Mercury
Today, Rob glanced at the most recent post on our blog and said, “Okay, another astrology post. I need to come up with a real synchronicity.”
My reaction was visceral. “Talk to Jung, Rob.”
In 1949, Jung wrote the introduction to Richard Wilhelm’s translation of The I Ching or the Chinese Book of Changes, the ultimate divination system. Jung also studied astrology – and in his time, there weren’t any apps, astrological charts were erected by hand, with math. He determined certain astrological factors in ideal marriages and romantic partnerships.
In Jung’s Red Book – which he referred to as his confrontation with his personal unconscious – references to myths and archetypes permeate the material. The same myths and archetypes exist in astrology. The astrological natures of the planets, in fact, are based on myth. Hermes – Mercury- was the messenger, Mars was the warrior, Pluto was god of the underworld. Aphrodite – Venus – was the lover, Jupiter was Zeus, the king of kings. In mythology, Saturn was Cronus, the dude who devoured his own children. In astrology that planet may feel like a carnivore because it restricts, squashes, reigns in that natural thrust we human feel for personal freedom. But without Saturn, which also governs structure and physical reality, we wouldn’t exist.
In taking a look at some of this year’s astrological data, here’s something to think about. On November 7, 2000 Mercury had been retrograde since mid-October – first in Scorpio, then it slipped back into Libra and at 9:20 p.m., it turned direct in that sign. When Mercury stations – which means it’s about to turn retrograde or direct – the potential for miscommunication is strong. But for that date, the station caused bedlam because it was election day in the U.S.
Astrologers were predicting chaos and, sure enough, at 7:49 p.m., NBC decided they had enough data from exit polls in Florida and Tom Brokaw called the state for Al Gore. With Florida’s 25 electoral votes, it meant he had won the election.
However, shortly after 10 p.m. – less than an hour after Mercury had turned direct – Brokaw backtracked and said that George W. Bush had won the state and the election. We all know what ensued after that – the endless dispute over the chads on Palm Beach County’s ballot and the eventual decision by the Supreme Court that Bush was the 43rd president of the U.S.
We have another astrological repeat coming up on November 3, 2020. Mercury will be stationary once again in Libra. The difference this time, though, is that it’s about to turn direct – 12:50 PM ET and 9:50 AM PT. In addition, Mercury will be squaring (90 degree angle, challenging) Pluto, Saturn, and Jupiter. The first square indicates schemes, extreme tactics. The second square suggests the possibility of communication difficulties, rigid thinking, the status quo. The third one, Mercury square Jupiter, suggests wild exaggerations, errors in judgment, big mess with no clear winner.
Sound familiar?
