A powerful week begins with the Sun’s exit from the tunnels of Scorpio and emergence onto the steppes of Sagittarius Tuesday morning (22^nd).  The following day, the 23^rd, holds Mercury’s retrograde station in Sagittarius and the next sees a partial solar eclipse in Sagittarius.  Mercury’s retrograde and the solar eclipse see the Tao snake downward into twisting, non-linear paths full of disorienting but potent changes, deep insights and karmic moments.

Mercury Retrograde:  Loki Built My Hotrod

Mercury goes retrograde in Sagittarius on the night of Wednesday the 23^rd, sending our thoughts and plans into retreat until December 13th.  This particular Mercury retrograde will find us readjusting crosshairs as the horizon mutates, lending it a general focus on revising our long term goals, travel plans and bigger ideas about reality.

Through its connection with Mars in Virgo, this Mercury retrograde bring with it more than the usual share of broken cell phones, lost emails and car trouble.  Be ready to ride the trickster’s strange vehicle in reverse.

 Partial Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius: Riding The Chimera

The Sun disappears in the night hours of November 24^th, this year’s American Thanksgiving, as the Sun and Moon conjoin atop Rahu, the Dragon’s Head, the North Node of the Moon.  This partial solar eclipse will be invisible to all except those living on the frozen sheets of Antarctica or the fabled Hobbit-hills of New Zealand.  This eclipse continues the theme of the others on the Sagittarius/Gemini axis, moving from divided energies to concentrated efforts.  This particular eclipse reinforces the importance of unification, pushing us to forge divergent energies into strange and powerful hybrid forms, like the Centaur itself.  Yet tied into Mercury’s retrograde, there will be premature synthesis and sterile hybrids aplenty.  This is particularly true for political coalitions and national alliances.

We enter the Mouth of the eclipse dragon on the partial solar eclipse on the 24^th and will travel its strange entrails before emerging out the Tail during the lunar eclipse on December 9^th.  While the next week emphasizes the unification and hybridization of forms, early December will focus on the divisions we must sacrifice for these chimeric combinations to stabilize.

Om Dhum Ram Rahave Namah

Horoscopes

Horoscopes are not a real chart reading by an experienced astrologer. However, they are fun and can be reasonably accurate. In addition to referring to your Sun sign, read your from Ascendant and Moon if you know them. If you don’t, find out. I’m a long time fan of the free chart generation software at astro.com.

Oh, and if you’re still concerned that your sign has changed, get a little clarity here.

Aries: The Ram

Mercury’s retrograde station on the 23^rd  calls into question some of your long term goals and asks that you spend a series of weeks retooling your objectives. The solar eclipse in Sagittarius the next day sees the outlines of a fresh take on the world begin to emerge, an angle on things which knits together divergent perspectives.  In December you’ll face the ideas you’ll need to let go of in order to more fully grasp this new paradigm.

Taurus: The Bull

Mercury’s retrograde station on the 23^rd asks you to spend the next several weeks rethinking the exchanges of time, money and energy between yourself and others in your life. The solar eclipse in Sagittarius on the following day sees the emergence of a new perspective on partnership, and fresh insight into how people can blend their resources.  The energies in play point toward problematic concepts of ownership you’ll be challenged to let go of during December’s lunar eclipse.

Gemini: The Twins

Mercury’s retrograde station on the 23^rd begins a 3 week period focused on rethinking the patterns of partnership in your life. The solar eclipse in Sagittarius the next day contributes to these reconsiderations as a new perspective on relationships begins to emerge. This perspective change will start you in on some serious rethinking, pointing you toward ideas about who you are you’ll be challenged to let go of during December’s lunar eclipse.

Cancer: The Crab

Mercury’s retrograde station on the 23^rd begins a 3 week period focused on rethinking your relationship to work, as well as your fiscal and physical habits. The solar eclipse in Sagittarius the next day reinforces this, highlighting the emergence of a new perspective on the maintenance of your physical and fiscal strength.  The big black light in the sky gives you a work ethic.  There is an underlying emphasis for the next several weeks on the limiting beliefs about yourself you’ll being pushed to let go of.

Leo: The Lion

Mercury’s retrograde station on the 23^rd  opens a series of weeks involved with rethinking creative projects and reconsidering your love life.  The solar eclipse in Sagittarius the next day contributes to this, spurring the emergence of unspoken for creative energies.  Beneath this, there is a multiweek emphasis on the limiting opinions you’ve absorbed from your friends and associates.  You’ll be challenged to bid adieu to these folks’ perspectives under December’s lunar eclipse.

Virgo: The Virgin

Mercury’s retrograde station on the 23^rd begins 3 weeks of reconsidering your relationship to your roots.  Alterations to your living situation may also be involved in this series of recalculations.   The solar eclipse in Sagittarius the next day, the 24^th, contributes to this focus on foundations and origins by presenting you with a new perspective on where you’ve come from, as well as where you are now. Along this backward path, your mind will likely encounter problematic ideas about where you’re supposed to be, thoughts you’ll be challenged to let go of on December’s lunar eclipse.

Libra: The Scales

Mercury’s retrograde station on the 23^rd begins 3 weeks of rethinking your attitude toward your regular schedule of activities, and may well involve alterations in your relationships with siblings.  The solar eclipse in Sagittarius on the 24^th reinforces the focus on your attitude about the world around you, revealing the outlines of an improved approach. As you walk backward through your own attitudes, you’ll likely stumble across errors in the way you’ve been framing the big picture.

Scorpio: The Scorpion

Mercury’s retrograde station on the 23^rd  opens a 3 weeks season in which thoughts and communications come back to questions of possession.  What’s worth having, and at what price?  The solar eclipse in Sagittarius on the following day, the 24^th, contributes to a retrograde Mercury’s questions, presenting a new perspective on what does and does not have value to you.  Tied into these considerations is an underlying shift toward greater financial and emotional independence.

Sagittarius: The Archer

Mercury’s retrograde station on the 23^rd  sees you enter a series of weeks in which see thoughts swirl around the topic of you really are, as well as who you could be.  The solar eclipse in Sagittarius on the next day, the 24^th, contributes to this process, offering you a new perspective on yourself, the outline of an improved you emerging from the hollow ring of the dark sun.

Capricorn: The Goat

Mercury’s retrograde station on the 23^rd sees you walking backward through the land of neglected thoughts and forgotten feelings for the next several weeks.  The solar eclipse in Sagittarius on the 24^th pulls you further into the outlines of this personal underworld, chock full of everything you don’t quite know what to do with.  As the dark sun shines over this midnight realm, insights into how better to incorporate this hidden half of your psyche emerge.

Aquarius: The Water Bearer

Mercury stations retrograde on the 23^rd, beginning a 3 week phase of rethinking the way you approach your social life, as well as your relationship to and participation in groups.  The solar eclipse in Sagittarius on the following day, the 24^th, sees the emergence of a new perspective on these questions of relationships with friends, peers and contacts.

Pisces: The Fish

Mercury’s retrograde station on the 23^rd begins a several week season of rethinking your professional life. The Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius the next day, the 24^th, aids this process, as the silhouette of an altered career path crawls out of the occulted Sun.  Yet you may have to let go of where you’ve been to get to where you’re headed.