Curious Medicine
…On Mercury joining the pride, making a few meetings with the Outers
Soon, Mercury will return to the sky and will be chasing down the lovers — Venus & Mars (Leo). Battling with jealousy, duty, and keeping the focus, it’s in this phase of the cycle where he grows a wizardly beard and adorns a fresh blue feather; wisdom is budding.
When asked by Zeus (Jupiter) to lead Paris up Mt. Ida for the “Judgement” where the goddesses would present themselves, Mercury acts as a witness to the proceedings and ensures that the contest is fair. Paris is faced with a hard choice: Power (Hera), Wisdom (Athena), or Beauty (Venus); “to the fairest?” (Eris laughs at the edge of Discordia.)
Paris chooses Venus. He is gifted Helen of Sparta — a beauty only rivaled by Venus herself. And thus begins the Trojan Wars.
Who/or what would you choose? Swap the goddesses for gods — or something in between — but leave the Power, Wisdom, and Beauty. Each has its clear appeal, and less clear price that must be paid. How we calculate this choice has much to do with Mercury; it’s why he was present at the event. In fact, in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, it is said that Mercury told Paris who to choose. The opinions of others, the infinite clashing of ideas, and the leverage of persuasion are all mercurial maneuvers. We must be careful when choosing anything, really.
In the sky, Mercury remains far, far beyond a speed we can even comprehend. This translates to a sense of trying to keep up or being more forgetful than usual; time also takes on that peculiar quality. And just before he leaves Cancer for Leo, he is put in check by Chiron (square), given a helpful note from Uranus (sextile), successfully envisions an unseen option with Neptune (trine), and is seriously tested by Pluto (opposition) — all by the beginning of next week. It’s good we pay attention here.
The Mercury cycle we are currently in began in the first days of May in Taurus (11º). All the ideas we have gathered since then have long been poured from our nets, tested, and either taken in or tossed out. It’s in this evening star phase — where Venus & Mars currently reside — where surprising manifestations can come from. The transits with the Outers mentioned will certainly help refine this stage of the alchemy. And it will likely be more complicated than a multiple-choice test.
If you were to take anything away from reading this, it would be to ignore Mercury at your own peril. Whether you find yourself in a Paris-esque situation or feel the pressure from the outside to curate some of your views, we all have our own unique dynamic with this tricky god. Learn to converse directly with the source instead of other places where you may find blue feathers — or checks and unhealthy feeds.
transit dates:
Mercury square Chiron (July 6th; 19º Aries): take the time to make your own medicine
Mercury sextile Uranus (July 7th; 21º Taurus): on the note reads a Promethean secret to empower our speech
Mercury trine Neptune (July 10th; 27º Pisces): realizing the imagination is quite the drug
Mercury opp Pluto (July 10th; 29º Capricorn): no more lies; they weaken what we learned on the 7th
Mercury into Leo (July 11th)
* If you’d like to learn more about the Mercury cycle, I have an entire series of classes where I teach all about it; I also offer journeys, which are similar to the Venus ones I’ve been doing.
Eudaimonia,
Adam
