MERCURY TRANSITS THE SUN November 11, 2019
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On November 11th, Mercury will transit the Sun, meaning it will pass directly across the face of the Sun. (See the little black dot near the word November in the image.) For Eastern Time, where I live, it will begin on the eastern side of the Sun (remember it is retrograde so moving backwards) at about 7:30 AM and cross the Sun, east to west, until it exits the face of the Sun around 1:00 PM. These transits occur 13 times per century and this one is visible from South America, eastern North America, and farwestern Africa. The last transit occurred on May 9, 2016 and the next will be on November 13, 2032. But if you live in the United States, the Sun will be below the horizon then, so this transit will be the last visible until May 7, 2049. During modern times from the 1600's and on into 2300 all transits of Mercury occur around May 8 and November 10. This will be of interest when we explore the deeper meaning of these tranits. As a side note, Venus transits are much less frequent. The last transit was June 6, 2012 and there will not be another transit until December 11, 2117. They exhibit a strange pattern of recurring after about 8 years and then not again until about 105 or 120 years. So the transit of Venus prior to 2012 was in 2004, but the one prior to that was in 1882.
What causes a transit? A transit occurs when an inferior conjunction of Mercury with the Sun (meaning Mercury passes between the Sun and the Earth) happens simultaneously with Mercury being in its own nodal point. What is the nodal point? The orbit of Mercury is inclined at a 7° angle to the ecliptic (which is the plane of the orbit of the Earth heliocentrically or the apparent orbit of the Sun geocentrically). The orbit of Mercury thus intersects the ecliptic plane at two points. These two points are called the nodes, so that at one point in every orbit round the Sun, Mercury passes through one node and then later through the other opposite node. Transits only take place when Mercury's entry into the node happens at the same time as it comes into inferior conjunction with the Sun. Let us look now more closely at this event in the context of the rhythm of Mercury with the Sun and in relation to the stars of the zodiac. Since Mercury cycles around the Sun, there is a time when it has a conjunction with the Sun during its journey on the far side of the Sun from the Earth and then it continues around coming into conjunction between the Earth and the Sun. In Willi Sucher's research, he found that during the superior conjunctions (behind the Sun) Mercury "picks up" cosmic content from the stars and outer planets where it occurred and then as Mercury swings around between the Earth and Sun, at inferior conjunction it "hands over" this cosmic substance/challenge/task to humanity. In his body of work, he develops this activity of Mercury specifically to the Three Years of Christ's activity on the Earth in relation to the so-called "7 Signs" as archetypes for how humanity might ultimately work with these conjunctions of Mercury. (See Willi Sucher, Cosmic Christianity) The work of Mercury (Greek: Hermes) as the "winged messenger of the gods" is that of the communication of cosmic intelligence to earthly intelligence, but today in our times is also the work of assisting humanity in redeeming earthly intelligence and raising it again to cosmic intelligence, or spiritual cognition. Thus one can say that Mercury in our times is directly related to the guiding spirit and activity of our age. Micha-el!
So at inferior conjunction Mercury/Michael offers to humanity the "cosmic substance", from the prior superior conjunction as both opportunity and challenge for humanity in its work of redemption. This inferior conjunction and transit of Mercury on November 11th occurs in the constellation of the stars of Libra, the Scales, which is that constellation most directly connected to the work of Micha-el in our times. It is that constellation representing "the threshold" between worlds, particularly between above and below, on many levels. However one can see in the heavens the great threshold of Libra as a boundary or guardian between the stars of the Virgin Sophia, the true cosmic wisdom, and the stars of the Scorpion, the dragon forces, the sting of death in modern human thinking and in human soul life. Libra/Michael stands between, as defender of the Sophia of Wisdom and helper to human beings seeking to rescue intelligence from the dragon forces and raise it again to its divine origins. So in this transit/inferior conjunction of Mercury with the Sun occurring in Libra we have a special relationship to this Micha-el activity. What then is handed over to humanity from the previous superior conjunction which is offered to humanity in its Micha-el striving? On August 13th, I posted an article titled Cosmic Heart Congestion , which addressed the clustering of planets near Regulus the "heart of the Lion" and the potential and the challenges in that clustering. To refresh: between August 18 and September 4 when the actual superior conjunction of Mercury and Sun took place in the Lion, we had Mars, Venus, Sun and Mercury all conjuncting Regulus and each other with the Moon conjuncting them all on August 30. The exact superior conjunction of Mercury and Sun was on September3/ 4 which occurred also conjunct Mars. All of this occurred on the backdrop of the Perseid meteors which peaked around August 14. Here we have a majestic concurrence of planets around the cosmic heart center, Regulus. This cosmic call in August/September of Michael for the awakening of the human heart to overcome the materializing/aggression of Mars in that superior conjunction is now being handed over to us for earthly realization in this inferior conjunction. When one begins to live in the planetary rhythms one begins to fee into time and the interrelationships among the cosmic intelligences of the stars. So Mercury's weaving in time communicates greater planetary gestures. This inferior conjunction asking humanity to now act and realize in earthly life the "substance" of the superior conjunction can become a time for the scales of justice, for the truth of the heart to be realized earthly affairs. With the transit, we have this special intense relation to the Sun as it crosses directly across its countenance, a kind of enhanced potential to realize the goals of Michael/Mercury, as the countenance of the Sun, in our earthly activity. For those on a path of cognition based in anthroposophy in which thinking is raised to a new level of spiritual perception, this inferior conjunction can inspire us to realize this striving in new ways, and particularly in action. Remember, the wings of Mercury are on his feet as well as his helmet!
There are many deeper levels in which one can explore this configuration, however it is important to simply live with the images meditatively and find in that process new insights. One area not addressed here, but worthy of further thought is the fact, as mentioned in the beginning of the article, that these transits of Mercury for past and future centuries occur around Nov 10 and May 8. Why these dates in our modern era? Is there a potential relationship here with the Mother/Sophia activity in humanity and the transits? Consider the imagination of Micha-el defending Sophia. Consider the imagination in the Apocalypse of the Woman in Heaven giving birth and the Dragon waiting to devour the child and Michael battling the dragon and casting it to the Earth. Might these transits relate to this Mother/Sophia? The dating of this transit lineage over centuries, November 10 and May 8 approximately, is connected with what Rudolf Steiner referred to as the "descent to the Mothers" in November and the opposite date, in general in May/June, to the time of Whitsun and the power of the Holy Spirit. Of course Whitsun varies depending on the early or late Easter date, but in general it comes early May into June. Both of these times have then deep connections to "the Mother" in Her many expressions/manifestations in evolution, both past (November) and current/future (May-Whitsun). In November's descent we contemplate our journey to being born into death/separation and in May we celebrate the transformative power of the Holy Spirit for rebirth in the Spirit for humanity's future.