23 Apr Mercury Theatre ~ April 24th-30th, 2017

This is the week of the New Moon in Taurus, where a steady but contemplative gaze will offer you some unique perspective. Mercury is still retrograde this week, and thus you may feel inwardly focused and sometimes at a loss for words. The planetary energies this week will cultivate a lot of deep focus upon the narrative of your life, where the raw material of the story you are living out will begin to reveal subtle complexity and nuance through a more creative organization of the narrative sequence of events.

In other words, you’ll begin to see that even the most boring aspects of your life can be enlivened by a more mythologized perspective. Use this time to become a better story-teller, one that continuously adds new layers of depth and meaning by letting memory and imagination roam free.

For inspiration in how you might conjure something spectacular out of the raw material of your life’s story, consider the film Citizen Kane.  The creation of this film is one of the greatest legends of Hollywood. In the late 1930’s, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre Company had risen to become such successful radio stars, (War of the Worlds) that Welles was given a movie contract with RKO Pictures that included unlimited creative control. With the ability to create anything without interference, Orson Welles produced an unprecedented masterpiece of cinema.

Citizen Kane was instantly heralded for its innovation to filmmaking, breaking new ground through its bold experiments in cinematography and story. This was a film that abandoned linear narrative in favor of overlapping segments of memories, which created a surreal tapestry of a life lived in mythic proportions.

The mythology envelops the enigmatic figure of Charles Foster Kane, a newspaper tycoon whose death opens the film. Kane’s dying word, “rosebud,” hovers as a mystery and propels the narrative forward by beginning an excavation of the past.

One of the reporters covering the story of Kane’s death is sent on an investigation to discover the meaning of the word, rosebud. It is implied that if the meaning of the word can be discovered, that the mystery of this man will be unveiled.  

“I don’t think there’s one word that can describe a man’s life.”

This reporter begins the journey of collecting memories from everyone that knew Kane, weaving together an elaborate mise en scène. The reporter’s face remains unseen, acting as the viewer – the voyeur into another man’s life and legacy. His questions lead the audience through a spiral staircase of time, where the narrative depth increases in circular layers.

The story, told through the memories of many different people, is an interpretation of an assemblage of unreliable subjective recollections. In other words, there is nothing precise or accurate about the story that emerges and yet the fires of the myth are enlivened by it all.

“Emily Monroe Norton Kane: Really Charles, people will think-…

Charles Foster Kane: -what I tell them to think.”

In Taurus season, with Mercury still in retrograde, take inspiration from Citizen Kane. Stop taking the facts of your own life so literally and begin developing them into something more mythic. As the storyteller and director of your own life, acknowledge the fluid qualities of memory and imagination and use them to your advantage! Just as Orson Welles was given full creative control over Citizen Kane, you too are endowed with full creative control over the style of narrative that you wish to embody and live out.

At this time in your life, even if you feel like there is nothing exciting happening, find a way to innovate the way you tell your own life story by embarking upon a more penetrating investigation of your heart’s longings. 

How has your desire for love brought you in and out of other people’s lives? How would you like to be remembered by these people? When you can imagine how much you have touched other people’s lives, your story will blossom into something more multilayered and mysterious.

No matter who you are or what you do, your life’s narrative is worthy of more inspired authorship. 

Monday/Tuesday: Deep Focus

The beginning of the week is marked by the dark Moon and Mercury retrograde making a trine to Saturn retrograde. In this most subjective time of the lunar cycle, expect to feel immersed in a melancholy requiem for the past. It might feel quite lyrical and poetic, but the tinge of sadness must be accepted as a part of its beauty.

As Mercury makes a trine to Saturn, a perfect opportunity for laying down a strong internal architecture is presented. This is the time for research and development. Because of the retrograde motion, this is not a time to be innovating new ideas and embarking upon new projects. However, in regards to what you have already been building, this is a time when knowledge and discipline will solidify into a sturdy pathway forward.

Wednesday/Thursday: Mise En Scène

The New Moon in Taurus occurs on Wednesday, representing a concrescence of solar and lunar energy in this very stabilizing placement. Let a sense of stillness overtake you. This New Moon is making no major aspects at all. Thus, this can be imagined as a welcome oasis where you can rest your weary head. In the repose offered by this New Moon, you will be able to surveille your current situation with penetrating insight.  

Look around you and try to articulate the symbolism of the environments that you traverse, the people that you mingle with and the passions that you devote your time to. Leave nothing to happenstance, instead finding the ecological purpose of all the beauty and all the horror that you are a witness to.

You may channel the creative powers of this New Moon by embracing the virtues of patience and stability in your life.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday: Flashback

On Friday, Venus (ruler of Taurus) leaves the languorous enchantment of Pisces and returns to the sign of Aries. Due to her recent retrograde, this will be the third time this year that Venus has traversed the initial degrees of Aries. The flames of passion or fury that burned you during Venus’ retrograde will be imbued now with an antidote. Your creative and romantic weaknesses have been tested and fortified.

During the retrograde in Aries, it became all too clear that relationships can not exist when everyone insists on being an immoveable force of individualism. Compromises must be made for any real bonding to occur.

Rather than simply becoming lost in battles, Venus moving direct again through Aries brings renewed confidence in your ability to contain your passions and direct them towards an ultimate victory.

Now that Venus is ready to face the conflicted territory of Aries again, you will be given the strength to face conflict without losing the ability to inspire, enchant and empower. From Venus’ perspective, the tale of your victory is destined and has been foretold. Now it is your time to meet that destiny.

To add thunder to the triumph of Venus’ return to Aries,  Mercury’s conjunction with Uranus in Aries will open the weekend up with some interesting revelations. Mercury and Uranus acting as a unified force offers the potential for genius, made possible by a great lightening bolt of revelation. If you have been waiting for a new adventure, this weekend is the moment to expect it.

In the spirit of adventure, let the narrative of your life jump from its track, following the many wild loops that emerge from the novelty. Seek the meaning of your life through pure instinct and emotions, setting yourself free from the chronology of time. Relish in the voyeurism of memory. Let the past be resurrected by imagination and reborn as the legend of your life.