In last week’s article Astrology in November - Mercury and Venus Fire Dancing in Sagittarius I offered that Mercury and Venus both entered Sagittarius on Nov 15/16 and will be dancing together in a conjunction for the rest of the year, and return for their final conjunction of the series in July 2023. Get used to the Cosmic Trickster and the Goddess of Harmony and Interpersonal Power being together for quite a few weeks! Today we explore all three conjunctions.

First, a brief recap: this conjunction in Sagittarius should bring more openness, lightness, and brightness to all things related to Taurus, Gemini, Virgo, and Libra in our charts where we get to explore greater views and vistas, greater truths to find, and a greater life to lead. The focus of the first conjunction is the house where we have 8 Sagittarius, where we can blend these two planets into a liberated form of openness to possibilities.

Mercury and Venus are making their first conjunction today at 8 Sagittarius. They will continue to be within 2+ degrees through the end of November, then widen to 5+ until Mercury begins to slow, going retrograde on December 29 at 25 Capricorn, with the second conjunction happening just 4 hours later on that same degree. Then, in an “inside out” mirroring of Venus direct conjunct Mercury retrograde, the third conjunction happens when Venus goes retrograde at 29 Leo just as Mercury direct catches up and conjuncts Venus on July 27, 2023 on that same degree.

Mercury and Venus Dualities

So who’s doing this long term dance which begins in Fire, ends in Earth, and finishes in Fire? Mercury, “the Guide of Souls” and Cosmic Magician and Venus, the Essence of Love, Self-Reflected Beauty, and Appreciation. Each of these Lights has a healthy and unhealthy expression, so this dance will have four possible manifestations in the outer world:

A healthy Mercury and Venus expression;
a healthy Mercury but unhealthy Venus expression;
a healthy Venus but unhealthy Mercury expression;
an unhealthy Mercury and Venus expression.

Obviously, the first is the ideal of the dance between these energies, and all the others give us something to improve. In Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend, I offered that Mercury’s “planetary duality” is Life/Death in the sense that our mind generates both creative ideas and destructive ideas. Some ideas lead us to a more fulfilling understanding of purpose, whereas other ideas lead our lives into dead ends. Our untrained Mercury creates chaos and disorganized scattered conditions until we learn discernment and expert coordination of different life areas to bring forth more perfect knowledge of what to do and how to do it.

In that same book I offered that Venus’ duality is Wisdom/Folly in the sense that Venus, our subconscious response to self-consciousness, affects our “mental offspring.” Here I’ll note that “folly” may just indicate inexperience or untrained potential, or the folly of immaturity. It is not a sin to be foolish as long as we are led to wisdom. Our untrained Venus shows our vanities, selfishness, or narcissistic ways of relating so that we may know how to capture more beautiful forms of our inner picture of a higher, refined, elegant life and relationships.

So for the next few weeks, Venus will be modifying Mercury to make its expression more pleasing, and Mercury will be modifying Venus to allow it a greater range of expression and social understanding. At its best, this is a time when our Wisdom will lead us to a greater Life, and our Life can be seen as our unique form of Wisdom. We can find new views and new understanding of how our Venus functions, and find a greater appreciation for our ability to generate living ideas and perceptions.

The Sabian Symbol for the First Conjunction at 8 Sagittarius

The first Mercury/Venus conjunction falls at 8 Sagittarius, and it is said that the first third (decan) of any sign deals with the physical and material levels of life. Being the first decan of Sagittarius, it has a sub-influence of Sagittarius with an additional Mercury tone. While I've given you a sense of this degree up to now, this is where we go into depth.

The symbol for the 8th degree of Sagittarius is “Rocks and things forming therein.” In his notes from the Marc Jones class, Rudhyar says this is a degree of “Irresistible determination to be,” “Infinite capacity for hard work,” and “Crystallization of purpose and will out of experience.”

In his Astrological Mandala he goes on to say this is a degree of "the alchemical fire which both purifies and transforms the very substance of man’s inner life.” He says this symbol involve forces “in the deepest layers of the psyche” which respond to our group interactions and the stirring up of a greater intensity of love. He offers that this creates “an alchemical process” which leads to a “kind of mutation” where we reach “a new level of awareness.”

He states this degree deals with “the basic rhythm of growth” and our reactions to other experiences which aroused our emotions. He says “the very substance of (our) nature undergoes modifications, on the basis of which a new step may be taken,” and we must become aware of the deep inner changes and the “Psychic gestation” taking place. He says this degree falls in the Span of Receptiveness, Act of Group Integration, and is the synthesizing degree of the Scene of Abstraction on the Social-Cultural level.

Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this is a degree of “the necessity that (we) create (our) own reality out of the actual situations in which (we) become involved” by taking control of circumstances. He offers the stability we find “be taken as a foundation for all consequent and individual initiative.”

He offers “each person in accepting his roots and capitalizing on (their) own endowment is enabled to proceed to high achievement, and offers us the keyword COMPOSITION. He states that when operating positively, the degree is an “exceptional ability to mold or remold the course of events.”

Given the themes of this degree, we'll use this ”fusion of Mind and Likes” to understand and find a greater appreciation and value for the deep transformational forces at work within the psyche of each of us. This fusion of Likes and Mind requires that we become aware of the changes going on below the surface, and be ready to use them as we learn and/or teach whatever we are called to do in the house where we have 8 Sagittarius.

As noted earlier, the theme of the first conjunction will play out in the house where we have 8 Sag and affect planets and houses involving Taurus, Gemini, Virgo, and Libra. Be alert to the deep spiritual forces within each of us gestating, and we are told to be aware of “inner changes.” This will begin an “alchemical fire” between The Guide of Souls and the ruler of all which is valuable and beautiful.

Something will be kindled within each of us which will open many potential futures down the road. It’s also important to remember that 8 Sagittarius was the degree of the Superior conjunction in late November 2021, so this should bring us the value or beauty of everything associated with that Superior conjunction in December 2021 and early April 2022.

This conjunction has a Balsamic Moon at 4 Scorpio, showing this is a totally future oriented conjunction revealing visions of things yet to come. As the conjunction is exactly quintile Saturn, this will bring highly specialized “rewards from Spirit,” and is sure to bring unique gifts and blessings to those with planets or points near 6-10 Sagittarius, 18-22 Aquarius, 30 Aries-4 Taurus, 12-16 Cancer, and 24-28 Virgo.

The ruler of the conjunction, Jupiter, is stationary direct at 29 Pisces, showing that this brings visions and understanding of what is ending, what is splitting into various “colors on the spectrum,” and what is the relationship of what is, what can be, and what cannot be. Of course the Sun trine Jupiter shows a major protection going on helping open us to the potential of alternatives as we stand on the threshold of a new cycle of activity.

The Sabian Symbol for the Second Conjunction at 25 Capricorn

Mercury enters Capricorn on December 6, followed by Venus on December 9. At that point Mercury begins to slow down, preparing to go retrograde December 29 at 25 Capricorn. The second Mercury/Venus conjunction falls at 25 Capricorn, and it is said that the third third (decan) of any sign deals with the mental and spiritual levels of life. Being the last decan of Capricorn, it has a sub-influence of Virgo with an additional Solar tone.

This conjunction will be exceptionally revealing, since it happens with Mercury retrograde and Venus direct on the exact degree of TWO of the Jupiter/Pluto conjunctions of 2020! Yes, it seems that late December through next Summer will bring returns and echoes and reflections and insights into all which died and/or sprouted in 2020 in the house where we have 25 Capricorn. Also of significance is that 25 Capricorn is the “Mercury retrograde theme” of 2022, continuing a many-year sequence of themes generated by Mercury. I’ll be writing more about that in December as we prepare to take a look back at the year.

The Sabian symbol for the 25th degree of Capricorn is “An oriental rug dealer.” In the Astrology of Personality, where Rudhyar uses the original Dr. Jones' class notes on the symbols, he states this degree is about “first realization of cultural values through sensuous enjoyment,” “refinement of sensations,” and “psychological enrichment.”

In "The Astrological Mandala he states this degree is about “the use of cultural and artistic processes as a means to enhance personal comfort and appreciation.” He goes on to say this is about “the material, yet esthetic, aspect of the benefits a society can bring its members,” where the rug symbolizes “something on which a persona stands or sits,” and a “foundation for cultural understanding, and as such it can have a magical or sacred meaning.” He says this implies “society offers the relative comfort of beautiful rugs so (we) may meet the universe…. Protected by and securely established on the mental-spiritual, as well as manual achievements of those who keep the cultural symbols alive.”

He offers that this symbol “shows the beautiful products of dedicated and inspired group performance at the level of tradition” emphasizing “the value of reliance on tradition.” He states this degree falls in the Span of Dependence, and is the final degree in the Scene of Group Performance on the emotional, social, and cultural level of the Act of Group Integration.

Dr. Marc E Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this is a degree of “the irrevocability of (our) obligation” to our reality, with a focus on “accumulated knowledge or acquired skills as an indication of (our) enduring competency” in practical and immediate ways. He continues that “self-expression here is the use of various advantages and resources as actually a commerce in human potentialities, and this becomes an individual’s real service” to others.

He offers that “eternal values are meaningless until they are woven into the fabric of humanity’s familiar transactions.” He offers us the keyword CONSIGNMENT, and states that when operating in a positive manner, this degree is “an effective employment of the facilities and goods of a modern society.”

From this symbol, it seems the next Mercury/Venus conjunction will give us a new look at, and a new appreciation of, the “transcendence” we’ve found in relative comfort as we’re been enriched by refining our sensations. This will blend Mercury and Venus energies in 2023 infusing affected areas of our chart, with a backdrop to the Pluto seeds from 2020 and 2021 when it occupied this degree. We’ll begin expressing a new Mercury/Venus energy of “enduring competency” in practical ways, and as we use “advantages and resources” we’ll find new ways to be of real service to our world.

I’ll leave the third conjunction at 29 Leo for a future article, with noting that it falls at 29 Leo, the exact degree of the major Solar Eclipse which cut the Northwest hemisphere (and America) in two! Given the second conjunction has Mercury retrograde and Venus direct, while the third conjunction has Mercury direct and Venus retrograde, the Capricorn conjunction gives us a backward looking Mercury and a forward looking Venus, while the Leo conjunction will give us a backward looking Venus and forward looking Mercury.

If you want to know more about blending Mercury and Venus…..

Because Mercury “brings the news” about everything to all of us, and activates ten thousand views and thoughts on any given thing, when Mercury conjuncts Venus we will certainly get lots of information about Venus! Since we’ll be discovering what Venus in Sagittarius and Capricorn are all about through December, you can get an advanced view of this and more by getting your copy of The Magic of Venus: Friendships, Soul Mates, and Twin Flames. It is the most comprehensive book on Venus ever written, and offers a multi-faceted view of why we attract the people we do, as well as how to re-shape our inner Venus to create more satisfying relationships in the future.

This work is an in-depth examination of the psychological dimension of Venus, the spiritual dimension of Venus, and the astrological dimension of Venus. It offers practical techniques for changing your image of what you want to attract your heart’s desire, and how to make your relationships more fulfilling because you are living a Soul-ful life. You’ll find out about why you like or don’t like people and things, why you’ve attracted who you have in the past and present, and how to make those attractions more aligned with your Soul purpose in the future. A major theme weaving the various dimensions together is understanding why Soul Mates come into our lives, and how to know the difference between a Soul Mate and our Twin Flame.

It has chapters on the qualities of each sign’s natural mate, the qualities of Venus in each sign, Venus retrograde, and when crucial choices and changes are made, affecting who we attract in the future. It was written for both astrologers and lay people, and as it has a thousand gems for better relationships, with self, others, and Source, please consider getting your copy by going to the link above! (And when you’re done, please leave a review on Amazon, since it helps the book and all other books on astrology as well!)

Enjoy the dance!

Reprinted on crystalwind.ca with written permission from Robert Wilkinson. Copying this article to other blogs is strictly prohibited. It is copyright protected. 

© Copyright 2022 Robert Wilkinson

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