Continuing from the last post, relaxation and avoiding conflict may be difficult, however, since we are approaching the beginning of the shadow period for Mercury retrograde. The shadow begins next week (around December 13) with the actual retrograde beginning on December 29 and continuing for three weeks through January 18. The post-shadow will fade about the end of the first week of February, which coincides with Mars having gotten back on course and up to speed. I think, again, that this is when we will see a larger ramping up of the J6 cases. This retrograde is in Capricorn, ruler of government, law, and other such things, so we might also expect some things similar to what happened with the September Merc retro (the ruling by Judge Cannon that stopped the DOJ investigations temporarily - and we all saw how *that* worked out. 😉) with delays and additional attempts to stall the inevitable. Given the coincidence of the two retrogrades, any such attempts begin under this retrograde in particular will fail, likely pretty spectacularly.
On a more personal note for myself and anyone else with a birthday between December 29 and January 18, the retrograde occurs under the annual solar return, which generally means that the effects of the retrograde will be felt for the entirety of our next solar year. Those of us with birthdays closer to the beginning of the retrograde period will bear most of the brunt of it while those closer to the 18th will have a more mild time of it. For all of those who are in this boat with me, we need to be sure that every piece of communication is reviewed, inspected, re-reviewed, and corrected as best we can before we send it on its way. If you send an e-mail, follow it up with a phone call or a second e-mail to ensure that the message was received correctly. Make sure payments are made far enough in advance that you can send them again if necessary. Especially check and double-check your car registrations, your driver's license, and any and all official or legal communications to be sure they're correct. Just in general, check and verify everything you communicate for this year. Obviously, this applies to everyone under the retrograde, not just us, but it will be a lot longer and more pronounced for us.
There's a small bit of blue sky in this, though: during regular Mercury retrogrades next year, we at least will have the benefit of living in the "upside-down", so while everyone else is having a hard time during those three or four brief 18-21 day retrograde periods, we will be enjoying the short relief of things going *right* for a couple of weeks! 🤣
More generally, as I've said a few times on here, a retrograde doesn't have to be a time of chaos, even if it manifests that way at times. It's a time of reflection, a time to look again at the areas in our lives that are affected by the retrograde. Are our thoughts positive or negative? Are we going in the right direction? Are we satisfied with our progress in those parts of our lives? It's a time make sure that we have heard the messages that we're supposed to hear about those parts of our lives, and to correct our courses as needed. You may as well relax and tend to it purposefully and with patience...the universe is about to make sure you do it whether you want to or not!
@tgraf66 I wonder if you could comment- if not, I understand. I have a mediation scheduled for dec 21 with my abusive ex husband- he has recently been emotionally abusive towards my daughters. I have a list of things I have been advised by therapists etc to ask for to keep my daughters safe but I wonder if you could comment on how this retrograde will affect the situation? I don’t know if this matters but my daughter and I are Gemini. My ex Pisces.
we also have a court date scheduled for Feb 7th but I think that would be canceled if there is an agreement reached at mediation.
@jaidy I'm very sorry to hear of your situation. Unfortunately, even after 30+ years, I am nowhere near well-versed enough in the nuances of mundane ("everyday") astrology for people, and even if I were, there wouldn't be much I could tell you about your situation without knowing more about the charts of everyone involved. Sun signs only provide the most basic information; to do any real interpretation, a professional astrologer would need to know the ascendant signs and the placements of all the planets for each person to give you a more clear picture.
I will say that with both you and your daughter having your respective suns in Gemini, you're both being heavily pressured by the Mars retrograde rolling directly over them, at least by sign. Your ex being a Pisces would mean that his sun is also being hit pretty hard since the retrograde squares his sun, again, at least by sign. A square is a hard aspect, and it's an opening square, which would mean that it may be the first time he's really been challenged - or at least felt he was being challenged - on this issue.
The only advice I can really offer - and again, I'm not a professional, nor am I very good at mundane astrology - would be to say that while everyone involved is experiencing the loss of focus, energy, and direction that the retrograde seems to cause, that may work slightly to your advantage in the moment. Your therapists have given you a list of things to ask for, which may help you regain some of that focus and power since you have something tangible to act upon rather than going in blind, confused, and emotionally heated. If you can keep your energy focused on accomplishing what's on that list and not allow him or the situation to distract you (that may be difficult), that will obviously be more than he has, and it may give you a bit of an upper hand in this situation as well as helping you keep your cool. Accomplishing those things may also give you more "ammunition", so to speak - and therefore, more power in and over the situation - to use in the next few months as Mars turns direct and rolls back over your sun.
Mars is power, and as it turns direct and moves over your sun, it will energize and push you to act. Gemini is a mutable air sign, though, so unfortunately, a lot of times Mars in Gemini won't do much more than generate a lot of hot air and aggressive posturing that isn't backed up by much. On the other side is your ex, a mutable water sign, so the transit to his sun might make him "boil", as it were. Boiling water turns to steam, which can burn you, so be mindful of that, but it also dissipates and cools pretty quickly. Depending on what else is in your charts, I would say the best you can do right now is use that list of things the therapists have given you as your focal point and keep your "eyes on the prize", as it were.
I'm sending love and light to both you and your daughter, and I pray for the best outcome for all concerned.
@tgraf66 thank you. You’re right in that this was the first time he’s felt challenged- I always used sort of jujitsu in the past to protect is because boiling but quickly dissipating is the MO from my experience.
I have to discuss my list with him Sunday to see if he will agree and I guess I’m hoping I thread the needle to ask enough to keep the girls safe but not too much this triggers a massive custody battle. I do not trust the courts to protect my daughters against emotional abuse that has been extreme and generational in his family. It feels very risky to trust the system to get it right but maybe I should be more trusting…
Thank you for taking the time to chime in.
I am not extremely experienced in end of marriage negotiation but I can tell you that mediation is often discouraged in abusive relationships because of the power imbalance. My suggestions: If you could frame whatever you are asking for in his best interests and please avoid criticizing him at all costs, narcissists cannot handle even the slightest criticism and then they ruminate about it. Go for neutral demeanor, if you can. Narcissists also hate having boundaries imposed especially by people who have previously had permeable boundaries where the narcissist is concerned. As you well, know, this is a dicey process. It doesn't sound like he can control himself so I am not sure what his promises will mean.
Finally, I don't know if it works but it wouldn't hurt to ask for protection from divine and sacred guides who specialize both in physical safety and legal negotiations.
Thanks raincloud. Those are all important. He doesn’t like his issues becoming public which is why I hope to appeal to him today and thanks for reminding me to ask for protection. He has something called cluster b personality disorder which is borderline histrionic anti social and narcissistic cocktail. Better boundaries are on the list as well as voice/agency for my children which if framed as in their best interest he might want to adopt so he can maintain a public image of a great father. We’ve been divorced for 5 years so this is all about protecting the girls from emotional abuse.
I did get a horary reading from an astrologer asking if I would get my ex to go back to therapy. The reading was mostly negative re the judge will side with him. I worry that he would ask for overnights and that would put the girls in harms way plus they have never had them with him. I’m not sure he would ask for that as he doesn’t have a bedroom for the girls but it’s sort of my worse case scenario… and dealing w a personality disorder means he could do it to hurt me or for control. The chart also said this is early stages and likely to go on for a long time neither side conceding. I dont know whether to wait and play a stronger hand or go to war and lose the first battle. He makes a lot more $ as I’m a teacher so that’s a factor too.
Pluto is about to move into Aquarius on March 23. It's been in Capricorn since 2008 and has done its typical Pluto thing of breaking down structures that aren't working so that they can reborn. In Capricorn, that has meant exposing the inequalities and unsustainability of business, finance, hierarchies, the use of resources, and capitalism.
Pluto will do a few initial forays into Aquarius, moving back into Capricorn off and on (for some final lessons?) until November 19, 2024, when it moves forward definitively into Aquarius until 2043. (The last time it was in Aquarius was from 1777-1797.)
Aquarius rules technology, science, the future, equality, humanitarian actions, sudden change, and revolution, among other things.
It will be interesting to see if this first push of Pluto into Aquarius from March 23-June 11 gives a preview of things to come over the next 20+ years.