So, a fourth characteristic is a distinct sense of critical transition. We move from one space of life into another. Personal relationships are particularly susceptible to shifts, emotional movement or rearrangement. The change can manifest as a deepening of stronger relationships, or shake-ups in weaker, less stable relationships, many of which are likely to change dramatically. Anything that's not working with the process of our personal and collective evolution is subject to disruption, things that are working are subject to challenge, and their strength can be put to good use.
In all, given this environment, two things are necessary—pay attention and work with the process. This is good advice for life at any stage, but particularly during an eclipse, these two little points can get you a long way from feeling overwhelmed to a sense that you're actually making some progress. Of course, with eclipses, it's best to not judge progress in the moment. Wait till you have a longer view.
Let's add a fifth property of eclipses, one that's especially relevant now, during a presidential campaign that affects the whole world. That is what you might think of as an Aries Point-like effect, of the individual and the collective merging. Eclipses represent several different factors meeting in space and time. They are, in actual, scientific reality, an intersection of several dimensions.
The way that shakes out symbolically is that they can arrive with that feeling of world events seeming to be more personal and relevant, and a calling to take part in the wider world. Needless to say, this will be a very interesting few weeks in the presidential campaign.
Mercury Retrograde: The Truth Revealed
Mercury is about to be retrograde. On August 30, just prior to the September 1 eclipse, Mercury began its second retrograde of the year. This lasts through September 22, the Libra equinox.
The retrograde begins in the last degree of Virgo, one of two signs that Mercury rules. Mercury is unusually strong in Virgo; both the planet and the sign are related to what I would call applied intelligence. Virgo tends to represent mental patterns, and retrograde Mercury is going to provide many occasions to reconsider what we've been thinking.
I am being polite here. What I really mean is that we may see many, many things revealed as bullshit—as the insanity that they are, or as the blatant deceptions that they are. When Mercury stations retrograde or direct, stuff comes out. It's like Mercury shakes the tree of the "sphere of all intelligence" and some fruit thumps to the ground, or leaves of information come a-fluttering.
This Mercury retrograde is distinctive because it takes place entirely in Virgo, and for two other reasons: it begins in the very last degree of Virgo, which describes high mental focus: a state of total concentration. This is an interesting image, though the thing to remember is that total concentration also needs a kind of polarity point of relaxation. So you might keep your favorite puzzle, sketchpad, kittycat or Pocket Rocket nearby for those planned distractions.
Then, this Mercury retrograde involves three conjunctions to Jupiter. Mercury is tapping into something much larger than itself. It's a little like the individual computer meets the internet, or the mind meets a source of knowledge greater than itself. This is likely to add to the "truth comes out" process.
Another truly interesting distinction is that Jupiter is changing signs. It does so on September 9. That alone is noteworthy, and I'll cover it as its own topic in the next section. One way to describe this is that Mercury is involved in the process of Jupiter changing signs.
For the past year, Jupiter has been in Virgo, a sign opposite one of the signs that it rules, Pisces. This has been about making connections.
Still, Jupiter can feel a little awkward or out of place in Virgo, which describes the relationships that it's formed; yet the connection to Virgo. Virgo has had to stretch its capacity thanks to Jupiter's presence. Now, Mercury making its double conjunction to Jupiter while in Virgo is about claiming that added knowledge, ability or flow.
