BEAUTIFUL PROBLEMS
Mercury Retrograde (Oct 31- Nov 20) is a spiritual spot quiz. It tests how anchored we are in The Silent Immensity, by baiting the mind with distracting “problems.” It’s Gem-in-eye curious: How reflexively will you abandon your true position as awareness, itself, and harden into the shape of the problem-solver?
Miscommunication, travel delays, mechanical breakdowns, disappointing setbacks (and, yes, even the menacing prospect of human extinction) are intelligently stressful scenarios that souls call-in to help us face and feel the inherently screwed and unworkable predicament of “mind on a countdown.” Profound or petty, every single one of November’s glitches are begging us to keep returning to our mantra:
Unborn, undying, imperishable, we are this timeless presence.
A relaxing– if absurdly unrealistic– proposition, says Mr. Mind. Who among us has the time, or will, to do such a thing?
And even if we did, how motivated would anyone be to tackle corruption, starvation, late rent and lost car keys if people were constantly pausing to perceive problems– first and foremost– as meditative prods? If it’s all perfect, why lift a finger?
In a world where the sense of doer-ship goes limp except in the throes of crisis management, this kind of objection makes perfect sense. But there are so many other deliriously satisfying scenarios!
Deliriously Satisfying Scenarios
1) We might come face-to-face with what the the AA groups are trying to zero in on. We might see that all addictions (gross or subtle) are movements away from the disorientation that begins to arise when the problem-solver identity starts to pixilate. In the AA vernacular:
Hello, my name is _____________ and I’m an probla-holic!
2) Minus our fascination with problems, we might be stricken by the phantasmagorical, more-than-enough nature of each moment. Ego (director of intricate mayhem) might suffer a smaller number of desires and learn to live in a less complicated, more meditative, world with fewer problems to solve.
3) Minus the urgency of the frenetic fixer, interpersonal frictions might get processed quickly and smoothly, in the throes of shared, ego-humbling silence. Orphaned egos might become decoys for “Someone more powerful.” The madness of the world: magnificently imagined.
In short, we might pause to wonder,
Good god, who is this that makes images sing and dance?
Mercury retrograde thought you’d never ask.
The Graceful Phoenix
Mercury retrograde in the sign of Scorpio is famous for producing glitches that trigger intense, unprocessed emotion waiting in the shadows for release and integration. Happily, November’s breed of emotion-triggering is surprisingly manageable: ominous at first blush, but graceful in its actual, day-to-day resolution.
Still, this is a sharp-tongued territory– ill-suited to emotional processing. Why? Because, during Mercury in Scorpio, real or imagined slights cut deeper than usual and take a longer time to heal. A sublime time, on the other hand, for meditative marveling as space and time magically arrange peaceful resolutions to our disappointments and disputes.
The source of all this retro grace
Mercury begins its retrograde with a heartfelt conjunction to Venus, followed by a barrage of beneficent Trines and Sextiles. Most notably:
1) The Graceful Phoenix
Mercury retrograde spends most of the month Trine numinous Neptune in Pisces. (Exact on Nov 13th and 30th). It’s hard to take a setback seriously for very long, when a subconscious part of us was psychically preparing for it all along. After the initial blip of reactivity, a recognition dawns: “Oh, I’ve been practicing phoenixing from these ashes for months.” Net result: the release of a disaster-bracing habit of mind and the birth of a more restful sense of “being lived.”
Affirmation for November:
I can’t wait for the next chance to be a graceful Phoenix.
2) The Opportunity Sextiles
Mercury forms an exact “opportunity Sextile” to Saturn in Capricorn on October 14, November 13 (Rx), and November 30th. Great for disciplined inquiry into new goals via writing and/or meetings with those who have the expertise needed to provide us realistic steps forward. Mercury is also sextile the North Node. From the ashes of the past, it is time to birth a more soulful vision and an actionable plan.
The Mercury/Pluto sextile (exact on Nov 9th and Dec 3rd) endows us with the introspective depth we will need to recognize, and take on, a new karmic assignment.
November’s Shadow
Suspicious about all this Retro “love and light?” I understand. Here’s the shadow: It isn’t until November 10th that the frustrating, pent-up energies of Mars square Saturn and the compulsive, compensating desire to force our way forward (Mars square Pluto) stop yanking us around. Hang in there. Saturn wants us to use the first ten days of the month to make a realistic plan and Pluto wants us to notice where our personal power and authority flower naturally.
Note for Fridge:
It’s such hubris to think that we can waste time; we don’t even know what it is.
Imagine you are opening a new restaurant. Soft opening: The New Moon in Sagittarius on Nov 26th. Full business hours: Dec 7th, when the post Mercury retro shadow period is over.
Scorpio Prayer
May our hearts grow plump and sweet with gratitude for all that flowers, fails and has a chance to rise again.
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