Mercury in Cancer: quality replaces quantity

Mercury in Cancer: July 12-August 5, 2021

While Mercury was in its domicile of Gemini, information was the name of the game; unless it was moving through your 12th House (as it was mine), you likely felt alight with curiousity and a newfound need to communicate anything and everything in your head with those around you.

Even in the thick of its retrograde in Gemini, there was a noted electricity in the air and speed in which information was collected and shared with one another - that is simply the nature of Gemini.

As it transits the sign of Cancer, the quantity of information and communication desired in Gemini is replaced instead by quality - that which we value. The nature of our communication has been thoroughly examined in the previous Mercury ingress, and now it is time to ‘weed out,’ as it were, what is important to convey and what isn’t.

As Cancer is known for its sentimentality, our ways of approaching conversation and even the topics illustrated will take on a more emotional tone as Mercury redefines itself in clothes of memory and nostalgia. We may feel as though the mundane conversations of our everyday lives suddenly take on a deeper meaning than usual, spinning poetry where there was once just fact, and this is exactly what makes this Mercury transit so beautiful - particularly in tougher times (see: the Outer Planet squares).

For natal Mercury in Cancer folk, this is a time wherein your voices will be amplified (literally or figuratively), casting a clarifying light on the ways in which you think, verbalize, and contextualize your emotions. Those around you may suddenly be better able to understand where you are coming from and clearly grasp what you need to say - whereas in its previous sign of Gemini, they may have struggled or misunderstood your words or intentions.

For those who do not have Cancer signatures, this transit may prove to be difficult for the simple fact that emotional cognizance is not always a walk in the park to navigate, particularly as it wraps around the planet better known for its linear and analytical thinking. While the two worlds can and do blend well together, there will be a need to clearly define what is emotional and what is rational if we are to be making any big decisions. Lead with your heart, always. Just don’t forget your head.

Rylen Moore is a queer freelance writer, LGBTQ+ advocate, and Child & Youth Care graduate. An Albertan-turned-Vancouverite, they use their astrological studies as a framework to better understand and work with at-risk youth as well as run their own chart-reading business. You can find them on Facebook for Moon horoscopes, weekly astrological content, and personal services @ It's Just A Phase (facebook.com/readingsbyrylen) .