On October 20th, 2023, Sun is conjunct Mercury at 26° Libra.
This transit is important for 2 reasons:
1) We are now in the middle, or the “Full Moon” phase of the current Mercury cycle. This is a time or clarity and manifestation.
2) Mercury transitions from a Morning Star to an Evening Star. You may be familiar with the concept of Morning and Evening Star from Venus – but all planets have “morning” and “evening” star phases. These 2 distinct phases come with distinct qualities.
Let’s now talk a bit about each of these 2 dimensions of the Mercury-Sun transit:
Mercury Conjunct Sun – Mercury “Full Moon”
When Mercury direct is conjunct the Sun, we are in the middle of the current 4-month Mercury cycle. This is the peach of the cycle, a time of maximum clarity and alignment.
This particular Mercury cycle started on September 6th, 2023. Is there any project or endeavor you initiated in early September? Anything particular going on in your life?
Around October 20th, at the time of the conjunction, you will receive important insights (Mercury) about yourself and your purpose in life (the Sun).
This is a time of alignment and clarity. If you’ve been feeling confused about whether or not to take on an opportunity, or continue a project, the Sun-Mercury cazimi-conjunction will bring you the clarity and confidence you need.
Mercury Conjunct Sun Square Pluto
Pluto (at 27° Capricorn) is squaring the Mercury-Sun conjunction, which adds an element of depth and transformation to the insights and clarity you receive.
The insights gained during the Sun-Mercury cazimi-conjunction may bring to the surface deeper psychological undercurrents, bringing to your awareness hidden thoughts or power struggles that may have been sabotaging your choices and actions.
Sun conjunct Mercury square Pluto is your opportunity to make profound shifts in your thinking patterns and align with your true purpose.
It’s a time to face any fears, mental models, or self-sabotaging tendencies that keep you small, and emerge with a clearer sense of self and a deeper understanding of your life’s path.
How exactly this transit will influence you depends on your house placements and whether Sun, Mercury and Pluto make any aspects with planets in your natal chart.
Let’s say the transit triggers your career houses. If you’ve been feeling stuck in your career, the Sun-Mercury cazimi-conjunction will bring you insights into their self-sabotaging beliefs that have been hindering your professional growth.
When you become aware of these hidden thoughts and self-doubts, you can work on addressing and reframing them.
You may realize that it’s not “them”, but your own perceptions and beliefs about what’s possible or not that have been holding you back, and that you may have been unconsciously attracting “controlling forces” or “impossible situations” so that you learn how to take control of your career path, and create opportunities that align with your true potential and aspirations.
Mercury Becomes An Evening Star
The Sun-Mercury cazimi conjunction is important for another reason.
When Mercury (and any other planet for that matter) makes a shift in its relationship with the Sun, it transforms from a so-called “Morning Star” into an “Evening Star” or the other way around.
When a planet rises before the Sun, it’s a Morning Star.
This means that it ‘shows up’ before the Sun. It has its own agenda. Its energy is more raw and archetypal, because it is not conditioned by what the Sun wants.
When a planet rises after the Sun, it’s an Evening Star.
This means that the planet and the Sun already had an encounter, and that the Sun has “passed on” its mission to the Evening Star planet.
This is great for many reasons: the planet has now a sense of purpose. Its agenda is now aligned with the agenda of the Sun. But the planet also loses a bit of its spontaneity and explorative spirit.
Both the Morning and the Evening Star phases of a planet come with their own benefits.
We want a planet to be a Morning Star when we start something new. When we want to go on a new journey, and explore things from a new angle. That’s an exploration and research phase. The planet tries out different things, learns how to navigate uncharted territory, and adapts to unfamiliar situations.
We want a planet to be an Evening Star when we already have clarity around what it is that we want to do, and we are ready to proceed with the follow-through and implementation.
Promethean Mercury and Epimethean Mercury
Mercury has 2 different “names”, one for each Star Phase.
Mercury Morning Star is called the Promethean Mercury, from Prometheus who gave the fire of mind to the humans.
The Promethean Mercury phase has a spontaneous and intuitive approach to thinking and communication. Mercury Morning Star has the energy of Gemini. It’s curious, quick-witted, and has a beginner’s mind.
Mercury Evening Star is called Epimethean Mercury. Epimetheus was Prometheus’ brother. In Greek, Epimetheus means “afterthought” or “late counseling”.
Unlike his brother Prometheus, Epimetheus was known for thinking after the fact, symbolizing a more reflective and cautious approach.
Epimethean Mercury has a more practical, analytical and objective mind. Its approach is based more on experience, rather than intuition.
Mercury Evening Star has the energy of Virgo. It has a specific task to accomplish, and it’s methodical about getting it done.
On October 20th, 2023 Mercury transforms from a Promethean Mercury into an Epimethean Mercury. What does this mean?
This shift marks a transition from a more spontaneous and intuitive mode of thinking and communication to a more reflective and cautious one.
After aligning your thoughts (Mercury) with your purpose (the Sun) you are now less concerned with exploration, and more focused on disciplined action to follow through with your agenda.
People born with an Epimethean Mercury usually find this phase of the Mercury cycle more familiar and easy to navigate; that’s because they are already ‘used’ to this energy and can easily tap into it.
Promethean Mercury people instead may find this Mercury approach to go a bit against their nature; but this can lead to great breakthroughs and achievements. When we are ‘pushed’ to look at things from a different angle, we are much more likely to come up with creative solutions.
How do you know if you have a Promethean Mercury or an Epimethean Mercury? Simple.
If your natal Mercury is in the sign before the Sun, then it’s Promethean. If it’s in the sign after the Sun, it’s Epimethean.
For example, if your Mercury is in Taurus, and your Sun is in Gemini, you have a Promethean Mercury. If your Sun is in Gemini, and your Mercury is in Cancer, you have an Epimethean Mercury.
If your Sun and Mercury are in the same sign, pay attention to the degree. If Mercury is found at an earlier degree (e.g. Mercury is at 7° Gemini, Sun is at 15° Gemini) then you’re a Promethean Mercury.
If Mercury is found at a later degree (e.g. Sun is at 15° Gemini, Mercury is at 22° Gemini) you are an Epimethean Mercury.
Sun Conjunct Mercury – Clarity And Momentum
Regardless of the Mercury phase, the exact Sun-Mercury conjunction that happens on October 20th, 2023 is the time when Sun and Mercury ‘shake hands’ in the sky and you gain clarity about your life purpose.
At the time of the conjunction, take some time to reflect on your goals and aspirations.
Journaling is a great Mercury activity that will help you tap into your inner wisdom:
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- What is it that you need to do? (Sun-Mercury cazimi)
- What is it about your approach that needs to change? (Mercury becomes an Evening Star)
- Which fears and mental models do you need to confront and transform? (Sun-Mercury square Pluto)
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Just an excellent piece of writing here! There are so many layers beyond a simple transition, you’ve hit on many different truths outside of astronomy in this piece. Nicely done!