Energy Astrology: July 2006 Column

Lassoing the Stars for a Better Life

By Cyndi Dale

The Adventure of Reflection

Every month, the skies present a kaleidoscope of colorful events that appear either threatening or supportive. No one seems to like the occurrence facing us in July; that of Mercury in retrograde. The truth is that energies that seemingly throw us in reverse can also engineer us forward sometimes into the greatest adventures of our lives!

Mercury is the planet of communication. Even before I knew anything about astrology, friends would groan and complain when Mercury was about to traverse backward. “My computer’s going to go down, I just know it;” “I’d better not sign a major contract, or else;” “Last time this happened, my phone sounded static for two straight weeks.” Astrological fluctuations are physical as well as energetic. There are measurable celestial energies that affect instruments and mechanical devices, and often do when Mercury is going backward. As physical as these energies and their consequences, so are they spiritual.

Mercury in reverse presents a wonderful spiritual opportunity, that of unpinning from externals in favor of going internal. From July 4^th through 28^th you certainly might experience a few haywire energies my landline has already informed me that it isn’t going to work, and we’re on the cusp! You might even find yourself crying a few times, as Mercury is traversing into Cancer, the planet of emotions. Of course it’s stressful to have our cell phone decide to dial Alaska when we’re trying to reach our mother, who lives a mile away. But in the middle of this all the spiritual energy of Reflection is shining, offering us the ultimate adventure in communication communicating with ourselves.

The Spiritual Backdrop

Recently, I taught at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. There were four of us traveling together in one car. Our aim was to find a certain hotel for the evening, which was supposedly about a forty-five minute drive. Life is full of suppositions that end up being more about impossibility than probability.

About five hours later, we pulled into the hotel.

There were many lessons learned that day. Though we all knew how to read a map, we discovered that directions are only as good as the map. Start with a bad map, and you aren’t going to get anywhere very fast. The most intelligent move of the day, however, occurred at a certain point about four hours into the trek, at which point we figured out that we were going the wrong direction. One of the journeyers suggested that we continue forward, for certainly we would come to a road that would cut over. I strongly vetoed the idea, opting for a turn around. Thus we reversed, making our first brilliant choice of the day. If any troupe of adventurers was doomed to never find the yellow brick road the “cut over road,” it was we.

How many times in life do you discover that it’s better to pause or even turn around rather than forge ahead? If a friend isn’t sure about an upcoming marriage; your college-aged student isn’t sure about his or her chosen major; or you don’t think the car you’re driving is going to make it to your destination, would you say, “Plunge on?” No, you’d say wisdom and valor would insist upon stopping. When you’re stopped, you have time to understand, create choices, and perhaps make new decisions. You have time to Reflect.

While the astrological spins Mercury with emotions, the spiritual backdrop offers us the energy of Reflection. To reflect means to redirect. Technically, “to reflect” is to direct something that strikes a surface back to its point of origin. We don’t look at a mirror to see the mirror; we look at it to see an image of ourselves. We are the point of origin for the mirrored image. Thus are we invited to reflect upon our internal rather than external reality to figure out who we are and who we want to be in this month of Mercury mayhem.

When we gaze at a mirror, the image is reversed. Your reverse image isn’t the same as your true image, but it can provide helpful insights. You might pinpoint the lint on your sweater or prevent a total fashion mishap, all at the cost of a simple glance in the mirror. Even so, by looking only outside of yourself even if it’s at an image of yourself you won’t see who you really are, only a backward idea.

Most of us look outside of ourselves to figure ourselves out. Our most common reflectors are other people. Someone says that we’re ugly, and we believe it. Someone else says that we’re smart, and we believe that. We’ll never gain a clear view of ourselves through another’s eyes because they are busy seeing through the eyes that taught them who they are! We all interpret through our own viewfinder, the filters usually constituted from family, cultural, religious, and gender ideologies none of which find particular, peculiar, and real personalities very acceptable. If someone was raised to think that red hair is ugly and you have red hair, guess why he or she thinks you are ugly?

If communication gets shorted out or emotional this month, it’s only to help you determine first who you are and second what others think or feel. We only get stressed at addled externals if we are addled inside; we only become disoriented if we aren’t oriented in our own true being. Let the energy of Reflection embrace you in its Surround Sound buffering, encouraging you to engage in self- rather than only other-communication this month. That way, you can use the marvelous commotion of Mercury to tune out the world. That way, Reflection can teach you how to direct your own energies toward your own goals, not those the world might mirror to you.

When Emotions Mix with Mercury:

The Catalyst for Change

There are many definitions of Mercury. It is the name of the Roman god of commerce and rhetoric, who acted as a messenger between humans and the gods. It is also the name of the smallest planet in the solar system, which is going in reverse between July 4^th and July 28^th. Appropriately named, this tiny planet’s reverse trek is well known as causative for fouled communication, whether between people or technologies.

Mercury is also a physical substance. At significant levels, it is toxic to the body. It confuses the cells and makes it hard for the nerves to accurately communicate with each other. In controlled situations, it is a communication asset. In a thermometer, it responds to the weather to reflect the temperature. No matter the definition, the common thread is that Mercury is about communication and not just any communication. It connects human to divine.

Mercury can dismantle the linkage between the nerves and the brain and our bodies and technology, but in a grander sense, it also establishes the connection between the gods and humankind between our divine and human aspects. When seen energetically or through the lens of the energy system, a collection of energy bodies called chakras and auric fields, Mercury is represented by the fifth chakra. This energy center, located in the throat, is the basis of communication with the Divine, celestial guidance, entities, other people, and our internal self. We receive guidance through the backside of this chakra and express our truths through the front side, whether through talking, writing, or making music. When Mercury goes in reverse, it’s no wonder we feel screwed up, as most of us are used to relying on external rather than internal sources of communication, and on human rather than divine inspiration.

This month, Mercury begins in Leo, a testy and burning energy, but finally establishes itself in Cancer, the planetary representation of emotion. Cancer energy primarily relates to the second chakra, which is situated in the abdomen. This center of feelings and creativity literally pulses with color, sensuality, play, feelings, and original ideas. Link your second and fifth chakras this month, and your feelings will not only tell you what you REALLY think and feel, but they will finally become the tools for transformation that they are meant to be. Reflect on your feelings and you’ll be able to better express your reality, thereby enabling reality to better respond to you.

Three Steps to Adventure

Reflection is really an invitation into adventure the adventure of knowing yourself. When you know yourself, you are at ease in any situation. Being confident invites “instant messenger” service to your inner self as well as the divine. The resulting insights can transform even the most challenging of situations into golden opportunities.

To best utilize the combined forces or maybe commotion -- of Mercury, emotion, and Reflection, here are three steps:

Feel. Go ahead and feel. Feel your feelings, feel the texture of your clothing, feel your shoes and your opinions, your thoughts and your skin. This is the first and most important step in getting to know yourself and in being your true self. As you give yourself permission to indulge in this most basic and even playful of communications, you’ll probably become aware of your “sabotaging patterns,” ways that you keep yourself from having integrity. We all sabotage our true selves, therefore inhibiting our ability to get what we really want in life. We tell ourselves that others’ feelings are more important than our own, or that our feelings are stupid, or maybe even worthless. We don’t know what we really think about something unless first we feel it.
Reflect. It’s dangerous to move from feelings to _expression (or action) before first understanding the meaning of our feelings. We might feel hot, for instance, and assume that the room is too cold. We get up and open a window, thus annoying everyone around us, only to find out that we’re having a hot flash or that we’re getting sick or that we are having an allergic reaction to our wool sweater. Feelings don’t make reality, they only describes it. Stay with your feelings until you know what they mean.
Express. As Mercury ultimately invites communication, so will you move into a more direct relationship with the world through Reflection. After you’ve determined the nature and meaning of your feelings, take action or not. Sometimes it’s more truthful to not say what’s on our minds, especially if our motivation is hurtful rather than loving. Then again, sometimes our inner feelings and self-knowledge call for action and _expression. Reflection will help you decide which way to go.