Astrologia Esoterica: Retrograde Transits
First steps toward a deeper understanding…
At the time of writing of this article (October 15th 2020), the planet Mercury had already commenced its final ‘retrograde transit’ of the year. This means that from our terrestrial point of view, said celestial body appears to be moving backwards through the night sky. Obviously such transits are an optical illusion caused by differences between the Earth’s and any given planet’s respective rotation around the sun. Nonetheless, since time immemorial, these perceived motions have held a special significance among Astrologers. Today Yours Truly will undertake a fairly detailed exploration of those aforementioned matters. Let’s begin by taking a look at our current RADIX chart:
Complex? Correct! Unless (like the author of this article) you’re an amateur or professional astrologer, the accompanying image probably doesn’t tell you much. Fret not, we’ll now proceed to decode its most salient features. First off, this Radix represents the present positions of all the major planets and other heavenly objects. Most of them are readily recognizable by way or their ancient glyphs:
- ☉ = The Sun
- ☽ = The Moon
- ☿ = Mercury
- ♀ = Venus
- ♂ = Mars
- ♃ = Jupiter
- ♄ = Saturn
- ⛢ = Uranus
- ♆ = Neptune
Pluto’s symbol can vary, although it’s shown on our chart as an orb with a curved line passing through it. Furthermore, these planets (et al) occupy sectors of the sky traditional to the tropical zodiac. They are of course:
- ♈️ = Aries (the ram)
- ♉️ = Taurus (the bull)
- ♊️ = Gemini (the twins)
- ♋️ = Cancer (the crab)
- ♌️ = Leo (the lion)
- ♍️ = Virgo (the virgin)
- ♎️ = Libra (the scales)
- ♏️ = Scorpio (the scorpion)
- ♐️ = Sagittarius (the centaur)
- ♑️ = Capricorn (the sea-goat — looks slightly different above)
- ♒️ = Aquarius (the water bearer — appears wavier above)
- ♓️ = Pisces (the fishes)
We say traditional sectors of the sky here because said signs differ somewhat from the actual constellations. Due to a phenomenon known to Astrologers and Astronomers alike as the Precession of the Equinoxes — those constellations have shifted since they were first named untold millennia ago. Some scientists have made a big deal out of this in recent years, poking fun at people whose star sign they think should be different than the ones established by primordial precedents.
In any case, the placement of each planet within the horoscope’s wheel tells us a lot regarding our own situation down on Earth. However, unlike other Astromancers, Obsidian Eagle views them as reflecting Earthly affairs rather than causing them. Borrowing terminology from Buddhism: Interdependent planetary alignments arise mutually. But before we stray any farther away from the titular topic, let’s focus on those planets which are currently in retrograde motion. Please note that we’re only covering the basics today so we’ll ignore all those crisscrossing lines (aspects) surrounding the middle for now.
Backspin In Action
Although the chart above doesn’t show it, there are presently three planets in retro mode: Mercury in Scorpio | Mars in Aries | Uranus in Taurus.
So what does this mean for us?
The most notorious of these transits is none other than Mercury retrograde. Being the messenger of the gods, Mercury mainly governs commerce, communication, and transportation. In terms of astrophysics, Mercury is closest to the sun and its solar revolutions are quite quick (one for every 88 Earth days). Therefore, when its sphere goes backwards from our vantage point, it is generally said that everything it rules over slows down and undergoes a tangible degree of turmoil.
We can see this reflected at large in the tense lead-up to the US 2020 election. Mail-in ballots have been a bone of contention to pick at and many states are seeing anxious voters turning out en masse to cast their votes early. Surely skeptics would call the fact that Mercury returns to running forward precisely on November third, a ‘cosmic coincidence’.
While this hopefully portends a happy outcome on the world scene, we must also take into account that murky Mercury will retrace its path along the plane of the ecliptic; since in a sense it must undo the knots it made when it was in full reverse. That means we won’t be totally out of the woods yet until Mercury slides forth from Libra and exits and the post-shadow zone after November 19th.
But enough about that turbulent trickster — onward to Mars!
The red planet went into retrograde on June 27th, strangely coinciding with the author’s birthday. The last time Mars was retro in Aries was in 1988, making this a rare transit indeed. A couple of nights ago Mars was at its brightest (the famed Mars opposition) in over a decade. You might still catch it in the evening sky even from the city — recognizable by its dim orange glow. Anyway, traditionally Mars signifies action, aggression, and antipathy. We’ve seen plenty of these elements lately whenever we tune into the nightly news.
Again, we can look toward November for a little relief; lucky 13 to be exact.
Finally, we have Uranus retro in Taurus. The slow movements of this outer gas giant affect us only as a ‘generational influence’ and are of greater concern to public institutions as opposed to private individuals. Richard Tarnas describes Uranus as a revolutionary Promethean force and he draws historical correlations between its positions and periods of massive civil unrest. He initially puts it thus:
“Since at least the turn of the twentieth century, the unanimous consensus among astrologers is that the planet Uranus is empirically associated with the principle of change, rebellion, freedom, liberation, reform and revolution, and the unexpected breakup of structures; with sudden surprises, revelations and awakenings, lightning-like flashes of insight, the acceleration of thoughts and events; with births and new beginnings of all kinds; and with intellectual brilliance, cultural innovation, technological invention, experiment, creativity, and originality.” ~ Cosmos And Psyche, Viking (2006), pg. 93
Bearing that in mind it comes as no surprise that the bull market has been running rampant and wrecking all the fine China shops (in a manner of speaking). Not to mention the summer of fury that has barely just passed. Protests, riots, shootings, and state repression have amounted to historic figures. Additionally Uranus connotes an obsession with air and space, which is interesting considering how commonplace space launches and rockets lifting off from the soil of several nations has recently become. Gaia, our collective homestead is on fire, besieged by wave and wind while virulence threatens Homo Sapiens’ very existence. This particular motion began on August 15th and its pronounced effects will continue until January 14th 2021.
Sure, many may find these insights easily dismissible or laughable, but they would do well to put their money where their mouth is and actually statistically track the higher incidence and likelihood of certain empirical phenomena during these enigmatic temporal spans.
Silver Linings Playbook
If you’ve hung around this long without having your personal horoscope cast, then you’ll probably profit spiritually by reading on…
Lots of sites tend to fixate on the negative aspects assigned to the transits in question. Hence, we’ll attempt to facilitate access to the esoteric realm via these exoteric means:
Symbolically a planet in reverse is telling us to go inward. This is an ideal time to meditate and reconnect with your Higher Self.
Especially in the case of pithy scorpions and angry rams, some soul searching is in order. Though this definitely applies to the entirety of humanity too.
If you have the luxury of time to do so, plan ahead!
It’s best now to plant the seeds of new ideas and projects. Yet at the same time, hold back from putting anything into play prematurely. Measure all the angles and check them twice before constructing whatever it is you’re working on. Avoid signing contracts, leases, or any other legally binding documentation.
Picture yourself as an archer drawing back the string of your bow. Pull it back to its utter limit. This is the prolonged gestation period in a nutshell; taking aim whilst thinking exhaustively about what drives and motivates you.
When the time is ripe, you shall shoot your arrow directly and thereby achieve great success!
Further Readings:
