Wizard Weekly by Daniel Giamario | May 11, 2025 |
The understanding of the synodic cycles of Mercury, Venus, Mars and the Moon is a foundational feature of the Shamanic Astrology Paradigm ™. The events of this week bring my attention to Mercury. TOTAMS has an entire online course solely dedicated to this subject.
The current 126-day Mercury synodic cycle has an Overstory of Pisces (as does Venus’ current cycle). For Mercury, the sign of the Overstory is established by the sign where it turns direct. This week, from May 15-21, Mercury is in its unique phase known as the First Guardian of the Threshold. This is when Mercury is between 10-15degress from the Sun, on the descent to the exterior underworld, which is when the planet is on the other side of the Sun as perceived from Earth. Thereafter, from May 21 – June 7, Mercury traverses the psychopomp phase. This is followed by the Second Guardian of the Threshold phase, June 7-12. During the First Guardian phase, Mercury moves from 11-21 of Taurus, including a square to Mars on May 17 at 13Taurus53 / 13Leo53.
The synod of Mercury has various phases reflecting the different guises and functions of Mercury (Hermes to the Greeks and Thoth to the Egyptians.) These include shapeshifter, heyokah, thief, trickster, magician, clear teacher, eternal youth and others. But, what is the Guardian of the Threshold phase, and why are there two of them?
For many years our understanding has been that the First Guardian phase was when Mercury would greet pilgrims and journeyers to the Underworld and then guard that entrance. The Second Guardian would greet those journeyers upon their emergence from the Underwold. But due to my further studies of the work of Rudolf Steiner, whose development of Astrosophy has influenced my views, this understanding has now evolved to another level.
For those on a spiritual journey, meeting the First Guardian of the Threshold is a Spiritual Initiation. Mercury emerges as the aspirant reaches upon a path into the higher worlds of knowledge. It is here that the pilgrim faces his karma, his shadow, and any moral and ethical oversights. This best occurs before entering the Underworld, as well as before reaching physical death. From May 15-21, Mercury appears to anyone at that stage of their life’s journey. As psychopomp, May 21 – June 7, Mercury is a guide for those souls traversing the many layers and levels of the exterior underworld, that includes the Celestial World and the Otherworld.
If the aspirant has met the challenges well, the second guardian appears, June 7-12, to reveal the Higher Mysteries available to initiates.
As this is a Pisces Overstory, these next four weeks of the Mercury transit are a great opportunity for opening the heart of compassion to the sorrow and suffering in the world, and even more so, your own sorrow and grief. The final teachings of the Pisces Mystery School of Life are to include yourself – that you, too, are worthy of Mercy, Grace, and even Divine Providence.
An Afterword about Mother’s Day
Early observance of Mother’s Day occurred in pre-patriarchal Greece to honor Rhea, daughter of Gaia. Her story is quite interesting! Excerpted from Wickipedia:
Rhea is a mother goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Titan daughter of the earth goddess Gaia and the sky god Uranus, himself a son of Gaia. She is the older sister of Cronus, who was also her consort, and the mother of the five eldest Olympian gods (Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon, and Zeus) and Hades, king of the underworld. She was recognized as the goddess of female fertility, motherhood, and generation. Her name means “flow” and “ease”.
Also interesting to note is that Anna Jarvis, the American who championed the establishment of a formally acknowledged Mothers’s Day, disavowed it a year later because it had been commercialized. In the 1800’s the earlier versions of Mother’s Day had an anti-war focus.