The Astro Study Room
Learning the truth of the stars together. Astrology 101 with a few side quests.
The Astro Study Room
#5 - Mercury: Messenger Between Worlds
Step into the cosmic classroom as we decode Mercury, the messenger planet that bridges our inner and outer worlds. Mercury's influence extends far beyond the dreaded retrograde periods. It shapes how we think, speak, process information, and navigate daily interactions. Like its namesake deity Hermes who traveled between Mount Olympus and the Underworld, Mercury represents the crucial connection between our subconscious thoughts and conscious expression.
The fascinating link between Mercury and Peter Pan reveals deeper truths about this planetary energy. Both are perpetual travelers between worlds, quick-moving tricksters who embody curiosity and playfulness while carrying important messages. This duality reflects Mercury's rulership of Gemini, where communication flows freely between different realms of understanding. When we embrace Mercury's energy, we tap into our ability to bridge gaps in communication and understanding.
Mercury's dominion over the nervous system explains why retrograde periods can feel so disruptive; they temporarily alter our processing systems. Rather than fearing these cycles, we can use them as invitations to slow down and reflect. Working with blue lace agate or fluorite crystals, practicing somatic movement, or incorporating aromatic herbs like mint and lavender can help strengthen your connection to Mercury's clarifying energy. Even a simple digital detox honors Mercury by creating space to observe how technology shapes our thought patterns.
Your natal Mercury placement reveals profound insights about your natural communication style. Where does Mercury reside in your chart, and what does it tell you about how you process information and express yourself?
Until next time, we invite you to connect with us on Patreon for additional resources and to share your Mercury insights!
If you are interested in getting a reading from Jordan, you can email her at yourwitchylibrarian@gmail.com or message us on instagram @TheAstroStudyRoom
Follow Ember’s embodiment journey on Instagram @emberfaemagic and message her for oracle card readings or just to say hi!
Ember's favorite Mercury tea: Mercury retrograde tea
Hey STAR students, welcome back to the Astro Study Room. I'm Ember Fang, your friendly neighborhood fire fairy witch.
Speaker 2:And I'm Jordan, a university librarian by day and a dedicated astrology student by night. But Leslie, our friend Leslie, loves to call me Astro Jordan.
Speaker 1:You like how I snuck that in?
Speaker 2:there I saw that I was like oh man. Our goal for this podcast is to feel like we're all just students meeting up after class to go over our notes together Every other Tuesday. We will be exploring core astrology topics, breaking them down and just chatting about how these concepts show up in our real lives and reflect on what wisdom the stars have to share with us. If you enjoy this episode, I hope you will consider subscribing and leaving us a review to help us grow this little cohort of astrology students Welcome to episode five, where we're really going to start downloading all the information about our planetary bodies, and we are going to start with Mercury.
Speaker 1:Mercury, I bow down to you right now because we are souls.
Speaker 1:Oh man, everyone we're recording during Mercury retrograde. So our plan is basically to group planets together in a way that like would make sense for the episodes, and we really like saw how that ended up with the sun and the moon, where we ended up being too long and so we separated them out, and so since Mercury is really kind of its own solo journey and also the closest planet to the sun, we figured that's where we were going to start. So in the future we'll kind of maybe change up how we're grouping planets together or decide how that's going to go. But for now, here we are.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and we're really excited to get into the planetary bodies from here. I still can't believe we ever thought that we were going to cover all the planets in one episode, once upon a time. But those days are over and we are slightly more realistic now.
Speaker 1:I know I really like how we've been diving into each planet because I know I've definitely been learning a lot. I feel like my astrology expansion just like listening to you, jordan, and going through and doing our research has just helped so much and like really bite-sized pieces. So I love that. And, as a reminder, jordan and I have been slowly releasing content on Patreon to really help you learn more about our luminary bodies and, in the future, the planets and how you can connect with them. And we would love your feedback in the comments or on our social media.
Speaker 1:And, new to our Patreon, our donation tiers. So if you've been loving our starry study sessions and want to help us keep the cosmic classroom open oh my gosh, those are so many like similes in one sentence, dang Then you know we'd be over the moon with your support. We've really just created some fun and really affordable donation tiers to help you stay connected. Support the magic behind the mic, but obviously no pressure to donate at all. We really just want to make this content as accessible as possible as we can to our listeners.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Like Amber said, there's no pressure to donate. Everyone is always encouraged to join us for the free content. As we know, astrology can be a bit expensive to learn and sometimes that price point can be a bit of a barrier to getting into astrology. To either, you know, pay for mentorship or classes or guidance, and we can appreciate that. So we hope to make this space available to everyone.
Speaker 1:Yes, and please let us know how we're doing as I keep joking in the episodes. Comments like subscribe.
Speaker 1:LOL and give us feedback on how we can help you learn. So, jordan and I are both students ourselves. We definitely don't know everything, and we will be totally up front with that. We're learning together in this little astro study room, which is why it is so special to us. So buckle up, star students. Class is officially out and the study room is in session. All right, jordan, we are in our astral weather section. Can you tell us what's going on with the stars today?
Speaker 2:I definitely can, and I also just want to start by saying that, as we've mentioned a few times now, mercury is currently in retrograde as we're recording this, I think it'll still be in retrograde when we post this as well. It will. I checked.
Speaker 1:Okay cool.
Speaker 2:So I wrote this astroweather during this retrograde and I had a lot of trouble getting my words out. So when this comes out very muddled, just know I tried my hardest and you can blame Mercury. We love you, jordan.
Speaker 1:And Mercury, I love you.
Speaker 2:Perfect. So the big thing we're going to talk about today is Saturn's retrograde from Aries into Pisces. Later on in this episode we are going to have a little segment talking about what a retrograde actually is and what the pre and post shadow periods actually are, and what it means for a planet to station direct or station retrograde. For now, I'm just going to throw some relevant dates out to you about Saturn's retrograde. I feel like I'm a news reporter. And Saturn entered its pre-shadow period.
Speaker 1:I'll talk about that later.
Speaker 2:Oh good, saturn entered its pre-shadow period on April 6th of this year at 25 degrees of Pisces. On July 13th, saturn stationed retrograde at one degree of Aries, so this is when the retrograde actually starts, and this is the phase that we are currently in, as we're recording this and as you're listening to this Now, on November 28, saturn will station direct again at 25 degrees of Pisces, and be in its post shadow period until March 3 of 2026. The part that we are most concerned, though, is actually the retrograde period from July 13 through November 28. But I just wanted you to know about those pre and post shadow periods, and we haven't talked about this before, but I want to introduce something new to us. Amber, have you ever heard of Sabian symbols?
Speaker 1:No, what is a Sabian?
Speaker 2:symbol. I'm so glad you asked. Okay, so the Sabian symbols are brief images and words to describe each degree of each zodiac sign. There are 360 degrees on the zodiac wheel and 360 images to go along with them oh, I have not heard of these before.
Speaker 1:Um so is this something you could just like google pretty easily?
Speaker 2:you can yeah, you can google it um, I have a book I will show you personally right now.
Speaker 1:Ember oh see, can you link that in the show? No, I can. I surely can. That is so interesting and they're just pretty much like, like where did they come from? Like what is the point of them?
Speaker 2:yeah, this, this is a fun story. So they were developed in 1925, when astrologer Dr Mark Edmund Jones took his friend Elsie Wheeler and she was a gifted clairvoyant to a park for this little experiment. He had 360 cards like index cards, I assume where he had written a zodiac sign and a degree, and I believe it goes. He focused on the card. Elsie didn't know what was on the card, but she would channel images and describe them to Mark and that was how the Sabian symbols were born. So she would come up with some image without knowing what sign and degree that he was thinking or looking at, and then they would reshuffle and they did this all day. For I think they did. I think the story goes. They did like four hour sessions twice that day, so it took up eight hours to get through all 360 degrees. Today some astrologers like to use these to get additional information from their charts and also in mundane astrology. I know that I personally like to use these for people's rising signs.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, that's so cool. I have 29 degrees at Saturn. I want to like know about this later.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, we should start with your rising sign.
Speaker 1:Okay, but 29 degrees is um the aneretic degree, so very important yes another day yes, we will save that because I have a lot of questions. Um, no, that's really cool, and the fact that they were doing this like so, like psychically, intuitively, back in the 100 years ago now, yeah, that's really cool and actually the first time I'm hearing this.
Speaker 2:So that's yeah, jordan. I don't know how widely used they are I mean, they're widely used enough that some people know about them. But it's definitely 1925. It's a more modern technique, so you're not going to find many traditional astrologers using it. Yeah, but I think they're fun to play with.
Speaker 1:I think so too. I am excited I might buy that book, because that's really fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So we did decide that we would add them in today and just let us know how you all vibe with Sabian symbols. So Saturn stationed retrograde at one degree and I think, 56 minutes of Aries, and we in Sabian symbols you always round up. So we're going to be looking at the image that is associated with two degrees of Aries. So this image is a comedian entertaining a group. Those are the words that Elsie spoke about this degree, and I think the really interesting thing about this Saturn event in Aries, where Saturn is in its fall, is Saturn isn't really funny. So you know, you're not really picturing Saturn as a comedian wanting to entertain a group. I think this Sabian symbol really exemplifies Saturn's major discomfort in Aries, and I said this earlier with the whole Mercury retrograde issue. But even while I was writing this, I struggled to think about how to apply this image of a comedian and an entertainer to Saturn and Aries. So I'm going to read the blurb that comes with the Sabine symbol, and this is straight from Dr Mark Edmund Jones, who was, like I said, one of the creators of these symbols.
Speaker 2:This is a symbol of the mirror which life holds up to itself recurrently and so facilitates an everyday understanding of itself. The identity of each individual is projected back into the wholly naive potentials of his experience, thereby providing a fresh and transcendent self-perspective. Here is man's heightened individuality, as he discovers he may play whatever role he finds useful in each momentary contact with others. Together with the continual self-reassurance he gains in self-rehearsal, the key word is release.
Speaker 2:When positive, the degree is the power of personality through a full and completely uninhibited self-expression, and when negative, a neglect of common responsibility through idle diversions of interest. And the thing that I just thought of, that I want to note here too, I will say you know, saturn is in its fall, so if we're going to apply this to a positive or negative experience, it's probably going to lean more negative. So to read that line again, a neglect of common responsibility, which is Saturn. Saturn is responsibility through idle diversions of interest. And I think diversions of interest that makes me think of Aries, because Aries is always finding new, like you know, that whole, um short attention span.
Speaker 2:Aries is always like quick passion yeah, moving on to new things excitingly and frequently. So that's, that's interesting that that came up. Do you have any immediate reactions, ember?
Speaker 1:yeah, that is such a strange image.
Speaker 1:And I really had to like process that because it's just such like a juicy contrast to Saturn, where Saturn just like you're right, it's not funny Like it's this whole planet about boundaries and discipline and structure, which is like all objectively unfunny. But trying to make like meaning out of that image and I don't know like it's, it also could be like a way to use humor to like deal with that tension and responsibility. So, you know, maybe in Aries we're looking to try to like initiate action and Saturn is just saying, wait, like did you earn this? Like are you ready for this? And so I don't know, I think that's kind of interesting. Like maybe this retrograde could be a really good time to look at how we can perform versus like the actually performing part. And then maybe I don't know a little reminder that like laughing about the mistakes and the steps that go along with it is pretty important. Like we spent the entire first 20 minutes trying to record this podcast.
Speaker 2:I really liked the part you mentioned where Saturn is saying like wait, did I earn this? Am I actually ready for this? Like the kind of that imposter syndrome. That is very Saturn, but I didn't think about that. But that's interesting. I'm going to reflect on that more.
Speaker 2:There are a few things that stuck out to me, like that line about holding a mirror up to itself, or life holding a mirror up to itself and learning to really understand itself. I feel like this kind of resonates here, and I think Saturn definitely is a planet of, like the cold hard truths, and so, while this is so uncomfy, I think that this retrograde is about really looking at yourself in the mirror and then being provided with a about is about really looking at yourself in the mirror and then being provided with a another quote from the paragraph a fresh and transcendent self-perspective. And I think it's super interesting, given that aries is all about new freshness and saturn is retrograding back into pisces, which is the sign of transcendence. And again, this um, this sabian symbol, is only about the degree and the sign. It did not take into account the planet that we're talking about or any of the houses.
Speaker 2:We are applying that ourselves, so it's interesting that we can so easily pick out from this paragraph about saturn even though saturn's not funny any planet that retrogrades from aries into pisces kind of has a special meaning of beginnings and endings, because aries is a sign of beginnings and pisces is a sign of endings. So it's like we began something, but now we are going back to the ending and doing that ending again and then we're restarting from the beginning again and it feels kind of like you know, you're going over and over and over again, but it's, I feel, like it has an extra oomph of being, I guess, major because it's truly the ending and truly the beginning.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and Saturn with these, with these boundaries, I feel like bouncing back and forth is probably a little bit weird and can feel almost a little bit destabilizing, especially in Pisces. Yeah, and I really I did really like the image of the mirror, cause now I'm just picturing like looking in the mirror and making like weird comedic faces at yourself to try to like yeah, I think people have done art for these too.
Speaker 2:we should look that up yeah, I would love that.
Speaker 1:We should definitely post some. I just think that it's interesting to go from this like like comedian vibe to the mystic vibes of Pisces and then I don't know, go, go, go land. And then you're just like okay, spirits, why are we go, go, go, like I don't know?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, no, and I think it's important to really reflect on what this all means for you personally. We always say look at where this is in your chart. What house is it in? What planets is it interacting with, if any at all? And generally, saturn retrogrades can be about revisiting, like business ideas, re-establishing boundaries and also reflecting on your own karma in a personal way, and that can be, again, good or bad karma, I think. In general, karma is supposed to be seen as neutral, um, so I recommend sitting with this information, especially this sabian symbol, if it resonates with you, and figuring out what this retrograde is about for you. I know a lot of people will read the sabian symbols and then they will meditate on that image themselves and kind of have their own experience with that.
Speaker 1:So, oh, I like that. I think Jordan, like when you know, we've been talking so much about these transiting planets and in these other, in these like astro weather formats, and I think it'd be cool maybe at some point for one of those other, so it's like we can actually apply them to our own charts so people could see, like, how we relate them to like our houses, and I don't know, I think that could be interesting, because sometimes it can be really abstract and if I'm like trying to read my own chart for myself, sometimes I don't actually know like the path to follow.
Speaker 1:So that could be interesting. Let us know if that's something you want to hear.
Speaker 2:Yeah, live reading. So, yeah, see where you have Aries and Pisces in your chart and see where you have your natal Saturn as well, and think about what this retrograde is wanting you to do. Are you being asked to really commit to a new health related routine, or do you have any spiritual or emotional patterns that still need closure? That would be very Pisces. I think this could be a major call for accountability as well, because that's really one of Saturn's key themes is accountability.
Speaker 2:I used this analogy before, but I picture Saturn as the old, hardened grandfather who has seen a thing or two, and in Aries it's like this grandfather is suddenly having to sleep in his 20 year old grandson's bachelor pad. It's messy, it's empty, it's loud, it's you know, there's alcohol everywhere. It's weird. So Saturn is super uncomfy and way past this phase of his life and it just doesn't make sense for him to stay here. Like why is he here at his grandson's bachelor pad? But I can also picture this retrograde being like Saturn is here to shape up his grandson and this is going to be a bit of a two-way street. Like Saturn is going to teach Aries to be responsible, to stay the course which Aries is not good at and to be accountable, which Aries can also struggle with. But Saturn should also take this opportunity to learn from Aries.
Speaker 2:Saturn can learn that traditional isn't always better, that there's nothing wrong with trying something new or doing it the new way, and sometimes it's fun to start something simply because it sounds fun for a little bit. Saturn, you know, wants to monetize everything. Saturn doesn't want to have fun, saturn just wants to work. So Saturn can learn that not everything you do needs to be turned into a business, and it's okay to do something for a little bit and enjoy it for a little bit and then move on to the next thing and that's. You know that wouldn't be a waste of time, like Saturn might feel.
Speaker 1:And then grandpa gets on stage and tell us some jokes.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:So what happens then when, like Saturn, moves back into Pisces?
Speaker 2:I thought about this for a while and I tried to think of something to go along with this story and this is where Mercury was not letting the thoughts come through. But I kind of pictured the moving back to Pisces as like Grandpa Saturn being like nope, I can't do this, I absolutely cannot live with my grandson. Now, this is a little morbid, but this is just what came to me. I imagine the person kind of like playing the role of Pisces is Grandpa Saturn's spouse from Beyond the Grave, because Pisces is also other worlds. Like Pisces, is you talking to other worlds? So I kind of pictured, I pictured specifically I pictured Saturn having a wife and having like a hippie, new agey wife who's optimistic and happy and kind of like a grumpy, sunshine kind of thing. So Saturn's the grump and I'm invested in this story.
Speaker 2:I know I should have like fleshed out like more plot, but anyway. So Saturn comes home, leaves his grandson, or whatever he comes, wherever he is, and he's kind of like begging for a solution and this is all getting so dramatic. But Grandpa just can't stay with grandson. But Pisces, who is ruled by Jupiter Jupiter likes to make everything bigger. I think it makes sense that this kind of starts to feel really dramatic and really, you know, you get emotionally invested in the story. That is really not a story.
Speaker 2:I've just said a few characters, so I'm not really sure what Saturn is talking about with his wife and maybe you can look in your own chart and figure out what that conversation was. But his wife somehow convinces him of something and Saturn decides to try again and go stay with his grandson, and so, to sum up, my point of this story is Saturn is super uncomfy in Aries and I think the retrograde back into Pisces will bring high emotions and maybe psychic messages from other worlds as well, and Pisces will hopefully blur the lines and blur the walls that Saturn puts up. So I know that that was a lot of words.
Speaker 1:I'm determined. Now we're going to do an other episode where you apply this to my chart, because I want to know. I want to know who my grandpa and my grandson is, who's my grandpa?
Speaker 2:Saturn, yeah, especially because you have yours at the enterotic degree. That is a very interesting one to explore On a mundane level, meaning how this transit may impact us on a global scale. Aries, rules, militaries and soldiers, and so this can mean facing karma, because Saturn is karma for military decisions that were made. I'd like to think individuals in leadership are being held accountable to some degree for decisions that have been made since May 2024 of this year, which is when Saturn went winter grade, and that's also my birthday, and we said in this last episode that Amber and I are both Americans, and a lot of what I'm saying can, of course, be easily applied to Trump, but it's not just about him. In U politics, there are many leaders that need to be held accountable or called out in ways, and a lot of times they might actually be called out in ways or held accountable in some minute way, and it's just not seen by the public or we never hear about it Sending that out.
Speaker 1:Yes, please, yes, please, harm off.
Speaker 2:Yes, I think a lot of startup companies or businesses that got started from when Saturn entered Aries before this retrograde may hit their first major cool off period economically as a business. It doesn't mean that they're failing or anything, but it just the fire might dim for a moment. People may notice the urge to start fresh, but the retrograde says that there's something that you have to go back and finish. Pisces rules drugs, some medicines and hospitals, and I personally hope that maybe this can look like the accountability from abuse we see from the pharmaceutical industry and from health care in general as well. And lastly, I think this can be about revisiting how we treat prisoners and maybe refugees as well, because pisces rules prisons, pisces calls for the utmost compassion, while saturn requires boundaries.
Speaker 1:So I want you to sit on that the compassion and boundaries that we all need to have oh, my god, jordan, like, when we go down this route of the collective, it just, it really just enforces my love of astrology because it just seems too true for how appropriate it is for everything like going on in the world right now and I just, I, yeah, I just I will sit with that because I don't know. I like, do you ever listen to the Chani app? I used to. I do, I really like that app.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've listened to it for a little while. I try and do like the weekly listens to their like little podcast on there and I just you know they do their like collective reading and then the more personal rising associated reading and yeah, yeah, I, I think a lot of these are. What's the word like apropos? Is that a word apropos? It made it like I just mean that like a lot of this is really appropriate for what's going on?
Speaker 2:right now yeah, for sure. And now back to you, ember, for the local news stole your joke.
Speaker 1:We're gonna talk about the moon. You guys, this is just gonna be with us every time, because somehow we decided we were gonna launch this podcast usually like two or three days before the next big like fuller new moon.
Speaker 2:I think it's good too, because we focus on a long-term one and then we focus on something people can do this week, I think that's a good balance.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love that. Okay, all for the local news. People can't see me. I'm like holding my ear like a speaker, anyway. So we have a full moon in Aquarius, otherwise known as the Sturgeon moon, on August 9th at 3.55 am Eastern Standard Time.
Speaker 1:And for those of you who might not know what a sturgeon is, I wanted to bring this up because they're this huge, prehistoric looking fish that have been around for centuries. They're just so cool and they used to be abundant in the Great Lakes region and a very important food source for the indigenous people in this area. But, of course, like everything, we just came in and decimated the sturgeon. But August was always the time these fish would be readily caught in the Great Lakes, and I'm actually in the Finger Lakes regions, which is part of, like, the Great Lakes Basin in upstate New York. So I actually have heard of some and spoken with researchers at the University of Rochester like actively repopulating the sturgeons. There's like a big festival every year, but anyway, google them because they're a really cool fish and there's a lot of efforts to repopulate them. So, yay, sturgeon.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and fun fact, amber is a fish doctor.
Speaker 1:I do do fish medicine, but anyway, anywho, aquarius is an air sign that is all about the themes of liberation, innovation, authenticity, and Aquarius can really bring about lots of revolutionary change, making its modern day ruler, uranus, make a lot of sense when you think about it, sort of these surprise shifts that a transit with Uranus can bring. But people also say Saturn rules Aquarius. I don't know Jordan, what are your thoughts on that? Saturn, uranus.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I do follow the traditional rulerships and a lot of that has to do with sacred symmetry and in some ways it can make a lot of sense. I do think it's hard to picture Saturn with the personality of Aquarius. But if you get to know Aquarius beyond, aquarius just being like the eccentric change rebel, I think you can get down to maybe Saturn like Saturn is cold, just like Aquarius is, and Saturn is stable, just like well, I guess people wouldn't. It's hard because Aquarius is a fixed sign which kind of implies stability, but Saturn or uh, aquarius is. You know, I wouldn't call Aquarius unstable, but Aquarius does come in and change things. It's about change, um.
Speaker 1:I love watching your mind. Think about this.
Speaker 2:I think the thing too, because sometimes it's hard for us to separate these things because we do just kind of make these words a little bit synonymous, like we think everything we attribute to Uranus we attribute to Aquarius, and I'm thinking about it, and I don't think Aquarius is actually about surprises, I think that is specific to Uranus. So I think Aquarius is actually a lot more stable and gets that from Saturn. And we do the same thing with houses, where we attribute, like, all things that are Aries to all things that are first house, and some people do vibe with that, some people don't. You know, choose what you do in your own practice. So, yeah, I do use Saturn. I don't use the modern rulers as far as rulership goes, but I do use them for, like, mundane readings.
Speaker 1:Okay, Very cool, yeah. So just kind of, you know, take what you want, put down what you don't want. But Aquarius in general is not actually a sign that I've really felt super connected with, which is weird because it's in my fifth house of play, which is you know. Which is weird because it's in my fifth house of play, which is, you know, creation, hobbies, pleasure, and that is a really big part of my life. So when I thought more about it I was like, oh yeah, I probably do connect with Aquarius in like this rebellious way, Like right, One of my hobbies is burlesque dancing, which can totally be seen as taboo and rebellious and freedom from the patriarchy and all that stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's interesting too because, like you said, you have Aquarius, fifth house, and Aquarius also rules our sexuality and I know that you are open to polyamory and you've also talked to recently about the way that you feel connected with people and maybe it's a little bit different than how other people feel connected. You didn't say that, but that's my own interpretation of it. That's Aquarius, fifth house. Other people feel connected. You didn't say that, but that's my own interpretation of it. That's Aquarius. Fittalus is where our kinks live, and I know that you like to experiment with some kinks. So that's Aquarius. I think that's very Aquarius, yeah.
Speaker 1:Jordan and I are close y'all and FYI consent was given for Jordan to talk about that before we recorded.
Speaker 2:This was all planned.
Speaker 1:But yeah, no, no, you're so right. Jordan, uh, I think that that is actually such I so I recently did a container with tanae stewart with lupine, hollow, starlight, coven witch, and we talked a lot about like, uh, pleasure and and kink and all these things in the chart that were so eye-opening. The fifth house definitely did play into that and it was so interesting. I learned so much.
Speaker 2:But, yeah, I think being yeah, you know what that totally does make sense, I think I need to lean more into my now we just got to learn about that 29th degree saturn in aquarius you have tbd.
Speaker 1:We will, we will talk about that. I'm gonna look up the savings a little right now. Continue, oh yeah, let me. Let me tell y'all, while jordan looks up the symbol, um, so a full moon in aquarius, when we are thinking about, like, what is eccentric, what is liberating, what do you want to revolutionize in this time period? I mean, so much is happening right now with the collective, and Aquarius tells us to, like, observe society, what is happening in the collective, and you can even maybe consider making a change, like fighting for something you believe in, speak up on social media for things you support, and this can be so uncomfortable, but this full moon is inviting you to step out of that comfort zone and envision that world that you are fighting for.
Speaker 1:And when you take this to the house level, see, you know what house you have Aquarius in and you can see what themes you may want to focus on for this revolutionary experience. And so some prompts you may want to reflect on, such as you know, what parts of your life are you craving freedom from now? What outdated rules or systems, whether it's internal or external, are you ready to break away from? How do you define personal rebellion and what are you rebelling for? I actually love that. What is that thing that just like makes you either cringe and you're like I am ready to fight this, or like what is that thing that you see on the outside that you're like this is my cause, like this is what I'm doing? This is such a perfect time to journal on this and check in at the new moon in Aquarius in six months, in February.
Speaker 2:Heck. Yeah, I did look up Aquarius 29, but we're going to round up to Aquarius 30. And the image is the field of Ardath in bloom and I actually did a reading for someone who had their rising sign at this degree. So I've read this before and I believe Ardath are like purple flowers or something, but there's pictures of it you can look up and we'll go through this really quickly.
Speaker 2:But just to kind of also give you all another example of what Sabine symbols can look like, this is a symbol of the spiritual integrity of nature, herself dramatized by Marie Corelli's Mystic Meadow of Ancient Babylon as an ageless and special challenge to modern life. So I think that challenge to modern life, everyone may count on the inherent friendliness of the universe and, in consequence, on the capacity of man's destiny to endow him with fruits of his good rather than his bad work. So that comes to mind with me for karma and saturn reaping rewards after a long time. So this saturn also has a traditional, traditional association with past lives. This makes me think about you working hard in past lives and reaping a lot of those benefits today.
Speaker 2:Oh, fuck, yeah hell yeah, this is excited by the way, this is what a reading with me looks like the individual with jordan y'all yeah, the individual ultimately must rely on the world in which he finds himself, so should live in such fashion that a reliance on him in turn is both possible and inviting. I'd have to read that again to understand what that meant. The key word is continuity. I wonder why Continuity when positive, which your Saturn is positively placed. When positive, the degree is self-illumination through exceptional service to others. Interesting too, because I know that you have a big goal of wanting to serve the witch community that is.
Speaker 1:That is a goal I have someday, um, maybe sooner rather than later. Stay tuned um, and also, I guess, like my job too as a veterinarian. Oh yeah, um yeah, I definitely want to revisit this Jordan in the future.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because I yeah, readings with you are the best Are we ready? To dive into Mercury. I'm so ready. Let's talk about Mercury, let's do it. I am thrilled we are on this planetary journey right now. So, after our sun and our moon episodes and doing the research, I just feel so much more connected to those luminary bodies, and so I'm ready to take this journey with Mercury too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, me too. I'm excited to move on and, like, really get into the planets too now. So, to kick us off, how do you personally vibe with Mercury Amber?
Speaker 1:But yeah, but I loved learning about Mercury during this episode and it's also ironic because it lives in my 10th house with my son and so I just always focus more on like, oh, look at that, mercury retrograde again. But you know everyone get out your flashcards because we're going to talk about some key Mercury themes Heck, yeah. So first off is communication. This is like big for Mercury how you think and how you express yourself. So, depending on the house and sign you have Mercury in this is going to say a lot about your style of expression.
Speaker 1:So Mercury can also represent your thought processes and actual mental patterns and how you like express those and how we can make sense of the world and form ideas and then go on to communicate those ideas with the people around us. So lots of communication, lots of thought, all very much like in the head, in the mental space, and so, along the lines of thinking, mercury will have us look at how we analyze, problem solve and process information, and so, if you have your flashcards ready I always do Get your colored pencils or crayons or markers and our key themes for Mercury will be the mind, communication, reasoning, language and messenger. Do you have anything to add to that, jordan?
Speaker 2:yeah, communication is the big one, how we think short distance travel and I would say, decision making too.
Speaker 1:You kind of kind of goes along with reasoning, but decision making yeah, absolutely, and I also absolutely have to mention, uh, mercury's connection to hermes. So Mercury being the Roman name of literally the messenger of the Greek gods, hermes, who you know is this messenger zips around Olympus and the underworld, just like Mercury, which is just like the fastest moving planet around the sun, the sun, you know, someone who can travel between all the different realms, bridging this gap between Olympus and the underworld, kind of like how Mercury bridges this gap. I was thinking a lot about this, like bridging this gap between our unconscious, unconscious, unconscious thoughts and the conscious thoughts, and how we're actually like processing that information, being this like liminal body.
Speaker 2:I wasn't going to talk about this too, but I think something that came to mind that was kind of interesting is a lot of times when people speak about the planets, they'll use she, her or he, him pronouns or something like that, and it's up to you how you want to do it. But I think the interesting thing with a lot of the, the greek gods that we associate with the planets, most of them are men, but I think mercury is pretty agender or androgynous. I think mercury goes between the genders I, that is correct.
Speaker 1:so also talking about that like liminal space, like we're just living in the liminal, and I love it. So you know, we love talking about our medical astrology and with what we've talked about the key themes, jordan has a list for us that can come off as pretty intuitive, honestly. So, jordan, what have you got?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so in medical astrology, Mercury is most known for ruling the nervous system. So your central nervous system and your what is it? Autonomous nervous system.
Speaker 1:Autonomic nervous system Autonomic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but not automatic, which is always confusing. And then your brain, your nerves as well. Mercury rules your learning and attention. So if you have some kind of attention deficit disorder, you would look at your mercury also with learning disorders. Mercury rules your speech and your hearing and also your fine motor skills. Mercury rules breathing, like the function of the respiratory system and the delivery of oxygen throughout the body. Mercury also rules vitamin b1. Ember. Do you know anything about vitamin b1?
Speaker 1:yeah, so this is thiamine and a pretty important vitamin that does help keep a healthy nervous system. So it totally makes sense that mercury would rule that in the body. Yeah, it's also essential for like glucose metabolism and healthy nerve muscle, heart function and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:So I thought that was a cool like connection there Cool. So, jordan, in episodes with the sun and the moon, you did give us really cool stories to connect to the journey with these planets. So, like Simba's hero journey for the sun and Elsa's emotional journey with the moon, what do you have for us for Mercury?
Speaker 2:I love these. Yeah, these have been kind of one of my favorite parts because once I like, it takes a little bit to like make the connection, but once I make the connection I'm just like so excited, like picking out the pieces of the story that connect with Mercury. I will say it's probably going to be a little bit more difficult moving forward. I feel like the sun and the moon had such obvious direct correlations. But I still love this part and I definitely want to make it work. And it's funny I'm not really a big Disney person but I do keep relating to Disney characters for some reason.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I love the Disney references. I can't believe you don't do Disney, but these are working for me.
Speaker 2:Disney's right, okay, so the character that I feel like embodies Mercury is Peter Pan.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love Peter Pan. Okay, yeah, I love Peter Pan. Oh, I love Peter Pan. Okay, yeah, I love Peter Pan. I like that Disney ride. There's the Disney ride. I can remember that as a kid going on and it was pretty fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we talked about Mercury being a fast moving planet, changing things up a lot and Mercury's curious nature, and Peter Pan is constantly on the move. Also, you you mentioned I didn't even write this, but you mentioned the um, the connection between the two worlds, and peter pan connects, uh, neverland and earth or london or whatever um. So peter pan literally visits between the worlds and he never stays in one place. He's playful and a bit of a troublemaker and that trickster energy that everybody talks about with mercury. So I think, yeah, yeah, peter Pan is Mercury.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I really like that. As you know, you said Peter Pan and we were talking that connection of the liminal spaces and Peter Pan moving between the liminal spaces. It just comes back around.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and the connection between Mercury and the messenger and Peter Pan being the messenger and this is just one of Mercury's general archetypes and Peter Pan is like the messenger and storyteller between Neverland and Earth and between, like the Lost Boys and Wendy Darling and just a few different groups. He's the one that goes in between them all. He's also the thread that connects them all, that makes them talk to each other in a way, I guess.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that definitely has Mercury energy.
Speaker 2:Peter Pan is also constantly learning new things, like what things are, how to do things and while embodying that student energy, which is another Mercury archetype the student he is also teaching his fellow students, like teaching Wendy, how to fly. And Mercury is also the planet of thought and how we process thoughts and the ways we think. And this would have more to do with what sign Peter Pan would have Mercury in, but his imagination and the way that he thinks creatively and childlike is a connection to his personal Mercury Jordan you knew I was going to ask you.
Speaker 2:I did. I knew I should have written something ahead of time.
Speaker 1:Tell me, what sign do you think Peter Pan has Mercury in?
Speaker 2:Okay, so I was thinking about it and I feel like it could be. I want to say Sagittarian. Okay, so I was thinking about it and I feel like it could be. I want to say Sagittarius. I thought about Pisces for a little bit and I think I landed on Sagittarius, because he's an adventurer, he's an explorer. I think he's blunt, like I don't think he covers up his words Fun, exciting, trying new things.
Speaker 1:I think Sagittarius oh, yeah, that's perfect.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then fire, creativity and playful too, yeah, and so I think the last connection I have between the two is the duality of mercury and peter pan. Mercury is associated with duality, um, so is gemini, which is one of mercury's domiciles, and, as mercury is a planet of intellect and mischief, peter Pan's story is one of play and childhood and imagine and adventure, while also being about growing up and leaving childhood and the depth and responsibility and the existential thoughts and questions. So it's this childlike play along with this like moving on and the duality between like the two, like feelings that come with that, I guess.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I definitely really like that, jordan, because this like ruling you know over, not ruling over Gemini, but Mercury doesn't rule over Gemini, right?
Speaker 2:Mercury does rule over Gemini. It does rule over Gemini. Okay, I said that and then I like, doubted myself for a second I was wondering if you were, if you like, meant to say peter pan, and that's why you went back on it, or something peter pan rules over gemini.
Speaker 1:Um no, the fact that like mercury rules over gemini, and like I didn't really think about this duality piece to it and it also kind of you know, mischief also, this like subconscious, conscious idea as well. Oh right, like Neverland's, pretty, like dreamlike and like in the brain, mercury is like that connection between like processing the thoughts.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is really interesting because Amber and I write these, you know, scripts. We have sections that we've kind of assigned to each other and so we've read over each other's notes and stuff beforehand, but we wrote this separately, and so it's interesting because, I don't know, you're making connections that are making this make more sense to me. And I'm looking at now what I wrote before, hearing your connections, and I'm like, oh, this makes even more sense now and it's just it's interesting. It's funny Like I wasn't thinking about, about mercury as the, the messenger between two worlds, and it just makes so much more sense. Or even like the subconscious and conscious connection. And then again, how peter pan is like the dream, like, and then coming to wendy darling while she's sleeping and then like taking her to a dreamlike place. My gosh, I wasn't making those connections.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you know, I was thinking a lot about Hermes, like um, as you know, the, you know in the in the mythology, and reading about Hermes being this, having this ability to go through the liminal spaces, and I just was like, how does this relate to Mercury, though? Like how? And then, you know, I was going back over my notes and I was like, oh, this is like, this is like the process. It's like the processing of the thoughts. You're literally like the thoughts are the messenger, right, like you know the comment, like we are not our thoughts. It's like, you know, it's just like this process. And then the thoughts are like their own entity. They're like the letters that our subconscious brain is like putting through to us. Anyways, this is so not in the script, but I'm like loving this conversation.
Speaker 2:No, this is, and again, this is like exactly what the podcast is supposed to be like going over our notes after class, Like you have made connections that I hadn't made and now we're talking it together, student to student, and light bulbs are going off, things are making a different kind of sense that they didn't make before and so, like that's exactly what the vibe is supposed to be yeah, and so I definitely also want to talk about all the physical correlations as well. So, amber, what crystals associate with Mercury and why?
Speaker 1:Yes, all right. So since Mercury is so much about communication, I was thinking that we could correlate Mercury. I was thinking we could correlate Mercury crystals to things that may resonate with your throat chakra, or even even just things clear, honest expression, or stones that provide mental clarity. So blue lace agate was like the first stone that came to my mind. It can have really beautiful, gorgeous patterns in it and it's a good way to harness your communication and for speaking one's truth. But there's a lot of other blue stones, if that's what you vibe with. So I really like chrysocolla that can help open you up, help you express emotions and communicate your emotions. I really, like I said, think you can probably utilize any blue stone, things like lapis lazulus, blue calcite, blue kyanite. Those all can have associations with communication and with that throat chakra.
Speaker 1:And if you're looking for mental clarity, fluorite is an absolutely perfect stone for this. So fluorite I've heard being called like the genius stone. It's pretty accurate in my opinion. So like when I was studying for my boards exam oh, I didn't even think about this. So sorry, I'm having like a light bulb moment while we're talking. So I started in the script talking about my boards exam and that I had my rainbow fluorite with me, that to help me, like really just clear away stuff when I was studying and focus on that, and like I totally like brought my rainbow fluorite with me, like it's just been here with me and I was like, oh, I didn't even think, like I forgot I was going to talk about it.
Speaker 1:So you guys can't see it in the video, but I can it's my little tower, my rainbow fluorite tower. So it's excellent for clearing mental clutter to give way to new ideas, and it's also really common to find fluorite. It's very reasonable in cost, in really fun shapes and colors or as jewelry, so it's really accessible and very fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that. I think we mentioned before that, like before every episode, we end up chatting for like 20 to 30 minutes just catching up and all that, and most of today was spent talking about everything's going wrong with the mercury retrograde, and so it's interesting, yeah, that you went to go grab that crystal, um, and hadn't even yet remembered the correlation. So that's I love that. Yeah, me too, I'm like holding my hands now. So what about plants? Do you have any plants in your hands?
Speaker 1:I don't have any plants with me. I'm looking around my room but I find the plant research actually very interesting because it's not the one that's intuitive to me like some of the other ones, and so I'll get this list of plants and then I'll be like but why is this plant associated with this planet? And I just go down a little rabbit hole. But Mercury is kind of like this quick, cool, adaptable, communicative planet, right, and I've noticed that this is like attempted in to be replicated in the herbal world, which was really interesting. So a lot of the things I read, they talked about plants that are very stimulating to the nervous system or calming of the nervous system or can wake up the mind.
Speaker 1:So the first one I want to talk about is mint. So peppermint mint. It's actually very stimulating for the mind but can also be grounding, like when you smell mint. It's like a very grounding experience and it can be grounding for the nervous system, which totally makes sense that we talked about, right, mercury, related to the nervous system. It's also very cool and refreshing and can bring some clarity to the mind. It leaves that feeling in your throat too. Yeah, absolutely that, like cooling. That's like that cooling.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Lavender is one that can soothe the nervous system, and then some of the other ones.
Speaker 1:The herbs that came up were dill, fennel, garlic, thyme, and again that was kind of like my but why, I don't understand. But what I was reading is that these are all aromatic herbs that can be either quick growing or quick acting, like you put them in a recipe or you put them in a spell and there's like a sharp, quick kick to it, to that spell or recipe, and it's like intense and short and just like boom, like I know garlic's in here Like, and then you smell it and it's like very like refreshing, and I especially like thyme, because it's an herb that's used to support lungs and speech, like definitely your lungs and like your respiratory system, and aiding in spells of eloquence. So, as I always say, this list is not exhaustive and I did also write down. So the Culpepper book had the list of lily of the valley, so again, plants that may affect, actually like, the respiratory tract. So lily of the valley, lavender, honeysuckle, hazelnut, garlic, mustard, fennel, oregano, parsley and valerian root.
Speaker 2:It's interesting too that you mentioned that they're aromatic herbs givenel, oregano, parsley and valerian root. It's interesting too that you mentioned that they're aromatic herbs, given that you know, I don't know if mercury rules smell. I'd have to look into that, but obviously you have to breathe to smell and mercury rules the function of breathing.
Speaker 1:So that's interesting. I would bet it does.
Speaker 2:Probably it would make sense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, from, like my Eastern medicine, knowledge like the nose and the, the lungs, that system are usually always connected. Um so I would, I would bet, I would bet money that mercury.
Speaker 2:I wonder what, what, what the other senses are ruled by. Maybe I mean venus would either be touch, or that could be the moon. I don't know who would rule. Okay, sight hearing. Well, mercury also rules here. I don't know. Uh, maybe, maybe mercury just rules the senses.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's interesting. I actually have notes. I'll have to look at that another day. So I'm trying to remember off the top of my head, because in Chinese medicine there is like the different organs are ruled by different elements and I'm like trying to remember. So like I know, like the liver is related to the eyes and like vision and tendon. Then you have water, related to kidney and the bladder, and bone and ears that their ears, so hearing. So it's like water is related to hearing.
Speaker 1:Um, metal is the element for the lung and respiratory system. So, forgetting like mercury, that would kind of be an association for talking about like Eastern medicine. Yeah, so metal rules the lung, the large intestine, the nose, skin, hair and the earth is like the spleen which rules, like GI stuff which is going to be like your mouth that's the sense of taste anyway and heart fire, so that's like of taste Anyway and heart fire. So that's like yeah, Anyway, I'm going down a little rabbit hole, but it's interesting.
Speaker 2:I'm excited, too, to hear about the tarot card after learning that the moon does not, in fact, rule the moon. So what tarot card rules Mercury?
Speaker 1:So this one is going to make a little bit more sense.
Speaker 1:So this one's the magician, and the magician in tarot represents like resourcefulness and tension, skill, ability, concentration. Like literally, the magician has their finger pointed to the sky and the earth, as above, so below, and then like all the elements on the table and like the traditional, like RWS tarot deck, and I just think that is so. Again, this was a connection I was making, like while I was reading through my notes, that like, again, this is representation of those liminal spaces between the heavens and the earth, the space between all the elements. Like the magician can literally act as a go between those worlds and really brings us back to that representation of Mercury that we already talked about, you know, with Peter Pan and Hermes, and I just love how the magician card connects the mind and the world and like can literally be reflections of each other and we have the power to create that vision in our mind and then hopefully, like execute that in the real world. Like I'm, like Jordan, I'm like this conversation is so exciting to me.
Speaker 2:I know I'm thinking about, like, as you're talking, I was thinking about how I hadn't. I don't know mythology almost at all, and so I had. I knew Mercury was Hermes, but I don't know who Hermes is, I don't know any of his stories, so I hadn't really made any connection, like I said, between like the connection, connection between worlds, and so I was thinking about how, like, how much power there is and being the messenger and the one that goes between, and kind of that, like oh, what an interesting thing from one of our smallest planets. And you know that, um, that saying or whatever, that, like, the real people, or the people that have real power, are the people who write the history down it.
Speaker 2:It kind of makes me think of, like you know, I don't know, messenger doesn't mean you wrote the message, but Mercury kind of gets to decide what's delivered and what's not, what gets filtered from the subconscious to the conscious and vice versa. So that's really interesting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're so right. I have a newfound respect for Mercury.
Speaker 2:I know, oh gosh, what was your card? Wasn't your card something about major growth or something?
Speaker 1:Yup, our card for today. The card poll was welcoming the harvest expect growth and expansion.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I, for you know funsies I got Aries. I got a new deck, what is this called the Star Codes Astro Oracleacle deck, so it's all like the planets and the signs and the houses, um, and I pulled Aries and I thought that was interesting because we talked a lot about Saturn and Aries. But but yeah, you pulled a card that specifically said like some kind of you know, breakthrough.
Speaker 1:so I thought that was cool all right, jordan, can you tell us about the dignitaries, the essential?
Speaker 2:dignities the dignitaries so this one is a little bit weird because mercury's exaltation is up for debate. Other than the sun and the moon, each planet has two domiciles, which are the two signs that they are comfy and at home, in two detriments, which are the signs that they can make do with but don't love to be there one exaltation, which is their favorite place to be, and one fall, which is their least favorite place to be. But Mercury's traditional exaltation is one of its domicile signs and there's also a more modern consideration for its exaltation sign, and we will get into that. So Mercury's two domiciles are Gemini and Virgogo. These are the two signs that mercury is at home and comfy in. Mercury's two detriment signs are sagittarius and pisces. Mercury can make do here, but doesn't want to be here now. Mercury's traditional exaltation is virgo, which is also its domicile. It's interesting because this is the only planet that has this kind of thing going on. But the traditional exaltation is Virgo, the modern exaltation is Aquarius, the traditional fall of Mercury is Pisces and the more modern fall of Mercury is Leo. It's a lot of words, I'm getting tongue tied. Thank you, mercury. And so, to cover more ground, I will use Aquarius as the exaltation and Leo as the fall in these next examples, but feel free to totally experiment with yourself and with your own charts and charts of your friends and see what vibes with you.
Speaker 2:So Mercury is at home in Gemini and Virgo. These are the two signs that represent Mercury's core qualities. Gemini is all about communication, curiosity and adaptability, and Mercury is at home here in Gemini because it's constantly seeking new information, ideas and connections. It's fast and social and enjoys the exchange of ideas, just like Gemini's energy. Virgo, on the other hand, gives Mercury the ability to analyze, organize and process information with precision and detail. Mercury in Virgo brings a sharp mind, a love for learning and a deep need for order and practicality. The mind is at its most efficient here, able to focus on specifics and get things done with like a methodical accuracy.
Speaker 2:Mercury is in its detriment in Sagittarius and Pisces, where its natural energy is at odds with the qualities of these signs. So in Sagittarius, mercury feels restricted by the big picture thinking and the lack of attention to detail, and Sagittarius is broad and philosophical, and while this is great for overarching ideas and visions, mercury wants to focus on the small things, like the data and the facts and the logic, which feels stifled in Sagittarius because Sag, who is a forever student, is not anchored down by those cold, hard facts and Sag can be a lot more experimental with thought. So here Mercury may struggle to communicate the details or struggle to take a more straightforward approach, but again, mercury can make do. Here Mercury can still be successful in Sagittarius.
Speaker 2:In Pisces, mercury can become muddled and overwhelmed, and I have a lot of Pisces and Mercury friends. So, hi guys, pisces is intuitive, emotional and often lost. In dreamlike states Mercury and Pisces can struggle to maintain clarity of thought and focus as the mind may drift off into feelings or imaginative worlds, losing touch with practical realities. While Mercury's mental facilities are still active, they can feel less grounded or less focused in Pisces. Pisces is often overwhelmed by emotions and these abstract ideas, and with the charts that I have read, you might even be able to say my clients.
Speaker 1:You will say your clients.
Speaker 2:I have had a lot of people with Mercury and Pisces and I always say something like you probably have a very active imagination and you have a lot to say and a lot to express, but sometimes you struggle to say it or express it in a language that other people can follow along with. So I like to say that the point of this is that people with Mercury and Pisces because again, Mercury rules thought Like none of this means like you are dumb or you can't think well, but I think Mercury and Pisces just really struggles with the communication aspect. Like you can think very well, you've got a very creative mind, a very abstract mind, but you struggle to put it into words that the people around you can actually understand and follow along with.
Speaker 1:Do they typically vibe with that Like? Are they like?
Speaker 2:yes, they do? I think so, and so Mercury, in the example that we're using today, mercury is exalted in Aquarius, where it can express its highest qualities of intellectual curiosity, originality and innovation. Aquarius brings a forward thinking, visionary perspective, and Mercury here is able to think outside the box, question traditional boundaries and break through old structures to bring these fresh ideas. Aquarius invites us to look at things from a unique angle, allowing Mercury to operate freely, creatively and with a sense of detachment from everyday concerns.
Speaker 2:Mercury is in fall, in Leo, and I struggle the most to understand this one, and I think after this we'll get into a little bit about, like what we think about Mercury's exaltation and fall. But in Leo, mercury's tendency to want to be analytical and precise is challenged by Leo's flair for drama and self-expression and ego. Leo is all about confidence and presentation, and it's harder for Mercury to focus on the details and communicate with precision and leo, it can become overly focused on itself or like the performance of a communication rather than the actual content itself that is being communicated. So, ember, with all of this in mind, um, I'm curious what do you think? Do you feel like mercury is more exalted in virgo or in aquarius? Or what about its fall.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm recapping here for the audience and for my own brain Perfect For our fellow star students. So domicile in Gemini and Virgo. Right Detriment in Sag in Pisces. Exaltation in Virgus Virgus, virgo or Aquarius and Pisces or Leo, perfect, perfect. Those are a lot to remember it is a lot to remember.
Speaker 2:Get your index cards.
Speaker 1:Um, okay, yeah, so that's a interesting question. Where does it feel more exalted? So virgo is like your sharp mind love of learning. Aquarius is a lot of innovation intellectual genius yeah and when I don't know. Like can you have one without the other? Like I just feel like it could make, uh, different facets of mercury, like without innovation, like you're not going to be able to continue this, like love of learning right, like if nothing changes and what else do you have to learn? And like I don't know, does that make sense?
Speaker 2:yeah, and I think it's interesting because you specifically I think this isn't where you were going with this, but you specifically said can you have one without the other? And I kind of think think that I do follow that Mercury is exalted in Aquarius, but I feel like Mercury is in fall in Pisces, and I think that's again because of that major struggle to communicate and because, and again now connecting to things that are making more sense today, but the connection between the other worlds, our own consciousness, the struggle to communicate, that is like a real challenge for Mercury and Pisces, and it's not so much that the thoughts aren't thoughting, but it's the communication.
Speaker 1:So I initially, when you asked me this question, thought I was going to say Leo, but now, after this conversation, I agree with you that I think that that it's almost like there's like this bus stop, this like stop between, yeah, the subconscious and the conscious, and things get muddled and complicated there. Right Pisces is dark and foggy, yeah, and that can make it just really difficult to express those things or get them out. So yeah, I think I changed my mind. I think I think the Pisces makes sense. Yeah.
Speaker 2:But I do still think I still kind of go with the exalted and Aquarius, because I like what you said, where, like you know, we can learn and learn and learn, but without the innovation which is what aquarius brings to the table, what can we really do with all of that? So I think that, and again because one of aquarius's key words is genius, and so I think that just kind of brings it on a different level of virgo, and I kind of just see virgo as another mercury, like I just I kind of see it equal to Mercury, not necessarily like a better energy for Mercury.
Speaker 1:So Hmm, I can vibe with that, yeah, but I'm really interested Jordan in the transits. Can we talk about Mercury in transit, especially with everything going on right now?
Speaker 2:Yes, okay, so Mercury is a speedy moving planet, which means that it moves quicker around our charts and around the Zodiac, and Mercury takes about 88 days to cycle through all 12 signs and spends about two to three weeks in each sign, depending on the retrograde cycle, which we will talk about a little bit later. I wrote a little bit later in this cycle, but a little bit later in this episode.
Speaker 1:It's so funny. We don't usually talk about our script. I know, man, we're leading it today. Usually, jordan and I like we have our outline. We go off script like all the time.
Speaker 2:It's not, it's just like an outline for us to follow, so we don't lose our place and like yeah, so when Mercury activates something in your chart, you can expect some kind of forward motion, new ideas or communication changes, either like more or less clear communication, depending on your chart and the transit. You can expect some kind of clarity or confusion of your mind. You might find yourself thinking about something more specific, like something that your chart is pointing to. The way you socialize and exchange ideas may be influenced, along with the way that you make decisions.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, I have been trying to pay a little bit more attention to Mercury and where it is in my chart. Because of that, because I do think that, like I mentioned at the beginning of the episode, it wasn't a planet I normally thought about and as we're going through it. I'm like, oh damn, mercury is important yeah.
Speaker 2:And so, for an example, if, transiting Mercury in Cancer trines your natal Venus in Pisces, you may find yourself wanting to socialize more, or maybe wanting to talk to your partner more, or maybe you're thinking about expensive things and luxuries, maybe you decide to finally buy that art set you've been wanting to create with, or maybe you start talking to your partner about wanting to renovate your house. All of these things can be brought into the conversation with Mercury, and a lot of those things that I mentioned will attribute to either Cancer or Venus and Pisces.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so can we talk about retrograde, Like let's just get into it. We've been like mentioning it this whole time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sorry to put this at the end, guys. So, now that we are, moving beyond the luminaries.
Speaker 1:I do think it's important that we include this section about the retrogrades for the planet. So, moving forward, you can expect a little tiny little segment about how this planet retrogrades. But before we even talk about Mercury's retrograde, let's talk about what retrogrades for other planets too, because, like I mentioned, I've really only paid attention to Mercury retrogrades and and I never even thought about other planets in retrograde, because that's just like what everyone always talked about. And I'm really glad now because, now that I've like been studying this more, retrogrades are such an important time to reflect and really connect with those things in your chart, like I think it's just a reflection point all the time. And so, jordan, can you tell us what's actually like physically happening during a retrograde?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, if Mercury will. Let me get these words out. So everyone, put your science hats on If you have never heard of the term retrograde before. A retrograde is when a planet appears to move backwards. This is an optical illusion that occurs because all of the planets are at different distances from the sun and they all go at varying speeds. So, basically, when the Earth passes a planet, that planet will appear to move backwards.
Speaker 2:The analogy that is often used is that it's like race cars. So if you have two cars driving around a track on a racetrack, they're likely not going to be going at the same speed. So let's say you are going at 90 miles per hour and the car to your right is going 80 miles per hour and you're going around and around and around the track. And so there will be times when you're around the track where you appear to be ahead of the car the slower moving car even though you're faster, or because you're faster. And there will be times when you appear to be behind them, even though you you know you've tracked them several times.
Speaker 2:Does that make sense? So far? Yeah, car, and you start to catch up to them and you start to pass them. There will be a brief moment where, from the perspective of the faster car that you are in, it will appear like the car to your right is moving backwards, even though you're both still moving forward. So that is the science side of retrogrades. In astrology, retrogrades are associated with words that start with the prefix RE, like redo, rethink, reconsider, rebirth, rejuvenation, recycle, reuse, re-evaluate, reflection, restarting, etc.
Speaker 1:I was going to make a re-joke there and it just didn't come out. But it's also a really good time to do some shadow work. So all of these like re-words words, these prefixes with re, so like looking and reflecting right, like really taking that time to reflect on these energies, can be a really good option to do some shadow work if that's what you're into.
Speaker 2:A mercury retrograde happens about three times a year and is also the shortest retrograde, and the retrograde itself lasts about three weeks. So if you include the pre and the post shadow, it can be about a nine week period.
Speaker 1:What does pre and post shadow mean?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so picture a birth chart with all of the 330 degree ticks on it and we know ahead of time 360?, uh, 360, uh-huh, no, is that not what a circle does?
Speaker 1:you said 330 oh did I, oh, I love today we love mercury.
Speaker 2:Thank you, messenger. Okay, we know ahead of time when a planet will retrograde and we know what degree it will will retrograde, and we know what degree it will go retrograde and we know what degrees it will cover during its retrograde. So let's use saturn's current retrograde as an example. Um and this is going to have a lot of numbers thrown at you, but hopefully it will make sense just send up a prayer to mercury that it makes sense. Um, like I said, we knew ahead of time when saturn would go retrograde and we know how far back Saturn is going to go. So when Saturn reached 25 degrees of Pisces on April 6th of 2025, saturn entered the pre-shadow of its retrograde cycle, because 25 degrees of Pisces is the exact degree that Saturn will be retrograding back to. So that's when the pre-shadow period starts, when we know that that's where the planet is going to go back to. We also know that Saturn will be retrograding back to. So that's when the pre-shadow period starts, when we know that that's where the planet is going to go back to. We also know that Saturn was going to station retrograde at one degree of Aries on July 12th. So, between 25 degrees of Pisces and one degree of Aries, saturn was in its pre-shadow.
Speaker 2:Now Saturn is currently in retrograde and making its way back to the 25 degrees of Pisces, and this is the phase of the retrograde cycle that we all know and talk about. When the planet is actually retrograding, then, on November 27th, saturn will station direct at 25 degrees of Pisces and move forward in the charts again, and this is when the post-shadow period starts, and the post-shadow period continues until Saturn reaches the degree it went retrograde at. So in this case, saturn will be in post-shadow until March 2nd of next year, when Saturn again reaches one degree of Aries. Take a deep breath. Did that all make sense? Oh I think so.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so during these pre and post-shadow periods, is it like you're sort of feeling like a shadow of these things, like it's like you may feel a little bit, but not a?
Speaker 2:lot. You know, I'm still kind of trying to figure that out because I think I think some people use these periods to kind of be like. You might see some I don't know some precursor as to what's going to happen to the retrograde, or you might start I don't know, you might start thinking about whatever's going to come up during the retrograde and then same with the post-shadow, like you might see a little bit extra of the fallout?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that totally makes sense. And so Mercury retrograde itself. Tell us what we expect. Jordan.
Speaker 2:So, like I said, they're most commonly associated with technology not doing its thing, miscommunications, and a lot of people will avoid travel during this time or they will avoid, like, buying plane tickets during this time. I'm still kind of, like I said, learning what vibes with me for retrogrades, but right now I kind of use Mercury retrogrades mostly at the time to rethink something, something specific to how it's playing out in my own chart. I don't know. Now. It's kind of like making me reflect a bit too on like, is this a time to be quiet and I say that mostly because, like I can't speak very well, I'm not saying like anyone should ever, like you know, silence themselves or anything, but it does make me think like, is this a time for, like a quiet, solitude kind of moment? But have you taken much note on how Mercury retrogrades impact you before Amber?
Speaker 1:But have you taken much note on how Mercury retrogrades impact you before Amber. One thing I wanted to mention, jordan, that like reflect that quiet time, that silence in time, I think you know, maybe for some people it could present like that, especially depending on what like house it's in, but also maybe just a time to think before you speak, like just like really emails yeah, check your emails, you know don't send it to everybody, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you know messenger playing with you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and think about it that way. So I guess for me I literally again we're just going back to that script I wrote about like oh, whatever, like Mercury retrograde for me. I was born in Mercury retrograde, so like I feel, like I feel it less, and then Mercury today was like actually like I just had you think you don't feel me. Yeah, I mean, it was crazy. So I think it's comforting sometimes to be able to kind of like point towards astrological happenings to explain things.
Speaker 1:You know, so it's. I don't beat myself up too much that I'm having trouble communicating today. Maybe you know, like I just kind of accept, like this is the path forwards for me today and that we'll just rethink, revisit and reevaluate after today we might reschedule other episodes to not be during a retrograde. True.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So after, especially after all this, and how much kind of, like you know, that deeper connection that we feel with Mercury, both positive and negative, I would love to hear any ideas that you have about how to work with Mercury, mercury rituals or just little ways that we can connect with Mercury.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I loved this exercise of going through this Cause, like I mentioned, Mercury is not usually a planetary body that I am actively connecting with, but with this thought and discussion about the nervous system and connection to the mind, I thought a really beautiful way to connect with Mercury would be through somatic movement. So, for those who don't know, a somatic movement practice is where a movement is practiced very consciously, with the intention of like focusing on more of an internal experience of the movement rather than like the external appearance or an end result. It's not like going to lift weights because you want to gain muscle mass, right. It's like really focusing on how a specific movement makes you feel and it's very intentional and it is so powerful for your nervous system and really calming down and focusing inwards and helping with that, like you know, mental clarity, like post-practice. So really focusing in on that like again kind of that liminal space of that connection between the subconscious and conscious brain to kind of like calm the conscious brain so that your that subconscious can like connect better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I also want to bring up cause I thought of this when you're talking about yoga, but like breathing exercises and like being aware of your breath during yoga, and then, just like you know, you don't have to do yoga to be aware of your breath. Also, like the different kinds of breaths, cause I was thinking right now Mercury is retrograde in Leo and it made me think of like lion's breath and again yes, yeah, mercury's connection with the function of breathing and how that those deep breaths will calm our nervous system, um kind of against our wills.
Speaker 1:So Jordan, that's such a good connection actually.
Speaker 2:Like I didn't even think about that.
Speaker 1:That's so perfect.
Speaker 2:Yeah, see, mercury is giving us little tidbits when he when it wants to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I. So there's like that movement, that breath work, absolutely focus on the respiratory system. You're calming, it's all connected right, your body systems are connected. And I also wanted to mention and do a little shout out for um, this herbal tea that I really love, that I actually do actively drink during Mercury retrogrades. It's called Mercury Retro Remedy Tea from Magic Hour and I actually was hoping, jordan, we could like link it in the show notes. It's made of like lavender, so mint is like its base and then it's got like lavender and fennel and some other herbs that, like I learned today, represent mercury and it's one of my favorite teas, so I will drink that as like a practice to honor mercury.
Speaker 1:So I guess, I say I don't honor mercury, I totally do with that yeah. And then finally, there's always spell work. You can do that if you need help around communication, manifesting some business success. A spell jar with some dill, fennel, peppermint, some blue stones, a candle and maybe a little plea to Mercury itself to like clear your path, be swift, sharpen thy tongue, guide my words with truth and grace. You get the idea right. Like you can come up with these, these little spells to work with Mercury too.
Speaker 2:Well, this has been great, and I'm so excited that Mercury allowed us to say some words about it. That was so fun. Yeah, I think so too.
Speaker 1:We did Y'all? I hope you recognize that Jordan and I struggled a little bit in this episode. It's kind of funny. I'm like shoving some like zucchini fritters in my mouth because I'm heading for some somatic yoga in a few minutes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, really quickly, let's talk about something to do and something to reflect on.
Speaker 1:Yes, I think reflecting on your Mercury placement is a great way to get in touch with your communication style. So some prompts that I have for you how do I express myself most authentically? I really like this question, just because we don't always think about that. Like, how you express yourself can be like, oh, I express myself this way, but like, think about what actually feels good and what actually feels authentic to you. When do I feel I can process information best? So, thinking of whether it's talking it out, moving, writing, analyzing, Writing is a big one one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we didn't talk about that much, but mercury rules, yeah, mercury rules reading, writing and speaking.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, free writing too, letting those thoughts out on the page, absolutely and finally, where in my life do I speak from a place of clarity and where do I hold back? That's a a good one. Well, thank you. And I also wanted to mention, since we're on the tail end, so when this episode comes out, we're actually on the tail end of Mercury Retrograde- Amber and I are currently in the thick of it, though.
Speaker 1:And you know, I wanted to offer a few reflections for anybody who may be feeling this time as, like, especially sticky, tender, intense.
Speaker 1:So, just remember, retrogrades are just these powerful invitations to slow down, revisit and realign, and it's also a good time to establish boundaries around the themes of that retrograde, and so one of the most important practices you can do is journaling, and so writing down your thoughts gives you a space to land, it can help you untangle the mental fog and opens a channel for clarity to come through.
Speaker 1:So journaling can be really supportive during retrogrades, and I just want to emphasize that, like it's not about fixing all this stuff, it's not about fixing this deep shadow work that you like need to figure out in this retrograde in a few weeks. It can just be a good time to like witness, listen and just honor like what is going on in that space. Right, reflection is the key. So some reflections I want to offer you are what messages from the past are resurfacing for my attention? Where do I need to slow down, reflect or revise, what mental clutter am I ready to clear out, and where do I need more boundaries around information overload? And so, yeah, I was like I need to journal on that one.
Speaker 2:I know A few of these. I was like, oh, remember to do these, jordan.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, we hope you enjoy those prompts and can get something out of them. And so now jordan what actions do you have for us to tap into these mercurial vibes?
Speaker 2:yeah, for something to do. I still recommend writing a letter introducing yourself to mercury, like we talked about for the sun and the moon. But I wanted to give you some other ideas as well, of things that you can do physically do to connect with mercury, and so mercury has that association with technology and its glitches. So, every day, for a week or whatever timeframe is manageable for you, if you can do a month, if you can do a year, if you can only do a couple days, spend one hour completely detoxing from your electronic devices, mostly and especially screens.
Speaker 2:Put your phone somewhere else, take your smart watch off, turn the TVs off, cover them with a sheet, if that's your vibe, don't have a radio on. And during this time, reflect not only on how this all makes you feel, but also think about how you communicate. Think about how you communicate without phones and without radio and no TV and no media. How do you communicate with loved ones without all these things? And then, when you get your phone back and you turn the TV back on, think about how you communicate with all of these devices. Now and this is not meant to demonize technology I want you to think about the pros and the cons of both.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love this Jordan because I think sometimes I have a friend who will do like screen, no screen, days where they'll like turn everything off and not do it and she swears by. It's like detoxing, like she just feels I do it sometimes too, do you? Yeah, you feel like more mentally clear afterwards.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I feel like I don't want to pick my phone back up, sometimes because it because you can start to feel behind a bit too. Um, but I've told you too, like there are days where I will have my phone on do not disturb all day. I used to do that every Monday. I don't do that anymore, but, um, and I've deleted TikTok off my phone for 30 days. Um, even though I love TikTok and I will definitely like, I'm never I'm never going to not have TikTok, but I do detox.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think those detoxing practices can be really important.
Speaker 1:I probably especially right now like I think yoga and like not look at my screen after this yeah, for sure um, and we will still, on patreon, post that little pdf um of like a letter to the planets and such and such planets, because those are so much fun to make and you can keep them in your grimoire, your journal, whatever, um, but we hope you love using them. Thank you so much for being here and like living through this sticky mercury retrograde in the study room. Y'all. We're brand new to astrology and, apparently, podcasting, so we're here to just refresh what you already know and we hope you're walking away feeling a bit more grounded during this Mercury retrograde and maybe even connected more to Mercury itself, and hopefully you learned something new, gained a fresh perspective or uncovered a few insights to reflect on as you move forward.
Speaker 2:Something we talked about a lot in this episode is the ways that we were kind of connecting with Mercury, that we didn't even realize that we were, and so, if you would like to go a little bit deeper and further, along with that, we will be posting a few more general prompts and rituals and guides to what we talked about today, as well as building a community of astrology students over on our free Patreon. It is linked in the show notes.
Speaker 1:Next time we're going to be diving into Venus.
Speaker 2:I am so excited he's going to be a lot nicer to us.
Speaker 1:That energy is going to be beautiful, it'll still probably be during Mercury retrograde, so stay tuned, stay with us. We love you all so much.
Speaker 2:This podcast is my practice of asking big questions, uncovering the hidden truths and creating an accessible space for others to do the same.
Speaker 1:And I'm so grateful to be learning alongside Jordan and all of you, sharing our resources and diving into what it means to connect with the cosmos. Thank you so much for being part of this and we'll see you back in the study room every other Tuesday. Thank you.