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Mercury in Gemini – Long Shot

Originally published on AstroGeek and Heretical Oracles under the pen name Artemis.

“Are you proud of yourself tonight that you have insulted a total stranger whose circumstances you know nothing about?” – Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird

I’ve been preaching a lot of compassion lately. I believe that it is probably the most important thing in the world right now. Only when we open our channels up to merging with others will we be able to make the vital connections that are necessary for conscious evolution of our kind. Today (6/1) another immense event is taking place. Uranus is going conjunct Eris. The majority of the planets are in mutable signs at the moment, and a mutable grand cross is only days away. There is no better time than now to choose how you want to climb the shifting ladder of ideas. Spin your webs and get ready for what’s ahead.

Mercury in Gemini has a very busy energy about it. What is the essence of this archetypal combination? I believe Gemini is constantly trying to make pairings and connections (hello twins), so I would say that intellectual conversation will be on a dramatic rise. This is good. We are being set up to help each other shift right now. With Mars retrograding in Scorpio, you will have to fight back feelings of judgement and rashness with words. Is it better to instantly judge a thing before exploring a thing? Gemini would say that would be a spit in the face of the scientific process.

We have a warning here. It is extremely easy to make snap judgments and move on with our shallow interpretation of reality. It is comfortable that way. It’s hard to have to actually chew on things and process and merge with people. Listen, you only have so many years to live in your short little mortal life (I mean, what we know of at least). Sure, you can shut out everyone who dissents and tunnel your way toward a dead end, because that’s exactly what it is when you don’t take in all data (Gemini the scientist is being very serious about this). Or you can explore people’s minds and find the undeniable connections we all share.

This reading is giving me one more warning. Mercury in Gemini energy is extremely hyper active. 7 of Wands is telling us to solidify our determination because it will be harder than ever to stay the course. When so many things are coming at us right now, it is hard to keep our course on projects we have committed to. Keep an eye on your agenda while making sure to leave enough flexibility to get the most out of this energy. Balance has been the key in the past, and never will it not be the key.

 

 

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Mercury Direct – Measure of a Man

Originally published on AstroGeek and Heretical Oracles under the pen name Artemis.

Effective Date:  5/22/16

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.”  — Tolkien

Cards:  King of Pentacles, 8 of Wands, 4 of Swords

So, I have good news.  Those are powerful words aren’t they?  It’s a nice feeling, to sense things shifting in a different direction.  A slightly more stable direction.  Like, instead of rolling down a hill in a flaming car, now we are outside of the car and tumbling down.  This is better!  We were in a 6 planet deep retrograde period, and now that Jupiter and Mercury have gone direct, we only have to deal with 4 more wolves (Saturn, Mars, Pluto and Juno).

We have learned who our friends are.  The internal burrowing we have done, deep down into the marrow of our bones, has purged a lot of our demons.  So here’s the thing.  After you are done fighting the demons inside of you, you naturally bring them outside of you.  Now that Mercury is swinging back into forward motion, those things are going to become projected into your external world.  They are going to manifest as situations or people in your daily life, and you are going to have to take what you have learned and swiftly defeat these ghosts of your anxieties.  Don’t panic.  This is a good thing.  This is the only way to defeat them once and for all.

We are almost done with this intense wave of internal war, and the external enemies are going to begin to poke their heads out of the woodwork.  Be swift.  Don’t waste your time.  You have come out of this Mercury retrograde period with a deeper understanding of the workings of your own mind.  It’s a scary fucking place, yeah?   So now it is far easier to understand the way that the darkness behaves in your external environment.  Your brain is going to shift focus to the external world once again.

With this Sagittarius full moon on the horizon, this is going to be an incredible time of action.  Decisions are going to be made, coffins are going to be nailed shut, and ghosts are going to be put to rest.  And thank the fucking gods because some of these things have needed to die for a long time now.  Mercury being in Taurus will make all of your actions very purposeful.  Don’t give into the lazy energy of the bull, because if you don’t put the externalizing issues to rest, if you don’t do battle with your inner demon become outer dragon, you’re going to regress tremendously.  Getting your ass kicked by the personification of your anxieties is a very traumatizing experience!  That’s like double PTSD…  So take what you have learned during the past few weeks of demon days and utilize it.

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Mercury in Taurus – Fools

Originally published on AstroGeek and Heretical Oracles under the pen name Artemis.

Effective date- April 6, 2016

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”  –  Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Artemis (Cards: 5 of Wands, 8 of Cups Runes: Thurisaz, Fehu)- Battles.  Battles everywhere.  Aries has trampled us on his way in, inflaming everything around us with red hot energy.  The Full Moon Eclipse in Libra felt like our final elation.  It is a good feeling, isn’t it, knowing that your decisions are finally set in motion?  And as things get rolling, Taurus in Mercury comes along to tell us to be mindful.

Patience, my friends.  Saturn is about to go retrograde, and Mercury also going to beg us to slow down, open up, and get to the point.  You may feel the need to hack into all of your ideas at once.  That’s fine, but make a check list.  Taurus tells us to approach things with caution.  All of the details of any deals, ideas, etc that you have in your mind are not complete right now.  Re-evaluate.  Ground.  And definitely don’t bite off more than you can chew.  We need to take it one step at a time through this new enchanted forest, friends.

I know, I know.  You’re excited to get going.  We can still feel the rattling and shaking in the distance from the two eclipses that just passed (holy shit was that intense), and now you just want to run – run far far away – with all the little tidbits you learned and your little spark of illumination.  Well, this Mercury says YES, walk away, get going, but do it mindfully.  This is a strategist’s Mercury.  He begs us to wait.  If you feel you must attack, do so mindfully.  Do everything mindfully.  Pay attention to your physical body more (Taurus is an earth sign after all) and you can quite your mind – this is especially needed in Aries season.  Instead of blurting out the first thing on your mind when you are feeling enraged/impassioned, try and portray your feelings through art (write it, draw it, etc to make more sense of it).  This is the Taurean (and Venusian) way.

A lot of shit is going to be dug up from the past.  Nail that bullshit in the head once and for all.  You’re going to have a lot of determination, but only once you get a fire lit under you.  When you do, it will be glorious.  You wont even know where the hell that mental energy comes from once you’ve been ignited (trust me, Mars in Taurus speaking here).  Buckle down on some art.  Chip away at something that is seeping out from your heart.  This is a good time to do therapeutic art and heal.  Taurus is a Venusian sign, and when he speaks, though it may be direct, it is also full of passion.  Angsty, brash, walled up Taurus.  Don’t put too many walls up – remember – just the right ones.  Don’t think you need to over work yourself and forget about the pleasures in life.  Taurus wouldn’t like that either.  She loves to indulge (and please do so after that Pisces season, Jesus Christ).  This is really about boundaries of the mind.  We need to learn how to place our intellectual boundaries while still allowing ways for our hearts to flow out of our mouths and create.  Taurus rules the throat, so speak firmly – speak truthfully – and what you will speak will naturally hold a beauty of it’s own.  We are finally getting the opportunity to walk away from the past.  Take it and speak your healing.  Find the words.

 

 

 

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Mercury in Aries – Roar

Originally published on AstroGeek and Heretical Oracles under the pen name Artemis.

Effective date – March 22, 2016

“Originality is independence, not rebellion; it is sincerity, not antagonism.” –George Henry Lewes

Mmm our first taste of Aries! Who doesn’t love this self assured energy? As we all surely know, Mercury is the planet of communication. It’s ingress from an elusive water sign like Pisces into a fire sign like Aries will bring much needed straightforwardness into our communication. Aries in Mercury is self assured talk, regardless of what they talk is about. This fire sign believes in his ideas, fervently and with strong possession. I pulled 4 of Pentacles for this ingress, meaning perhaps we will be TOO strongly rooted in our opinions. Be careful here. Aries can be a bit brash and speak out of line. They are not known for their tact. You may have a hard time distinguishing between the truth and your opinion. You may attack others when you are feeling vulnerable about your ideas with far too much force; watch your temper and arrogance. Seriously, there is a very big difference between confidence and arrogance. Don’t let this huge surge of energy control you! Be like Aries and control it! The positive aspect behind this card is that it sets a sort of protection over our mind. If there is an idea that you truly need to solidify, this will be the time. You will have the confidence to say exactly what you need to say.

There is a sensitivity to Aries that is never quite realized because of their firestorm energy. Let me let you in on a little secret (shhhh). Deep down inside, they are sensitive little lambs. They are sensitive about their ideas, their presence, their station in life, etc. But there is something magical about how they deal with this sensitivity that we can all learn from. They say, “No. I know who I am. These fuckers don’t know shit about me. I’ll fucking show them!” This is exactly the kind of energy we need after unsure Pisces.

The next card I pulled for this ingress (crossing our original card) is the Page of Cups. She is tender and gentle. Wow, what an opposing force! She is here to warn us that although we may start to feel fired up, we need to be gentle with our fire. If you turn the burners up to high on your stove, you are going to burn your food. If you set the heat at just the right temperature, you are going to make something delicious. Aries says a million things in just one word. This is, surprisingly, also the Page of Cups. She says more in a glance than one can sing in a whole song. Use the Aries bluntness and charm to get what you want in a playful manner and not an aggressive manner (Aries is ruled by Mars, after all, so watch out). Grand displays will be important right now, but make sure they are there to empower you and those around you instead of just to feed your ego. With great power comes great responsibility. With fire driven inspiration in our voices, we must be careful not to turn into dragons.

 

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Mercury in Scorpio – The Rack

Originally published on Heretical Oracles under the pen name Artemis.

“The deeper I go into myself the more I realize that I am my own enemy.” –Floriano Martins

Effective Date: October 25th- November 13th 2016

Ugh, get ready for Scorpio to dig for the treasure you keep buried deep down in your darkest parts, and to do that she needs to get really fucking dirty.  Intense as fuck Scorpio is a water sign, and this Mercury is ready to flood into every fissure of your mind.  You may not have given an invitation for investigation, but you’re going to feel like you’re on trial and every thought you have is going to be inspected double – by you and those closest to you.  Remember how I warned you to get what you needed out before the full moon Aries hit?  Ayup, this is why.  Something about this energy wants to perform brain surgery on you, and all of the hidden things are going to come out – Freudian slips.  The Scorpio stinger is coming to punch holes into your mind and your subconscious wont be able to help but leak out (keep your head screwed on tight), and the obsessive investigative air that will be possessing those closest to you will make keeping the plotted holes plugged up almost impossible.  For those of you trying to keep secrets, this is going to be a hard time to do so.

You could do as I will do and becoming an absolute fucking hermit during this transit.  Yep, I’m going to bat the hatches and focus on some shadow work and perform self surgery.  This is a good time for following a method and getting to the core of a lot of your less savory psychological functions.  Scorpio Mercury is good for all psychological and investigative pursuits, so if you really have something you need to get to the bottom of – this is the perfect time to do it.  Your targets will be ripe with dropped items.

Unfortunately, even if you decide to go and isolate yourself deep in the woods, you’re going to find some crazy prophet mountain person who suddenly performs psychic surgery on you out of nowhere.  You are bound to traverse the depths of your psychology, the only question is – who are you going to hand the scalpel to?  Who do you trust?

Baaah, more investigation and obsession and paranoia…

The things that will be torn out of you will be long held emotional desires and your anxieties about how they could ever materialize in this reality.  There have been emotional “undeniables” throughout your entire life that you have tried to place dirt, then cement, then skyscrapers over, but unfortunately, lovelies, this is tower year and you wont get away from being confronted by ghosts while these graves are unearthed.  And yes, Scorpio energy is the grave digger.  It is the things you must confront and integrate into yourself or you will be haunted by them for the rest of your fucking life.

If I look at this reading visually, I see an overflowing cup, waters spilling and lapping against it’s stem.  Clearly this water wants to spread and flood everything around it.  This is new, powerful emotion.  There are old emotions coming back because of new events that have triggered their waters.  These are the deep emotions of our source bursting out from some sort of elation of heart.  These are the things you really, really want trying to bubble out of the surface.  Then I see the Ace of Pentacles, a giant boulder blocking the way and glowing like a disc of gold.  These are our eternal material concerns plugging up what wants to flow and distribute.  We must dig and dig – as the Knight of Swords has his sword pointed straight at the Ace of Pentacles in my deck.  He is ready to do the surgery.  He is ready to use the mind to cut through the material road blocks that keep us from that bubbling source – that holy grail in our hearts – and unleash the dragon.

Yes, unleash.  Are you ready to unleash that beast?  Who in your life do you trust to handle that beast as it comes cascading through?  It will be painful, it will be “bloody,” but in the end, it will be a great liberation.  And yes, the truth is always a liberation, no matter how painful and messy it may be coming out…