Magical Thinking
...On Mercury in Taurus, square Pluto
"Its strength is complete if turned into Earth"
-The Emerald Tablet
Knowledge is power, yes, but it's not always empowering. There are many ideas that can leech power away from us in covert ways. And there are just as many that can assist in powering us up, yet it's not always easy to know the difference. It's tricky knowing which is what or why we should always be discerning, keeping Occam's Razor ready in our back pockets.
One idea that we always need to be suspicious of is how Pluto is always dark. Another, which is fully accepted within the astronomical world is how it’s not a planet at all. This also is found within some of the branches of Traditional Astrology. Sure, we can glean much from Mars and find fractal-like themes related to Pluto, but it's not the same. For anyone who considers Pluto knows, there is nothing subtle about his influence. At the core of its icy heart on the surface is a relationship to power. And even though power is often misunderstood, we are all searching for it constantly.
As I've been writing about recently, Mercury is now released from his post-shadow. He has also moved on from Aries and into Taurus with the first meaningful aspect being to Pluto by this square tomorrow. It is here where our ideas are tested, and an opportunity arises to understand the powers of magical thinking—for better or worse.
Rob Hand says of this aspect, "...you may become conscious that knowledge is power, but you must be very careful how you use this power. Magic in particular, but all-powerful knowledge in general can produce tragic consequences if not handled properly." There are many among us who feel they are magicians, yet what qualifies as such is debatable. Astrological magic has become quite the trend over the years, with many flipping through the Picatrix or fusing their manifestation skills with fledgling astrological ones without an awareness of the hidden dangers. Often, when we dabble with the occult, we are totally unaware of the consequences of our spells and rituals. It's not to say it's bad, but it is to say the dark arts are just one innocent choice away from unexpected results.
In Jyotish, a word used for a planet is graha. It's often translated as a "grabber" or of the image of a "crocodile." In other words, when karma is ripe, and the transit or dasha is just right, it grabs us and doesn't let go. Applied to the transit of Mercury square Pluto, it can be an idea or a spell that becomes so embedded we can't see straight—we can no longer be objective. This level of ideological obsession can be dangerous, and it's something Pluto does an incredible job of revealing. This is what Pluto is best at: revealing toxicity and showing where true power lies. When it comes to Mercury, it's always found in the ideas we identify with.
In Alchemy, it's the process of calcination—or calcinatio—that points at what I'm getting at from another angle. It's the fire process that burns off all the liquid and volatile oils leaving only ash behind. It's the Pluto chapter. It's also a helpful image to help us understand the Mercury/Pluto complex. The flame of inspiration releases the spirit of our ideas, leaving something solid behind. It's a process we are always moving through. And it requires an open mind to complete properly. If closed, explosions are inevitable. Â
Being that most of us are hard-headed and it takes more than a convincing teacher to change our minds about anything, it's a swift transit like this one that opens a window in our minds to allow old ideas to fly away and new ones to float in with the breeze. To become bullish on the future of our species—of our own lives—it often requires an external agent to transform our thinking. Whether it's a trauma or some curious molecule, it still takes an immense amount of work to admit that we were wrong or that we don't know everything. Â
To remain open-minded in a world where the algorithms are so cleverly working against us is tough work. We must learn how to outsmart them. By curating our feeds, making sure we have a healthy balance from both sides and enough in between we can begin to realize the world is more complicated than we may have realized. We stumble on information that shocks us into seeing another way. A similar thing happens in our IRL relationships as well if we allow in ideas we aren't comfortable with or familiar with at all. In a sense, the only way to solve the square is to keep our aperture open wide enough so that when we are presented with new information, it actually makes its way in and doesn't bounce off the shutters. Again, it's not easy work, but it is essential if we wish to not fall into the extremes or be engulfed by the madness of crowds.
This, in my opinion, is magical thinking. The possibilities are always endless and the results are transformational. Enjoy this first test of the Mercury cycle. There will be many more to come.
*If you'd like to go on a Mercury Journey and learn about the magic of this synodic cycle, I have but one slot left. Learn more HERE.
Facts:
Mercury into Taurus; May 15th
Mercury square Pluto; May 17th; 2º 03' Taurus
Eudaimonia,
Adam
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