to move out of the reach of this dreaded conjunction to Saturn, but we've officially made it out of the most disturbing mental and emotional depths as we hit Hump Day this week.

In the wee hours of November 27, Mercury leaves its retrograde shadow at 18 Scorpio, clearing old, dreaded subjects from our minds. As we start our days on November 27, our minds are officially in new territory, on the other side of all the retrograde heinousness.

At the very same time as Mercury is moving on, Saturn cracks into its next retrograde shadow (the degrees to which it will return during its next retrograde) at 16 degrees Scorpio.

See that?

We have over half the Saturn transit through Scorpio under our belts now. We're not going back. And we've also completed the entire transit of Saturn through the often-difficult Via Combusta, an area of the zodiac associated with karma, misfortune, and unfortunate events.

Scorpio is a dense, complex, complicated sign. It's the sign most people fear. It's the sign where we hide everything we're scared of, everything we're uncomfortable with, everything left unsaid.

So as Mercury went picking through this sign, back and forth, we were touching on some of the most difficult subjects in existence (including the possibility of the annihilation of much of humanity via the Fukushima nuclear disaster). Not only that, but Saturn held our noses in these subjects until we got a good, old whiff. Until we got a full handle on every dark and disturbing angle, making the unconscious, conscious. We couldn't squirm our way out of any of it - not if we wanted to be fully responsible and on top of our games moving into the second half of Saturn in Scorpio.

Mercury went direct November 10 at 2 degrees Scorpio, exactly trine stationing Neptune in Pisces.

And now, as Mercury in Scorpio conjuncts Saturn for the last time until November 2014, we start to get some perspective on our hard-won mental, emotional, and psychological progress. We start to see the first fruits of our labours, the first bits of gold that come out of our pain.

As the Sun is shining down on us from jovial, humourous, gregarious, and optimistic Sagittarius, have faith that you will come through this. Have faith that relief is up ahead. Because it is.

Our Sagittarian beacons of light are in the window, guiding us home, guiding us to safety:

As stated, Mercury conjuncts Saturn in Scorpio November 25 and then cracks into new territory early on November 27.

Mercury in Scorpio will form a grounding and productive sextile to Venus in Capricorn (which is preparing for its own retrograde) on November 27, as well (8:45 p.m. CST). This Mercury-Venus sextile provides an earthy outlet and release for our hot and over-taxed Third Eyes, coming out of the extended transit of Mercury through intuitive, alchemical Scorpio. It's likely that we will be able to concretely apply the things we've seen and the things we've uncovered to maximum success here. Every last bit of difficult Mercury in Scorpio perspective is useful and usable now and will be through the upcoming Venus retrograde (December 21, 2013 to January 30, 2014), particularly for advancement in partnership, both personal and professional.

Mercury forms another nice, easy, flowing aspect on November 28 - a trine to Jupiter in Cancer (1:23 a.m.). This trine is some healing balm for our shredded psyches, as the raw Scorpionic intelligence finds a caring home and an accepting place. The meaning and reason for our deep, dark, painful examinations during Mercury's retrograde may become more fully known to us here, and we may have renewed faith that we are on the right track.

The Sagittarius Sun trines Uranus in Aries on November 30 (12:25 p.m.), providing another day of flowing energetics. This trine shines a light on our progress into the new astrological era, providing lightning-flash insight and renewed faith on our weird and wild path forward.

The Moon enters Scorpio November 29 (10:03 p.m. CST) in its Balsamic phase, indicating one last emotional/psychological hurdle as we close out the month of November.

This Dark of the Moon phase in Scorpio closes out a difficult lunar cycle that began November 3 with the New Moon Scorpio eclipse conjunct Saturn. That New Moon eclipse took some of us into very difficult emotional and psychological territory, and we've been kept there ever since.

This Dark of the Moon phase (November 29 - December 2) can stir up some difficult emotions related to this lunar cycle and to any associated events that occurred.

But we are folding it all into the alchemical soup, preparing for new emotional territory. Allow yourself to feel it, but don't get stuck. We're moving on.

The Sagittarius New Moon occurs December 2 at 10 degrees (6:22 p.m. CST), releasing us from the last grips of this very difficult Scorpio season.

Mercury in Scorpio will form another grounding and productive sextile to Mars in Virgo on December 3 (10:35 a.m.), indicating a time when we can practically apply our new intelligence to great effect. An awareness of the details right down to the X-Ray examination level assists us greatly here as we close out the Mercury transit of Scorpio.

Mercury leaves Scorpio (finally) for Sagittarius December 4 at 8:42 p.m., and a cheer goes up across the land!

The aspects as we close out November and begin December are highly supportive to our zippy little messenger planet Mercury (Mercury-Venus sextile, Mercury-Jupiter trine, Mercury-Mars sextile), which has been under such stress over the past six weeks. These aspects indicate that we now have mental support in areas where we have felt isolated, shredded, and under pressure over the past month.

The most debilitating weight of the world is being lifted off our shoulders and off our minds. Allow this process to do its work, layer-by-layer, and have faith that an acute dark period is now behind us.

Note to WWA Patrons

Willow's Web Astrology patrons are supporters of this site. They receive full articles that are available only as excerpts on the main blog. They also have access to a few other extras throughout the year.

Patronage payments are recurring, meaning they will automatically come out of your PayPal account either once per month or once per year, depending on the option chosen.

If you do not want to make recurring payments, you must cancel those payments from your PayPal account.

Otherwise, the amount will come out on the specified date(s).

For more information: Willow's Web Astrology Patrons

Neptune and Chiron Station Direct Trine Mercury in Scorpio: Cutting Through End-of-Era Backwash

Both Neptune and Chiron station direct in Pisces over the next ten days - Neptune at 2 degrees Pisces on November 13, Chiron at 9 degrees Pisces on November 19.

The wounding Piscean era themes are nip, nip, nipping at us through the end of November, and we're going to have to stay awake and alert in order to navigate our way through.

This is tricky because with these stations, things are a little sleepy, a little dopey, and a little...any of the other applicable Seven Dwarves.

The Moon enters Pisces tonight (8:36 p.m. CST) until early morning Wednesday, and this can exacerbate the effects of these stations.

I would sum the vibe of the next ten days up like this:

"Why bother changing into pajamas? I'm just going to have to get dressed again when I wake up in the morning."

These stations can have the effect of softening sharp edges, putting a warm glow over the proceedings. But things can also be slipped by us through these stations, and we can find ourselves doing things or allowing things that are not in our usual characters. You can read about some common Neptune stationing effects here: Neptune Stations Direct and Brings the Foggy, the Floaty, the Wispy, and the Surreal

Neptune went retrograde at 5 degrees Pisces on June 7, 2013. It has now completed that retrograde period and stations direct at 2 degrees Pisces November 13. This is an article from that retrograde station. The themes are kicked up again as Neptune and Chiron station direct in tandem:

"Hollow-gut disappointments hang around us like stale fumes. End-of-era love relationships are a confusing, disorienting mess. The idea that our dreams are not special, that we're not special under egalitarian Aquarius, can erode us at the heart. The discrepancy between where we hoped we'd be at this point versus where we really are is staggering at times - both personally and on a broader societal or collective level.

Anyone aware of the circumstances of humanity on Planet Earth at this time will find them humbling, to say the least...

Some lingering depression, disappointment, disillusionment, despondency, or a sense of utter futility about carrying on from here can be expected for the next couple weeks...There's an unfulfilled sadness in the air, in the collective psyche, so watch to make sure you or your loved ones don't tip too far into the psychic bleak.

The new guy wasn't who you hoped he was. The new job that seemed so interesting turned out to be more of the same. The daily grind seems increasingly dull, painful, pointless, hopeless. Reaching for the bottle, for the bong, for junk food, or for the credit card are all possibilities to dull the pain, to desensitize.

This is standard end-of-era backwash, however. More end-of-Pisces clearing. Fool me once, shame on you, Neptune. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Keep moving, keep flowing, and keep laughing at the insanity of the situations with which we are faced in this foul year of our Lord two thousand and thirteen.

It's the sensitives, the creatives, the Piscean/Neptunians who hold the true weight of where we are right now. They're the ones holding the energy of Pisces, the energy of the spiritual whole, where every last detail matters and nothing can be conveniently amputated or ignored without problematic future repercussions. They're the ones potentially being crushed under the cruelty, the inhumanity, and the dysfunction of the current scenes. Yes, it's that serious.

But it's also funny.

Isn't it?

To be set up with these seemingly impossible clusterfuck scenarios during our lifetimes on Planet Earth?

It didn't start with us, and it doesn't end with us.

But we do have a prime and shining opportunity to direct things now.

Neptune stationing, like prominent Neptune in the natal chart, can create a sort of stoner effect on even the most sober among us. Air-headed and flaky. Forgetful. Dreamy. Wistful. Pie-in-sky. Avoiding. Self-pitying. Indulgent. La La Land-living.

Stay on track and stay focused on your own newly burgeoning Aquarian-era ideals, despite the Neptunian fog tempting us to go down maudlin back alleys or to take diversionary, wishful-thinking detours. We have plenty of assistance in keeping our feet on the ground with the Neptune trine to concrete and steady Saturn in Scorpio. Focus on dealing successfully with the full reality in front of you, and the rest will take care of itself."

Recall that we're moving through some tough transits, aspects, and dynamics this November, but also recall that we're tougher.

Do whatever you can to keep your spirits up. Keyword: buoyancy

Mercury, now direct at 2 degrees Scorpio, is exactly trine stationing Neptune in Pisces, and at the very least, we are assisted with whip-smart intuition, X-Ray vision, and whispers from the otherworldly guides in order to penetrate the potentially painful dynamics.

Maintain your black sense of humour about the current conditions, speak up when you need to about the things that are oppressing you, and, above all, just keep going.

The Seahags

To ease our suffering minds, here's a little homegrown flavour, The Seahags. "On the Rock Where Moses Stood" and "Barefeet" are particular gems!

Suicide Risk Alert Through December 2

Please Note: This alert is not meant to scare anyone. It does not mean people will be randomly committing suicide. It means that for people already at risk of suicide, this month is potentially very difficult.

We're moving through a time period when concentrated, complex, and multi-layered problems are surfacing from the depths. These problems often have no immediate solutions, and this can drive people to thoughts of suicide or to actual suicide attempts.

There are times when the universe heaps too much upon us, and this is one of those times.

As Mercury (the mind) stations direct November 10 in the sign of death (Scorpio), people are under a great deal of mental, emotional, psychological, and psychic pressure, and it may become impossible for them to see beyond their problems.

This Mercury station coincides with a very emotionally and psychically heavy day for the collective - Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in the United States November 11. This is a time when the collective psyche is drawing up memories and realizations of mass death, war, pain, destruction, and unresolved trauma related to those things.

This exacerbates the difficulty for individuals, as they also have this heavy collective layer sitting on them at this time.

There is a great deal of collective denial at this time about the true state of things on the planet. This collective denial is always difficult for Scorpionic/Plutonic types who often do not have the luxury of turning a blind eye. The intense cognitive dissonance in the collective at this time can also break individual psyches down.

Currently, we are under the influence of multiple difficult transits and aspects:

We're opening out of a very challenging Scorpio New Moon eclipse, conjunct dreaded Saturn, on November 3, which brought many underlying issues to the surface. We don't fully come out from under the weight of these issues until the Sagittarius New Moon on December 2, just before Mercury leaves Scorpio for Sagittarius December 4.

The fourth Uranus in Aries - Pluto in Capricorn square is just past exact (Nov. 1).

We have a stellium of planets (Mercury, Sun, Saturn, along with the North Node of the Moon) in Scorpio, a sign associated with deep trauma, concentrated fear, and emotional and psychological hell.

Saturn is moving through an area of Scorpio in one pass, indicating a time of potentially intense challenge when we can be pushed out of our comfort zones in a big way, required to do heavy excavation in our lives related to multiple trigger subjects.

As stated, messenger planet Mercury is keeping all this difficulty on our minds as it slows to a stop in the zodiac November 10. All this can prey on people's minds in excruciating ways, and it's possible that they are seeing no way out at this time.

Wounded healer Chiron is stationing direct in Pisces November 19, stirring points of intense hopelessness and psychic overwhelm. Again, this is a "nowhere to run, nowhere to hide" type of theme, problems with seemingly no solutions, and people can simply give up under the difficulty of this.

Venus has just entered Capricorn and is activating the almost-exact Uranus-Pluto square. Venus squares Uranus in Aries exactly on November 14 and conjuncts Pluto in Capricorn November 15. The conjunction to Pluto November 15 is particularly harsh and can result in people feeling cut off from any love or social support. These conditions make it much easier for people to contemplate ending it all.

Chiron in Pisces will be at its most painful point in the direct station at the time of the Venus-Pluto conjunction, as well, indicating themes of isolation, grief, and a desire for escape.

Mercury conjuncts the North Node in Scorpio and triggers the degree of the September 18 Venus-Saturn-North Node conjunction on November 18/19. (I was asked when this suicide risk period began, and I would say around this time - equinox, coming out of the Venus-Saturn-North Node conjunction in Scorpio sextile Pluto stationing direct in Capricorn.)

Mercury will then conjunct Saturn in Scorpio for the final time November 25.

November 18/19 and November 25 (the dreaded Mondays) are dates when things are potentially pushed to a head, reaching crisis points.

The Sun enters Sagittarius November 21, and there will be some relief from the deep and troubling themes of Scorpio starting at that time.

As stated, Mercury leaves Scorpio for Sagittarius December 4.

Understand the month of November as a month of potential emotional, psychological, and psychic crisis. Much of the disturbance is going on beneath the surface, as well, with collective roots, and we simply do not see or perceive everything people are dealing with at this time.

Keep an eye on the people in your circle and beyond. Extend your loving humanity to those who are struggling, and do not heap any more on people already at their breaking points.

The business structures and "business as usual" ethic have to come much lower on the list of priorities now. Maintaining emotional and psychological health, assisting those in crisis, and saving lives are most important at this difficult time on the planet.

Mercury Stations Direct in Scorpio: Yanking Detrimental Mental Patterns Out From the Root

Mercury retrograde has just started slowing to station direct on November 10 at 2 degrees Scorpio (3:12 p.m. CST), and we're picking through trigger-happy conversational minefields all week.

Even the lightest of comments can hit raw nerves now, setting off reactions we may not have intended. Watch your tongue carefully.

That said, there will also be plenty of people intentionally trying to get under our skins. Slough those buggers off right away, and back out of any exchanges that seem to be heading into the trigger-happy danger zone.

We have to police our own thoughts and communication this week, maintaining tight boundaries.

When messenger planet Mercury is in Scorpio, the messages we're receiving can be uncomfortable, traumatic, or even devastating - especially with Chiron stationing direct in Pisces November 19. But these potentially difficult messages are ultimately also empowering, liberating, and consciousness-raising.

The information we're picking up and picking through can consume our minds now, creating scenarios with intrusive or obsessive thoughts. Fixed sign Scorpio takes us under and then holds us there until things really sink in. Some highly irritating and oppressive thoughts have been preying on our minds during the transit of Mercury through deep, dark, emotionally-dense Scorpio, which began September 29 and ends December 4, and these thoughts can increase in intensity going into Sunday's direct station.

To offset the mental depths, reel your brain in, and bring it back from the brink. Meditation, exercise, and good, solid mental discipline all help our cause. We're drawn to intense and even painful subjects now, but we have to keep our minds out of the bottomless pits.

There are some potent exchanges and connections in the works this week and next. The energy of the Venus-Saturn-North Node conjunction of September 18 is being stirred yet again as we continue to wrap our minds around the intensity of that time and what it meant for us.

Connections and conversations over the next weeks hit release points, liberating our minds and our emotions from some long-term oppressiveness, but we have to stay with it right to the end and have those squirm-inducing conversations in order to reap the rewards and find relief. 

During this Saturn-infused Mercury transit through Scorpio, we're working to get out from under that which oppresses us, severing ties to it, but it's going to take all our awareness and courage to do so.

We have to speak up over the next weeks about hidden energy dynamics that aren't right in our lives. We need to extricate ourselves from scenarios that put us at a disadvantage. And we have to allow time for the full realizations to rise to the surface of the conscious mind. Be gentle with yourselves and others, but be ruthless in the areas being drawn to your attention.

What intrusive thoughts do you want to eliminate? Whose opinions do you want to delete? What media and information sources do you need to get rid of? Are there perspectives that have undue influence over you? Anyone's crappy comments that have stuck with you for far too long?

Merc Rx in Scorpio is asking us to take action on all these fronts.

This week is great for getting to the bottom of detrimental mental patterns and yanking them out at the roots.