April 25 – May 1, 2016: Mercury Retrograde Thrival

April 25 – May 1, 2016

Mercury stationing retrograde in Taurus (on the 28th) has us consider the value of ideas, and the trickster energy of Mercury can play with our sense of where the source of those ideas is – it can also play games on our value assessments of self. The gift of the trickster is it’s ability to expand our consciousness playfully. Though it could feel a little existential cray w/o considering the trickster’s role.

The Mercury warp begins this week, know this. It would be one level of Taurusy to say I’ve got the “survival” guide for your Mercury retrograde, but that would imply there’s something to survive just because Mercury is tracing some degrees on the zodiac belt over again from the perspective on Earth, as though picking up some pieces he just skipped over is somehow bad juju and not Mercury stopping & smelling Venusian Taurean roses? We can only hope these decadent fragrances mess with our heads a bit. This is not about survival, this is about additional thrival, or getting yr head out of the sand to be able to do so.

(Image: Aida Muluneh)

April 28

Mercury stations retrograde in Taurus: 10:20 AM PST

DIVERSIFY YOUR VALUES ~ STIMULATE YOUR RECEPTIVE POTENTIAL

Mercury retrograde in Taurus (until May 22) accelerates our cognitive, conscious awareness of our self-value, our relationship to self. Taurus loves the beautiful life, and Mercury is a planet of maintenance. Through the Gemini function of Mercury, we identify things, we collect information and data. Through the Virgo function of Mercury, we organize information and we show up for the process. Welcome your thoughts regarding money, resources, luxuries, and what you consider valuable, what wealth is to you. This is a time when your relationship to wealth can change via the pathway of the intellect. Taurus is a sign that can get stuck in its ways, but Mercury is a sampler of diversity. Your thoughts can and ought to translate into wealth and value. The more you know, the more there are possibilities. Mercury can be a trickster, with the sacred role of shaking us out of ways of thinking. Consider the sources of information and data in your life right now – what you’re reading, your social circles, the labels on your beauty products. Do your face creams all say in bold letters “ACNE” as though that is what is going to make you feel good? Literally or feng shui wise. It matters. In Mercury in Taurus (retrograde) not all labels/identifiers are equal in value. We can totally get stuck in ruts based on the way we describe things or categorize things, and also based on what information we welcome into our lives. People who only watch cable television news will have a different perspective on what is happening in the world than people who don’t watch TV at all but are involved in community, or people who read alternative news online. When we visit the same watering hole of information over and over again, we limit our perspective of reality. Under Mercury in Taurus we are nourished by choosing information streams we value, and being resourceful about data, and not just depending on certain sources to a detriment.

At the moment Mercury stations retrograde in Taurus, he is conjunct Vesta and trining the Moon in Capricorn. If we consider this an imprint for the beginning of the cycle, there are a few questions we can think about: What is sacred to us? What basic needs or beyond that, luxuries, are we willing to exert effort to maintain a steady supply of? (Vesta is the tender of the hearth – the fire that never goes out. What, beyond basic survival needs, do we value enough to make a priority such that we build our lives to support that? What do we value that we have not yet obtained, that, with a good plan and work ethic, we could bring into the fold of our lives? And really, how can we (integrating that Capricorn move) rise UP out of stagnant financial or self-worth related circumstances? What new values and thoughts could we adopt to support that initiative, and what values and thoughts hinder us from getting to the next level?

YES this is heady but this is the time to see how your language and your intellectual world is influencing your flow of resources. You don’t have to manifest anything, or say affirmations. You get basic and practical – identify what your plans are. Do some research and find sources that inspire you and make you feel good about your prospects. Have you taken the time to imagine what you’re capable of? Identified a financial strategy? These things help your mind see ahead and prepare for greater success, rather than keep you narrowly focused on your current state of affairs.

Map your plans for wealth (or the accumulation of value) out. Brainstorm – engage the imagination. It’s retrograde. Westerners freak at Mercury retrograde cause of a long-standing history of valuing linear, logical, left-brained thought. It’s yin energy, right-brained time. We need these downloads. If the traditionally-expected wacky Mercury rx things happen like getting lost en route, or communication breakdowns, consider there is some benevolent rerouting at play, that linear forward motion is not the everything.

April 29

Venus enters Taurus: 5:36 PM PST

Venus will be in Taurus until May 24. This is a great transit to consider and nourish your relationship with your self. The vitality of the Venusian function of life can be channeled through the senses: smells, tastes, textures, anything we find personally valuable.

Not everyone with Taurus stuff natally does this – it is a lesson, and a skill, to love oneself truly. I’ve seen some totally self-denying behavior come from Taurus energy or 2nd house (Taurus) planetary placements. Taurus doesn’t have to imply love and sensuality, it can also be scarcity minded and survival minded.

Venus is a planet that relates to wealth and money, and so this is more a time than not where your wealth may generate from within. Taurus is hardworking and tenacious, and with Venus in Taurus, our love emits a sturdy vibration that can cultivate tons of energy for now and the future.

Indulgence is another aspect of Venus in Taurus. Part of this is gauging when we have enough, and trusting that we have enough, not needing to overdo it or hoard, even on an energetic level.

As you tune into value with Venus in Taurus, the value input of your life expands.

Last Quarter Moon in Aquarius: 8:29 PM PST

“I love to drink coffee with people in the morning. And I love to drink coffee in the morning with no one in my fucking face – Excuse my soul.” – Jack Kerouac

Mood and energy levels slow or dip at the Last Quarter Moon onward Into the dark Moon. With Aquarius some themes that can come up is where we feel different, isolated, or strange – in relationship to Taurus it can be about how we feel we may perceive or value ourselves differently than those around us. The feeling of separation that can come out of this may be helpful for initiating time inward, such as when we catch ourselves being too preoccupied with how others see us, and have forgotten to resource ourselves, where we lose touch with our ability to make ourselves happy. Or, maybe we have become overly resourced in self to the point of lacking community or connection. The conflict (square) between the Sun in Taurus and the Moon in Aquarius is one of vitality within the self, and comfort within community. We can radicalize our view of our resource network, such that… perhaps the more naturally in tune we are with ourselves, the more our relationships function like other mushrooms along a mycelial network that connects a whole forest together. When we isolate ourselves artificially, or engage artificially, we experience community in distorted ways.

This transit makes me think of someone who feels the need to withdraw- they’re tired, so they go and take a nap instead of going to a party they wanted to go to. They wake up, and on their own time, go to socialize with others, and find that they are at the right place at the right time, the vibe’s on, they are electrically linked up with community and synchronicity because they valued and took into consideration their own needs. Same principle for someone who is in a habit of spending time alone and is beginning to feel lonely, and decides that they will step out of their self-induced isolation and call someone up, and something healing occurs for everyone. The underlying message is that our relationship to ourself and our relationship to our community is connected, and that this last quarter moon can inspire a different choice along this storyline, induced by some kind of tension related to choices we’re in the habit of making, but at this very moment, isn’t the obvious or most beneficial choice.

Or in other words, see if your vibe as a mushroom among other mushrooms can surprise you: maybe there is a mind-body-socialnetwork connect underpinning the human jungle?

(Image: Ashkan Honarvar)

May 1

Sun in Taurus sextile Neptune in Pisces: 5:01 AM PST

This is a subtle transit, tappable for dream insights and BEING/EMBODYING (Sun in Taurus) your dream. Lady Gaga curated her life and her image (Venus realm) to facilitate her dream of fame and a successful music career. Your essence is also your garden.

In this realm, your sensory world is made up of drugs, and will result in different highs. It is as simple as that. Without effort, doing the same old stuff, it can leave a cloudy, blah kind of feeling, but with conscious intention, wondrous sensations can be born and lived. Like trying a new food that’s kind of exotic to you, an edible flower or some homemade magical honey wine and taking it into the dreamtime. Be resourceful with seeing, and participating in, the magic that shows up for you now.

~Sabrina Monarch

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