Sun Conjunct Mercury – A New Mercury Cycle In Pisces 

by Astro Butterfly
March 14, 2019 

On March 15th, 2019 Mercury retrograde is conjunct Sun at 24° Pisces, which means a new Mercury cycle begins.

A New Mercury cycle starts on March 15th, 2019 (if you live in Europe, Asia or Australia) or on March 14th, 2019 (if you live in the US) and ends on July 20th, 2019.

A Mercury cycle lasts for about 4 months, so if you plan to do something that will require 4 months to complete, the days around March 15th, 2019 are a great time to start it.

This cycle starts at 24° Pisces, with Mercury square Jupiter in Sagittarius. Mercury in Pisces is compassionate and imaginative. Jupiter in Sagittarius is optimistic and focused on growth.

You are confident and optimistic about the possibilities that are opening up for you. A positive mindset is proven to produce better outcomes and increase your chances of success.

Pisces and Sagittarius are in fact both ruled by Jupiter and represent the two facets of spirituality: the confident, generous but dogmatic belief system that guides our actions (Sagittarius) and the compassionate, everembracing and everpresent quality of the soul that knows no rules and no boundaries (Pisces).

The sabian symbol of this Mercury cycle is “A religious organization succeeds in overcoming the corrupting influence of perverted practices and materialized ideas”.

The religious organization is a metaphor for our belief system, for Jupiter. “The perverted practices and materialized ideas” are a metaphor for our mind, for Mercury.

The only fight is with yourself, is with your own consciousness.

Generation after generation, we’ve been raised to believe that we were born in sin. Jupiter in Sagittarius square Neptune, together with the Mercury cycle in Pisces will challenge that belief.

A sin is nothing else but our inability to come to terms with our own consciousness. The time has come to forgive yourself. In fact, when you embrace yourself, when you embrace the world, there is nothing to be forgiven.

Mercury Retrograde And Mercury Cycles

Whenever Mercury Retrograde makes a conjunction to the Sun, a new Mercury cycle begins. Just like the Moon has cycles, Mercury has cycles, too.

Every year we have 3 Mercury cycles.

A retrograde planet conjunct the Sun is called an interior or inferior conjunction. A direct planet conjunct the Sun is called a superior conjunction.

If inferior conjunctions are like New Moons and are time for new beginnings, superior conjunctions are like Full Moons and mark a culmination of what has been started at the time of the inferior conjunction.

A Mercury cycle lasts for approximately 116 days and begins with the inferior conjunction with the Sun.

The Mercury-Sun conjunction takes place in the middle of Mercury Retrograde. That’s why Mercury Retrograde periods can be confusing. A 4-month Mercury cycle ends, and a new 4-month Mercury cycle begins. Change is always confusing! But nevertheless necessary.

Mercury Retrograde conjunct Sun is similar to a New Moon and it’s a time to start something new.

If New Moons (Moon conjunct Sun) are great to start an activity you can complete in one month time, if Jupiter cycles (Jupiter conjunct Sun, happens only once a year) are great for initiating a goal you can complete in one year,  Mercury cycles are great for starting projects you can complete in a 4-month time.

The duration of the cycle (approx. 4 months) is ideal to focus on medium-term projects.

The Four Phases Of A Mercury Cycle

The Mercury Cycle, just like all the planetary cycles, shows Mercury’s journey around the Sun, as seen from Earth.

There are four Mercury “phases” in a Mercury cycle, determined by Mercury’s direction from the Sun (clockwise or counterclockwise) and whether Mercury is direct or retrograde.

Phase I – Observe and Insight: Phase I starts at Mercury’s inferior conjunction to the Sun (in the middle of the retrograde) and lasts until Mercury turns direct.

In the current Mercury cycle, Phase I starts on March 15th, 2019 and ends on March 28th, 2019.

This is a shorter phase, but is absolutely important because this is when we build the foundations for the next 100 days of the cycle.

In this phase, Mercury has a strong will and a clear sense of purpose, thanks to the encounter (conjunction) with the Sun. Things start to fall into place. You can have sudden clarity about what you need to do in the coming months. You find new ways of doing things or find new solutions to your problems.

And although this phase might not yet lead to clear answers, right now you are aware of what’s going on and you can envision new possibilities.

Phase II – Prototype and Test: From Mercury direct until Mercury’s superior conjunction to the Sun.

This phase starts when Mercury is stationary direct and ends around 50 days later.

In the current Mercury cycle, Phase II starts on March 29th, 2019 and ends on May 20th, 2019.

Mercury is at its highest speed now – this is when we are capable of intense mental work. This is a good phase to kick off and work towards fulfilling the initiative you started at the time of the inferior conjunction.

This is a good time to test different elements of your plan. Try to get feedback, see what works and what doesn’t. This is when your mind has “free will” and you’re more creative and original. Test the boundaries of what’s possible.

Phase III – Build: From Mercury’s superior conjunction until Mercury turns retrograde

In the current Mercury cycle, Phase III starts on May 21st, 2019 and ends on July 7th, 2019.

Mercury gets more information from the Sun (Self) about how to best proceed forward. This is a phase of aligning the inner reality (what you’ve worked on in the first two phases) with the outer reality (what the world expects from you).

Mercury’s superior conjunction with the Sun is a phase of culmination. You no take what you started in phase I and “prototyped” and “tested” in phase II and bring it to the world. Your project finally takes shape.

You’ve done it! Now is the time to “go live” with your project.

Phase IV – Analyze From Mercury retrograde station until Mercury’s inferior conjunction to the Sun.

In the current Mercury cycle, Phase IV starts on July 8th, 2019 and ends on July 17th, 2019.

Mercury’s fourth phase is contemplative and introspective. You now want to discover the higher meaning of what you have done in the past 3 months.

The last phase is great to “analyze” what you did in the first three phases and see how the outcome can lead to an even better outcome, which you can focus on in the next cycle.

Mercury cycles last for almost 4 months. It is well known that the ideal timeline for a project is from 3 to 4 months.This is enough time to delve into a topic, do your research, test and build, and then analyze your outputs.

Anything that goes beyond 4 months loses momentum or becomes the point.2 version of the previous project.

You always want to keep your projects within this timeframe. Do you have a goal that takes more than 4 months to complete? No problem! Simply break it down into 4-month mini-projects. That’s how you can make your greatest goals come true!

How To Work With The Mercury Cycle

Take your time to focus on a project you want to undertake.

Follow these 3 steps to identify your project and plan it according to the Mercury cycle:

1) Consider your current priorities. What’s the most important thing you should focus on? Decide on a key topic. These topic should not require a long time to complete. Getting a master’s degree, building a house, personal transformation will take longer than 4 months.

Similarly, your Mercury focus topic should require enough time so you don’t complete it in a few days only – for example writing an article, finishing a presentation or taking a one-week online course.

You want to identify something in between, a project you could complete in 3 to 4 months.

2) For more guidance look in your natal chart to see in which house the Mercury cycle starts – for example, if it starts in your 2nd house you may want to start a project to generate a new source of income, if it falls in your 3rd house you may want to learn a new skill, in your 6th house you may want to start a diet and so on.

3) After you have identified your project – split it into 4 different phases according to the 4 phases of the Mercury cycle. Try to stick to the timeline. You want to spend 2 weeks for the 1st and 4th phase, and around 5 weeks for the 2nd and 3rd phases.

What is your plan for the upcoming Mercury cycle?

Astro Butterfly
https://astrobutterfly.com/