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  • Writer's pictureIlin Shieh

Mercury Retrograde mini-read

Welcome to the 10/13-11/3 2020 Mercury Retrograde season. And goodness we are headed into the last quarter of the pre-election madness. The astrology is definitely showing a time of unease, but I have to say, as much as the mini-read mirrors the messy transformation, it is also showing tremendous positivity and availability of balance and equanimity down the road. Surprising even to me at this emotionally chaotic juncture, but I have to tell it as it is.


So here we go with the mercury retrograde mini-read with the 4-card Gaian spread, clarified by flanking White Sage tarot.



10.01.2020-10.14.2020

Child of Fire (Page of Wands), Queen of Wands, the Empress


There is a lot of strong feminine energy supporting the explorations of the Page of Wands. Feminine power, as represented by Queen of Wands, is rising to support the next generation of initiatives and innovations to help bring Gaia back into balance. The pre-retrograde period had been a period of stoking the fires of imagination before we decided to "do" anything. Suggested by the Empress, this is a period of incubation, a time to nurture creativity for creativity sake. Letting the mind move with the dancing flames without need to focus. There is a sense that we are supported in both finances and spirit to have enough energy to plan for new ventures. So hopefully that's what we did. Jane Fonda and her "Fire Drill Fridays" really embodies this energy. She is providing the platform for our new generation to have a say on green politics, and inspiring all of us to get passionate about a subject that is not only crucial, but also super hopeful in economic possibilities. This is the power of Venus in Virgo in grand trine with Uranus in Taurus and the three professors in Capricorn. Unconventional, but super practical and ultimately revealing of where we take the next stage of institutional transformation; or on a more personal level, the transformation of the structures of our lives that make it sustainable.


10.15.2020-10.28.2020

Ten of Fire, 10 of Cups, the World


Wowsers, we are not sugarcoating this period with the appearance of Ten of Fire. We are negotiating endings in all sorts of arenas and under a whole range of circumstances. Though we know it is for the very best of all outcomes because we have the 10 of Cups and the World as clarifiers, the fire that literally represented the forrest fires we've been through here in the West Coast still was no walk in the park. With the Libra New Moon on 10/16 opposing Mars, we are really ending certain partnerships and preparing to re-start others. Depending on where the opposition happens in our charts, the arenas would be different. The easiest example would be for a natural chart, where Mars would be transiting the first house in Aries. For them, they would be transformed through the fires of Mars in order to have a new Moon, a new start, in their partnerships. Or, and just as valid, they would need to consider ending or renewing bonds, in order to transform the self. Either and both could happen. So either way, something is burning down in our lives so the acorn of new potentiality can be activated for growth. Again, not all of this is "bad." It can be marriage that leads to completion of a cycle. Or death, conceiving, graduation, or getting a new job but needing to uproot from current community. [Or getting voted out of office]. Whatever it is, it is actually good, so remember that if the transformation brings on grief and pain - this too shall pass.


10.29.2020-11.12.2020

Four of Air, 4 of Wands, the Hermit


There is A LOT of rest happening in this period, which brings me to conjecture that we are all able to sigh a sigh of relief by the end of the election season. It is a sigh of contentment because the 4 of Wands suggests that there is actually a sense of security and stability for the birds to come home to roost in the Gaian Four of Air. We can actually feel safe and burrowed in our homes now, while we reflect on the happenings of the year and recuperate with the Hermit. I don't know how else to interpret this but just one big sigh of relief, even inching into the territory of triumph and victory as was foreshadowed by the 10 of Cups. I say take it, we've all earned it for crying out loud. Don't be shy and just sink into the fluffy pillows and take that sweet nap. Even the sloth is smiling. So again I stand by what I said in the Mars retrograde read, the outcome of the election feels hopeful with a sense that stability is finally on the horizon.


11.13.2020-11.27.2020

Three of Earth, Page of Cups, King of Cups


And as much as I try not to repeat the message, the message is repeating that we are headed into fruitful times. I can't help but feel hopeful for the national scene when I see Three of Earth flanked by Page of Cups and King of Cups. King of Cups is my Biden card, so when I see this combination I see that he is able to rely on the help of the next generation to build a new Green Economy that's based on teamwork, expertise, innovations, and considerations for equality. The beauty of the Three of Earth is that this collaboration is divinely orchestrated and blessed, as we see the window behind the women open to breeze, signifying co-creation with spirit. Just a quick sidebar here: I'd like to give thanks and gratitude to the Gaian deck's author and illustrator, Joanna Powell Colbert. While the deck's themes are mostly North American, I still get floored by how culturally diverse and symbolically rich it is every time I use it. I am blessed to have in my possession her self-published and autographed deck. Now back to the read, on the personal front, our quiet investigation of what partnership and support looks like for us begins to take shape and manifest. We are in a more receptive mode for mutual contribution and help as Venus enters Libra and passes the tension point with Mars. Not easy at all leading up to this point, but the Scorpio new moon on 11/14 ushers us into a new sense of intimacy that finally gets us seen for who we are. And we can all thank 2020 for the involuntary baring of the soul, because we would not have done it willingly. And because it is Scorpio, and it is a new moon, the transformation continues, but it is now about growing new skin after a long period of shedding. Coupled with Thanksgiving, we are in for some truly intimate and heart-felt times with those who are truly on our side. Personal, national, global, and beyond. And may it be just so. Namaste.

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TAROT ∙ ASTROLOGY ∙ METAPHYSICS

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