The Meaning of Mercury Cazimi in Capricorn at the Solstice

Transcript

 

Hey everyone, this is Adam Elenbaas from Nightlight Astrology and today we're going to take a look at Mercury's cazimi, that is Mercury's conjunction with the Sun or what is sometimes described as Mercury at the heart of the Sun, which is taking place in the northern hemisphere, as the Sun moves into Capricorn, which is our winter solstice. This is a really unique astrological signature.

We're going to be looking at it today. If you don't know anything about cazimis, you'll learn something about that. But you'll also learn about what makes this one so special. It really is rare that we have a Mercury cazimi on the actual day of the Winter solstice. So we're going to take a look at that today.

Before we get into it as always, don't forget to like and subscribe, share your comments and reflections. We'd love to hear from you, and how you're experiencing this transit. You can find a transcript of today's talk on the website nightlightastrology.com.

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What an interesting Mercury cazimi, I have to say I really enjoyed making this talk in particular, because I don't think in all of my years of doing astrology that ever seen a Mercury retrograde Mercury at the heart of the sun on the winter solstice. It's a very powerful symbol for us to contemplate today. So I hope you'll enjoy this video.

All right, so today we're going to take a look at Mercury's cazimi, which means Mercury moving through a conjunction with the Sun, sometimes described as Mercury being at the heart of the Sun within its synodic cycle. This is a really important moment, and it happens to be taking place as the Sun enters Capricorn, and at zero Capricorn is the solstice Winter Solstice here in the northern hemisphere, in the symbolic language of the Zodiac that marks the return of light on an archetypal level and you don't have to think about it literally. You can think about it symbolically, and that's probably going to be the best way to think about it, especially if you're in the southern hemisphere.

So we're going to talk about the meaning of this cazimi given five different factors that go along with this cazimi and make it speak, and obviously, one of those factors is the solstice. So that's the breakdown of what we're up to. Let's take a look at the real-time clock.

So here is the cazimi taking place Mercury crossing the heart of the Sun, that is Friday, December 22, and you can see the Sun at zero degrees of Capricorn, that is the winter solstice moment of the Zodiac, or you could say again, just a solstice moment, depending on where you're at. But the thing to also notice is that this is happening in the bound of Mercury; you can see that bound in the Egyptian table of boiunds on the outside of the ruler.

This is also happening as the ruler, the corpse, the Sun, and Mercury, being in Capricorn, are in Saturn's domicile, and they have a sextile to Saturn as the cazimi is taking place. So there's some reception with the host and a nice connection with the host, and then we also have the fact that the Sun is moving from this point forward into a trine with Jupiter, which, of course, marks Jupiter's turn to direct motion from retrograde and then the last detail, excuse me that I'm really looking at is Pluto's culmination at the exact same time in the sign of Capricorn. So the fact that this is all happening, as Pluto is also just entering that 29th anaretic degree culminating before entering Aquarius in January is, I think, a really important kind of weighty detail to add into the mix here.

So those are the factors that we're going to look at, and I'm gonna go through them one at a time and sort of give you some ideas as to what those different contextual factors might indicate for us right now.

The first thing to remember is that every Mercury retrograde cycle has a lot to offer us, and it doesn't mean just one thing. For example, sometimes people say, Oh, Mercury Retrograde, you're gonna go through revisions and delays and, you know, confounding, frustrating things will come up that'll sort of, I don't know, put a wrench in the wheel somehow, and that's just sort of a generic thing that we often hear about Mercury retrogrades, but every part of a retrograde cycle for any of the planets inferior or superior, Mercury-Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, they all have distinct phases that they go through, and the phases of the syndic cycle all have subtly different meanings and symbolic value, and so we have to understand what part of the cycle we're at because that part of the cycle will offer a different set of symbols.

So, a retrograde doesn't unanimously mean the same thing at every point in the retrograde, so to think, oh, Mercury's retrograde right now, that just means this. Unless we're differentiating between Mercury under the beams retrograde and Mercury emerging from the beams retrograde on the other side of the Sun. We're not doing our due diligence like we should understand the different phases.

So what happens when Mercury has gone through combustion and goes right into the heart of the Sun and conjoins the Sun? That is considered to be a rebirth moment for Mercury, who will then start to emerge from combustion and separate from the Sun.

Applying to the Sun will often mean a deterioration or breakdown and that's where we see that those significations of delays setbacks, things kind of falling apart. You have a set of plans that you made, and all of a sudden, you find that they're being completely unraveled while you're at the airport. That's the Mercury stationing turning retrograde, causing sort of delays, reversals, revision setbacks, and frustrations as Mercury is combust through the heart of the Sun we're dealing with the sort of intensification of those themes of breakdown or shifts in circumstances that are sometimes challenging.

Because Mercury is symbolically going through something like a death. When Mercury reaches the cazimi stage, it is then crossing through the heart of the Sun and, from that point forward, will start to emerge from under the beams and rises the morning star, which is a rebirth for Mercury.

So this moment, in particular, is like the seeding point of a new cycle, which is the forward motion through the heart of the Sun in direct motion is also a kind of seeding point for its emergence as the Evening Star on the other side, this time the morning star.

So when it goes through that cazimi moment, it's a tremendously empowered moment for Mercury; Mercury is filled with the light of a new cycle. It's like the intentions are being planted for the cycle ahead. It's a conception moment, you could say, and so it will carry that seed forward. But you'll often see these kinds of brilliant displays of an empowered Mercury insight, communicative power, executive decision making people who are teachers or authority figures somehow empowering other people as messengers or as liaisons, which is sometimes described in ancient astrology as the seal of the king that Mercury is being given, like the seal of the king's authority, somehow the Sun being a metaphorical like authority figure.

So when Mercury goes through the heart of the Sun, there's this moment also of like brilliant intellectual clarity or communicative understanding, sort of seeing the bigger picture, and so those symbols make any cazimi pretty powerful, and then you have to think well, what kind of Mercury do we have here, we have a Saturnian earthy Capricornian Mercury. This would mean, for example, that the mind's ability to do hard things to take on weightier or, you know, kind of heavier disciplines or responsibilities, duties and obligations, and somehow plan or conceptualize, a plan for the carrying of a task or a burden.

Like how am I going to manage carrying this, this duty or obligation, and sort of being able to see it clearly, or even being given a task that sacred but heavy, or being asked to consider things that are difficult, like there's sort of a metaphorical we talked about Pluto culminate, I'm going to mention that, again.

There's sort of a cross weave weave weave carry when we think about Capricornian symbolism, and I've used the story about the Lord of the Rings and sort of carrying the ring to Mordor and letting it go and not being sort of destroyed or corrupted by the weight of the thing you carry. Well, here; there's a very special commission being given. It's sort of like the moment in Lord of the Rings, where Gandalf sort of tells Frodo like you're gonna have to carry this; the ring has fallen to you.

So you could see this as a moment of recognizing the task before us and some willingness on our part to be to have to grow up to receive what's being given, to have to take a step forward in our maturity in order to adapt or shift with the changes that are being ushered in by this cazimi moment at the solstice. So, the solstice symbolism plays a huge role, and that's number one on our list of five to consider today.

The Solstice symbolism brings with it a part of the story of the light and dark cycle of the year from the stem; of the symbolic standpoint of the ancient zodiacal language. So for Capricorn, we're in the dark half of the year, but from this point forward, the light starts to return, and so that dawning of light, but the slow, gradual, incremental step-by-step burden, duty obligation to climb along the steep path ahead as the light rises up out of darkness, to nurture and grow and develop and work and carry something from a ceding point in the midst of darkness, up and out of the darkness.

It's a heroic call in Capricorn, but it's also it's not very glamorous. There's a sort of chop wood, carry water mentality that runs through Capricorn, and the solstice every year is a time for us to there's a hexagram in the I-Ching, which is number 24, and it's called return, and it shows basically the bottom line is young starting to rise up, and it's the nature of the lines that to move up the hexagram and when the light returns, that's what we're doing.

We're starting at the humble beginning of light starting to crawl back up, and so we're there's been an emptying out now there's a return, and there's a slow, gradual filling, climbing, ascending and that is a very, very powerful moment in our year that most of us take time who are people who are into astrology take time to signify or ritualize in our life in some way and so just imagine now that the Mercury Retrograde is reaching its rebirth moment at that beginning of the return of light.

So there's a vision there, there's a task that's being given at this because to me, that's, you know, it's quite strong, and it can show up in different areas of your life look to the whole sign house of Capricorn in particular. But just know that this is just kind of a rare moment to have mercury cazimi at the heart of the Sun, being reborn, bringing with it a quality of mission and importance, a weight, a slow ascent, a change of momentum, that is going to cause us to dig deep. So, the solstice symbolism is pretty profound, in my humble opinion, at this time.

The other interesting thing is that this takes place in the bounds of Mercury. So first, let's see how many degrees it is. Let me just check my little map. So I think it's the first seven degrees according to the Egyptian table of bounds. It's the first seven degrees of Capricorn that belong to Mercury, and so being in Mercury's bound, it's as though Mercury, there's a little extra weight and emphasis given to Mercury, our minds have to be they're going to be tested, our mental, intellectual, emotional capacity will be tested. Because being in the bounds of Mercury, it really suggests that the road ahead is forged by careful thinking, careful communicating, careful control, and mindfulness around our thoughts and the power of our thoughts in the weeks ahead.

This is also something that it makes me realize just how significant it is that this turning point is depicted by the entirety of the retrograde cycle, which makes all the way until the first January 2 when Mercury returns direct; it is really important that there's that we can't especially because when Mercury Retrogrades back into Sagittarius, it's going to hit a square to Neptune it's going to conjoin Mars, Mars is going to square Neptune, we have to avoid the trap of fanatical thinking or of becoming pushy or domineering, or, you know, sort of sort of thinking that being loud will get something done.

So there's some kind of mental test that we're being given, as there is also a turning of the tide and a kind of responsibility or task that's being handed to us. It's a moment of testing our maturity. That's the way I'm seeing it.

Number three is the interesting fact that Mercury is in a sextile to Saturn at the moment of the solstice. Both the Sun and Mercury, who are in the rulership of Saturn, are also sextile to Saturn in Pisces, which I showed on the real-time clock at the beginning. That sextile from Saturn and Pisces, to me, really emphasizes the way in which we're dealing with a kind of inconsistent, fluid, changeable, dynamic boundaries are shifting and moving. There could be we could feel like we're sort of riding a roller coaster of emotions, and you know, Capricorn is a sign that likes to have a certain amount of control and foresight and like a kind of incremental, steady progressive building growing upward, aspiring, reaching climbing quality to Capricorn, Saturn in Pisces is saying that you might be climbing a mountain but it's a little covered and fog, and you can't clearly see exactly where you're going. Trust might be required, or even more careful boundaries and going a little bit more slowly, being content with small gains at first.

The connection to Saturn, though, to me, also suggests that emotional maturity wins the day right now if we can, if we can think about the challenges in front of us and dig into our best qualities and stay real close to the present moment with a kind of emotional maturity helping us along that we're there's some support there for us.

So number four on my list is the fact that the Sun is moving into a trine with Jupiter right after this happens, so that mercury cazimi is Friday, December 22, and then we have the connection of the Sun with Jupiter on the 27th. So the Sun moves immediately into a trine with Jupiter, which signals Jupiter turning direct, at which point mercury will be conjoined with Mars. Both will be square to Neptune, Mercury, and Mars, and Sagittarius, of course, will be. Let me just read picture this in case that's a little complicated. I'll put the real-time clock back up. So you can see that at this point in time, while the Sun trines Jupiter, we've got Mercury and Mars, conjoining and Sagittarius, and both square to Neptune in Pisces, all of which in that square between Mercury, Mars, and Neptune are all Jupiter ruled signs, and we have a sun trine Jupiter connection with Jupiter turning direct.

This again signals the idea of an incremental slow process of change and transfer transformation with a kind of coming together of things that we need to advance, but it is a slow kind of shift that requires emotional staying power, not becoming too fanatical, but also trusting and trusting and having faith that we're in the process of some kind of critical turning point and our again emotional maturity, control over reckless or domineering or kind of pushy impulses mentally and emotionally are required. This is a nice turning point that comes shortly after the cazimi and really starts wrapping up the Mercury's retrograde cycle, and the final thing that I'm thinking about is the fact that Pluto is culminating in the final degree of Capricorn.

This all happens as Pluto is culminating, and it really makes me think that not only is this about, you know, a kind of mature Capricornian moment where that slow process of return building, ascending, working our way through something is taking place, and there's a real sense of empowerment in that space. But this may represent something in the microcosm that is being reflected in the macrocosm of Pluto's, you know, many years in Capricorn, that what we're carrying right now, and the maturity required to see something through to the end is reflected in a sense by Pluto is culminating in the final degree of Capricorn.

There is something that we're ready to, you know, cast into the fire or there's something that it's it's like, how we finish matters and we talked about this with the New Moon in Sagittarius and that last decade of saj, we, we talked about the fact that the was the 10 of wands, and the sort of pushing the sticks through the finish line, how we finish matters, and so there's this great sense of culmination behind all of this in a moment of testing our maturity in how we complete something or how we complete a transformation of some kind.

These are the general archetypes that I'm noticing within Mercury's cazimi, and I think that you know, that's going to look a little bit different for everybody, and it's especially important to look at the Capricorn whole sign house of Capricorn in your birth chart because that'll really give you a feel for where what topics are being activated.

You know, the other thing that I would recommend for this is taking some notes, especially, you know, Friday the 22nd here, what's going on, what note, what do you notice, what stands out that seating moment, sometimes will, there'll be a real insight that can crystallize, and it doesn't have to crystallize right away, but an experience might be there through which and insight is ready to crystallize, it will be of great use to you and so I would really pay attention to all the events happening right around the solstice and then stay with them, meditate on them, see what comes.

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