Stations on the 8°s!

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” - Astroyogi

Every year as a couple we sit down at our kitchen table with our Abacus Corvus calendar and write in the important astrological transits of the coming year. We note when a planet ingresses into another sign, when a planet retrogrades or stations direct, & the full/new moons including the twice-annual eclipse seasons. When we do this each year we uncover patterns and themes of the coming year. And as astrologers, this is what we do! We recognize themes and are translators of these energies. I always get excited doing this task and feel like I’m reading a really good book. I’m always like “but what’s going to happen next?!” as I flip the ephemeris to the next page.

This year as we sat down to do this task we I noticed that many planets are either retrograding OR stationing direct at the 8th degree. For background, every planet goes through 0-30 degrees of a zodiac sign. Remember geometry? A full circle is 360 degrees and we have 12 zodiac signs multiplied by 30 degrees = 360 degrees of possibility! So having so many planets retrograde & station direct at 8 degrees is very peculiar and a pattern we wanted to unravel and explore with curiosity.

Stations & Retrogrades on the 8°s

Jupiter 8° Aries 43’ Rx on July 28, 2022, at 4:37 PM EST

- this returns to this position on February 14, 2023

Mars 8° Gemini 08' D on January12, 2023 3:56 PM EST

Mercury 8° Capricorn 08' D on January 18, 2023, 8:12 AM EST

Mercury 8° Virgo 00' D on September 15, 2023, at 4:21 PM EST

Mercury 8° Capricorn 29' Rx on December 13, 2023 at 2:09 AM EST

So let’s dive into the number 8. When I look at the number 8 I think of the infinity symbol, cycles, sustainability, a path of recycling energy. The number 8 is the infinity symbol tilted on its side and when looking at this number I think of the phrase “as above so below”. It is the link to the material and the spiritual. The meeting place between the two loops of the 8 is the moment that something is born or dies. The below is here in the earthly realm and the above is the space in the heavens or the spiritual realm. How is an idea born? There has to be energy behind it. And like a crouching house cat there’s a spring in their back legs before the jump. This energy of the 8’s is like that. It’s pure potential energy. That energy before the kinetic movement. The build up to the next thing before it arrives. As I ponder the flow with the stroke of my pen as I write the symbol 8 I think of each loop being that potential energy quietly building & brewing the thing that wants to be born. Before it’s brought down from the spiritual realm to the material. Before it is transformed from the idea in your head to a physical painting on a page. The number 8 contains that energy.

So why do we care so much about planets moving forward or backward at the 8th degree exactly? Jupiter sat at 8° Aries from July 8 through August 18 2022, which is significant because the longer a planet stations at the same degree the deeper this specific energy imprints upon us. For background, planets slow down in rotation when stationing direct or when they are about to go retrograde which is why these planets hang out in a particular degree for longer. And if someone natally in their chart had Jupiter in Aries at the 8th degree, for example, Jupiter crossing over and conjuncting this point so many times would be even more significant. But let’s go back to this time period from July 8 to August 18. Consider for yourself what was going on for you at that time - where you might have been called into asserting yourself clearly, directing your energy with strength, and very importantly protecting yourself. Jupiter then retrograded, or to tie it into the metaphor before moving back into potential energy - all the way back into dreamy and exploratory Pisces. Jupiter revisited Pisces from October 29 until stationing direct on November 24 and re-entering Aries on December 21 - what new dreams came to you during this time?

On January 12 at 3:56 EST, Mars reached  8° 08’ mark and stationed direct - in Asheville, North Carolina we experienced a massive thunderstorm like one might expect in the spring time. But what a metaphor for built up, potentially stored energy being released! Presently, Jupiter sits at 2° Aries and forms a sextile to the Gemini Mars. With this supportive angle between these quick moving signs, it is a perfect recipe for strong “Go getter” energy. Aries is also a warrior energy, hence a protector energy, so know this may not be without its battles. Remember this as we select which directions (Gemini does rule multiplicities) we choose to place our energies in moving forward.

Just 6 days later on January 18, Mercury stations direct at 8° 08’ - the same minute and degree in Capricorn that Mars reached in the sign of Gemini when it stationed direct just days before. With these planets in such tight quincunx relationship to one another & now moving in the forward direction, we may have a degree of surprise that could feel a bit like a crisis. In spite of major differences, even Quincuxed signs have commonalities. Gemini and Capricorn both are tremendous gatherers of information. So, what information have you gathered that will help you move forward in these moves? Newly direct Mercury Capricorn will be square to Jupiter Aries at this point time - considering the fast pace that is being asked of us at this time, our more conservative thoughts and beliefs may feel very challenged. And at this point of the year seasonally, Capricorn asks us to preserve our energy so as these more fast paced & outwardly social energies of Aries & Gemini try to quicken the pace remember that rest is incredibly important!

We pick up this story later in the year, as Mercury stations direct at 8° 00’, this time in Virgo on September 15, 2023. Being in Virgo, we may have gone through an editing and revising period of how our implementation has gone these past 8 months, (another 8 are you kidding me?!) and have made necessary adjustments to continue forward motion. Mercury will retrograde in Capricorn a second time this year, which is unusual itself, at 8° Capricorn 29' on December 13, 2023. Remember the stationing direct on January 18, 2023? This marks a great time to evaluate all the changes of the past 11 months and see what we have achieved and what has, and has not, gone well. And as all of these mercury retrogrades of this year are in earth signs we will be reviewing and revising all things in the day to day, practical sides of life.

So what to make of this year of the stations and retrogrades on the 8’s? One fun way to play with these 8’s is to see how the stories of Sabian symbols for each of these relate to one another. Simply enter the sign and degree for these stations, and see what messaging comes up. How might you relate these stories together? You can explore Sabian symbols at https://sabiansymbols.com/symbols/. Even if we play with the titles alone, writing them into a poem, we get:

A SEER GAZES INTENTLY INTO A CRYSTAL BALL IN FRONT OF THEM

A MEDIEVAL ARCHER STANDS WITH THE EASE OF ONE WHOLLY SURE OF HIMSELF, BOW IN HAND, HIS

AN ANGEL COMES CARRYING A HARP

AN EXPRESSIONIST PAINTER MAKING A FUTURISTIC DRAWING

AN ANGEL COMES CARRYING A HARP

We shall see where this journey of the 8’s continues to lead us, and how we choose personally and societally to engage.