Mercury Ingress – Twice the Fun in One Month

The month of May will include four ingress changes: Mercury leaving Aries and entering Taurus then leaving Taurus and entering Gemini, Venus leaving Aries and entering Taurus, Mars leaving Gemini and entering Cancer, and Lilith leaving Aquarius and entering Pisces. Ingress results in a change in tone and meaning for a point, which is an energy shift designed to promote and continue growth as well as change on a regular and ongoing basis.  Each point moves at a different speed, so the ingress for Mercury, which is faster than Mars, happens more frequently and is part of a recurring cycle in which every point eventually “returns” to the same degree as part of its elliptical cycle around the Sun.  This article will look at Mercury’s ingress from Aries into Taurus and Taurus into Gemini.

Changing the Tone, Changing the Meaning

On May 6 at 2:25 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) Mercury will leave Aries and enter Taurus.  Mercury is the point associated with communication, local travel, learning, and information. In Aries, the “tone” is independent, maverick, initiating, and potentially reckless. It started out in Aries on April 17 and did not go retrograde, so its movement through this sign was its usual approximate two to three weeks.  Previously it spent nearly 10 weeks in Pisces thanks to the retrograde that occurred in that sign at 29 degrees, pushing the planet all the way back to 16 degrees before moving forward again.  It will spend just barely over two weeks in Taurus before ingressing into Gemini, also in the month of May at 6:52 am EST on the 21^st.

In Taurus, Mercury and its energy will “settle down” and become more practical; this energy will not last very long before Mercury enters its sign of rulership, Gemini, which will amplify its nature to its highest energetic level.  Image the volume turned all the way up.  Without a retrograde phase, Mercury ingressing from one sign to another happens rather quickly, and it will enter Cancer at the beginning of June.  Because of its speed Mercury “returns” to a degree of a sign yearly.  So, when I was born, my Mercury was at 10 degrees 55 minutes (10d55m) of Aries and each year Mercury will “return” to my natal degree and “trigger” that point in some profound way for me.

Mercury in Taurus

After Aries “excitement”, the move into Taurus can help us all “stabilize” and think about our needs and how to best get them met.  Taurus energy is grounding, and for an Air point like Mercury this can feel “heavy” or like “being weighed down”.  When a point moves into a new sign and spends time there, certain actions and choices become emphasized. For the period between May 6 and May 21, it is an excellent time to think about your finances and the practical/physical things that need attention in your life.  It is the best time to think and act responsibly.

As with any material I write about regarding astrology, it is most useful if you know your own chart.  In my case, Taurus rules my 7^th House of Partnerships and Mercury will be passing over four points in that part of my chart: Mars (my drive), Lilith (what I am unyielding about), my Part of Fortune (my natural “good” luck), and my Descendant (what I seek from my relationships).  The period from May 6 to May 21 will have me “getting grounded” around relationship issues and have me “thinking about” and communicating my needs as well as trying to “listen to” and understand the needs of the people in my life.  Of course, this area is not the only one that will be affected by this transit, just the strongest, as it is each year when Mercury passes through Taurus.

Generally speaking, this period of time is ideal for “thinking” about practical matters associated with personal need and resources.  What needs fixing in your home, on your car?  Does your wardrobe need update?  This would be a good time to have a yard sale or clean out closets, the garage, or a storage unit; either free up space or organize it better.  Make your thoughts manifest; get them into the “real world”.

Use your mind to organize your environment and (especially in my case) your relationships better.  Once you become familiar with the ebb and flow of a point, especially one that moves as fast as Mercury, you can maximize the value of the point in a particular sign at a particular time and for a particular duration!  Let me repeat and highlight that point: Once you become familiar with the ebb and flow of a point, especially one that moves as fast as Mercury, you can maximize the value of the point in a particular sign at a particular time and for a particular duration!

Herein lies the key power of astrology and astrological study, and its practical use.  It is not about determined outcomes, but rather like the changing of the seasons and knowing how best to use those changes and periods of change.  When you learn the general flow and then the particular flow “a la” your chart, and where a sign rules your design, then you can really maximize astrology to help you live your best life, both in terms of managing difficult periods and getting the most out of prosperous periods.

Mercury in Gemini

When Mercury leaves Taurus and enters Gemini, it will go into one of the signs (the other being Virgo) that really give it full expression. Imagine a plant that grows naturally somewhere in the world.  You can move it into another environment and it may grow, but not as well without adapting. In some environments, you may have to create an artificial solution to make it work, like using a greenhouse in Alaska to grow plants indigenous to places closer to the equator.  When a point moves into a sign that is its “home”, it acts powerfully and naturally.

Mercury is thought and Gemini is the language or “signal” environment, so pretty much “thought-on-thought”.  Mercury in an earth sign like Taurus is really “thought in reality”, and in fire, it would be “creative thought”, and water “intuition” (the merging of thought and feelings).  So, what should you “think about” or “do” with your mind and communication from May 21 to June 4?  Read, listen, write, and communicate.  Really, this will be the perfect time to read a new book or even several books.  Have people over and engage in conversation. Instead of game night, have a conversation night. Start a journal,l or use this period to write down as much as you can think of, that you want to read again one day in the future, or maybe share with family or even publicly.

It can also be a great time to travel.  Sagittarius rules long trips, Gemini is more about local or short-term travel.  Get out of your normal pattern and “strike up new conversations”.  Visit a new restaurant, church, club, or place to shop.  Gemini energy loves to learn.  For me, this ingress and transit will occur in my 8^th House of Intimate Relationship.  And since I am married, I can expect this to be a perfect time to really share and communicate with my wife and discuss our current plans and plans for our future.  It is a great time to “check in”, ask for her thoughts, listen, and share my own thoughts.  The lines of communication with be “open” … wide open during this period.