Mercury in Virgo, August 15th to September 1st – An Organized and Well-Oiled Machine

Mercury's guiding tarot card, The Magician from
"Wizard's Tarot"© by corrine Kenner
and John J. Blumen

On August 15th, Mercury began it’s trek across i-dotting, t-crossing Virgo.  This is great energy to help us wind down the summer.  Believe it or not, it’s time to gear up for Labor Day weekend and the transition into fall.  Mercury in Virgo gives us the organizational boost to re-pack that tent and get the camping gear ready to go for one last summer time hoorah. 

Mercury in Virgo is an efficient mind.  Everything is examined and systematically sorted.   Flow charts and lists become our new friends.  People with Mercury in Virgo in their birth chart can often give Martha Stewart a run for her money.  They plan wonderful parties, or large scale events where everyone feels welcome and included. They are highly creative people.  Who knew pop can tops could be turned into tech-metal garland for an urban industrial-themed picnic? Who ever knew people would attend an urban industrial-themed picnic for that matter? Mercury in Virgo, naturally.  

Virgo's card, The Hermit - self-contained
and living their truth - yup, makes sense
From "Steampunk Tarot" by Barbara Moore
and Aly Fell

All of us can enjoy the benefits of Mercury’s energy during this transit whether we’re readying for the trip back to college, starting a new project at work, or breaking out the glass jars to prepare for pickling. We understand cause and effect much more clearly right now and we also can discern patterns, whether they’re in behaviors, or in chemical analysis. Expect some emotional distance right now, either from yourself, or from others. While Mercury is the planet of communications, it is primarily the planet of the mind and we are more comfortable during the next two weeks with our own thoughts and theories than with emotion. Pay attention to the suit of swords in your tarot readings, particularly the ace. Aces are alway good news because they mean something new is beginning and nothing makes things happen like an organized and creative mind.  

LADY ORACLE

Capricorn, December 22nd to January 21st - “When the Zodiac Gets Your Goat”

#21, The World from Corinne Kenner
and John J. Blumen's "Wizard's Tarot"©
is the tarot association for Saturn,
ruling planet for Capricorn

There’s a reason the classic depiction of the sign, Capricorn shows a goat with a fish tail.  Sea-goats were a mythic animal of ancient Greece with the head and forelegs of a goat and the hind legs of a fish – perfect fare for a ‘surf and turf’ platter. Sea-goats were reputedly intelligent and highly honorable.  They were favorites of Chronos, (another name of Saturn) also known as ‘Father Time.’  The sea-goat kids became enchanted with the idea of life on dry land.  They swam to shore every day, dragging themselves along the sand on their forelegs to lie in the sun.  They stayed on land so long that eventually their fish tails changed to hind legs and they lost their ability to speak and to reason. 

Pricus, leader of the sea-goats, could manipulate time and space.  He used his powers to rewind time and return the kids to the ocean so he could prevent them from going ashore.  No matter how many times he tried to alter the future though, the results remained the same.  He couldn’t prevent the sea-goat kids from going ashore and evolving into regular goats.  Eventually, like all parents, Pricus came to realize he couldn’t control the actions, or the destiny of his children.  To ease his heavy heart and loneliness, Chronos placed Pricus in the stars to become the tenth sign of the Zodiac, Capricorn the Goat. 

Capricorns are nothing, if not persistent.  Ruled by Saturn,

Capricorn as the fish-tailed goat

these intense, yet, practical people fix on a goal and pursue it with relentless efficiency.  They are ambitious, highly organized and have amazing self-control.  If you support their vision, great.  If you don’t, get out of their way.  Capricorns aren’t kind to those who block their efforts.  Luckily, they are also not ones to hold a grudge.    

If you work with a Capricorn you know they are diligent, hard workers who don’t shirk responsibility.  Capricorn is a cardinal sign, which makes its children independent and enterprising.  For goat people, success is not simply pleasing a supervisor, it’s about company-wide, even industry-wide recognition.  They are goats, after all, and like the view from the top of the mountain. Capricorns are not risk takers by nature and favor a conventional approach in all things.  Don’t look for Capricorn’s aid in a corporate power struggle.  They will look after their own interests first.

Goat people are very good with money.  They don’t love wealth for wealth’s sake, mind you.  Goats understand money and its uses – primarily the power one derives from wealth. Capricorn is very generous with their money, but not above using it as a means of manipulating people, or situations to their liking.

Capricorn is an earth sign that carries yin, or female energy.  This is an indirect energy – a little surprising for the persistent goat.  Their best mates are other earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), but they also do well with water people ( Scorpio, Cancer, Pisces).  These first children of the winter value stability and longevity in their relationships.  They like warm, comforting homes that act as retreats instead of homes that operate as staging areas for the events of their lives.

Capricorns are marvelous ‘go to’ guys and knowing them can be a rich and rewarding experience.  Celebrate the persistent and evolutionary energy of this sign as we make the turn into the new year.

LADY ORACLE