March 28, 2019 at 9:59 am EDT Mercury stations direct in Purva Bhadrapada Nakshatra. The revisions you’ve made related to Mercury (communication, commerce, connections) should become finalized and things should start moving forward again. The intellect is turning from an inward to outward focus. This retrograde cycle spans both Bhadrapada Nakshatras and has a theme of working with sacred primordial fire (Purva Bhadrapada) and the depths of primordial water (Uttara Bhadrapada), light (Purva) and darkness (Uttara). Mercury makes one more conjunction to Neptune on April 2nd. If things aren’t quite clear yet, wait for that aspect to past before moving forward with external Mercury agendas. And of course, waiting to begin something after the New Moon on April 5th when in the waxing “growth” half of the lunation cycle is better than here near the end of the waning “decay” cycle.
March 29, 2019 at 10:34 am EDT Jupiter enters Mula Nakshatra and the sidereal sign of Sagittarius for 24 days before retrogressing back into Jyestha and the sidereal sign of Scorpio. The end of Jyestha and beginning of Mula is a gandanta point of the zodiac. GANDA translates to “mark, spot, side.” ANTA translates to “end.” Thus, GANDANTA translates to an “end spot, the sides of ending mark.” The “spot or mark” in the zodiac occurs in the last pada (3°20’) of the last nakshatra of a water sign (Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio – Jyestha,) and first pada of the first nakshatra of a fire sign (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius – Mula). There are 27 Nakshatras that have the longitudinal length of 13°20’ resulting in 21 Nakshatras that begin in one sign and end in the next sign. This helps with the process of unfoldment from one sign to the next. There is a flow of energy. These 27 Nakshatras wind up in 3 groups of 9 that begin at 0-FireSign and end at 29°59’59”-WaterSign. These represent 3 separate and distinct process of unfolding in our development: creation, material preservation, and material deprivation or spiritualization. Between Water & Fire there is no Nakshatra to carry the flow of energy, rather there is an “end spot.” The padas on either “side” of the end spot are said to be difficult and many say that Gandanta is a knot or a karmic knot. When we see how ganda translates as the root of other words, the difficulty makes sense. GANDHANA translates to “injury, perseverance, continued effort.” GANDAKA also translates to mark and spot with additions of “obstacle, separation, disjunction.”
The Gandanta point between Scorpio and Sagittarius is said to be the most difficult for a few reasons. 1) It is about shedding ties to material things to the ego’s attachments to the things we are trying to preserve and tenaciously hang onto at the end of Scorpio. 2) It is moving from the process of finding material fulfillment to finding spiritual fulfillment. 3) The power of life-death-rebirth is strongest here because the galactic center runs through this area of zodiac. 4) At the galactic center is a black hole. Black holes are not empty space. They are large amount of matter packed very tightly and compacted into a very small space that has so much gravitational pull that light cannot escape it. As a metaphor this represents things being pulled away and being unable to escape it. This is when we tend to turn to spiritual means for answers and a deeper awareness.
To get an idea of what this area of the zodiac is like, Saturn was gandanta between Jyestha/Scorpio & Mula/Sagittarius for nearly all of 2017. Think of this globally and in your life. What Saturnian things were you trying to hang on where situations arose to encourage you to let it go because its “time” (Saturn/Kronos) had come to an end? Now Jupiter is here. This should be easier for a couple of reasons. Jupiter is a benefic whereas Saturn is a malefic. Jupiter is friends with Mars (ruling Scorpio) and at home in Sagittarius. Whereas Saturn is enemies with Mars and neutral toward Jupiter (ruling Sagittarius). Mercury rules Jyestha and Jupiter sees Mercury as enemy whereas Saturn sees Mercury as a friend. So this actually tells us something. The obstacles, injuries, and separations of Saturn’s transit though this gandanta area were likely to be more combative or Mars like because that is where the enmity lied. With Jupiter the enmity lies with Mercury. So, we may run into things we are hanging onto mentally that it is time to let go of. Are we hanging on to beliefs that no longer serve us? They may be false-beliefs or they may be a belief that creates an obstacle to gaining a deeper awareness by vehemently arguing a point rather than allowing and alternate point of view to come in.
Jupiter has been gandanta for about a month (since Feb 20 when it hit 26°40 Scorpio). Have you seen the signs of what this is for you already? Jupiter’s retrograde station at 0-Sag in Mula is gandanta and goes back into 29-Scorpio in Jyestha but is not gandanta the entire time of the retrograde. Gandanta ends on May 30/31st. So, we have two months to use this energy in a positive way – to allow differences of opinion and beliefs to create a deeper awareness of the issue from other sides, rather than just hanging on to our own beliefs and pushing them at others until they see.
March 31, 2019 at 15:12 EDT Sun enters Revati Nakshatra for 13.5 days. Revati means “the wealthy” and it is ruled by Pushan, one of the 12 Adityas that correspond to 12 months, 12 signs, 12 spokes on the wheel of time who uphold the universal laws of karma & dharma and drive away darkness. They are gods of light who are bright, pure, perfect and free from guile and falsehood. Pushan specifically is the proctor of flocks and travelers – not just travels from here to there on Earth but also between this life and the next, and between the worlds giving it a shamanic component. It gives the Shakti Power of nourishment and represents divine energy to alleviate the suffering. As the Sun transits through Revati it is a great time to pay off debts (these don’t have to be karmic, they can be literal debts), create wealth, and nourish your spiritual practice. Revati comes at the end of the zodiac, and the last 3.3 days are gandanta at the end of Pisces where we end one cycle of growth and begin a new one in Aries/Aswhini. There is protection in the surrender of whatever attachments or falsehoods we let go of here to alleviate suffering.
April 2, 2019 at 5:33 am EDT Mercury conjoins Neptune. This is the last of three conjunctions between these two planets. The first conjunction with Mercury direct was on February 19th, the Mercury retrograde conjunction was on March 24th. Mercury is direct again for April 2nd conjunction. Often something is initiated at the first conjunction, re-visited for re-vision at the retrograde conjunction and then concluded at the last conjunction. What are you concluding related to clarity in communications, confusion about decisions, and dissolutions or boundaries in your life related to Mercury that has been unfolding for the last month and a half?