In the Stars

On February 8, transiting Mercury in Aquarius will form a trine with my natal Neptune in Libra.

Quick Astrology Primer/Refresher

• Mercury is the planet of the mind, communication, and short trips
• Neptune is the planet of dreams, imagination, illusions, and spiritual urges
• The trine aspect occurs when two planets or luminaries are at a 120 degree angle to each other. This is considered to be a highly favorable aspect.

I'm going to expand In the Stars to include a bit more of a Tarot presence by showing the cards associated with Mercury and Neptune. It's important to remember that there is no "universal" system for this. Many readers use the associations developed by the Order of the Golden Dawn (OGD), but that is by no means the only system in use. At the moment, I enjoy comparing the OGD attributions with those presented by David Thornton.

Mercury: Both the OGD and Thornton associate Mercury with The Magician.
Neptune: Neptune is not in the OGD system presented in Book T because it had not yet been discovered when that system was first developed. These days, many systems associate Neptune with The Hanged Man (associated with the element Water in Book T). Thornton links Neptune to The Moon card. (Side Note: Neptune rules the sign Pisces, which Book T associates with The Moon card.)

I actually like all of these associations in this situation, so I'm going to pull The Magician to represent Mercury and both The Moon and The Hanged Man to represent Neptune. The traditional Rider-Waite-Smith cards represent the Mercury and Neptune trine.

The triangle in the middle is the symbol for the astrological trine. So in this scenario we have The Magician making nice with The Moon and The Hanged Man. Hugs and kisses all around. The noticeable effects of this trine may begin on February 7 and linger through February 9.






Since the trine is such a beneficial aspect, I am asking the cards:
How can I make the most of this harmonious transit?

I am using two decks for this reading because I don't want to keep those three Major Arcana cards out of the reading, yet I want them in front of me as I shuffle and pull my answer from the deck.

The Universal Waite is going to tell me how I can make the most of this harmonious aspect. Drum roll please... and we have...

TEMPERANCE

This is rich! I love it! In the OGD system, Temperance is associated with Sagittarius, my Sun sign. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the Greater Benefic. Who better to advise me on how to make the most of a trine?

My keywords for Temperance are moderation, balance, and blending of energies.

During this transit, I can capitalize on a harmonious mixture of mental, emotional, and spiritual energy -- a balance between intellect and intuition. This would be a great time to write (Mercury) something based on a dream (Neptune) or put wild imaginings (Neptune) into words (Mercury).

Under this transit, my logical side is less likely to find fault with my imaginative, other-wordly side (and vice versa). Instead, these two powerful components of my Self will find common ground and actually appreciate what the other brings to the mix.  Here there is compromise and an opportunity to benefit from a powerful "whole" made up of parts that often clash or compete.

The Magician hands the Temperance angel the chalice from his table. Temperance fills another chalice with water from the Moon-lit lake. The angel blends the contents of these two chalices skillfully as The Hanged Man looks on in approval. This makes his sacrifice worthwhile.

For additional Astrology/Tarot insights, skibble on over to the Tarot Dynamics web site and read the premier edition of Anna Cook's newsletter!

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My guests today on In the Stars:

• The Rider Tarot Deck (conceived by Arthur Edward Waite; published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.)
• The Universal Waite Tarot Deck (drawings by Pamela Colman Smith, coloring by Mary Hanson-Roberts, conceived by Stuart R. Kaplan; published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.)