November 2006: Analyzing Your Next Move

When Mercury entered Scorpio on October 2, 2006, it started its journey towards a fixed T-Square. Normally, Mercury stays in a sign for just about 2.5 weeks. However, on October 28, 2006, Mercury turned retrograde while still in Scorpio and will remain in that sign until December 8, 2006 for a little over two months.

In general, Mercury in Scorpio is a time period when it’s good for you to analyze what is important in your life and what type of legacy you would like to leave behind. Communications may be slower because you really need to think about what the other person is saying before you respond. At the same time, other people may be more willing to tell you what they really feel about a situation.

With Mercury retrograde in Scorpio, until November 17, 2006, this need to move back into yourself really magnifies. You may find yourself thinking about roads not taken. Or, you may find yourself understanding why those roads weren’t taken.

Just before the month of October ended, Mercury retrograde formed another conjunction to Jupiter and began its journey back into the fixed T-square that it created during October. Because Mercury retrograde was conjunct Jupiter, you may have felt more optimism at the end of the month. Or, you may have felt overwhelmed by various prospects or difficulties in your life. Now as the month of November begins, Mercury retrograde forms a square to Saturn on November 1, 2006.

What’s better about this new fixed T-square is that it started with Jupiter. And, what is even better is that Jupiter is no longer forming its square to Saturn. (See the October 2006 article about the Jupiter square Saturn aspect if you’d like more information.) The energy of Jupiter square Saturn is one where you need to develop structures in your life that enable you to move forward. If your steps are unrealistic, Saturn can suddenly put up barriers that create emotional or physical stress. However, what the Saturn energy is really trying to do in your life is to paint some possible real pictures of what could happen if you approach life unrealistically.

So, when Mercury retrograde forms this square to Saturn, any tension you may feel is a sign that your daily routine is not really supporting your life style. It could also be a sign that any difficulties you have in communicating your needs with others is really because their concept of what is good for you differs from your concept of what is good for you. If for no other reason, this is a good time to look at your personal obligations.

The full Moon that occurs on November 5th, with the Sun in Scorpio and the Moon in Taurus, not only emphasizes the fixed T-square but also changes it into a fixed Grand Cross for one day. This is significant for a number of reasons this year. The full Moon occurs before the elections in the United States on November 7, 2006. A full Moon is always the time of the month for you to review your life and make changes where things aren’t working. With the full Moon as part of both a fixed T-square and a fixed Grand Cross, this energy to make changes escalates. This is a time when your emotions turn to the legacy that you want your nation to leave behind. This is also a time when you start looking at specific emotional needs in your life and start trying to balance these needs: the need for privacy, the need for safety, the need for financial security – these are just a few of the needs you’ll evaluate. While there is a sense of restlessness in your life, there’s a greater restlessness in the general population. If the Republicans don’t lose control of Congress, it will only be by one or two members. The country is beginning to feel that the price of “safety” is too high as it relates to the price of financial security and privacy.

When Venus forms a square to Neptune on the day after the full Moon, November 6, be very careful with financial decisions. You may not be approaching your decisions with all the information. This is not really a time to sign contracts. Also, being the day before the elections, this could indicate that electronic voting machines could have difficulties on Election Day.

Confusion from the elections could spill into November 8th when Mercury retrograde forms its square to Neptune. This represents a time of miscommunications or lost information. This also is a difficult time for the stock market. As far as your own personal matters, be extremely cautious if you need to sign any contracts. It’s too easy for you to miss very important information and later regret the contract that you signed today. If you were deceived in mid-October, you may not have known all the information at that time. But now you’ll get all the information. With Mars forming a trine to Uranus retrograde on the same day, November 8th, you may let anger rule your emotions especially if you just discovered you were deceived. This is also another indication that not all went as expected during the elections.

Venus, which also entered Scorpio in October, continues its path through this fixed T-square when it forms a square to Saturn on November 12th. If you didn’t start doing this in October, today is a good day to review your financial obligations especially is they are overwhelming you. You may feel that others are critical of your decisions but it’s very important for you not to “buy” into their criticisms or become too critical yourself. On a mundane level, this could signal a beginning of difficulties with the leadership of various countries, especially the United States.

Things do start to look more optimistic when Mercury forms a trine to Uranus on November 13th and Venus follows with a conjunction to Jupiter the following day. Venus has finished its passage through the fixed T-square and you may finally know how to improve your financial situation. If you started a job search in October, this is the time when you learn the results of your search and probably find yourself moving into a new job position. This will be a good time to work out disagreements and reach consensus.

November 17th is an important day because Venus enters Sagittarius, Mars forms a square to Neptune, and Mercury turns direct. This is a day when financial matters are easier to understand even if you are still confused about the best action to take for your financial security. Normally when Mercury turns direct the time for action is about to begin. However, Mercury, by turning direct, is once again creating the fixed T-square energy that creates the need to focus inward before taking action. This energy won’t be over until December 5, 2006. So, your search for inner understanding not only needs to continue through this month but can actually finally bring you the knowledge and direction you need when the new Moon in Scorpio occurs on November 20, 2006. The new Moon also indicates power struggles within Congress as changes occur on various leadership levels in Congress.

As the Sun enters Sagittarius on November 22nd and Mercury forms a trine to Uranus on the same day, more information regarding scandals and other hidden matters are revealed to the public. People that have been keeping secrets from you will find that they can’t keep this information hidden any longer. The positive aspect of this energy is that you find new ways of looking at old situations leading to better solutions for any current problems.

On November 23, 2006, Jupiter enters Sagittarius and a new paradigm shift occurs in the areas of global economy, government ethics, spiritual growth, and legal matters. This is approximately a 12-year cycle that lasts until December 18, 2007. While spiritually this cycle opens the mind to new concepts that can increase ways for you to express your true nature in the external world, economically this cycle is called “pay back” for financial excesses that may have occurred either in your life or in the global marketplace.

In your natal (i.e., birth chart), Jupiter represents where you need to move beyond the boundaries society has established for you and learn to think on your own. It represents your ethical make-up as well as your need to seek spiritual truth. It is the ruler of Sagittarius, the sign of the centaur (half human and half horse), and represents the need to find ways to create a bridge between the path of the soul and the needs of the earth. On a mundane level, Jupiter represents the global economy, interstate commerce, the judicial system, and religious organizations. It also represents the influence of magnetic and electrical energy in technology and scientific inventions.

When Jupiter is in its own sign, as it will be for the next 13 months, you experience increased exuberance. If you are living your life within the context of your spiritual goals, this is an exciting time period for you. You’ll find that you are willing to see the importance of diversity in your life, whether that diversity is found in your relationships with others or found in your intimate space with artwork or new decorations in your home. Historically when Jupiter is in Sagittarius, the civil rights movement strengthens as more people seek the same justice in their lives that they see other individuals have.

Jupiter in Sagittarius also represents the search for the truth. Your soul wants to know the answers to situations. There is a tendency to take more risks in your relationships by being truthful in your communications with other people. For this reason, when Jupiter is in Sagittarius any secrets that have been held over the previous 13 months (when Jupiter was in Scorpio) are revealed at this time. Also, while Jupiter in Sagittarius is a time to look towards the future with optimism, it’s also a time when the study of past and historical events becomes more important. Archeology tends to increase as an important science and new findings tend to help you understand your place on this planet. Even the inventions that are introduced when Jupiter is in Sagittarius either change the direction of industries by creating more efficient improvements or change the direction of lives by developing technology that makes it easier for people to travel over vast territories or communicate over greater terrains.

However, Jupiter in Sagittarius is a warning sign when it comes to the economic market and globalization. Historically when Jupiter is in Scorpio (the previous 13 months) economic spending is pushed to the maximum through the use of credit (i.e., other people’s money). Agreements are made between countries that involve various uses of cash or credit and actually bind countries together politically through their financial agreements. The access to easy credit increases the potential for various schemes that lead to overspending or overpricing, such as in the housing market. And the banking industry and other financial lenders start worrying as easy credit leads to easier spending. So, when Jupiter enters Sagittarius, credit starts tightening through higher interest rates and other controls. This can be a difficult if you live on a tight budget and tend to put many of your payments on credit cards. This is a difficult time for markets, such as the housing market, that expected to continue increasing in value but actually start coming down in price. This can also be a difficult time for countries that are spending more and increasing their budgets without regard to the income they need to sustain their spending.

Since secrets are more difficult to keep when Jupiter is in Sagittarius, more scandals are revealed both in the government arena and corporate world. The old adage, “the ends justify the means,” is not acceptable in a world that now seeks to improve its ethical approach to any form of governance.

What is exciting about Jupiter entering Sagittarius is that now you have an opportunity to find balance in your life as you see the new technological advances that can make your life easier. This is a time when you can find pleasure in diversity. It is a time when you can gain a deeper understanding of just how small the world really is.

As the month of November ends, Venus forms a square to Uranus on November 25th and three days later, on November 28th, Mercury forms a square to Neptune and Mars forms a square to Saturn. The fixed T-square is nearing its end and will finally end on December 4, 2006 when Mercury forms a square to Saturn.

Economically, the end of the month can be erratic. You may be feeling the paradigm shift of Jupiter entering Sagittarius but are not yet sure how this shift really impacts your life. You may also be feeling the end of the fixed T-square energy and realize that now life can start moving forward again. November 25 – 28, 2006 is not a good time period for negotiating because emotions are erratic and yet you may not really know why you’re feeling this way. Also, it will be difficult to get all the information you need to make a sound decision. Basically, you’re still in the analytical mode of problem solving. Just give it a few more days before you start taking decisive action because by the beginning of December 2006 you will have all the facts you need to move on with your life.

(If you are interested in understanding the impact of Jupiter in Sagittarius on a mundane level, read my NCGR Memberletter article, “Jupiter in Sagittarius – Opening the Door to a New Frontier,” )