Mercury enters the Post-Shadow phase: a Period of Integration
The Mercury retrograde cycle that just came to a close has been centered around a reevaluation and redefinition of our perception of reality and society, our idea of success, our ambitions, our way of thinking about our responsibilities, and our mindset in general. It invited us to deepen our awareness of how the conditioning we internalized in the past is still influencing our thinking, our ambitions, our desires, and our decision-making processes.
The post-shadow phase will last until February 7, when Mercury reaches 24º Capricorn, the degree where the retrograde started. This phase is meant to be a time of integration, adjustment, understanding, and consolidation of the shifts that happened during the retrograde.
Mercury stations direct in Capricorn: Moving Forward with New Mindset
The recent Mercury retrograde began while Mercury was conjunct with Venus and Pluto in Capricorn. This configuration highlighted the importance of transforming our communication habits, our thinking patterns, and our perception of relationships. It offered us opportunities to access a deeper understanding of dynamics that keep repeating in our lives and to notice how our way of thinking and perceiving our reality can contribute to perpetuating them.
As Mercury goes direct after its retrograde cycle, we have an opportunity to take action according to what we learned, understood, and realized. We are moving forward with a new level of self-awareness thanks to the insights we got throughout the last weeks.
Mercury direct in Capricorn calls for a practical application of the ideas and realizations we had: this event invites us to explore how to align our external reality with the shift in awareness, mindset, and perception that happened during the retrograde. Mature communication is likely to be in the spotlight, and we may feel the need to clean up, clarify, and solve any misunderstandings that might have taken place.
Mercury is going to cross Pluto in Capricorn on February 10. Around this time, we could gain a deeper, clearer understanding of events and situations that took place around the time when Mercury stationed retrograde, on December 29. We could see the true meaning of what happened, notice details that we didn’t take into consideration previously, or see them in a new light after receiving some information we weren’t aware of before.
Mercury quincunx Mars, square Jupiter, and square Chiron
Mercury is stationing direct while in a quincunx or inconjunct aspect to Mars at 8º of Gemini. This aspect has already been active for a few days, as Mars too stationed direct recently, on January 12, and both planets are moving slower than usual.
Inconjuncts are aspects of paradox and they indicate a need for complicated adjustments. This configuration signals that we may find it challenging to assert ourselves or communicate our thoughts in a way that doesn’t feel aggressive to others, or we may perceive others as being too aggressive, direct, or blunt towards us. As the planet of assertion and the planet of communication are in a tense connection, it is better to wait a few days before having important conversations, and always make sure we are grounded and calm before sharing our opinions.
Mercury is also currently squaring Jupiter and Chiron in Aries. The square to Chiron can correlate to experiences linked to feeling misunderstood, misinterpreted, or unheard, leading to the activation of old wounds connected to these same feelings. The triggers that come up can represent opportunities to heal something we weren’t fully able to process in the past.
The square between Mercury and Jupiter suggests a degree of impatience relative to sharing our ideas, thoughts, and solutions with others. These days, we could be reminded that thinking we already have all the answers may prevent us from learning important lessons or delay our growth in some areas. Making an effort to remain open to new perspectives and perceptions rather than fixating on existing ones is going to be beneficial.
Mercury stations direct in Capricorn: Invitation to Master our Minds
Mercury direct in Capricorn facilitates practical problem-solving and inspires us to develop a healthy relationship with self-motivation, delayed gratification, and mental discipline. This transit represents an invitation to master our minds and consolidate the restructuring of thinking and communication patterns that took place during the retrograde.
Mercury’s shift of motion and the remaining weeks of its journey through Capricorn offer us an opportunity to be more proactive relative to taking responsibility for how our communications are set up and for how our thoughts impact our frequency. It is an opportunity to practice speaking our minds in a mature and grounded way and express what we think, feel, and sense clearly and honestly.
During the upcoming weeks, we will have chances to make decisions that reflect a renewed connection to our inner authority rather than representing a result of the conditioning we have internalized in the past.
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