FACEBOOK POST March 23, 2022
By Erik M Roth of Inspiral Nexus
Link to my astrology page: https://www.facebook.com/InSpiralNexus
Mercury in Pisces has been rapidly making its way closer to the Sun’s glare. It will really begin to disappear starting on the 23rd of March, when it reaches 10° from the Sun. This happens several times a year (including when Mercury is retrograde). Many in the Northern Hemisphere will have trouble seeing it even before the 23rd due to the planet’s declination as it is a bit far south in relation to the equator. But many in the Southern Hemisphere may see Mercury for a few days after the 23rd, depending upon their horizon line.
Mercury has been just barely visible to most people on the planet in the early morning skies, but it will become more visible in April in the evening. This movement into the glare of the Sun signals a new phase of the Mercury cycle, called “psychopomp” in Shamanic Astrology. This is the phase where Mercury enters the shamanic underworld, shifting into a role that connects it to the ancient guide for souls navigating that world.
This phase will last until Mercury again reaches 10° from the Sun, becoming visible in the early evening on April 11th. This time in the underworld helps initiate our relationship with Mercury in a sense of our own mind’s guidance through the chaos and irrational while understanding the deeper purpose of this for our mind’s growth.
Currently, Mercury is in the sign of Pisces, assisting us with our heart and feelings as well that ethereal connection to Source. Mercury then ingresses into the sign of Aries on March 27th and has a date with the Sun in conjunction on April 2nd at 13° 11’ of Aries before rising in the evening sky April 11th in the sign of Taurus at 02° 16’. The entire time Mercury is in the sign of Aries will generally not be visible to us here from Earth. It’s an archetypal transition from the heart to instinct/intuition. It is a migration from our feelings to a space of primal instinct, honed for moment to moment of time. Instead of the passive Pisces, it is an assertive, action-filled archetype in Aries.
We are just past the vernal equinox where the Sun has crossed the projected equator from south to north and into the sign of Aries. The Sun in Aries’ archetypal expression will fuel the transition of Mercury from Pisces to Aries.
There is a deeper dive into the alignments in 2022 and more about the equinox here.
Mercury is on the other side of the Solar System during the psychopomp phase of the cycle, taking us into the hidden realm within and without. This is not a bad place or something inherently negative, but more of a place symbolized by shamanic death-rebirth and having to do with the mind. The mind’s expression of the heart (Pisces) and instinct (Aries) are the archetypal fields in which Mercury is expressing itself through us. This means a significant shift is in the air as we move from a heart-centered archetype to something resembling spring rebirth of an emerging mission and purpose.
But with the building up of the Neptune-Jupiter conjunction in Pisces in April, the Aries instincts may be a bit more scattered and unfocused. However, as Mercury emerges into visibility on April 11th, we can experience a slower pace of activity to enjoy the gifts we have been given in this breath of life. Mercury emerges from the psychopomp phase and into the “guardian” phase at that time.