Cupid Knocking: Mercury And Mars Conjunct As Mercury Turns Retrograde

As I’m writing this on the 12th November, Mercury and Mars are about to meet up. Mercury is stationing retrograde on Sagittarius 7: CUPID KNOCKING AT THE DOOR OF A HUMAN HEART and Mars is conjuncting Mercury over the next few days. (Remember to always add 1 to get the correct Sabian Symbol = 6+ Sagittarius in the zodiac is Sagittarius 7 in the Symbols = it’s the 7th degree of Sag). It’s also important to remember that the effect of this conjunction doesn’t just disappear or wane in the coming days– it is a seed of something that continues on, sometimes long into the future – as with all new and full Moons, eclipses, transits or whatever. 

This to me feels enormous as so many of us are seeing how many have closed off their hearts, closed off their empathy and emotions towards others and all this entails. Often, of course, this can be a ‘protective measure’ which can lead to isolation and a lack of love and care. We are seeing a lot of ‘compassion fatigue’ in the news, social media and the world around us and perhaps in our own lives. I see and hear many people being bewildered by the lack of care for others and their terrible plights. There’s all kinds of alienation (interesting word that) from family, friends, jobs, political situations, the idea of one’s ‘homeland’ (and all that could imply), etc.

The following is my interpretation of Sagittarius 7 from my text that comes with the astrology software Solar Fire. The Keywords and Cautions are from my book The Sabian Oracle: 360 Degrees of Wisdom:

As an addendum: The photo above I took several years ago. I had just finished writing up a piece about Sagittarius 7, the cupid degree, when I started organising some things for a house move. I pulled on the phone cords you see in the box and two oracle cards (they come with my book) jumped right up and turned over: Sagittarius 7.

Barriers and defenses around people’s hearts may be keeping him (cupid) from getting in, but how long will they be able to resist? Opening your heart and opening the door will lead to new opportunities and realizations about relationships. What are the true depths of your relationships? Unlock your heart and allow your heart chakra to open when you are in caring company and know when to open “The Door’ to allow love in.

Keywords: Respectful invitation of love. Seeing purity of motive. Fear of commitment. Fear of romance. A key or an arrow. Cupids and cherubs. Unlocking the heart. One-pointed, focused energy, which can become obsessive. Softening one’s boundaries. Cupid’s bow. The need to lighten up one’s approach to others.

The Caution: Waiting instead of taking the initiative. Rejecting love or emotion for fear of losing independence. Keeping up a strong, brave, severe face when one could be loosening up and enjoying another. Barriers and defenses around the heart. Seeing potential lovers in everyone. Being attracted to those you wouldn’t normally notice. Frigid responses.

Mercury travels back into Scorpio and turns stationary direct on the 30th November on a degree that speaks about following one’s conscience and leaving people, places, things, beliefs, alliances or whatever, in order to be free and not feel committed to those things that go against the grain.

Mercury turns stationary direct on November 30 on Scorpio 21: OBEYING THEIR CONSCIENCE, A SOLDIER RESISTS ORDERS. As I’m writing this post, the Sun is on Scorpio 21. And, as Mercury turns direct, the Sun is once again on the cupid Symbol.

This Symbol shows someone who’s “Conscience” stops them from following a certain course of action, staying with a project or relationship when they’d rather leave, or, someone not prepared to compromise  their values to do something that society says they must do. You may find yourself in situations where what you are expected to do is against your inner values, conscience or how you see your future unfolding. You may at times in your life have to make the difficult choice between allegiance to duty and your own inner truth. True freedom can only be found when one faces situations with a sense of integrity and prepared to face the consequences, be they positive or negative.

A man must consider what rich realm he abdicates when he becomes a conformist. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Keywords: Personal morality. Doing what one’s conscience dictates. Going against the status quo. Doing the unexpected. Going by the promptings of the inner voice. The consequences of having a conscience. Not coming home. People clinging to each other. Love that restrains.

The Caution: Displaying cowardice or a lack of courage to act. Not doing what one is expected to do. ‘Going over the top’ in a wild and crazy way. Going AWOL. Being the one who lets everyone down. Court Martials. Antisocial behavior. Anarchists. Being “uncommitted” or “unavailable”. Choosing play instead of duty. Goofing off.

Adding to the possibility of feeling and seeing in the world around us people going AWOL or choosing to open their hearts and abandon those things that don’t gel with their conscience or their desires for their lives is Pluto moving onto Aquarius 3.

Pluto moves onto Aquarius 3 on the 6th December: A DESERTER FROM THE NAVY STANDS SUDDENLY AWARE OF A DAWNING TRUTH: FREEDOM IS NEVER THE RESULT OF COMPROMISE. So, we have the ‘soldier’ and the ‘sailor’ (those that normally follow the dictates of society) following their conscience and ‘resisting orders’. A part of this would be the resistance to having an digital I.D., resisting the talk of war and conscription, seeing things so clearly that one can’t follow the agenda any more (whatever that ‘agenda’ may happen to be on a world stage or in our personal lives).

As Pluto moves onto Aquarius 3 on the 6th December – onto the ‘deserter degree’ – Venus moves onto Sagittarius 7: CUPID KNOCKING AT THE DOOR OF A HUMAN HEART = we can definitely see a theme here.

As Mercury clears it’s retrograde shadow on the 17th December and is once again on the Cupid degree, Mars enters Capricorn and is on Capricorn 2: THREE STAINED-GLASS WINDOWS IN A GOTHIC CHURCH, ONE DAMAGED BY WAR. Not to worry people, but I feel to mention that Mars was on this degree on 9/11. Curiously, a very old and tiny church, was completely undamaged – not even their windows were broken. This always amazed me, and, I visited the site a year after the event and marveled at the tiny church that survived such a catastrophic event. I mention this as I feel that a big part of the message of Capricorn 2 is to retain one’s faith, to ensure that one’s ‘stained glass windows’ are intact and not blown out by fear, war, aggression, hate, etc. With the added warning of not going against your conscience.

St. Paul’s Chapel, constructed in 1766, is the oldest church building in Manhattan. Located less than 100 yards from the World Trade Center site, the church became known as “The Little Chapel That Stood” after it survived the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11. It is widely believed the church was protected by a giant sycamore tree that was planted in St. Paul’s graveyard. (From: this link).

This Symbol shows the ability, or the need, to have a strong sense of self, a strong constitution or a clear sense of belief in the goodness of the world. One sometimes needs to feel these things as this degree pictures the need to stay strong under the barrage of bombardment. One of the three corners of unity, in this case the one of love, is damaged and separated by the aggressive nature of mankind. With the shattering (the “Damage”) of the “Window”, there is often a loss of faith, hope and trust. Acceptance of love can lead to a healing on many levels. As Leonard Cohen says “there is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s where the light gets in”.

Keywords: Seeking sanctuary. Careless aggression where love should be. Religious or philosophical differences that spark off problems. Fears of being “under attack” whilst in the spotlight. Sorrow and despair over losses. Loss of faith. ‘Windows’ that are cracked, broken or smashed. Cracks and shattering. Rescue of endangered holy places. Loss of love through harsh circumstance. The need for repair.

The Caution: Feeling disconnected from the reality of what’s going on. Fearfulness OR fearlessness, when one should be careful. Signs of rubble all around. Aggression between people. Burning down churches. A lack of safe places. Being shell-shocked and ravaged. Cold breezes entering sacred spaces. Psychological and emotional scars. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

And, as Mercury is on the Cupid degree again on the 16th December and Mars is on the Three Stained Glass Windows degree, the Moon (for a few hours) is on Scorpio 21: OBEYING HIS CONSCIENCE, A SOLDIER RESISTS ORDERS.

I think the message is clear here, however, there is always more that could be said. We are in difficult times and many may feel that they are in a ‘liminal space’. This, I feel, I largely because of Saturn and Neptune conjuncting which can be an enormous confrontation with reality, and, in some cases, the blowing apart of what one once thought was authentic or ‘the truth’.

Faith and the belief in one’s self is always important, but, especially now. I wrote a post about some of the issues here.

What does the Sabian Oracle say to you?