I ran a report today for the transits of 11.11.11. According to my software, at eleven minutes past eleven of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year, we have Mercury square Elatus. Oh and the interesting thing is that each body is on the 11th degree of it’s respective sign. Interesting huh?

Elatus comes from the a word for ‘fir tree’. Fir trees are known for the evergreen properties. An evergreen stays green all year round, defying the winter chill. At Christmas in the Northern hemisphere we bring in an evergreen to remind us that life continues even when the land around us seems frozen and dead. The rest of the trees are leafless and stark but will be reborn again in the spring.

Elatus however used to pull up fir trees to use them as weapons. This smacks to me of cutting your nose off to spite your face. It’s overkill. Pulling the evergreen up by it’s roots kills the tree as well as the enemy. Elatus died when Heracles shot him with an arrow. But the arrow flew through Elatus and straight into Chiron’s knee, giving him the famous wound he is known for. There’s something off about Elatus, like he oversteps the mark somehow.

And then there’s the connection to the Latin ‘elation’. The trouble with being on cloud nine is that the only way is down.

Mercury square Elatus makes me think that if there is a message written in the numbers then it may be hard to understand or communicate. We can’t assume anything. Leaping to conclusions is likely to land you in the line of fire.

The Sabian symbols involved are

A Flag Turns Into An Eagle; The Eagle Into A Chanticleer Saluting The Dawn

After The Wedding, The Groom Snatches The Veil Away From His Bride

The former is doubly emphasised as Venus will also conjoin this point later in the day and also square Elatus.

In the first Sabian, we have an ever changing image flowing from flag to eagle to chanticleer. It seems to suggest the ability to transform according to the occasion. It seems to climb higher and higher. 

It reminds me of art, where the image begins as one thing but changes according to the viewer. Marc Edmund Jones says the keyword for this symbol is ‘adjustment’. It’s about being yourself but also being what is expected of you in certain situations. There is also an element of expectation here. When we express ourselves in a certain way, then others come to expect that from us. Somehow, through all this expectation we must live the being that we truly are. In the living, we can then achieve greater and greater heights and gain wisdom with each moment of understanding.

The second Sabian is one which seems to have two layers of meaning. The verb ’snatches’ suggests impatience to see the beauty within. It makes me think of those seeing spiritual enlightenment, grasping at every teaching before fully understanding one. Yet this image can also show the sheer enthusiasm for life. A go-getting attitude that takes you on a glorious journey towards fulfilment – but only if you give completely of yourself.

These two Sabians together speak of being able to be who you are but with reference to the rest of the world. Much in New Age Literature emphasises the I and certainly we have needed to discover the self within. But there is also the we. We are part of a community. What we do and think does affect others. Our thoughts and actions ripple out across the planet much like the butterfly effect.

The number 11 is a considered a master number as it is a double digit. It contains the number 1, the beginning of all things: unity, the self, spirit, the Sun, God. If you add together 1 + 1 it equals 2. Two is the number of balance, togetherness, partnership, soul and the Moon. In the tarot, eleven relates to Justice and The High Priestess. Together they talk of spiritual justice and balance; of finding truth through inner contemplation.

With the Sabians in mind, the overall message is that there is a struggle (the square) to achieve spiritual wisdom. It is important that we don’t take others or ourselves at face value. We must earnestly push forward with our personal quest for self-discovery but we cannot forget that we play a part in our earthly community and perhaps too in a more vast and comprehensive unfolding story. We must make sense of the high and lows, the elation and despair. We must act on our words allowing others to forge a stronger view of who we are. We need to remain flexible yet be sustained by an inner constancy.

With Mercury and Elatus, we must be mindful not to be caught in only mind for we are much more than this. The beauty beneath the veil, whether the bride or the High Priestess is within each of us. Much as we may want to ravish her and discover all her secrets at once, she deserves to be treated like a queen. Cherish your spirit, nurture your soul.

11 Photo by kirstyhall on Flickr

Bride photo by The Wandering Angel on Flickr