Mercury Ingress Capricorn: Think Ambitiously!

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 Sagittarius to Capricorn.

Changing the Tone, Changing the Meaning

On December 28^th at 11:55 pm, Eastern Standard Time (EST) Mercury will leave Sagittarius and enter Capricorn. It moved through Sagittarius at its normal, uninterrupted (by the retrograde phase) pace of three weeks.  While in Sagittarius, the keynote was “the mind ranges over a variety of abstract concepts” and the symbol is “a scholar compiles logical proofs of the existence of God” (Astrology: The Divine Science, Moore and Douglas, 145).

In Capricorn, the keynote is “thoughts are expressed clearly and rationally” and the symbol is “a librarian arranges books according to a master plan” (156). The movement through Capricorn will occur within the normal three-week time frame and Mercury will ingress into Aquarius next month.

Mercury Leaving Sagittarius

Hypocrites, Scholars, Idealists, and Racists all try speaking with the same sense of authority (Mercury in Sagittarius), whether it is the moralist speaking out against pornography while building an extensive personal porn library or the scholar explaining legal issues regarding land rights based on an extensive study.

Mercury in Sagittarius tries to think and speak with command based on the intensity of belief, the thoroughness of research, the presumed infallibility of accumulated life experience, or the persuasion of bullying others by mastering their fear.  When acting positively this transit can provide “a profound sense of purpose and the ability to focus on distant goals” (Astrology: The Cosmic Science, Moore and Douglas, 145).

This energy transit may have encouraged you to travel, whether locally or internationally.  If you felt the itch to get outside your local patterns and explore something new, then hopefully you scratched it.  If you did not travel physically, then perhaps you took an adventure of the mind by reading novels that included travel over land, sea, or even into outer space.  The mind wanted to expand its horizons.

Without any kind of unifying philosophy, this transit could really push or pull people into silos of thinking that reinforce their assumptions and biases.  Thus, the work of defining and living your personal philosophy became even more profound against the chaos of social media and sound bite information and knowledge.  This Mercury transit would prefer to expand its knowledge of subjects to an expert level should the opportunity present.

• Getting to Know Mercury in Astrology

At the Personal Level

In the case of my chart, Sagittarius rules my 2^nd House of Resources and Security.  My “mind work” (Mercury) focused on how I needed to expand and what philosophy I needed to embrace to take care of my resources and feel safe.  As a rule, I tend to feel safest when I have diverse ways to earn money instead of just a single way to do it.  This approach helps me feel more stable because one type of work may be slow while another is doing quite well.

Since Sagittarius was where Mercury was moving, it helped to look to Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius, which recently left Sagittarius to enter Capricorn, a few days prior to this previous ingress.  With Jupiter in Capricorn, Mercury wanted to think ambitiously, with an eye towards long-term goals and positive measures of success.  In my natal chart, Jupiter occupies Leo in my 10^th House, so this was a period to focus on my career aspirations and how far I want to take them.

Mercury Entering Capricorn

After the Sagittarius philosophical work, what practical and long-range goals do you need to set for yourself here at the end of the year and heading into next year?  Mercury in Capricorn wants to plan and execute in order to get results and improve one’s status.  The energy of the mind turns towards measures for success and strategies for prosperity.

In Capricorn, Mercury tries to think and speak with authority, expectations, rules, and boundaries in order to help you attain what you seek.  When acting positively, you can make prudent decisions that get you to any finish line you see or place in front of you.  When acting negatively, you can believe that the end justifies the means, so you rationalize any bad or harmful behavior.

This energy transit can also ignite a desire to improve yourself through training, further education, and professional networking.  With the goat climbing the mountain as a core symbol of Capricorn, the planet of communication in this sign wants to “get to the top” with knowledge, ideas, and networking.  How do you find a way to talk to the people you see as the achievers you want to be and how do you become the achiever others want to talk to?

Since this transit places Mercury in an earth sign and one of its rulerships is also in earth (Virgo/6^th House), it can provide tremendous focus, especially when practical matters or financial matters are involved.  This is not the ideal transit for emotional concerns.  Capricorn can easily “commercialize” any message, just think of all the anti-establishment music played to hawk the sale of cars or other products.

At the Personal Level

In the case of my chart, Capricorn rules my 3^rd House of Communication.  My “mind work” (Mercury) will focus on what I think my goals are and how I want to take my thoughts and make them manifest in the world.  This transit can be very powerful for me since Mercury will be moving through the house it rules in my natal chart.  “Will to power” is a nice phrase for this placement.

Since Capricorn is where Mercury is moving, it helps to look to Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, which has been in Capricorn since December of 2017.  With Saturn in Capricorn, Mercury should think seriously about goals and outcomes.  In my natal chart, Saturn occupies Aries in my 6^th House, so this will be a period to focus on my skills and any skill-building or improvement I need to make at this time.