According to data from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft, Mercury may be made of diamonds. A 10-mile thick diamond crust is what they are speculating, which could tank the entire jewelry business—if only they had a chance of getting in there and bringing some back. How interesting is that though? With ample carbon, enough time and pressure, you get diamonds. Was there life at one time on Mercury? Perhaps…
…but more importantly, the news comes as Mercury is close, retrograde, and preparing us for the cycle ahead. With this Rx, we began in Virgo and will end in Leo with the cazmi at 26º35’ of Leo on August 19th. Aside from the diamond-infused news, we have riots erupting around illegal immigration. politicians continuing to call each other weird, and Japan nearly destroying the world economy with a .25 basis point hike in their interest rates. All themes considered, I’m still waiting for the Idea of this cycle to claim me, personally.
Sometimes it’s helpful to look at the symbols (Sabians, Chandra, Kozminsky etc) to help focus our minds as we near the cazimi, and to clear a space for a landing of the next Idea. The Chandra for the conception of this upcoming cycle reads:
27º Leo
“A Beaded Curtain”
…when I was a kid I would cyclically rearrange my room in pretty extreme ways. Whether it be experimenting with my bed in the middle of the room and creating beduin-esque escapes in the corners of the space or completely covering the walls with my wild splatterings of paint, I think I intuitively knew that by changing the space, attempting to make it more beautiful did something to my soul. And funny enough, I still have this urge today, but it only emerges during Mercury Retrogrades (I wonder if this was the case when I was a kid as well?). The ‘beaded curtain’ rocking back n’ forth on the cazimi degree of this cycle asks us to create more beauty—to do our best to surround ourselves with it. In our spaces, with our friends, with the wild places we visit, and, of course, with our language. May we discover a diamond in the roughage of all our efforts.
Tracking Mercury cycles has come to be one of the most rewarding gifts of my astrological studies, yet I’ve realized how hard it is to teach or convey the importance of paying attention for the entirety of the cycle. It’s true that it is swift, but not as quick as a lunar cycle. It’s also much shorter than the Venus and Mars synodic cycles, making it easier to hold together the themes from morning to evening sky—retrograde to retrograde. The payoff from investing our time in paying attention to Mercury is always an Idea that transforms our thinking—and really, our lives!
Thinking in terms of synodic cycles also recontextualizes the meaning of the retrograde. It reveals meaning in the tricks. It helps to reformat the way we communicate and listen. And it naturally shows just how much control we have over our minds when the unexpected happens. Essentially, it’s an initiation period that helps to sharpen and harden our focus into something like a diamond. The gift is vajra-like awareness. We learn too, that Mercury talks. Who would have thought?
The challenge for all of us is to keep an open mind during this Rx, just enough to not let valuable content spill out and to also offer a ‘beaded curtain’ entrance for surprising Ideas that want to fly in. It’s a strange concept, but as students of astrology, what isn’t? It’s all wyrd. This is why we are here.
Key dates:
Enjoy it!
And if you’d like to go on a Mercury Journey with me and learn about the best way that I have to offer about how this all works, you can learn more HERE:
-adam
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Again with the stars and the timing Adam… I was sitting at my altar yesterday exploring the energy of the time (more a field of time rather than a point in) and what was I shown? A beaded curtain - it appeared on my door - it was gently swaying and shimmering, and it didn’t make sense, until now. For the record it had a vintage Hawaiian pattern on it, palm trees, a wave, and a ukulele… an instrument I play… ooh. Mercury.
Mercury just planted a seed for me today… solidly. I always find it challenging to stay with gratitude practices, and with my constellation of strange health issues taking so much attention, it’s easy to get discouraged and thus even more important. Today it occurred to me to recruit a friend who loves texting to partner with me to send at least 5 things we’re grateful for to each other every day. As you know, Leo is my 7th house. 😁