(A Mercury Rx Re-Post) The Elimination of Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC): Regressive Transportation Policy Under the Mercury-Pluto Square

The planet that rules transportation, connection, and communication (Mercury) is currently retrograde and will move back into the sign of Taurus (agriculture, food, tradition, rural areas) on May 22. Mercury will station direct at 26 degrees Taurus in a loose conjunction to the North Node of the Moon on June 3. The Sun is shining on 26 degrees Taurus today, and in light of this, I'm re-posting an article I wrote in 2017 about the elimination of Saskatchewan's public transportation system. 

It's been five years since the Brad Wall Conservatives eliminated Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC), the public bus system that connected the small towns and cities of Saskatchewan for over 70 years. This was a mean-spirited and devastating decision made by vehicle drivers in power.

Only a year later, in 2018, Greyhound bus pulled up stakes, eliminating bus service all across Canada.

I saw this at the time (and see it now) as part of the ongoing efforts by those in power to de-populate rural areas by starving these areas of needed services and resources. With Uranus now transiting Taurus (2018 - 2026), these rural depopulation efforts are in full swing worldwide.

Since STC was eliminated, we have seen a chaotic disaster for public transportation and for the transportation of goods in the province, including needed medical supplies. 

Anyone with a lick of sense could have told the Brad Wall government that this would be the result by eliminating an efficient and cost effective system of bus transport that had served the province for over 70 years. (And we did tell them...repeatedly.) The end result of the short-sighted actions of a handful of misguided politicians has been confusion; frustration; a massive waste of time, medical supplies, and taxpayers' dollars; the creation of dangerous and even potentially deadly conditions; shoddy, piecemeal service that serves only certain communities; and thousands of people in the province being left cut off and without transportation. The actions of this handful of misguided politicians has harmed a couple hundred thousand people in the province at least.

The ideology constantly promoted by neo-conservatives that private, corporate industry is so much more efficient and cost-effective than publicly-owned services has proven to be utterly false to a devastating degree in the case of STC. They are now paying almost as much per year to their cronies for one small part of the service STC provided, and it seems the cronies are doing a terrible job of it.

October 6, 2020: Saskatchewan Party Corporate Donor Received $60 Million Medical Contract After Crown Corporation Shut Down

 

What follows is an article I wrote on the subject that was originally published on March 24, 2017:

The Elimination of Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC): Regressive Transportation Policy Under the Mercury-Pluto Square

 

On March 22, 2017, as transportation planet Mercury in Aries formed a square to "illegitimate power and hierarchy" Pluto in Capricorn, the neo-conservative Brad Wall government in Saskatchewan, my home province, announced in its budget that it will be shutting down the province's bus system. 

Yes, that's right. No public debate, no public consultation, no transportation alternatives offered. It's just over because Brad Wall and his buddies say it is. 

This government, full of "one car per person" drivers, decided that it can unilaterally eliminate (Pluto) a mass transportation system (Mercury) that people throughout the province have relied on for over 70 years. ("'It's going to be quite a nightmare': Passengers outraged by STC closure" by Jason Warick of CBC News) 

The Pluto in Capricorn bulldozer strikes again, creating a nightmarish and potentially deadly (Pluto) transportation scenario (Mercury) for many... 

Mercury Retrograde in Gemini/Taurus: Carving Out the Right Mental and Verbal Boundaries in Highly-Divided Times

Communication and intelligence planet Mercury stationed retrograde this morning in its own sign of Gemini. Mercury will go retrograde from 4 degrees Gemini to 26 degrees Taurus from May 10 to June 3, 2022. 

Mercury will station direct at 26 degrees Taurus on June 3 in a conjunction to the North Node of the Moon at 22 degrees Taurus and in an opposition to the South Node of the Moon in Scorpio.

Mercury entered the retrograde shadow (the degrees to which it will return during the retrograde period) on April 26. This makes the period from April 26 to May 10 particularly juicy, as we will be going back over the conversations, communications, and connections we've experienced during that period of time. 

The movement of the winged messenger indicates a period when we are gathering bits and pieces of information to shore up, support, and fortify our perspectives. This is a transit and retrograde where we're strengthening ourselves in our ways of thinking and our worldviews, connecting with others of like mind. But it is also a time when we're putting the right boundaries in place so that we can maintain congenial social relations with those who hold mindsets and views that are very different from our own.

We're backtracking now, working to put new mental and verbal boundaries in place in our societies and social relations that align with the shifts, changes, and upheavals we've experienced in these areas over the past couple years. We're learning how to more successfully "play to our crowd." We're learning about which topics we can discuss with which people and also which topics are better to just leave off the social docket altogether. Mercury retrograde is a more contemplative time when we're more careful and moderate about the words we put out into the world.

Gemini is a sign related to duality or even to multiplicity. Because Gemini is a sign related to the gathering of information, opinions, angles, and perspectives, it is a sign that can accept and operate within two or more realities at the same time. 

The reality on Planet Earth at the moment is that we are very divided along lines of perspective, thought, and opinion, and these divisions (many being intentionally manufactured and inflamed) are having some nasty effects in our societies and societal interactions (Gemini).

There is an ongoing attempt to enforce certain top-down ideas, information, or ways of thinking on the whole of humanity, and of course, as Gemini knows, this will simply not work. We have never fully agreed on this planet - except maybe when we agree to disagree. Aside from the very basics, human beings have never come to a purely homogeneous way of thinking, and as long as we maintain biological human status, it's unlikely that we ever will come to this state.

This is part of what we must accept and successfully work with during this Mercury retrograde in Gemini/Taurus and beyond.

We're looking to create rock-solid boundaries that will withstand and contain the contentious and hyper-charged energies of the times. Maintaining respectful mental and verbal boundaries is our challenge, but we are being tested mightily on this front during the Mercury retrograde process. 

We are in the midst of a quite-unsettled eclipse season, which began with a New Moon at 10 degrees Taurus conjunct Uranus on April 30. We're now moving to the peak point of the lunar cycle - a Full Moon total lunar eclipse at 25 degrees Scorpio on May 15 that will occur conjunct the South Node of the Moon at 22 degrees Scorpio. (This lunar eclipse will be visible throughout most of Canada.)

The South Node of the Moon in Scorpio is an astrological indicator of the highly-charged emotional and psychological subtext of the times. It contains all the molten lava, the trigger points, the battle lines, the places where things can get very ugly if we aren't oh-so-careful and respectful of the "enough's enough" points. 

There is also a caution, however, about attempting to eliminate (Scorpio) certain information, perspectives, or awareness simply because it is uncomfortable. The Scorpio terrain exists, and it is important. Attempting to amputate, sever, bury, deny, or censor the underlying Scorpionic realities will simply not work. The strong influence of the Scorpio South Node indicates that these attempts will backfire. With the South Node of the Moon in Scorpio activated under a Full Moon total lunar eclipse, karma is an even bigger bitch than usual...

We're creating the right social boundaries with a full awareness of societal reality, including the differences and divisions. Pretending these differences and divisions do not exist will create a very weak and shoddy social foundation, indeed - one that will not support successful societal relations over time.

So we're looking to create the right boundaries while acknowledging and respecting the points of contention and division. With the Sun, North Node, and soon Mercury in Taurus, there is social value beyond the sticking points. People, relationships, and society are valuable, and this must stay at the forefront. We're looking to preserve and reinforce the social fabric that supports us all while respectfully acknowledging the points where we are very much on different sides of the fence.

Mercury stationed retrograde at 4 degrees Gemini this morning, and the Sabian Symbol for this degree is:

A Radical Magazine or Publication, Asking for Action, Displays a Sensational Front Page

This symbol speaks of a charged mental environment, along with the necessity for potent information that spurs action. Information is flying around fast and furious within this charged environment. The Mercury retrograde station activates this degree of Gemini for an extended period of time, and the energy and themes indicated by the Sabian Symbol are then drawn into the entire Mercury retrograde process. 

The Sun and Mercury Rx form a conjunction at zero degrees Gemini on May 21.

Mercury then re-enters earthy Taurus on May 22 where it will remain until June 13. The movement back into slow-and-steady, security-conscious Taurus indicates a requirement to properly ground the charged energy so that we can continue to re-build (Taurus) rather than destroy (Scorpio) our social contacts and social lives. 

Mercury will station direct at 26 degrees Taurus on June 3, and the Sabian Symbol for that degree is:

An Old Indian Woman Selling Beads and Trinkets

This is a much more mellow symbol, a more grounded symbol. It indicates the congenial relationships of local commerce and their importance in creating stability, regularity, and routine. It also indicates the ability to carve out our own terrain, our own niche, within the broader society and marketplace.

We don't all agree. This is plainly obvious. But we've never all agreed. Our divisions have been intensely inflamed over the past two years, but they are nothing new. 

We've found a way to get along in the past despite our wildly different ways of thinking, and this has most often involved respecting the rights of human beings to hold their own thoughts, perspectives, and opinions and to live by their own worldviews. You don't infringe on me. I don't infringe on you. 

Carving out and reinforcing this respect might be a more challenging process than usual under current conditions, but this is some of the work being laid before us during this very charged Mercury retrograde and eclipse season. 

You might disagree with the way I think. I might disagree with the way you think. This is OK. This is the way it's always been on this planet. The problem comes only when one group of people feels it can force its views and ways on another group of people. 

That's where the boundaries and respect come in, and these are things we must very carefully tend as we navigate highly-charged and highly-divided social scenarios. With the North Node in Taurus as our guiding North Star, we're attempting to find the points where people can be comfortable in each other's company, despite differing views. 

Again, finding the societal comfort zone within the current conditions is a challenge - a bigger challenge than usual - but it is also the most successful path through. 

If we cannot achieve the right boundaries, the right space, and the mutual respect for differing views, some of our social contacts could be coming to their natural conclusions at this time, but the primary goal is to build successful, mutually-supportive, and boundaries-conscious social frameworks if this is at all within our power. 

We will defend the right to hold and to live by our own views if necessary, but in general, we're moving away from a state of constant battling (South Node in Scorpio) and into a state of easier social stability and comfort (North Node in Taurus). This is necessary for our mental and emotional health.

Mercury will re-enter its own sign of Gemini on June 13, leaving the retrograde shadow and moving into new mental territory and more grounded mindsets on June 18.

A Retrospective Re-Post on the Biggest Psychological Operation in Human History - Coronavirus: Neutralizing the 'Terror of Contagion' with Mercury Retrograde in Pisces

Mercury, the planet ruling communication, information, media, and transportation, is in its domicile sign Gemini, preparing for a retrograde period from May 29 to June 22, 2021 (24 degrees to 16 degrees Gemini). Mercury entered the retrograde shadow - the degrees it will be moving back and forth over - on May 14 (16 degrees Gemini).

As winged messenger Mercury will be going back over mental and informational territory we've covered previously, I'm taking this opportunity to re-post an article written and published in late February 2020 as the biggest psychological operation in human history was in its very earliest stages.

Mercury retrograde periods provide a time to review and reflect, to turn our attention to things that might have been missed the first time around. They indicate a period of "mental digestion" and allow us to either strengthen or re-orient our perspectives.

At the time that the scheme was initially being put into play en masse, in February/March 2020, Mercury was retrograde in Pisces and late Aquarius. Mercury is in its detriment in the sign of Pisces, and the retrograde motion further exacerbated cloudy thinking, impressionability, and mass dispersion of panic-inducing (and often illogical) information. 

The scheme first had its meathooks firmly implanted in the minds, emotions, and psychic spaces of the public during that Mercury retrograde process in February/March 2020. 

Mercury first entered the retrograde shadow at 28 degrees Aquarius on February 2, 2020. The retrograde period spanned from February 16 to March 9, 2020 from 12 degrees Pisces to 28 degrees Aquarius. Mercury left the retrograde shadow on March 29, 2020. This created a prolonged period of mental cloudiness and confusion throughout February and March 2020 that was characterized by extreme mass panic and terror. These effects have been ramped up cyclically through media and other "official avenues" up to present day. 

Just after Mercury went direct - March 11, 2020 - a global pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization. 

As outlined previously, both March 11 and March 19/20 (equinox) are often used as dates for orchestrated events and attacks. You can see all previous articles on orchestrated attacks around March equinox (especially when Uranus is ingressing a new sign) here.

Transiting Jupiter, the Cosmic Spotlight, is now in early Pisces. It activates and illuminates the area of the pandemic-related Mercury Retrograde from the beginning of May through mid-August 2021. Jupiter stations retrograde at 2 degrees Pisces on June 20, 2021. 

Truth-oriented Jupiter will pick up these themes again as it moves direct through the degrees of the pandemic-related Mercury Retrograde from December 18, 2021 through February 24, 2022 - the height of the next cold and flu season. We could be seeing warned-about effects from the experimental gene therapy at this time.

This Jupiter activation indicates a requirement to move from information to wisdom. If we don't pick up on critical information and perspective now that were missed, glossed over, or denied the first time around, the masses are destined to fall for the next phase of this truly diabolical scheme of global social engineering and control.    

 

Published at Willow's Web Astrology blog on February 27, 2020:
 

Coronavirus: Neutralizing the 'Terror of Contagion' with Mercury Retrograde in Pisces

From the February 12, 2020 article, "Mercury Retrograde in Pisces: Mental Spaciness and Chaos Firmly Anchored By Some Earthy Assistance" 

"The illusions are thick. The maya threatens to engulf us. It's hard to tell what's real from what's fake on the world stage and even, at times, on a personal or social level. Even people with highly-refined and built-in bullshit detectors could have a hard time with the swirly-whirly mental states, cloudy thinking, and gaping blind spots indicated by Mercury retrograde in the sign of its detriment." 

Mercury is the planet related to media, information, communication, and the mind. It's also considered a trickster. Mercury is currently retrograde (February 16 - March 9) in the sign of its detriment, Pisces, which is a sign related to illusion, deception, confusion, dispersion, and contagion. 

Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio: Going Retro by Unearthing Some of the Many Discrepancies in the Official 9/11 Story

Mercury retrograde October 13 to November 3 from 11 degrees Scorpio to 25 degrees Libra

Mercury conjunct Juno in Scorpio:  

September 29 (3 degrees)

October 19 (Rx 9 degrees)

November 26 (22 degrees)

Mercury opposite Uranus in Taurus:

October 7 (9 degrees)

October 19 (Rx 9 degrees)

November 17 (8 degrees)

Communication, information, and intelligence planet Mercury goes retrograde on October 13 at 11 degrees Scorpio in a conjunction to soul mate asteroid Juno and an opposition to Uranus Rx in Taurus. 

This indicates an unusual mix of energies involving the collection of foundational information that validates what were once considered unconventional, bizarre, or "out there" perspectives. The influence of Juno in Scorpio indicates that our soul mates have perspective or information to share that helps in this validation process, putting a more solid foundation under us. Even when it seems as if we are alone in our Plutonic/Scorpionic awareness of the corruption and, let's face it, evil coming down from on high, our soul mates are right there with us, working from behind the scenes to expose the very same things we are working to expose. They find the manipulations, the lies, and the illegitimacy just as intolerable as we do, and it's comforting to know we share this burden and this work.

These aspects and their themes remain influential for an extended period of time with a concentration point on October 19 as Mercury retrograde simultaneously forms a second exact conjunction to Juno in Scorpio and a second exact opposition to Uranus Rx in Taurus at 9 degrees of the signs.

Scorpio is a sign that involves examination, investigation, and research. It's the detective of the zodiac. Scorpio digs beneath surface realities to expose, in particular, the dark underbelly of hidden power dynamics. 

Scorpio is a sign that seeks healing, release, regeneration, and empowerment, and when Mercury is in the sign, these things are coming about through information, communication, and mutual understanding, including mutual understanding of the realities that most fear, deny, suppress, or attack.

Mercury Conjunct Juno in Scorpio and Soul Mates Who Share an Awareness of the Bullshit We're Experiencing

Yesterday, under the exact square between Mars Rx in Aries and Saturn in Capricorn, I was denied entry at Ferraro Foods, a specialty grocery store in British Columbia, Canada, because I was not wearing a mask. I told the clerk at the front door that I have a medical exemption. This is 100% true, as I have a serious medical condition that could be exacerbated by wearing a mask. The young clerk got the manager, and she would not accept my exemption without a doctor's note. I explained to her that I do not have a family doctor due to a doctors shortage and that a walk-in clinic may or may not write me a note. It is not necessary that one produce a doctor's note to be considered medically exempt from wearing a mask. I told the manager that the store could be open to legal liability due to this policy.

I was told by the manager that the store was private property and the owner could do what he liked.

When I was at the bus stop going home (disgusted and fuming), I heard a woman talking about this same issue. She has a disability and cannot wear a mask. The day prior, as Saturn stationed direct in Capricorn (September 28), she had been denied entry at the store until she agreed to wear a plastic face shield. (They asked me to wear one, too, and I declined.) 

The woman had an extreme anxiety attack while wearing the shield, had a "meltdown" (her words), broke the shield, and could not shop for her items.

Forcing a disabled woman to wear a plastic face shield against her will so she can buy food, only to create an emotional crisis for her in the middle of the store! This is obscene to me. I'm in disbelief at how badly people are being treated right now, and the worst part is, people have been indoctrinated into believing they have the right to treat others this hideously. They've been indoctrinated into believing they can trample the rights of others, the rights of the individual, in favour of some socially-engineered and entirely false understanding of the "collective good."

A Powerful Via Combusta Mercury Retrograde Propels us into the Last Quarter of Crazy-Ass 2020

 

Photo: Nathan Coates

 

"A Powerful Via Combusta Mercury Retrograde Propels us into the Last Quarter of Crazy-Ass 2020" is an article available to Willow's Web Astrology patrons.

Happy Equinox!

Coronavirus: Neutralizing the 'Terror of Contagion' with Mercury Retrograde in Pisces

From the February 12, 2020 article, "Mercury Retrograde in Pisces: Mental Spaciness and Chaos Firmly Anchored By Some Earthy Assistance" 

"The illusions are thick. The maya threatens to engulf us. It's hard to tell what's real from what's fake on the world stage and even, at times, on a personal or social level. Even people with highly-refined and built-in bullshit detectors could have a hard time with the swirly-whirly mental states, cloudy thinking, and gaping blind spots indicated by Mercury retrograde in the sign of its detriment." 

Mercury is the planet related to media, information, communication, and the mind. It's also considered a trickster. Mercury is currently retrograde (February 16 - March 9) in the sign of its detriment, Pisces, which is a sign related to illusion, deception, confusion, dispersion, and contagion. 

Mercury stationed retrograde in mid-February in a conjunction to Neptune in Pisces, which indicates an exacerbation of the foggy veil dropped over mental and communication-based activities. 

Basically, the Mercurial function is highly challenged and burdened at the moment - to the point of exhaustion - and the creation of Public Worry Number One in world media, the coronavirus pandemic, reflects this. 

I'm terribly sorry if anyone has been negatively affected by this situation. That said:

When a subject hits worldwide media across all sources with the ferocity of the coronavirus, it is almost certain to be part of an orchestrated agenda of some kind. This is just how corporate mainstream media works. Media ownership is highly consolidated. A few mega-corporations own all the television stations, radio stations, and newspapers, as well as many of the big-name internet news outlets. Mainstream media is a propaganda tool for the power establishment, a tool of manipulation, suggestion, mesmerism, and mind control. It broadcasts the same messages, the same information, the same "official sources," and the same images into the minds of viewers, listeners, and readers across all media platforms with only minor differences in perspective allowed. 

"Big stories" like the coronavirus pandemic dominate the minds of the public and the collective discourse in this way, creating a situation of widespread terror, fear, worry, and panic. In this state of emotional and mental chaos, people are much more susceptible to top-down control from "authority figures." They're looking for someone to "do something!" and will fall in line behind instruction, guidance, or orders coming from top-down sources that they consider to be powerful authorities.

Mercury Retrograde in Pisces: Mental Spaciness and Chaos Firmly Anchored By Some Earthy Assistance

Mercury retrograde: February 16 to March 9

12 degrees Pisces to 28 degrees Aquarius 

Communication and intelligence planet Mercury stations retrograde at 12 degrees Pisces on February 16 (4:54 p.m. PST), flanked by Black Moon Lilith at 5 degrees Pisces and Neptune at 17 degrees Pisces.

The illusions are thick. The maya threatens to engulf us. It's hard to tell what's real from what's fake on the world stage and even, at times, on a personal or social level. Even people with highly-refined and built-in bullshit detectors could have a hard time with the swirly-whirly mental states, cloudy thinking, and gaping blind spots indicated by Mercury retrograde in the sign of its detriment. 

The bizarre glitches, strange contacts, and general high weirdness began in earnest when Mercury entered the retrograde shadow on February 2. The winged messenger moved into Pisces on February 3, and all logic-based bets were off. 

In particular, the thoughts, ideas, conversations, dreams, connections, and interactions we've experienced since February 2 will be coming back up for review, but during the retrograde through this final and most ethereal sign, we may be going back over the etheric wake of any previous conversation or exchange of words that has lingered in the psychic air. 

Any thoughts, verbal/written exchanges, or connections that are still haunting us or creating a psychic disturbance of some kind could be re-visited during the Mercury in Pisces transit, which extends to April 10.

Mercury finds it a bit tough in the sign of the fishies, and a retrograde in this sign only adds to the mental and verbal struggle. This is an astrological indicator associated with a stronger potential for cloudy, messy, dreamy, or illogical thinking. It can be difficult to find precise words. We're certainly not the sharpest of thinkers under Mercury Rx in Pisces, especially with a retrograde station conjunct Neptune and Black Moon Lilith. There's a temptation to daydream or fantasize. It's more difficult to stay on top of the time or the date. Details may be slipping through our sieve-like minds like water, and it can be difficult to stay focused on the material here-and-now.  A little extra effort is required to keep things running as smoothly as possible.

Attempting to maintain our usual mental sharpness, quickness, and efficacy, especially in jobs that involve intense detail work or working with the public, could be downright exhausting under these influences. There's a requirement to simply surrender to the (temporarily) fuzzier and flowier thinking. 

Mercury Retrograde in Pisces: Spirit Whispers Directives as We Step into a New Astrological Chapter

"Mercury Retrograde in Pisces: Spirit Whispers Directives as We Step into a New Astrological Chapter" is an article available to Willow's Web Astrology patrons.

Willow's Web Astrology is Plagiarized By a "Truth-Teller (TM)" Who Then Lied About It When Caught

My most recent article on Fukushima from July 28, 2018, titled, "Deconstructing the Worldwide Media Blackout on the Ongoing Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: California Wine is Just the Tip of This Radioactive Iceberg," was plagiarized by Dave Hodges of The Common Sense Show.

Hodges' version of the article was published on his own The Common Sense Show site, as well as on his show's Facebook page, on July 31, 2018. (http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/evidence-is-mounting-that-fukushima-is-progressive-extinction-level-event/#comment-144573)

It was also published July 31, 2018 on the Before It's News site, titled, "Evidence is Mounting That Fukushima is a Progressive Extinction Level Event." 

Ironically, Hodges styles himself as a "Truth-Teller (TM)," and Before It's News is a site devoted to reporting truth that has not made it onto mainstream media.  

Hodges has used the exact same (quite obscure) research sources - every one of which I had to dig for extensively - in the exact same wording and sequences I used in the original article. He even references "crickets" coming from government like I did in the original. And if you click on the "400 tons of radioactively-contaminated water" hyperlink in his version (at the end of the article under "Quiet Revelations)," it goes to one of my articles on my website from May 21, 2014: "If You Are Still Eating Pacific Ocean Seafood, Now is the Time to Stop." This is just as it appeared in the original article on my site.

When I emailed Hodges about the plagiarism, requesting that he either credit me in the article or remove the content, I received this diminishing reply from him:

"In looking at your article and my article, I pulled from original sources and you did same. I also pulled from previous research I did. Your article is not worthy of notation because none of the material was original to your site. Otherwise, I would have cited it. You don't own the topic and you don't own the original sources."

This is a blatant lie. This is my original journalism and research that he is stealing and passing off as his own.

Moderating The Urge to Let Fly As Mercury Stations Direct in Sagittarius

Communication and intelligence planet Mercury is about to go direct (December 22 at 5:51 p.m. PST) in the sign of its detriment (Sagittarius) in square aspect to foggy Neptune in Pisces, and oh goodness, people are going to want to let fly. 

There are some pent-up things on our minds, being held (for now) on the tips of our tongues. There are some blazing truths we're just itching to lay down in the most dramatic and effective ways possible. We're pretty well ready to give the whole damned planet a piece of our mind.

Pow! 

This urge is exacerbated by an applying conjunction between war planet Mars and truth-related Jupiter, both transiting Scorpio. The exact Mars-Jupiter conjunction occurs January 6, 2018 at 17 degrees, and there is pressure building as far as ripping the lid off the underlying (and often intolerable) reality of things.

But with Mercury conjunctions to moderate Saturn still fresh in our minds - exact November 27 and December 6, moving to a final one January 12 - we might just think better of this. We might decide to take some time before speaking or communicating. We might express our fiery-potent truth in a more moderate, responsible, or purposeful way. We might find new places to apply our powerful perspectives, ones that will provide more substantial public positioning for long-term success and influence.

Basically, it's a marathon, not a sprint. 

Sagittarius isn't known as the most patient sign, however, and Mercury isn't known as the most patient planet. 

With Mercury stationing direct in Sagittarius, a sign the messenger isn't very comfortable in, there's a higher likelihood that we will be a little unintentionally blundering in our communication styles. Verbally stepping on a few toes. Inadvertently insulting people with an innocent, offhand comment or observation. General foot-in-mouth tendencies. Potentially a little obtuse as far as the effect our words and perspectives have on others.

Consciously reining things in a little and working to say things as precisely as possible are helpful tactics. 

The Mercury in Sagittarius square to Neptune in Pisces indicates some collectively-karmic conversation, exchanges, and information flow. Mercurial connections and interactions have an element of "divine dispersion" involved now that is somewhat out of our control. Certain words/ideas/concepts/information are going to be dispersed through us and through our exchanges in order to reach their targets. It's up to us to lay it down as succinctly as possible and then to let it go.

Remember: with the energy of an extended Mercury-Black Moon Lilith conjunction in Sagittarius still in strong effect, conversations and written or verbal exchanges can be quite loaded. Words are more powerful (and potentially inflammatory) than usual and can hang in the air.

Certain subjects are like quicksand. Crystallized rhetoric combined with charged emotions could drag us into exhausting back-and-forth and round-and-round exchanges that get us nowhere. 

We don't want any "I wish I could take that back" scenarios unfolding here because, under these energies, the fallout from certain exchanges letting people know how you really think about it all! could literally last for years. (So no ugly holiday scenes, even if your tongue has teeth marks in it from biting it so much...)

With Mercury somewhat frustrated in Sagittarius until entering Capricorn on January 10 (combined with that Mars-Jupiter conjunction in Scorpio), many will be looking to unload verbally and will take pretty much any excuse to do so. We're going to have to duck and weave a little to avoid becoming verbal dumping grounds. Don't inadvertently provide a soapbox. Manage your emotional reactions so that you don't get drawn into a big old waste of time and energy masquerading as a conversation or discussion.

Understand, as Mercury makes this uncomfortable station in this uncomfortable sign in this uncomfortable square to Neptune, that we're all a bit mentally raw. We're all a little overwhelmed. We're all sick of the bullshit we see going on all around us, every day. 

Hold people accountable for their stuff, but ultimately, keep your gaze where it belongs - on the corrupt and hierarchical power structures and the power players pulling strings within those structures. Don't blame each other or humanity as a whole for the socially-engineered Hell being intentionally brought down upon us by the inhumane power web that has taken hold on Planet Earth.

Each truth plays its part in the greater whole. Say what you need to say, but don't get hung up on the results or the effects of that expression. That's not up to you. The universe will pick up your words and give them the wings they need, mysteriously and miraculously ensuring that your blazing arrows of truth reach their rightful targets. 

Mercury enters Capricorn on January 10 at 9:09 p.m.

Mercury Retrograde in Sagittarius: Know What You Believe, and Believe in What You Know

Look at that face! 

Photos: Willow

Mercury retrograde December 2 - 22, 2017, from 29 degrees to 13 degrees Sagittarius

Communication planet Mercury has just stationed retrograde (December 2) on the potent anaretic (29th) degree of truth-telling Sagittarius in close conjunction to Saturn and Black Moon Lilith.

This indicates that we're receiving some mental processing time, some final integration of truth and understanding we've been gathering throughout the entire Saturn in Sagittarius transit (December 2014 - December 2017). 

With the strong influence of Black Moon Lilith on the Mercury retrograde process, this truth and understanding may have some dark elements or difficult angles.

Certain truths - about ourselves, about our world, and about our places in that world - are sinking in here, and we'll ultimately be shored up, supported, and validated (Saturn) in that truth.

With the strong influence of Black Moon Lilith in Sagittarius, some of the truth requiring full integration now is a little difficult to swallow. Some of the truth and understanding we carry - and that we are being called on to share in the world - may be difficult for others (or ourselves) to accept. Sharing what we know may bring us into frictional contact with others and with the society around us. It may put us at odds with accepted consensus reality. So there is an element of drawing on our deepest faith and also on our sense of duty and responsibility. These are things that can fortify us in challenging messenger roles. 

The information and perspective we are being called on to share may involve truth that the mainstream society refuses or even violently rejects. This may be truth - deep, dark, and concentrated - that society will do almost anything to deny, silence, or stuff down.

Under these placements, our voices, our words, may unintentionally trigger others, especially those of a more establishment-friendly perspective (even alternative-establishment). 

A Neptunian Mercury Retrograde in Virgo: Refining the Channel From the Spiritual to the Material

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An excerpt from the article:

The friction I run into with most anarchist groups is that I consider anarchy a way of being, a way of life that naturally occurs, rather than a political movement or a scene. So right off the jump, there's a difference in the way I define and understand things.

There's much talk in anarchist circles about the supposed failure of the "anarchist movement," and I've never understood this. How can a way of life and a way of being inherent in most people (non-hierarchical, non-coercive free association; running our own lives; making our own decisions; helping those who need it; do-it-yourself problem-solving on individual and societal levels) be a failure?

There is also much talk in these circles about what people "should" do in order to be considered a "real anarchist."

"If you don't trainhop, shoplift, and live out of dumpsters, you're not a true anarchist."

"If you don't live in a squat, hop from summit to summit, and bust out Starbucks windows on the regular, you're not a true anarchist."

"If you pay rent and bills and have some sort of employment that pays you money, you're not a real anarchist."

"If you aren't involved in the ___________  issue/protests, you aren't a real anarchist."

I've even seen the question posed: "Can someone be called an anarchist if he/she doesn't interact with other anarchists?"

It's mind-boggling to me that that would even be called into question, that that would be yet another scene-imposed "requirement" to being a "real anarchist."

This type of posturing is bizarre to me (perhaps driven by teens and early twenty-somethings?) because there is no policing of behaviour/lifestyle/actions and there is no moulding of oneself to the dictates of the group with true anarchy/anarchism - not with my version, anyway. In my mind, trying to enforce a certain lifestyle or a certain set of political views on an entire group of people is antithetical to anarchy. (IE. non-coercive, non-controlling, non-authoritarian, each person is in charge of him or herself)

Recently, with Mercury in Virgo opposite spirity-weirdy Neptune in Pisces, I had an odd moment where my computer basically sent me, of its own volition, to an anarchist site that I'd had both rewarding and frictional interactions with in the past. I found the commentary of one particular individual interesting because it described the difference in definition that I've outlined above.

Long story Virgoan-short, I came to realize that my version of anarchist is more an adjective or adverb describing a way of being, while the other version, more often used in “the scene,” considers anarchist a noun, a definite thing, a concrete label, an identity that has come to be associated with these certain lifestyle markers (all the "shoulds") that I find so aggravating.

This may seem like a small distinction - and it is.

(The only real reason I declare myself an "anarchist astro-reporter" is to give people fair warning as far as what my writing/stance is going to be like. It heads off misunderstandings and social friction.)

But this small distinction removes me from much of what I find problematic with the "anarchist scene." We are working with different definitions, and understanding this small distinction saves me (and those I come into contact with) a lot of unnecessary frustration. 

These are the types of small distinctions and refinements that we can expect to make with Mercury retrograde in Virgo.