07 Aug Melopoeia ~ August 8th-14th, 2016
The Sun is still in Leo, but this week there will be an emphasis on the sign of Virgo, where Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and the North Node are all presently transiting. Thus, every major planetary aspect is in dialogue with Virgo.
The themes of precision and the quest for perfection will be evoked in a variety of interesting ways. Your own interpretation of experience therefore will be best translated by careful attention to mood, melody and magic.
Mamie Whittaker by Bassano (1910)
The purpose of the sign of Virgo is to be supremely selective so as to allow beauty to be cultivated and health to be nurtured. Thus, in poetry, Virgo would spend an exorbitant amount of time carefully choosing just the right words to evoke the most powerful meaning.
With Venus and Mercury currently in Virgo, the beauty of language is found in meticulous adherence to precision.
Say what you mean and mean what you say.
If Venus and Mercury in Virgo were to collaborate on developing a style of poetry, I believe it would closely resemble that of Imagism. In the early 20th Century, Imagism was an experiment that sought to liberate poetry through precise language, unadorned imagery, and the rhythms of musical cadence.
Ezra Pound
And the days are not full enough
And the nights are not full enough
And life slips by like a field mouse
Not shaking the grass…
– Ezra Pound
This is a perfect poem. The Imagist poet, Ezra Pound, achieved this rare perfection by wasting not a single word and yet leaving nothing else to be said.
There is no commentary needed to describe his meaning. There are no allusions to be uncovered and critiqued. Everyone knows exactly what he is saying.
Ezra Pound was an American expatriate poet, critic and a central figure in the modern movement which revitalized English poetry in the 1910s. As a critic, Pound was responsible for launching the reputations and popularity of T.S. Eliott, D. H. Lawrence, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and Robert Frost. 
Pound is famous for his own writings and for his hand in the development of Imagism, which was the antithesis of the trends that had flourished in the late-19th Century. Ezra Pound’s definition of the image was “that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time.”
To codify this modernist experiment, the Imagists held three principles. They offered direct treatment of the subject, allowed no word that was not essential to the presentation, and they followed musical phrase rather than strict regularity in rhythms.
Pound once compared the Imagist poem to an algebraic equation, saying it was “not something about a, b, and c, having something to do with form, but about sea, cliffs, night, having something to do with mood.”
As a theorist of modern poetry, Pound defined the beauty found within Imagism as Melopoeia, “wherein the words are charged, over and above their plain meaning, with some musical property, which directs the bearing or trend of that meaning.
Among the Waves by Aivazovsky Feodosiya (1898)
Monday/Tuesday: Sea
At the beginning of the week, Mercury in Virgo will still be in opposition with Neptune in Pisces at 11 degrees and will conjunct the North Node in Virgo at 13 degrees. With your mental acuity (Mercury) blurred at the edges of reality (Neptune), this is an excellent period to spend your days in a lucid dream.
Imagine yourself finding purpose in life in the most fantastical ways.
Neptune always brings mysticism and creativity, but it can also influence you to make a lot of navigational errors. In other words, despite your good intentions, your common sense may be drunk. With Neptune and Mercury opposed, your mind is sing-song and oceanic, impaired in its logical faculties by the wondrous vision of the abyss.
On Tuesday, as Mercury exactly conjuncts the North Node, a clearing may be found amidst the Neptunianhaze. The North Node is representative of the future potential of the collective and thus, you may find your thoughts and mannerisms to be quite directed by future oriented goals. If you have been feeling lost at sea, a sudden sense of direction may befall you on this day.
Imagine a sunbeam that breaks through the clouds, shining upon a horizon that was once obscured.
Wednesday/Thursday: Cliffs
On Wednesday, Mercury in Virgo will make a trine to retrograde Pluto in Capricorn. On this day, you will discover the power inherent within language that is used with real intention. “. . . words are charged, over and above their plain meaning . . .”
Your words have power over your perceptions and upon your environment. The sooner that you begin to select the most impactful words, the more well defined your relationship to magic and manifestation will be.
Because Pluto offers penetrating insights into the unconscious realms of human experience, this would be an excellent day to study or converse about anything mysterious or esoteric. An instinctual power that thirsts for healing and catharsis will present itself.
The Port of Le-Havre by Claude Monet (1873)
With the waxing Moon in Scorpio on this day, divination of any kind may be especially powerful. Under an influence like this, hidden knowledge has a way of glimmering seductively and secrets have a way of unearthing themselves with little provocation.
Whatever you do on this day, take some time to delve deeply into the mysteries of your mind. Due to Mercury’s upcoming retrograde, this trine with Pluto will repeat on September 21st. Therefore, you may want to record your thoughts and experiences on this day in order to assess the final outcome of this aspect at the end of summer.
Night View of East Main Street, Norfolk, Virginia, ca. 1914
Friday/Saturday/Sunday: Night
On Friday, Jupiter in Virgo will oppose retrograde Chiron in Pisces. When the Jupiter (expansiveness/optimism) is in opposition with an influence that reveals the wisdom of our deepest wounds, we may have some benevolent experiences make us feel safe enough to be vulnerable. If you have been long avoiding something out of fear, this would be a good day to try to approach the issue again.
On Saturday, (Saturn’s Day) Saturn will station direct at 9 degrees Sagittarius. Saturn has been retrograde since March 26th and thus this station direct will usher in a powerful focus on your current efforts towards mastering the art of discipline. When Saturn stations direct, there may be a feeling of particularly heavy gravitational force.
Gabrielle Ray by Bassano (1910)
Since March, Saturn‘s retrograde may have conjured up some extra anxieties about your level of status, skill and integrity. The only way to manage Saturn retrogrades is to maintain the same level of effort and to maintain your life, showing discipline under all circumstances.
When Saturn begins its forward motion, all your best efforts to improve yourself and manage time efficiently will begin to offer tangible rewards.
Violet Morene by Bassano (1910)
Also on Saturday, Venus in Virgo will square Saturn. Most people have some pain and regret surrounding Venus’ delightful gifts. (love, beauty, luxury) In a square with Saturn it is likely that some issues in romantic relationships or with money will appear.
Venus, in her fall in Virgo, will quickly succumb to coldness and hardness in attitude. Thus, if you feel overtaken by loneliness or despondency on this day, know that this feeling will pass. Although Saturdays are usually reserved for parties, this may be an evening when your time is best spent in modest seclusion or with only the most kindred of spirits.
Ezra Pound in Venice (1963)
On Sunday, Venus in Virgo will oppose Neptune in Pisces, creating a T-square with Saturn in Sagittarius. This tense aspect will awaken in our hearts the knowledge of good and evil. Many delusions will dissolve into the essence of truth. Considering the tight angle to Saturn, these revelations may present themselves through melancholy experiences that induce superfluous emotions to spill out.
No matter what your weekend is like, Venus and Neptunewill open your world to multitudinous visions and feelings.
Human life has spiritual and mystical significance, but one that you can never be sure of. Thus, this Sunday is not a time for making great promises or proclamations, but it is a day to interpret life through poetry.
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd: Petals, on a wet, black bough.
-Ezra Pound
You must be logged in to post a comment.