Why Conversations Get Hard This Week

Hey everyone. This is Adam Elenbaas from Nightlight Astrology [https://nightlightastrology.com/].

Happy Monday, everyone. Today, we're going to take a look at Mercury in the sign of Capricorn, moving into an opposition with Jupiter. This is not your run of the mill opposition, though. This is an opposition that's happening as Mercury is combust and as Mercury is moving right into a conjunction with an exalted Mars, who's just coming off from a cazimi. Jupiter's meanwhile retrograde in the sign of Cancer.

There are a number of technical features of this opposition that make it a little extra. So we're going to explore those technical features, and I'm going to tell you why communication dynamics might be a little extra heated or intense this week, and some other things to watch for as well. So I hope you'll find this educational, interesting, and obviously help you prep for the astrological weather of the week.

Before we get into it, remember to like and subscribe, share your comments and reflections. It's always good to hear from you guys, especially subscribing. If you're not yet subscribed, that helps us grow quite a bit. You can find transcripts of any of these daily talks on the website, which is Nightlight astrology.com.

Now when you head over to the website, I'm gonna tell you about a couple of things coming up. Go to the events page. Click on live talks. You'll see that on January 22 I'm giving a talk on the 10th house and the degree of the midheaven.

Now, when you study ancient Hellenistic astrology, you find out that the 10th house is not defined as a cusp by the midheaven. The midheaven is a degree that floats freely, often in the ninth house or the 11th house, sometimes the 10th as well. But we're going to talk about the difference between the whole sign 10th and the degree of the midheaven, as well as the ancient meaning of the 10th house and its relation to career.

It was actually not the only place related to career, and has a very specific way that it contributes to the topic of career that is not what most people currently know or understand. So that sounds interesting to you. Check it out. You can register there on the website. If you can't attend live, you get the recording later, as always, hope to see you guys there soon.

The other thing to be aware of is that our retreat to Mexico is not yet full. We have about 20 spots left on our retreat to Mexico in June. This retreat called the Oracle within, is a training in the theory and practice of divinatory astrology. It's going to be an awesome time. We still do have room left. So check that out on the website. We put the early bird sale back up. So if you want to take advantage of that, you can that's another cool thing to check out.

Also be sure to check out our speaker series, which is coming up. You can always check the latest on the speaker series this month, January 25 the 31st and February 1, we have some amazing speakers giving talks. These are free for you guys. We promote those Speaker Series talks thanks to your generosity in the Kickstarter campaign every year. So on that note, let's turn our attention now to the real time clock and take a look at what's going on.

All right. So here we can see at the start of the week, Monday, January 12, we have a number of things happening this week. A lot of Trines is taking place this week between planets in late Capricorn and Uranus in Taurus, some sextiles to Saturn and Neptune as well. So an interesting week from the standpoint of those Trines that we'll be looking forward to later.

But the start of the week here, you can see that Mercury is immediately moving into already in an engagement with Jupiter. Now, if I put this forward just a day tomorrow, Tuesday, January 13, that opposition is just about exact passes through. The exact opposition by Wednesday. So between now and Wednesday January 14, that's the 12th through the 14th. You've got that opposition in effect.

Now, what makes this extra is a couple of details that are important. One, JUPITER is exalted, but in its Retrograde phase right now, Mercury is under the beams of the sun or combust. So in other words, it's invisible and it's also combust, which means it's being burnt up and debilitated from the proximity to the Sun. It's dying in its Synodic Cycle right now.

The final thing to notice is that the sun is just separating from Mars. So Mars is just coming out of the fires of the sun and its synodic reset, and it is in the process of recovering and sort of coming forth from its rebirth, and as the opposition is taking place, Mercury is heading into a conjunction with that Mars.

Those factors all sandwiched close together make this much more than an average Mercury opposite Jupiter transit, because this is the transit of the first couple of days of the week. This is where we're going to start. I want to give you some clarifications on this technical picture, and then I've got a list of five things to watch for which, you know, I think will be very practically useful.

So first of all, let's talk about the fact that this opposition between Mercury and Jupiter is happening while Mercury is combust, meaning it's being burnt up. It's close proximity to the Sun, debility. Hates it, mercury, you could say, in this kind of position, is being sort of overpowered by a solar agenda.

So that means, typically, a way of translating. That is to say that mercury, things like speech, thought, planning, messaging, or even the art or acts of interpretation or uses of technology are somehow subordinated to authority, the sun being the authority or to necessity coming under a force or power greater than its own agency. So I have to do something or duty, is another way of putting it duty or necessity, or that it has to do something that it might have to do against its own will.

That becomes an important part of the picture. When a planet is combust, combust mercury will always, no matter what sign it's in, tend toward speaking from pressure or having a kind of incomplete articulation, or saying the right thing at the wrong time or saying the wrong thing, saying something before it's been fully digested or thought through. And it can also just represent exhaustion or fatigue mentally in the nervous system.

Now it's moving into a conjunction with Mars, who is exalted in Capricorn, and separating from combustion slash cazimi, meaning its rebirth has just occurred. This is really crucial, because the conjunction with Mercury and Mars is an integral part of the opposition to Jupiter happening in the next two days.

Mars is in a process of recovery right now. Mars was exalted, is exalted, which means it was in its own chariot during the combustion. Its function was constrained, but not corrupted, you might say so as Mars emerges right now, what's coming from Mars as it meets Mercury is a return of decisiveness, a return of confidence, a return in action, a return in momentum.

There's still heat, there's still maybe a little bit of impatience. And so Mars in Capricorn coming off the combustion is sort of sharp, gaining traction, efficient, tactical bottom line, still maybe a little raw and a little banged up. Okay, so that is a very specific kind of Mars, when you put those two together, then speech a Mercury function becomes sharper. It becomes more strategic, more cutting, more instrumental, more purpose driven in a newly formed agenda or idea or set of actions that are coming off the rebirth of Mars and the cazimi.

So you can see how this adds, like all this nuance. Well, then we put, we place Mercury opposite Jupiter, who is retrograde in cancer. Now Jupiter in Cancer is exalted, so it has a strength there. But it's retrograde, makes it more inward. Revisionary, brings it into the past, brings it into a more internal, reflective space.

So Jupiter, in cancer, will tend to speak for things like emotional protection or safety, loyalty to family, clan, culture, home, emotional truth, moral and emotional caregiving. Jupiter is not weak by any means, but because it's retrograde, it's questioning things, revive revisiting or revising things and reassessing things.

Okay, so Mercury Mars together opposite this Jupiter externalizes tension, therefore, and the externalization tends to happen through oppositions. It externalizes tensions that might be between executive logic, forceful speech, strong, decisive, mental, logical, practical efforts and actions and care based emotional wisdom, concern or emotional safety or nurturance. So this can create a kind of a strain or a tension, that is exactly what makes this opposition, not your average opposition.

Now, let me give you a list of five things to watch for. I hope that technical explanation. I know it's a lot, but hopefully you were able to make sense of most of that. Always the hope. So let's talk about this one, something you could see in the next few days, especially between now and Wednesday, would be, I've just phrased it as words before wisdom.

Let me give you an example, a few examples. So let's say that you in your we're talking about your job. Maybe someone in management, a boss, a manager, sends a rather bluntly worded email, you know, late in the day. This is what we're doing. This is a new policy. This is a new procedure. We're doing this.

Immediately, the logic might make sense, but the tone might feel blunt, abrupt, uncaring, and that could have serious ramifications in the next few days, right? It's something like that where the executive plan or action or thought or communication is at odds with a real, felt sense of care or sensitivity in, you know, relationship.

It's same thing. Someone says something that they've been holding back. They say it in a very Mars, Mercury and Capricorn kind of way. It's honest, but it's not caring, you know, or someone in a public role or position says something that just lacks a level of nuance that really shouldn't have been missing, you know.

So that would be a major thing to keep in mind. This is all the reason in the world to be in a space of listening and quiet reflection this week, because thinking before we're speaking is going to take into consideration the emotional wisdom necessary to balance the kind of executive, rational, earthy, Mercury, Mars and Capricorn, kind of thoughts or actions.

Number two would be, I phrased it as second thoughts surface. So let's say that in again a workplace setting, let's say that you you make a strong decision, as we were just talking about, but as soon as you offer that decision, or you make that decision, you're in a position of leadership. Let's say people immediately question whether it was the right one or whether it was fair, and concerns or other layers of information are brought to you that immediately cause you to have to reflect or rethink.

So that doesn't necessarily mean that you were just being too blunt. It could be that there's a process this week of making strong decisions and then really needing to take in feedback that comes so second thoughts that have to be included that's not necessarily a result of being too blunt or harsh or something, just feedback that has to be considered and included in an ongoing process.

Same thing could happen in family life, where you know you're as parents, you make a decision, the kids give you feedback. Okay, wow. Wasn't thinking about it that way. Natural doesn't necessarily mean you were trying to be blunt or uncaring, so just having to receive feedback and letting a process of second thinking occur, I put this one as efficiency versus care.

This is a super cancer Capricorn kind of thing. Let's say the example that came to my mind came from my world of parenting. You know, there could be, I could just see this coming up between my wife and I where, you know, one of us has a Capricornian idea, no no TV on a school night, you know, something like that. But there's a unique circumstance where, you know, they only have a half day the next day, you know. And so it's not the normal school day the next day. So why don't we act a little flexibly, and we can have a family movie night even though it's a school day, school day, because the next day is only a half day.

I'm making this up. But the thought that came to my mind was you could have questions about hard rules or decisions that are tempered by like, Well, why don't you just soften your position a little bit by considering this other part of the equation. Or, you know, if you're a business owner, here's the most effective solution. And again, like, Yeah, but is that the most caring solution?

So it comes back to some of the same Capricorn cancer dynamics, how efficient is something versus how caring is something? And that's also the specific kind of thing that can happen when words and wisdom aren't being paired together in the right measure. You say something too decisive, too quick. But it's not words before wisdom the first point this would be similar, but it would tend to be specifically divided along lines of, this is the practical thing, this is the efficient thing, this is the smart thing. This is the structured thing, or discipline thing, while this other side is the nurturing, compassionate, sensitive thing. So if there are real clashes along those lines. Listen, you know, they arise together. They're not separate.

Number four would be forceful messaging. This is a Mercury Mars dynamic. I could see myself with mercury Mars and Capricorn, telling myself to if I'm struggling with something emotionally like just, just get over it, push forward. Just do whatever you need to do and move on. You know, sort of stop whining about it.

Or, you know, my daughter again, back to parenting. Might have legitimate questions about what I'm trying to enforce, and I'm impatient and I say we're not debating this. No more talk. You know, sometimes that's needed, sometimes you just have to shut down something that is trine is emotionally regressive. It in its presenting complications that delay something that just needs to be acted upon, planned, done, solved.

So the forcefulness of this might be legitimate in the sense that it's cutting through some kind of regressive, needy emotional immaturity, but I think more likely, considering Jupiter's exaltation and cancer, we have to be careful with like executive thinking that lacks A kind of greater sensitivity and concern, but the forceful messaging may also be useful and necessary somehow. So it just it's got to strike the right balance.

Be careful of that voice that comes up, for example, that says there's no choice. This is what you have to do, and it's really impatient, and it, it's very forceful, and it, it lacks the ability to sit and digest something before feeling like the bottom line has to take over.

All right. Number five is beliefs revisited. The conversation between Mercury Mars opposite Jupiter can have us reflecting on things we not only think but believe. So. I've had this come up a number of times. My wife and I will get into a debate about something relatively meaningless, not a high stakes situation. We're just debating something.

And I think it's probably my Mars in Gemini, after sitting with maybe, I feel like, you know, I sort of won the debate. And she was like, Yeah, I can see, I see your point. Okay, she concedes. You know, good. Mars in Cancer, I'll be like, Maybe I am wrong, and then I'll go back and I'll be like, You know what? Even though you sort of let me have that one, I think I might have been wrong.

And certainly this could happen in situations that are a lot more high stakes than a trivial argument about, I don't know movies or something you know, or music, or what album was the best or but I think that the ability to lose, or the ability to be a graceful winner or gracious in defeat, or to change our minds or to open ourselves to someone else's perspective and revise or kind of reassess our thoughts and beliefs about things that we thought we had to vigorously defend that might be a real interesting benefit to the transit this week.

I've noticed that sometimes I defend things, and when my wife gives me the space and just backs off, then all of a sudden I realize that I wasn't actually defending something I value as much as I was protecting something or afraid of something, and sometimes it's nothing more than that space, okay, you can be right. Okay, I'm going to back off that allows me a chance to go, Oh, what am I defending here? What am I trying to protect?

You know, anyway, what I'm trying to circumambulate around right now is the idea that being wrong can actually be exciting. You know, changing your mind can be thrilling. Revising your beliefs, or the things that you hold most dear or tend to defend most aggressively or assert most aggressively. It can be really fascinating to sit down and go, What the fuck do I know? What? What do I who? Who do I think I am, you know, we just, I mean, I don't know.

I let me tell you a story. So over New Year's, and I think I told you guys this last summer, our kids were too young to remember going to Disney World for a wedding we went to several years ago. So they asked, they kept asking if we could go again. So we thought, in all of our genius, what a great idea it would be to go to Disney World for like their their that was sort of their Christmas present. We're going to go to Disney World. We're going to go on New Year's.

So dumb, so stupid. But no, we had fun. It was magical. I found myself hugging Winnie the Pooh at a really like interesting sort of pivot point in our Disney world experience. I was walking around completely disgusted by humanity and myself, my own involvement in this cesspool of consumerism and and yet I was there was a parallel track where I was watching my kids engage with, you know, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, things that were truly lighting up their imagination and connecting with them in a very magical way.

Winnie the Pooh in particular, I was a bit when I was a little kid. I was a big pooh fan. I was a big Winnie the Pooh fan, and I was having a hard day with the consumerism, and I was not letting my kids in on this. I didn't want to, you know, turd in their swimming pool, you know. So I was not saying anything, and my wife and I were just giving each other the eyes like you believe this shit they're trying to sell us everything at every last turn, and then I had this moment we were, I don't know there was some kind of character.

There were characters walking around a Disney, you know, like a restaurant that we were at. And don't even, don't even get me started on trying to find healthy food at Disney World. But anyway, so all of a sudden I had this moment where I saw my daughters hugging Winnie the Pooh, and it was like I was inside their frame of reference. And all of a sudden it just clicked, yeah. Like, two things can be true.

I say that all the time, but do I mean it? Because if I mean it, then two things can be true right now, this place can be a soul sucking dumpster fire, and it can be very magical. And isn't that samsara, you know? Isn't that life? It is the suffering, the happiness. You know they, they come together. They're they're a part of your kit. You get a little kit. Welcome to the Magic Kingdom of the cosmos.

So I decided I was going to go and give hugs to the Disney Winnie the Pooh characters, and I did, and I I started crying. I was not planned at all. It was just when I finally stopped the judgment and the struggling and just tried to enjoy it with my kids. I something in me released, and it happened to take place as I was hugging Winnie the Pooh. Oh, you can't make this stuff up, right?

So anyway, it's an example of changing your mind and how powerful it can be. Then we went on the Winnie the Pooh ride. And of course, at the end of the ride, you come out into a Winnie the Pooh store, of course, and my daughters legitimately love collecting stuffies. And you know, they were being very good in terms of not asking for things. I was really proud of them. They were not trying to buy stuff.

But my youngest daughter really wanted a Winnie the Pooh stuffy. And so I said, Yeah. I mean, this is like, we've been here for a couple days. They haven't asked for anything. They've been really chill. So like, yeah, okay, we'll get a Winnie the Pooh stuffy. And my, my wife has a stuffed animal that she cuddles with at night, which she started doing because the girls cuddle and she wanted the so they have, like, a we all have our stuffies, and she's just really, my wife's great.

So anyway, and I realized like, well, I don't have a stuffy, so I got an Eeyore stuffy. And I and my girls were over the moon delighted, because they said, What? What are you? Why are you getting a stuffy? And I was like, Well, you guys all have stuffies. Mom has one. You guys have one. You all sleep with them. Well, yeah, but you always make fun of us. And I was like, Well, I can change my mind. I have decided that the grumpy part of me, like Eeyore, just needs a cuddle buddy.

And I know it might sound stupid guys, because it really is pretty stupid, but my girls were over the moon that I could change my mind about. So Eeyore, they had no idea that I privately, had changed my mind about humanity only minutes previous, you know, and myself, you know, I had forgiven myself somehow and and, but they got to see me change my mind about having a stuffy and then the rest of the trip and the hotel the next couple nights, they got to see me cuddle up with Eeyore, and we're over the moon with delight.

And I thought that was that was good, because Eeyore is the melancholic of the bunch. You know, he's the melancholic. I have a Moon in Capricorn. I can be pretty melancholic. So I changed my mind, and now I have an Eeyore stuffy. And anyway, all of that is just to share a story with you about how powerful it can be to just hold two things at the same time. Two things can be true, you can change your mind, you can be wrong, and it can be fantastic.

So don't take my word for it. I'm just a fool that was wandering around Disney World, and that was my that was my that was my new year's experience. Anyway. Much love to you guys. I hope you're having a good start to your week. We'll see you again tomorrow. Bye.