Fire Dance: Mercury and Uranus

the heart of the fire

On the Way to the Balsamic Moon, Some Retrogrades ... 

The Moon is waning, hard to find because she's smaller and rising closer and closer to dawn.

She's also just entered Taurus––earthy, sensuous, practical and stable, which is a good thing, since the next few days offer some interesting sky changes.

"There is a Chinese curse which says 'May he live in interesting times.' Like it or not we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also more open to the creative energy of men than any other time in history."

––Robert Kennedy, Cape Town, 1966

There's no clear reference showing that living in interesting times actually is a Chinese curse. What's intriguing about this quote, often requoted today (I've been saying it myself), is that Kennedy made it popular in the years we're now revisiting astrologically: Then, Uranus and Pluto were conjunct, now they're squaring off.

As we move toward the shadowy time of the Balsamic Moon, two events will grab our attention. Uranus turns retrograde early tomorrow morning and Mercury turns retrograde late Saturday evening (both EDT). Both planets are in Fire, Uranus doing his slow burn through Aries and Mercury blazing through passionate Leo.

Uranus turns retro

Uranus, like the other outer planets, spends a fair amount of time retrograde. His turning emphasizes his presence, and allows him to revisit the early degrees of Aries. He'll move back to 4 Aries, and turn direct again in mid December.

Retrograde planets focus energy inward, suggesting we'll experience inner revolutions and upheavals. At the same time, Uranus is widely opposite Mars, widely trine Mercury, and square Pluto right now––a whole lotta energy packed into one pattern, with the potential for explosive action.

Uranus brings the shock of the new, and this morning we're reading reports of a new moon discovered for Pluto. Offering exciting new information on how complex Pluto's system really is (presence of Uranus) and alerting scientists that exploring Pluto will be riskier than expected (square aspect), this discovery brings Pluto into the public eye.

Mercury goes retrograde Saturday night, suggesting the weekend might not go exactly as planned. Quelle surprise. With Mercury retrogrades, looking for the silver lining is vital. Mercury in Leo, the sign of the heart, of the Sun, of our core self, invites us to explore our inner creative fire.

What lights us up, sustains us, keeps us going? If you've been looking for your bliss, in Joseph Campbell's phrase for the thing that points us at the right doors and then opens them for us, this is the time to connect. Uranus pushes us to become who we truly are, no matter how oddball that looks to the outside world, and Mercury in Leo connects mind and heart with passion.

first Mercury–Uranus trine

These two planets dancing in Fire will trine each other twice this summer, on July 25 and August 18. Retrogrades are about inner experience, yet the power of these fiery energies could lead to public eruptions––creative, passionate, revolutionary, and possibly angry, disruptive, and destructive.

Anything in our charts in early Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) will be powerfully affected. Planets and points in early cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) will have their toes in the fire. Stuff in the early fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) will feel the energy through the connection to Mercury.

OK, anything in early degrees catches some heat from these two. Since Pluto and Mars are part of this dance, and with lots of everybody else hanging out in the early degrees of other signs, we'll all just party down with this energy.

Traditional astro advice for Mercury retrograde is to move slowly and don't start new stuff. During this particular Mercury retrograde, we'll want to pay attention to that advice, especially if what we want to start is an explosion.

At the same time, the coming weeks are likely to bring inner conflicts, turmoils, passions, creative drives, desires, and rages into the sharp focus.

While the Moon wanes, let the passions getting in your way burn themselves out. This is release time; we need to use it.

The New Moon in Cancer of July 19 will invite us to connect deeply with our emotional core. Clear directions for creativity, desire, and personal expression will help manifest our dreams.

These weeks seem likely to be a rocky, fiery ride––passions are, after all, things we feel strongly about and modern culture mostly expects us to sit on our emotions. At the same time, this double retrograde offers an opportunity to connect with "the brain in the heart." If we come out on the other side with a clearer vision of the bliss we want to follow, it will be awesome.