Astrology Class October-November-December 2024 - Superior Conjunction of the Sun and Mercury at 9 Libra

by Robert Wilkinson At 2:09 pm PDT on September 30, we will experience the "Superior Conjunction" as Mercury catches up with and passes the Sun at 9 Libra. This marks a major turning point where past and future separate, putting the focus on getting your Life and Mind focused on “returning to Source” to find a new social or emotional inspiration. This ends the period of the last Superior Conjunction theme of 25 Gemini associated with “pruning and shaping” something to express our inner nature. We have gotten chances to “show active care for our possessions” while learning how to communicate our feelings within a social setup. We now move forward with the theme of 9 Libra wherever this conjunction falls in our chart. As the Sun represents Life and Mercury represents Mind, this Superior Conjunction marks a fusion of Life and Mind moving forward as we learn techniques of emotional and social “transfiguration.” The Fusion of Life and Mind Works Two Ways The Superior and Inferior Conjunctions are important points in the dance Mercury and the Sun do each year. They are points when Life and Mind “come together,” one time looking forward, one time looking back. Though you may have read some of this before, the next part can refresh your understanding of the differences between the Inferior and Superior Conjunctions of Mercury with the Sun. Mercury conjuncts the Sun two different ways. When Mercury is direct in motion, it's called the Superior Conjunction. When Mercury is retrograde, it's called the Inferior Conjunction. These conjunctions of the Sun and Mercury are important points showing how our life and mind are fusing past and present to vitalize the future. Each represents a “hot spot” in how our life and mind relate to each other. Mercury symbolizes our mind, eternally racing forward and then looking backward at where it’s been. The Sun symbolizes our life-in-the-making, illuminating the integrity of the moment. It holds a steady pace while all the other planets move in their orbits. When the Sun and Mercury conjunct, it allows the mind to evaluate and process past, present, and future life experiences from “a new light.” Mercury's direct motion period is when it directly learns, evaluates, classifies, divides, and generally dissects reality. The mind (Mercury) races ahead of the life (Sun) and gets as far ahead as it can before it begins to slow and turn inward, look backward, listen to other beats, other drummers, other interpretations, other ways of weaving the experiences of life from a different point of view. When the “Cosmic Trickster” slows down, we can get a different way of seeing how this energy works in our lives. When “the Guide of Souls” slows down, perhaps it gives us a chance to allow our Life to be guided to our Soul at a different pace. This is how we gain perspective and understand how our life experiences require illuminating them and examining them from multiple angles. While our direct experiences bring us one angle of understanding, a retrograde can give us an entirely different perspective on what we’re learning and how to apply it. By understanding the process of Mercury speeding up and slowing down, we can understand how to navigate the fluxes and flow of our life experience. By knowing the timing appropriate to the moment, we can learn what to do and when by taking advantage of these never-ending periods of life. I explain a lot more about Inferior and Superior Conjunctions, and how the mind operates when racing forward and looking backward, in my book A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. There's a lot of material on Mercury Retrograde in the signs, houses, what it means for each sign, when it happens, and Mercury Retrograde celebrities and historical events you'll never find in any other single source. Here's the Amazon link to order your paperback edition of A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. (Just make sure you get the 2nd edition with the award on the cover and not the ancient 1st edition.) You can also find a Kindle ebook there. The book offers countless ways Mercury operates in its retrograde and direct motion, along with insights about the value of retrograde periods to take time to reflect, review, reconsider, rehearse, or see things from different angles. What follows elaborates on how this “fusion of life and mind” at the Superior and Inferior conjunctions works, and how these are special since only Mercury and Venus have them. We’ll explore how these give us different information about how we perceive Life, and how to use these periods for best evolutionary advantage. In part 2, we’ll go into greater depth about the specific qualities of this particular Superior Conjunction at 9 Libra in play for the next 3+ months until the next Superior conjunction on February 9, 2025, at 21 Aquarius. Mercury Retrograde and the Superior and Inferior Conjunction As noted earlier, there are two critical points in the Sun-Mercury cycle. One is at the “Inferior Conjunction” of Mercury with the Sun when Mercury is retrograde, and the other is at the “Superior Conjunction” which occurs when Mercury is direct in motion and again catches up to conjunct the Sun. The Inferior Conjunction of Mercury retrograde is always followed by a Superior Conjunction when Mercury is direct, which leads in turn to the next Inferior Conjunction during the next Mercury retrograde. The Superior Conjunction is when Mercury catches up to the Sun, and brings insights from the past to our Life/Light symbolized by the Sun. That’s what’s happening now. These are coordinated Mercurial messages which have come since the last retrograde period, and Mercury (Mind) now can weave them into our life understanding to be used by the Sun (Life) as Mercury again moves ahead of the Sun and our mind again outraces our Life. The Inferior Conjunction (the last one was at 27 Leo in mid-August) brings insights from the past, or subconscious imagery from earlier times, to the life and vitality symbolized by the Sun. They can be reflections leading to new insights about past or present life coordination issues, or signs and signals, messages or symbols from the personal or collective subconscious, and/or they could be new or alternative insights about some part of the life experience, also symbolized by the Sun. That’s what we’ve been receiving the past 8 weeks which will continue until the next Inferior conjunction in December at 15 Sagittarius. After the retrograde period Mercury goes stationary direct. It then takes all it learned from the two previous transits of its retrograde span and puts it all together for its third transit of that span, known as the “shadow zone.” So we get one take when direct slowing to go retrograde. We get a second take when retrograde in the same span of degrees. Then in the third phase we are able to coordinate the two previous perspectives on that span of experience in our third experience of that span of degrees as our affairs move forward. When Mercury is direct it speeds up until it again catches the Sun at some point and brings another Mind/Life connection. That was the last Superior conjunction at 25 Gemini. It then went RX at 5 Virgo and went back to 22 Leo, which began the period we’re in right now. After every retrograde period Mercury again conjuncts the Sun one or two signs later, and about four months after its previous retrograde station it again goes retrograde, preparing for another Inferior Conjunction when it again delivers all it has learned since the last Superior Conjunction. Each Superior conjunction has an influence through the next one, just as do Inferior conjunctions. And they influence each other by the dual types of “fusion of Life and Mind” these conjunctions represent as they each add to each other’s fusion. The Sun Lights Up the Stage of our Life The Sun is the Law of our Light-Life, the Central Order of our personal Solar System of our material, emotional, and psychological affairs. All conjunctions to our Sun are important fusions of parts of our life, affecting the era to come, whose length is determined by the particular planetary cycle engaging our Sun. The Sun can only make “inferior conjunctions” with Mercury or Venus when they are retrograde. All other Solar conjunctions to planets happen when they’re direct, and the oppositions when the planet is retrograde. It could be said the Solar conjunctions with Venus when it’s retrograde are a sort of “inferior conjunction” with those parts of life ruled by and related to Venus, and a type of “superior conjunction” when Venus conjuncts the Sun in direct motion. Mercury always “brings the news” to the planets it conjuncts, whether retrograde or direct. It brings a forward view when direct in motion, and brings a reflective view when retrograde. An Inferior Conjunction allows Mercury, the planet of mind, to look back at its recent span of experience it first transited when previously direct in motion. After the Inferior Conjunction, it's still retrograde for a brief period, after which it goes direct in motion, and then speeds up until it makes the Superior Conjunction, about half way between the previous and next retrograde period. That’s happening right now, and impacts the immediate future. The experience we get through Mercury retrogrades gives us perspective allowing us to become well rounded in our knowledge and ability to apply our knowledge, skills, and talents in ways which fulfill our purpose on this Earth. It is said that Mercury, or Hermes, is the "Guide of Souls." If that is true, then perhaps looking back with a different perspective may help us to reconsider our footprints in time, and choose to re-think some of our assumptions which are not leading us to our Higher Self. Then during Mercury’s direct periods we can consciously choose a different way to coordinate our mind, feelings, and lives, and begin to live a more fulfilled sense of purpose. Mercury retrograde periods are an extremely important period of getting signals that can lead you to your Soul. Take an unusual view, look back with a new perspective, see the patterns, both productive and destructive, and then when it goes direct, implement your new insights and perspectives into new ways of seeing, communicating, and envisioning. At this Superior Conjunction at 9 Libra, we will have “a fusion of life and mind” which will help set a platform where in blending these principles we will see a shift in our affairs, attitudes, and understanding about those things symbolized by Mercury in Libra. Natal points in harmony with 9 Libra will see productivity, understanding, stabilization, and unique qualities come forth. Natal points in friction with 9 Libra will see turning points, blocks, braking action, and/or dynamic releases of potential with a need to act with balance, perspective, caution, moderation, and getting above the dualities of the situation. In the next article in this series, we will explore the specifics of this September 30th Superior Conjunction in Libra, and what its lessons hold for us over the next several months. © Copyright 2024 Robert Wilkinson

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