Mercury Rx in Leo
An Invitation to Cosmic Alchemy!
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Mercury's retrogrades are one of the most notorious phenomenon in astrology, and yet also one of the most complex and thus often misunderstood. Despite the propensity of most astrologers to simply apply warning labels, I have always felt that if these periods are approached with the proper reverence and flexibility they have tremendous potential for learning, growth and even positive action. That's why in my book I refer to Mercury's retrograde as a “backward trickster medicine dance,” since the trickster has always been seen as an archetype capable of powerfully re-shaping the World.
In alchemy there is a saying that the practitioner should seek to “make the fixed volatile and the volatile fixed.” This means that we are constantly seeking to perform the “hieros gamos” or sacred marriage of opposites, as a kind of perpetual dance or juggling act of balancing opposites. So you see, as an alchemist, the inherent volatility of the retrograde represents not a problem to be avoided but rather an opportunity to be seized. On the one hand we have an opportunity to shake up those things which have become overly fixed and thus stale or even stagnant. On the other hand, we can also seek to take this volatile energy and fix it into place, perhaps seeking inspiration through creative or introspective exercises, but also even in daring acts of contrarian forwardness. For instance, I posted the first episode of my podcast on the day of a Mercury Rx cazimi with the Sun, back in February 2008.
From a heliocentric point of view, the cazimi is a time where Mercury is passing between the Sun and the Earth. As a mediator capable of reconciling all opposing forces, Mercury has the unique capacity to integrate the volatile Solar energy with the fixed nature of Earth. Therefore Mercury's cazimis represent not only what was framed classically as an opportunity of a meeting in the throne room of the king, but moreover, a deeper integration of mind, body and soul. In alchemy this kind of integration is what leads to the birth of higher consciousness, the kind which becomes a guiding force in one's life. In tantra this is known as hieros gamos or sacred marriage, and can be pictured in images such as the Lovers card of the Major Arcana of the Tarot. In alchemy, this joining of opposites was pictured in the form of the Rebis, short for res bina, which is Latin for “double matter.”
Rebis as Prima Materia, or “First Matter” -from Viatorium Spagyricum, by Heinrich Jamsthaler, 1625
In her book on Alchemy, Marie Louise Von Franz wrote, regarding this figure: “The philosophical egg is both birthplace of, and container for, the new attitudes symbolised by the alchemical goal of the conjunctio, the union of opposites (male and female, consciousness and the unconscious, etc.). Here that goal is pictured as hermaphrodite in triumph over the dragon and the winged globe of chaos, threatening faces of the unconscious. The seven planets represent different aspects of the personality and the seven stages of transformation.”
My own interpretation of this image would be slightly different, and perhaps even somewhat more Freudian. I can easily see the Dragon as the aspect of the unconscious which Freud called the Id -the instinctive, animalistic part of the personality primarily concerned with survival, gratification, reproduction etc (energies which Joseph Campbell ascribes to the three lower chakras). Rather than an aspect of the Unconscious, I would tend to see the winged globe representing Natural Law, in one form or another. Astrologers should take particular notice that the winged globe contains both geometry and number, in a way that could easily represent the first four numbers and astrological aspects (conjunction, opposition, trine and square). Those with broader Esoteric backgrounds could see this as a reference to the Pythagorean Tetractys, where the numbers one through ten are seen to bring physical reality into being in four stages, similar to the Hebrew Kabbalah (with its ten sephirot and four worlds).
So, the Dragon sitting upon the winged globe suggests that the Natural World arises from, and is subject to, Natural Law -which underpins everything. But (so far as we know) Nature is (relatively) unconscious of these laws. The Rebis figure, since it is holding the masonic tools of square and compass, suggests conscious knowledge of Natural Law. Above the Rebis (but still within the egg) are the seven visible planets of our solar system. Most astrologers agree with von Franz that these can represent different aspects of the personality and certainly many alchemists see them as representing stages in the Alchemical Opus. But much more importantly, they also represent THE fundamental knowledge which separates humans from the Natural World (and thus the Dragon).
In human pre-history, the early megalithic calendars largely tracked Solar and Lunar cycles (along with fixed stars). These were later replaced by Ziggurats designed to track the five visible planets, and this shift in perspective corresponds to the Neolithic or Agricultural Revolution which spawned Civilization, as we know it.
From this perspective, the seven visible planets represent the “higher knowledge” of the Natural Law of the three and four (which together make seven) within the winged sphere. Thus the Rebis figure becomes an emblem of the alchemical joining of the Hermetic principles of Above and Below, which can also be seen philosophically as Intellect and Nature, psychologically as Conscious and Unconscious etc, etc.
To me this alchemical process of unification of opposites is available during every single Mercury retrograde, more or less, depending somewhat on configuration to the nativity. A good part of my book is dedicated to being a guide for navigating this process. I’ll share the short version here.
About ten years ago, I discovered that the visible apparitions of Mercury (via the astronomical event of maximum elongation) magically book-end the invisible Cazimi to form a Triptych of alignments which neatly mirror the language of the revered Emerald Tablet. That which is Above (Evening elongation) corresponds to that which is Below (Inferior conjunction or Cazimi) and that which is Below (Inferior conjunction or Cazimi) corresponds to that which is Above (Morning elongation). This Triptych takes approximately 40 days (an “Alchemical month”) to unfold, thereby opening for us an Alchemical vessel within which profound transformations may take place.
This Triptych opens at evening elongation (July 4) and closes at morning elongation (August 19). Since these dates correspond to (occur in the same degrees as) the Cazimi (July 31), I have taken to dividing this sacred window into three parts according the the classical alchemical color scheme of black, white and red. In other words, we can re-imagine the so-called “shadow” of the Retrograde to consist of three parts which may (upon proper reflection) correspond experientially to the three classic phases of Alchemical transformation: nigredo, albedo, rubedo.
Thus, we may first experience the break-down (nigredo) of something that is requiring change or updating in our lives. This would be followed by the possibility of a break-through (albedo) which brings us insight into the wherefores and whys of the situation, or perhaps more simply an at least temporary solution to the “problem” introduced by the nigredo. And finally we may experience a completion or re-unification or restoration of wholeness (rubedo) which gives us a new updated truth upon which we may learn to live going forward.
This particular Mercury Triptych is happening in wide aspect to all the outer planets, as they come into a rare formation. This could mean the process is much more intense. It could also mean that we have access to insights into the meaning and purpose of this long term energetic impulse. Generally outer planet alignments serve to open and/or close doors between what we later call Historical Eras. In the midst of such history making energies it can be easy for the individual to get lost. But if we use this Mercury Rx for sacred alchemy we may not only be able to achieve a personal hieros gamos or sacred union, but we may even be able to come into correspondence with the “Spirit of the Times.”
Contemplating sacred alchemical images like the Rebis figure, as we’ve done above, can help catalyze this process. We can also attempt our own versions of images designed to bring together these vast planetary forces. To this end, I shared a “bind glyph” or combination of the Saturn and Neptune glyphs with some of my students in Spain earlier this year. As a visual cue for integration, this symbol has the potential to activate forces deep in the subconscious. By combining it with the three colors of the alchemical stages of transformation, we are invoking the process of sacred union in a way which also allows us to come into correspondence with the Spirit of the Times, and this rare alignment of Saturn and Neptune on the Aries Point. You might want to play with creating your own Mandala during this 40 day Alchemical journey.
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