Mercury Retro Period in Aries: March 22 to April 16 2018

Hermes from Alistair Crowley Tarot deck

Apology:  earlier posted the wrong dates for the Mercury Retro Period April for March and May for April ! A sure Mercury Retrograde effect !

What happens when Mercury goes Retrograde?

On March 22, the day after the Aries Equinox, Mercury began his slow backward motion through the Sign of Aries (between the 17th and 4th degrees). Mercury’s Retrogradation will end on April 16.

Mercury becomes Retrograde about three times each years, for a periods of approximately three weeks. This Retrogradation brings some disruption in communication/travel, while, on the bright side, can also helps us to deepen our understanding, increasing introspection and intuition, with the ability to communicate out thoughts and ideas in a more meaningful way.

In fact each Birth Chart will experience this phase in its own peculiar way. There is no given formula for the way Mercury Retrograde is going to impact on your life.

The retro period of any planet is a twilight status, like the one in between sleeping and wakening. We take usually a little while to wake up completely after a deep sleep. In real life as well as symbolically the in-between waking and sleep phase is all important because it is then that our creative imagination provides the most fertile ground for new insights.

About mid-way through its retro period,  on April 2, Mercury will become conjunct to the Sun, as close to planet Earth as it can be, beginning to orbit between us and the Sun disk. This event we call the Inferior Conjunction, when Mercury first becomes completely immersed in the light of the Sun, to re-emerge before sunrise few weeks later. After the conjunction Mercury becomes a Morning Star, rising just before sunrise. The month of May will be the most suited to observe Mercury in the early hours of the morning, as he distances himself from the Sun.

This Morning Star Phase will end on June 5 2018, with the so called  Superior Conjunction, when Mercury will begin to orbit behind the Sun, from Earth viewpoint, and disappear again in the Sun’s glare.  After that event Mercury will be an Evening Star for a while, setting just after sunset.

In the upcoming Morning Star phase, especially after the end of Retrogradation on April 16, Mercury will tend to facilitate everything mercurial, such as change, communication, expression of idea in speech or writing, travel, brain-storming, moving etc. This is a forward looking mental impulse, bringing us out of ourselves and onto active participation with the world.

Mercury Retrograde and You

The Mercury’s Retrogradation will be experienced at some level by everybody, but in particular those people who were born with the Sun, Moon, Planets or Chart’s Angles in the degrees between ARIES 3 and 18 and the same degrees of the other CARDINAL SIGNS, LIBRA, CANCER and CAPRICORN. The effect will vary in intensity and quality of experience depending on the nature of the celestial body or Angle involved, and also on the sector (House) in your Birth Chart where the Retrogradation takes place. Generally speaking though the delays and misunderstanding which are often linked to this type of transit should be more obvious in your life than in the life of other people.

These irritating events do not happen however for no reason, just to disrupt your routine and plans . Perhaps it is time now to look at those plans, routines, ways of communicating more closely, to reflect on the possibility of changing them or simply trying consciously not to depend psychologically on them as much as you usually do. Introspection is the key word here. If plans do not work as expected, if that important appointment get cancelled or indefinitely postponed, if what you say or do is misinterpreted by others, this should be the right time to consider a change of attitude in the areas affected by the transit. Because fiery and impulsive Aries is highlighted here perhaps it could help, at this special time, to scrutinize those impulses, making a conscious effort to consider other people points of views in the same way you consider your own; or curbing your natural impatience to accept changing circumstances and people’s idiosyncrasies with equanimity.

During the whole Mercury retro’s period we may encounter many opportunities to review our thinking and to become more flexible. To have too rigid plans and expectations, from others as well as ourselves, may not work during this time.

An important note for students:

when finally Mercury will leave Aries to enter Taurus, late on May 13, he will also conjunct Uranus on the cusp of Aries-Taurus.  There will be other intense cosmic events at this time too: two days later on the 15th of May the New Moon in Taurus will be aligned to Algol (= Medusa Head) in the constellation of Perseus, a powerful and potentially dangerous star. And on the 16th of May Uranus will enter Taurus, a one in 84 years transit of the greatest import ! On the same day Mars will be entering Aquarius so squaring (challenging) both Mercury and Uranus conjunct on the cusp Aries-Taurus. Even more remarkable is the fact that Mars will remain in orb of the square angle (90 degrees) from Uranus until well into September, due to his own Retrogradation.

Venus’ rendezvous with Sun and Pluto: a darker, deeper Evening Star

‘Pandora opening the box’ by Su Balckwell

A very big cosmic  event has just taken place and hardly anyone is talking about it!

On Tuesday, January 9 2018 Sister Venus reached her 18 monthly (584 days) rendezvous with the Sun (Superior Conjunction). This Venus Phase can be compared to the Full Phase of our Moon, with the all important difference that Venus is actually invisible during her Full Phase, because she is moving behind the Sun from Earth’s viewpoint.

Venus did disappear from the morning sky already a few weeks ago, becoming then too close to the Sun for observation. From January 9, still rising and setting with the Sun, Venus will be making her slow passage on the other side of the Sun from us, to emerge out of the sun glare again in early or late February (the date depending on your place of observation). By then she will be the Evening Star, setting after the Sun for approximately seven months, her waning phase, until the next alignment on October 26 this year (Inferior Conjunction), the beginning of her Morning Star apparition.

The ancient sky watchers (from Mesopotamia to the Americas) considered Venus Evening Star like a distinct planet from Venus Morning Star, with very different effects on life and events on planet Earth. These two manifestations of Venus were even given different names. Modern astrologers too regard the Evening Phase as a more serene and peaceful incarnation than the often discordant and antagonistic Morning Phase. The coming Waning Phase will be a time better suited to self reflection and a more mature handling of relationships’ issues.

Venus presides over our capacity to appreciate life, enjoy pleasures, connect with others non only through love, affection and desire, but also through compassion, emotional understanding and receptivity, helping us to find the balance between our personal needs and the needs of others; our individual tastes and often less than ideal surroundings and circumstances.

The fact that the alignment (conjunction) of Venus-Sun is happening at the same time as the alignment of both to Pluto makes a great difference to the whole cycle, deepening and even dramatizing the effect, especially if the degrees 17th to 20th of Capricorn or the other the Cardinal Signs (Cancer-Aries-Libra) are highlighted in your Birth Chart (the conjunction taking place between the 18th and 19th degree of Capricorn). These alignments will then have a stronger bearing on your life events and general mood for the next few months. Something, an important encounter or relationship or a life changing event could greatly help you to transform remarkably the way you view things, also encouraging you to deal more effectively with old resentments, traumas or any emotional difficulties you may have to face. Discarding from your life people and things which are not anymore relevant to your individual journey will mean becoming more self reliant, taking greater responsibility for your happiness and well being, breaking negative patterns that have locked you in painful situations until now. You will need however courage and belief in yourself in order to access the inner resources needed to do that. Just remember that they are more easily accessible to you at this time. If breaking up with negative past stuff is not your issue now, finding deeper connections with the people you love and share your life with could be the way this transit works for you.

There is also an exciting side to this very same transit. Your creativity could in fact receive an amazing boost from this alignment. Any project you have in the pipeline at the moment could find fulfillment in the near future if you know how to take advantage of the energetic renewal and tremendous resourcefulness that this transit can bring.

The Evening apparition of Venus is always a suitable time to handle relationships with greater wisdom and understanding of the hidden motivations of all parties involved. With Pluto added to the mix and the sobering effect of Earthy Capricorn all of us, and in particular individuals directly aligned to the transit, could learn more about the role of our own psychological shadow in the way we relate to others and also to our creativity and ability to enjoy life to the full.

Cheers Venus Evening Star!

 

The Astrology of Mercury retrograde, September-October 2015

Sagrada Familia Staircase Barcelona

In view of the present retrogradation of Mercury in Libra (September 17 to October 9 2015) I’m re-posting here an edited version of a post I published in 2011, on the general subject of retrogradation. stressing in particular the significance of Mercury when retrograde.

Click here for my recent post on the September 2015 Mercury retrograde period.

The retrogradation of Mercury is a mystery and you are the only one who can unravel it!

In fact each Birth Chart will experience this phase in its own peculiar way. There is no given formula for the way Mercury Retrograde is going to impact on your life.

Lately I have reflected upon and researched a lot the phenomenon of retrogradation, this optical illusion that, at regular interval, makes the planets appear to stop in their tracks, and then move for a while in the opposite direction of the one they normally travel on.

In real terms the planets of course never moves backward. From a sun centered (heliocentric) viewpoint they all travel at their appointed speed, always in the same direction, identical to planet Earth’s.

The phenomenon appears instead very ‘real’ from our Earth’s plane. With long exposure photography we are now able to actually see the shiny loop the planet’s course makes when retrograde.

Too often Retrogradation is accepted as part of the astrological tradition, and not given much thought or meaning.

This cyclical phenomenon appeared instead positively magical to the ancient sky-watchers, who eagerly awaited it, calculated its timing and duration and attributed to it great significance, in forecasting future events, in accordance with the nature of the planet involved.

Modern astrologers don’t need any more to search the sky for signs, to wait to see a star or planet rising before the Sun. Cyber-planetariums and astrological software are all we need to practice our Art.

Thanks to technology we have the tools now to cast many horoscopes in record time, using the most sophisticated techniques ever, but we have also lost the ‘real’ magic of the night sky and twilight hours, the eternally returning cycles of the wandering planets, a vital dimension of the ancient wisdom tradition.

Understanding better what happens during a planet’s retrograde period and putting that particular period within the context of the planet’s whole cycle can help us to recapture some of its true meaning.

Every cycle in nature and therefore in the psyche of man can be conceived as having two halves or hemicycles, one of involution and one of evolution, a Yin and a Yang phase. The place where Yin and Yang meet is the matrix of each cycle, while the place of their maximum separation is the climax of each cycle. So we have a Waxing Phase, from matrix to climax, and a Waning Phase, from climax to matrix, in an eternal round. This specific rhythm permeates everything, all living beings, all experiences. The planets are no different. They too obey the inner order of things, and therefore follow a clear path of Ascent and Descent when viewed from the Earth’s plane.

The Moon is not the only celestial body to show phases, all planets do, each in its own peculiar way. Retrogradation has a lot to do with those phases.

I’m using Mercury here as an example of what retrogradation entails. Mercury is the planet that goes retrograded more often than any other, three or four times a year.

Each Planet is different in fundamental ways from all others, even with regard to their retro periods, but the underlying Waxing/Waning tempo is basically the same for all.

Mercury, from Evening to Morning Star

Often the period of Mercury’s retrogradation is simply interpreted as a time full of misunderstandings, technical glitches, disruption in communication, odd accidents, etc. These effects are often obvious indeed, especially for people who happen to have the Sun, Moon, Planets or their Birth Chart’s Angles (Ascendant, etc.) within the span of the zodiac covered by Mercury.

When we attempt to interpret Mercury in a Birth Chart we tend to take its position (and that of all other celestial bodies) as fixed, a point in a linear, perhaps circular universe, in which Sun, Moon and Planets interact by angular relationship with each other, as in a neat example of cosmic geometry. We tend however to exclude from our interpretation the actual experience of Mercury as it manifests on our Earth plane.

We may learn from text books that Mercury’s orbit around the Sun in just less than three months (88 days), but the experience we have of the twinkling star that is Mercury to our unaided eyes is indeed very different. The visual cycle of Mercury lasts in fact 116 days (a bit less than four months), during which time this Planet, from our view point, appears to wax and wane.

In the light of the entire cycle the Retrogradation of Mercury is a most significant moment. During this special time the planet passes from waning to waxing, from Evening to Morning Star. This is not only a miracle to the beholder, seeing Mercury disappearing behind the Sun and then re-appearing on the other side, but a real shift of our awareness of the planet’s energy.

The retro period of any planet, like the dark three days of the New Moon, is a twilight status, like the one in between sleeping and wakening. We take usually a little while to wake up completely after a deep sleep. In real life as well as symbolically the in-between waking and sleep phase is all important because it is then that our creative imagination provides the most fertile ground for new insights.

Ten to fifteen days after the beginning of its retro motion Mercury becomes completely immersed in the light of the Sun, which has, in the mean time, caught up with it, due to its slowness. It is of course the Earth that is actually accelerating on Mercury, amounting to the same visual effect. The date of this all important conjunction for the upcoming cycle is October 1, 2015. At first will be a tentative beginning, when the new impulse is guided by yet unclear urges, stemming from the past while longing for the future.

Mid-way through its retro period, Mercury is as close to planet Earth than it will ever be, orbiting directly between us and the Sun disk. This conjunction of Mercury to the Sun is known as the Inferior Conjunction, to distinguish it from the Superior Conjunction when Mercury is as far from Earth as it can possibly be and also disappear in the glare of the Sun, being visually just behind the Sun from our observation point on Earth. The Superior conjunction is really an opposition Mercury-Earth in a heliocentric view. The next Superior Conjunction will occur on November 17, and will represent the culmination of the cycle that starts in October.

The phases bring to the ‘reading’ of Mercury an extra dimension, showing it as an ongoing process, rather than a fixed placement to be interpreted in a rigid way.

In this new light the Retrogradation of Mercury stands for a sort of preparatory period during which the lesson of the last mercurial cycle is appreciated and we look back in order to understand and re-value, before a new cycle can begin in a conscious way, when Mercury turns direct on October 1.

I hope that, if you didn’t know these facts already, you may feel better equipped now to answer your skeptic friends when they tell you that retrogradation is just an optical illusion and non existent. Something really happens to the relationship between the Earth and the planet when this appears to move in a backward fashion.

The astrological meaning of the Retrogradation of  Mercury

All planets’ retro periods represent a revaluation of sort, but what we need to reflect upon differs in accordance with the nature of the planet. So, for instance, during the retrogradation of Mars we need to re-value and re-consider the way we assert ourselves and go out to get what we want from life. This need of self-reflection could make this an ineffectual and tentative period, when for a time we may lose confidence, becoming less able to interact constructively with our environment. At the end we will have gained however a deeper understanding of what need changing in our attitude in order to achieve a less confrontational and more effective method of proceeding.

During the retrogradation of Venus the same thing happens to our feelings. We are inclined to reflect on the way we usually relate to others, especially in a one to one situation. For a time this could mean that we become more tentative when we relate to others, less outgoing, more introspective, not the best social time. But at the end of this tunnel too we may have discovered things about ourselves and our loved ones that can help immensely in healing rifts or deciding the fate of shaky or unsatisfactory relationships.

It is the same with Mercury. Its Evening Star incarnation (spanning in the second half of 2015 from July 23 = Superior Conjunction to the Sun, to October 1 = Inferior Conjunction to the Sun), represents a time for giving due consideration to the way we communicate our thoughts and ideas to others, the way we tackle intellectual challenges, like writing, reading, studying, teaching. In particular the retro motion of Mercury (September 17 to October 9) corresponds to a period of mental introspection, at the end of which we can start again to project our minds onto the world, with renewed inventiveness and adaptability to different circumstances and people.

In the Morning Star phase Mercury’s direct energy does in fact facilitate everything mercurial, such as change, communication, expression of idea in speech or writing, travel, brain-storming, moving etc. This is a forward looking mental impulse, bringing us out of ourselves and onto active participation with the world. This period will end with the Superior Conjunction on November 17, when our mental tendencies will have reached their more concrete and objective state. From then Mercury will begin to wane again, arriving at its next retro Station in Aquarius on January 5 2016.

To discover which phase Mercury was going through at the time of your birth all you need to do is look for its position relative to the Sun. When Mercury is behind the Sun in longitude it appears as the Morning Star, displaying an outgoing type of energy, eager for self expression. When Mercury instead is found to be ahead of the Sun in longitude it appears as the Evening Star, directing its mental energy inward, aiding insight and introspection.

Leo Full Moon, Venus entering Aries and meeting Uranus, a fiery time

What difference a day makes!  It seems only yesterday that I was raving on about the watery realms of Neptune and Venus in Pisces, and here we are now, enveloped by a highly charged Fire energy, not only from the Leo Full Moon, but from other fiery events happening around the same time. The effect of the Full Moon will last up to the next Pisces New Moon on February 22.

The Full Moon in Leo on February 8 or 7, depending where you happen to be in the world (February 8, 8.56 am, my local time), has the power for firing up many areas of our lives, in particular if the 17th, 18th and 19th degree of the Fire, Air and Fixed Signs are constellated in our Birth Chart (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, Libra, Aquarius, Gemini, Taurus and Scorpio). The birthdays actually aligned to the Full Moon will be Leo, born August 9 to 11, Aquarius born February 7 to 9, Taurus born May 7 to 9, and Scorpio born November 9 to 11. Also if you have your Natal Moon, Mars, Venus,  Mercury or one of the four Angles (Ascendant, Descendant, Mid-Heaven, Lower-heaven) on these degrees you are in for some pleasantly warm or unpleasantly hot times. For you this will be a more remarkable event than a round of the mill lunation.

Also particularly susceptible to the intensity of this Full Moon will be the Baby Boomers born between September 1949 and June 1952 because the Leo Full Moon will be conjunct their Natal Pluto. And  those individuals born from the middle of 1959 to the middle 1960 because they have their Natal Uranus around the same degree at birth. Both Uranus and Pluto are known as powerful agents of change. The Full Moon will make more openly visible to you and those around you the need for a general reorientation of your life, involving a radical departure from the past.

The way the Full Moon climax will turn up for you depends on the use or abuse you have made of the transits active during the last fortnight. You can either reach the peak of your creative endeavors shining in the full glory of success, being loved and appreciated for your efforts, or just create more emotional dramas in your life and relationships, in order to feel alive. Negatively in fact the Leo Full Moon, especially this year, could prove a stressful event for many. Positively it could instead bring some passion and enthusiasm back into our routine, enlivening everything.

Here is the Horoscope for this event, calculated for the coordinates of my place in Eastern Australia. While the orientation of the planets will be different in different places (the celestial bodies’ relative distance to the local horizon and meridian) the mutual relationship between the Sun, the Moon and the planets remains the same all over the globe.

click to view larger image

On February 7, few hours before the Full Moon, Mercury reached his Superior Conjunction to the Sun (transiting on the other side of the Sun from us). When the Moon becomes Full on the 8th she will not only oppose the Sun but also Mercury. The power of the Moon to stir passions and emotions will be more keenly felt because of this double opposition, affecting also the way we think, our reason and rationality. The call within our hearts will be a better guide at this time, while attempting to rationalize our feelings too much could bring poor results.

Mercury, at the moment completely invisible, lost in the glare of the Sun for the rest of February, is preparing for his next appearance as an Evening Star in early March, especially for people in the Northern Hemisphere. Mercury will form his next Inferior Conjunction (transiting between the Earth and the Sun) on March 21, day of the Aries Equinox, after that returning to visibility as a Morning Star.

As you can see from the above Chart Venus is on the threshold of a new Sign, moving from Watery Pisces to Fiery Aries just a few hours past the Leo Full Moon. Two days later, on the 10th, Venus will align to Uranus in Aries. A great deal of excitement generally accompanies this transit, even more so this time due to the proximity of the Leo Full Moon. Negatively it could however enhance the stressful potential of the Leo Full Moon. The need for independence and self-determination is such in this aspect that it could affect negatively the harmony and cooperation within relationships, causing emotional rifts, arguments and uncompromising attitudes. At the same time Venus is also activating the trine Saturn-Neptune, by forming meaningful angles to both of them (semi-sextile to Neptune in early Pisces and quincunx to Saturn in late Libra). This is great, but lasting only a day or two, at the start of Venus’ transit through Aries. It will help to tap into our imagination and intuition without forgetting the practicalities. Positively Venus in Aries can help all of us in fact, and especially women, to be more assertive and positive, without  becoming too bossy or arrogant. We can go after what we want with more passion, courage and initiative. Venus will remain in Aries until March 5.

To add to this list of events Saturn is becoming Stationary-Retrograde on February 7, thus refraining, for the time being, to enter Scorpio (the actual ingress of Saturn in Scorpio will happen only on October 6 2012). Saturn Retrograde’s period represents a positive time to re-think the way we organize and structure our lives, routines, work, business. An opportunity to catch up with all the jobs that have been left behind, unfinished, weighting on our back and stopping us from moving forward. Roll up your sleeves again, says Saturn, not time for procrastinating. You either do it in the next few months or forget about it . Mars is helping this trend too by moving backward in Virgo, a Sign bent on work and healthy routines. I have discussed the retrogradation of Mars in Virgo in earlier posts.

Let’s make this a joyous and passionate Full Moon.

Mercury and Venus in conjunction to the Sun, spot the difference

Due to my protracted illness in August (a very bad case of influenza) I missed the opportunity to talk, amongst other things, of the simultaneous conjunctions of Mercury and Venus to the Sun in Leo.

I’m trying to make up for it in this post because these transits are still very relevant.

Mercury became retrograde in the early degrees of Virgo on August 3, and then moved back toward the Sun in Leo. Little Brother met the Sun on August 17, afterwards re-entering the pre-dawn sky as a Morning Star. Only a day earlier, on August 16, Venus also met the Sun in Leo, but hers was a different meeting, and she is now slowly returning to the evening sky, setting after the Sun.

It may be possible to spot Mercury in early September, just before sunrise, in the East, while we’ll have to wait until mid-October to get a better view of Venus as Lady of the evenings. In fact mercury disappears from view only a couple of weeks at the time, while Venus disappears for several weeks.

The difference lays in the fact that Mercury, at Inferior Conjunction, was orbiting between the Earth and the Sun, while Venus, at Superior Conjunction, was passing on the other side of the Sun from Earth’s viewpoint. They appear to do the same thing, from our biased standpoint, but they are in fact doing very different things. Venus was really in opposition to the Sun, from an heliocentric (sun-centered) viewpoint, while Mercury was in fact in ‘regular’ conjunction to the Sun (on the same point of the Ecliptic from Earth)

During those particular phases of their orbits Venus and Mercury remained invisible, ‘combust’ in the Sun’s glow (combustion being the term used by traditional western astrologers to define a planet close enough to the Sun to be absorbed in its light).

A Morning Star planet, visible in the East before sunrise, is said to exert a positive, highly spirited energy, suitable for outward action. Because Mercury’s function is to allow rational thinking, logical connections and communication, these activities will receive a boost from this phase, allowing for more direct and effective communication, greater ease with the spoken and written words, and enhanced logical understanding. Business transactions could benefit from this position.

The Morning phase of either Venus or Mercury, is comparable to a New Moon, fostering initiative and the start of new ventures. As Mercury is concerned, god of merchants, intellectuals, talkers, readers, writers, teachers, students and thieves, we could all try something new during this period.

What Mercury gains in efficiency and logic could perhaps lose in intuitive perception and imagination, qualities better expressed by Mercury Evening Star (next period: end of October to late November 2011).

Venus, on the other hand, is now the Evening Star until June 2012. Her next Inferior Conjunction to the Sun will be in fact on June 6, 2012, while retrograding in Gemini. That conjunction will be a real event, the dark disk of Venus passing visibly upon the disk of the Sun, a sort of Solar Eclipse (phenomenon observable from most localities in Australia). These are rare conjunctions, that come in pair separated by a gap of eight years, the first of the pair having occurred in 2004. Another such pair will occur again only in about 121 years.

Coming back to the present Venus Evening Star, this phase is said to enhance Venus’ more intuitive and self-reflective qualities, helping us to gain greater awareness of the less conscious factors in our relationship. This is a cautious type of Venusian energy, not one likely to risk too much in love, or be blinded by appearances and wishful thinking. New as well as old relationships will be put to the test of this highly discriminating and profound Venus.

The Evening phase of a planet is comparable to a Full Moon, with the subsequent Waning period, a time for realization and illumination, also for sharing our experiences with others and begin a cycle of self-analysis and introspection.

We could emerge from this period with a whole new set of values as far as love and relationships are concerned, more mature, less naive, less plagued by too idealistic expectations of others.

Taking personal responsibility for one’s joy or lack of joy in life can be a gift of the Evening Venus, allowing for more honesty and understanding in relationships, but perhaps for less glamour and superficial romance too.

MERCURY ENTERS GEMINI

Mercury enters his own Sign of Gemini today, June 10 2010, at 3.41 pm, Eastern Australian Time.

The closest planet to the Sun is now becoming less and less visible in the dawn twilight, speeding toward a conjunction with the Sun (Superior Conjunction) on June 28. By then Mercury will be in Cancer, entering this Sign on June 25.

When planets transit one of the Signs that are traditionally assigned to them, like in this case Mercury in Gemini, they can  express their function in a more direct and natural way. The Sign will not resist the energy of the planet but rather encourage it, preparing a receptive medium through which it can work smoothly and perform at its best.

Mercury in Gemini is great for many things, not just intellectual stuff or communication. It accelerates the pace of all actions,the pace of thought that drives the action, in the first place, so that we can get more done, hopefully more than when Mercury was transiting slow-paced Taurus, the latter transit having lasted for much longer than usual because of Mercury’s retrogradation (Mercury has been in Taurus since April 2).

As it enters Gemini Mercury is also forming a harmonious angle with both Jupiter and Uranus (sextile) conjunct in Aries since June 8, making today and tomorrow great days to feel inspired and optimistic, finding new ways to do things and new avenues of discovery.

Gemini is one of the double Signs of the Zodiac, meaning that is works equally well on two different planes of experience, the intellectual and the intuitive (the mortal and immortal twins) allowing for greater flexibility and tolerance of differences in our dealings with the world.