Naps for everyone; thinking about thinking

Neptune is stationing right now, and, as always, stationing means appearing to stop in the sky relative to us. With the planets farther from the sun than we are, a station means that the earth has passed the planet and the planet is appearing to move backwards as we leave it in our dust. When we pass a planet, it's closer to us than normal. Planets closer to us than normal influence us more (whether we like it or not), and stations create pent up energy. Neptune in particular is a bizarre energy, which causes consternation and cries of "why isn't [fill in the blank] working properly?" With Neptune, your best laid plans are pointless. What do you do after you've been thwarted? Other stuff! Sleep. Go to the beach. Get lost in a book. Listen to emotional music until you regain equilibrium. Write pithy poetry to get those feelings out. If you're feeling oddly worn out right now and not for medical reasons, Neptune stationing is your top suspect. Just take extra naps for the next week or so.

Mercury will be passing us shortly, since it's closer to the sun than we are and circles it every 88 days (this is yet another head's up that Mercury's going retrograde in mid-December, so do that holiday shopping now if you're doing it online).

A fun fact about Mercury is it's actually so close to the sun that it's rarely seen by the naked eye, so I am not sure how astrologers in ancient times figured out where it was. Were it not for computers, I would have no interest in astrology, because drawing charts by hand and consulting endless tables that contain lists of planet locations would make me want to murder someone. I digress: the maximum distance Mercury can get from the sun is about 30°, which is not that far away, so the only times it can be seen well are right before a retrograde, when it will set after the sun, or right after a retrograde, when it will rise just before it. This is a weird metaphor, the fact Mercury isn't actually seen that much, because how often do you think about how you think? Thinking is an invisible process, and Mercury is an almost-invisible planet. Weird, right?

Having just written an essay on the air element, there are occasionally some mitigating factors associated with not having much air energy, and one of them is having Mercury conjunct the sun in your birth chart. What it means to have Mercury conjunct the sun is that it's generally difficult to separate your thoughts from what you feel you are (this is especially true if Mercury is 7° or less from your sun). Said another way: these tend to be people who live in their heads a lot, similar to people who have a lot of air energy, but not exactly the same. While you can have mitigating factors like this, there's no substitute for an actual air element. Air gives you detachment. Mercury conjunct the sun gives you an ego attachment to things you like to think about. Attachment and detachment are (obviously) opposite concepts. I'm writing this with two people in mind, both with Mercury conjunct the sun and not in an air sign. Both are smart and detail-oriented about things they care about, but are not mentally efficient and tend to get stuck on certain ideas a lot. Air is open-minded, and getting stuck on ideas is not open-minded behavior. If these people have an idea that's precious to them, you cannot convince them that they're not correct. There's a lot of ego tied up with those ideas. This isn't the worst trait in the world, you just don't want to get in an argument with them, because to criticize an idea of theirs is like hitting them.

Having Mercury and the sun in the same sign can give you a sense of continuity. In my opinion, people with Mercury and the sun in the same sign typically better identify with their sun sign than those who don't, because the way they take in and process information jives with their sense of identity. This is my opinion especially because I'm not in this category and don't strongly identify with my sun sign, because it's the only planet I have in the sign. Here's an easy astrology exercise to do with your nearest and dearest: look at who has Mercury in the same sign as their sun and who doesn't (any app will tell you and all you need is a birth date), and then think about their communication styles, as well as how they think. Mercury in the same sign = continuity. Mercury in a different sign = weird combos. Off the top of my head, I can think of an proud Cancer (Mercury in Leo), a fussy Leo (Mercury in Virgo), an egalitarian Virgo (Mercury in Libra), a detached Pisces (Mercury in Aquarius), an Aquarius who says confusing things (Mercury in Pisces) and a Taurus who likes to argue (Mercury in Aries). It explains some stuff.