Semi-square Sun — Mercury
(Transit. Sun → Natal Mercury)
Avesalom Podvodny. Aspects
Semi-square Sun: The person is given little to fulfill God’s will; he still needs to think that it is his own. This aspect makes the person’s will in the spheres of the planet an imperfect, sometimes overly crude tool. His initiatives often turn out to be too straightforward (if the Sun is in Pisces or Cancer, the person will, accordingly, be too openly and often clumsily avoiding responsibility and hiding in their shell). If inclined toward self-observation, the person may sometimes feel that their will is mixed with something foreign, deliberately crude and rough. A similar effect is observed in imperative external circumstances, which do not necessarily oppose or openly obstruct (a semi-square is not a square), but are unfavorably rigid and often actually destroy the most interesting, promising, or attractive moments for the person in the spheres of the planet. If, however, the external situation is favorable, an internal demon suddenly activates, harshly roughening things, which the person cannot handle at the level of their lower will. Here, the work involves forming ideals and incorporating higher will and higher direction, as well as carefully analyzing the subconscious programs that govern the interaction of the principles of will and the planet: somewhere here (a hint should be sought in situations of simultaneous activity of the houses occupied by the Sun and the planet) the ego is deeply entrenched, buried in evolutionary levels much lower than the person themselves. Processing requires awareness and transformation of this program, after which the person gains the ability to clearly and subtly exert willpower in the spheres of the planet. At a low level, this aspect manifests in dictators who have a rigid apparatus of external suppression and their victims. Semi-square Mercury: The person is not granted the ability to grasp the truth expressed in words. This aspect brings awkwardness of movement and crudeness of thought in the spheres of the planet; the person, however, often does not notice this and insists on their own opinions. For example, a semi-square between Mercury and the Moon can result in poor memory and rigid thinking, yet the knowledge and reasoning that are barely assimilated are constantly exploited by the person and serve as truth or falsehood wherever possible, even where it is not appropriate, and it is very difficult to rationally convince them otherwise. The semi-square of Mercury is difficult to process, as the person, feeling the rigidity of their mind in the spheres of the planet, either gives up on themselves in this regard or, conversely, carefully represses these flaws into the subconscious and convinces themselves of the undeniable significance and strength of their thoughts, rejecting other ways of thinking. At a low level of processing the aspect, but adorned with authority, such a person may become an official ideologue in the spheres of the planet, whose logical schemes rest on two cornerstones: Correspondence and Discrepancy with the Sacred Truth, which has been definitively found and irrevocably formulated in works. At a high level of processing, the person finds subtlety and clarity of thought capable of precisely directing efforts and carefully constructing a mental model in the spheres of the planet, to the extent and in the way that is possible.
