2024: A Mercury Elemental Year of Fire

by Gary P Caton

The Cosmos… ever was, and is, and will be: ever living fire, kindling in measures and being quenched in measures.” —Heraclitus of Ephesus, circa 500 BCE

In the Western philosophical tradition there are a group of Pre-Socratic philosophers who are collectively known as “monists” (from the Greek "monos" meaning "single" or "one") because of their assorted ideas regarding which one of the four elements was the primary source from whence all other things emanate or flow. For Heraclitus, the primary substance of the universe was fire, with the Sun and Moon being huge celestial bowls of fire. Though it turns out that a bowl of fire indeed remains an apt description of the Sun, it is overly simplistic to think that Heraclitus only literally thought everything was physically made of fire. Rather, fire was the best metaphor for the Heraclitean doctrine of eternal flux.

Heraclitus thought that the basic universal principle (kosmos or world-order) was constant change. To demonstrate this, he used the metaphor of the elements in a constant state of primordial flow, and through “turnings of fire” changing from fire, to water, to air (fireburst, a kind of fiery wind) and earth.

As it turns out, there is a rather literal astrological parallel to the Heraclitean cosmology. Over the course of 6-7 years, the Mercury retrogrades move through the four elements in reverse zodiacal order, from the fire signs, to water signs, to air signs, to earth signs.

I first became aware of this phenomenon through the late great Erin Sullivan’s seminal work, Retrograde Planets. (#1)

She explains that this elemental expression of the retrogrades is collective, experienced by all humanity, which is actually something of a radical statement, because at the time it was mostly the outer planets which were seen to be in charge of collective forces.

However, when we think about it, Mercury is spending more time in the fire signs than just about all the other signs combined! Shouldn't this have a collective influence?

Source: www.astro-seek.com

In my research and practice, I have definitively found this collective influence to be very true and often very obvious. For instance, when Mercury’s retrograde moved from Earth signs to Fire signs in late 2010, an unknown street vendor names Mohamed Bouazizi lit the spark for the Tunisian Revolution, a conflagration that quickly spread into a regional uprising throughout Northern Africa and the Middle East in what became known as the Arab Spring. I think part of the reason this particular transition seems to have so much power can be seen from the relative density of the elements.

Any child knows that when you throw a stone into water, it sinks –therefore Earth is denser than Water. And of course, steam rises, and water evaporates into air, demonstrating that the Air element is less dense than Water. Finally, smoke rises even into the thin air, showing that Fire is the least dense of all elements. So, when the Mercury retrogrades in the densest of elements (Earth) give ways to retrogrades in the least dense of elements (Fire), this represents an extremely dramatic transition, as the volatile fiery currents liberate all the fixed potential energy stored in the denser earth.

When we think about this, it also makes sense that the volatile energy expressed in the revolts of the Arab Spring, was really about something higher than simply corruption and economic stagnation. In some ways these were due to a large percentage of educated but nonetheless dissatisfied youth. In other words, they were seeking something more than simple economic reforms (Earth) and were craving the freedom to fulfill higher needs of having a meaningful life. This search for the higher higher truths corresponds with fire because as an element fire always seeks the upper limit.

After witnessing and beginning to understand the power of this cycle, I spent several years of intense study on this topic myself, resulting in my own volume. (#2) In chapter five of my book, I note that this same reverse zodiacal sequence of the elements is referenced in the mystical Hermetic document known as The Emerald Tablet, which is widely interpreted as a formula for creating the “philosophers stone” –a microcosm of the universal principle, encapsulating the primordial creative power of the monad or original substance. (#3)

When understood in these contexts, essentially then Mercury’s cycle of retrogrades through the four elements is recapitulating both a cosmic world-ordering principle, and a magic formula for the re-creation, materialization, and containment of this primordial creative power!

To grasp this primordial power, it is important to remember that it is not simply from the mixing of back and forth, or direct-retrograde currents through which the alchemy and magic of Mercury retrograde derives. As I have often demonstrated in magazines (#4) and journals (#5) as well as my social media pages, retrograde motion is much more wonderfully complex than is often portrayed, and consists not only of East/West variation in direct/retrograde motion of celestial longitude but also dramatic changes in the North/South dimension of celestial latitude which produce a kind of looping motion. Here is the loop for the Spring 2024 retrograde.

Moreover, if we understand the phenomenon of Mercury retrograde visually, during a very short span of time Mercury makes an appearance above the Western horizon, then dips below the threshold of visibility and finally re-emerges above the Eastern horizon. In fact, during this process Mercury forms a Triptych of alignments. First, we have the greatest elongation as evening star, then the invisible inferior conjunction, then greatest elongation as morning star

Remarkably, these three alignments, though very different visually, all occur near the same Zodiacal degrees! That which is above, corresponds to that which is below, and that which is below corresponds to that which is above. Thus, the visual journey of the planet Mercury through the retrograde process literally embodies the cryptic text of the mystical Emerald Tablet!

Finally, from a heliocentric point of view, during retrograde motion Mercury is coming from the superior space behind or exterior to the Sun and penetrating the inferior realm, the very heart of our solar system –the space between the Sun and Earth, a space so central, basic and fundamental to our system it is commonly referred to as the astronomical unit. I think of it more as the inner room of the Cosmic temple, the holy of holies -the only place in the Universe we know of where Life exists. I like to envision Mercury's penetration of this space during the retrograde as similar to a farmer digging a furrow into the earth to plant a seed.

So, what we have occurring during Mercury retrograde are at least four different kinds of alchemical mixing. The mixing of East/West direct-retrograde currents can be seen as an exchange between the currently accepted socio-cultural norms (direct motion) and the newer counter-cultural challenges to those norms (retrograde motion). The mixing of North/South latitudinal currents can be seen as an exchange between the mental/rational and emotional/embodied aspects of life. The mixing of above/below with respect to the horizon and Mercury’s cycle of visibility can be seen as an exchange between the conscious and unconscious dimensions. And finally, the mixing between the interior and exterior spaces of our solar system can be seen as an exchange between the microcosm and macrocosm.

So, you see, it is all this primordial mixing which produces an alchemy that is quite literally capable of changing, or re-birthing, the World.

So far, we have been looking at how the Mercury retrogrades will be re-shaping our collective experience of the fire element, for all humanity. The way we understand how this impacts an individual chart is of course through the houses. Given that the three Mercury retrogrades of 2024 are occurring in the three signs of the fire element, this means that a set of three houses will be activated, in any given birth chart.

And since the themes of these three houses are somewhat naturally related, I have used these natural groupings to establish a set of four “trigons."

FIRE ASCENDANTS

For fire sign ascendants, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, the Mercury retrogrades of 2024 will be activating a group of houses I call the “Identity trigon.” These are houses one, five and nine.

This means that you will be experiencing dynamic flux and mixing of opposites with your persona/image, your creative choices (which you have because of that image) and the new horizons these creative choices open up for you.

In these fire years (which occur in a 6–7-year cycle), your Fire sign risings will be more sensitive to your image and how you come across to others. From time to time, it may feel like you need to tweak some things.

Or you may even feel called to begin to construct an entirely new image, rather than updating or improving on the existing one.

Whether you go with updates or new construction, of course the point of pursuing any new identity is that it offers you fresh choices, which means you get some room to play and explore creatively. Taking risks can result in both gains and losses, new opportunities, or dead ends, but mixing things up and trying something new is the only way to allow happy accidents into our lives and eventually this opens creative possibilities.

Acting on these new creative possibilities takes us places not only that we have not been to before, but perhaps even places we could not even have imagined. So, we might need to expand our minds or our philosophy in order to understand what is happening to us. Of course, this whole process can happen in the reverse.

Conversely, taking on a new philosophy or exploring new worlds can eventually result in the formation of a new identity, as we slowly absorb the foreign material.

WATER ASCENDANTS

For water sign ascendants, Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces, the Mercury retrogrades of 2024 are activating a group of houses I call the “Trigon of Mastery.” These are houses two, six and ten. This means that you will be experiencing dynamic flux and mixing of opposites with your resources, the skills you develop in using these resources and the professional reputation you acquire from applying these skills.

In these fire years (which occur in a 6–7-year cycle), your Water sign risings will be more sensitive to resource issues, which will take on a more personal feeling and dimension. At some point this year you may find that you have less or even more of something than you previously thought. This includes intangible resources like patience, kindness, courage etc.

Dealing with these resource issues is going to require development of new skill sets and routines. Fortunately, water signs have developed sufficient depth and patience to deal.

Once you get past the steep part of the learning curve, you will begin to see the fuller picture.

The real silver lining of all this comes when you learn the key to these challenges is to set new goals for yourself and then see if you can meet or even exceed them.

Observing, listening, or consulting with professionals who deal with these issues may have you saying to yourself at some point -I can do this better! And by taking your ideas for improvements out into the world, you will gain access to the most important resource -the support of other people.

AIR ASCENDANTS

For air sign risings, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius, the Mercury retrogrades of 2024 are activating a group of houses I call the “Relationship trigon.” These are houses three, seven and eleven. This means that you will be experiencing dynamic flux and mixing of opposites with your one on one relationships, your group dynamics, and your local community.

In these fire years (which occur in a 6-7 year cycle), your Air sign risings will be more sensitive to the relationships between people, which will impact you in a more personal and direct way. At some point this year it is likely you will face some social challenges. It may be that some old familiar social connections are lost and/or new unfamiliar connections are thrust upon you.

Of course, any time we begin to explore new relationships, this leads us to encounters with the families and groups within which our new friends are embedded.

And if we are serious about these new relationships, this requires us to adjust and accept or develop a new identity within these new group settings.

The final step in this process is of course integrating our new relationships and groups within our existing ones. As you learn to foster connection between groups you will see a wonderful new complexity begin to emerge in your life, and this will be reflected not just in new social opportunities but in new emotional support and resiliency. This is true community.

EARTH ASCENDANTS

For Earth sign ascendants, Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn, the Mercury retrogrades of 2024 are activating a group of houses I call the “Trigon of dynasty.” These are houses four, eight and twelve. This means that you will be experiencing dynamic flux and mixing of opposites within family, extended family and spiritual family settings.

In these fire years (which occur in a 6-7 year cycle), your Air sign risings will be more sensitive to the emotional dynamics of life, your sense of familial connection and duty and also your contribution to the following generations. At some point this year you will probably experience either some strain and/or some renewal in the emotional bonds of your most intimate circles.

Of course, any time we are going through tough times at home this has an impact on our business and work environments as well. So, you will learn where and with whom you can lean on for emotional support or just empathy and understanding. These people become a sort of extended family for you.

Eventually, you will realize that what you are going through is a spiritual process as much as anything.

And so, in addition to our family of birth, and our extended marriage and business commitments, most of us need a “spiritual family” as well. These are people who share our sense of the big picture, what brings meaning to life and help us remember what kind of world we want to live in.

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