We’ve just passed the halfway mark of the current Mercury retrograde. I’m seeing and hearing a variety of experiences with this one: for some, the emphasis is on revisiting past (and often dysfunctional or unhelpful) communication habits and ways of thinking in relationships; for others, it’s the weak spots in their relationships to technological gadgets that are making themselves known.

Perigee Aries Full Moon rising over Scarborough Marsh, Maine, Sept. 27, prior to the eclipse. Photo by Amanda Painter.

However it’s going for you, take heart in knowing that you’re halfway through. The question is what you do with what you’re learning now, after things get back to ‘normal’.

Today and tomorrow, Mercury continues to draw your awareness to the balance of ‘self’ and ‘other’ in your life. The fastest planet, representing your intellectual mind and how you express it to others, is moving into a conjunction with asteroid Juno in Libra and an opposition to asteroid Vesta in Aries (exact Thursday and Saturday, respectively).

This is basically where Sunday’s Full Moon and total lunar eclipse was. If you felt some kind of intuitive awareness of how you need to stoke your inner creative flame, notice if you feel better able to articulate what that means for you between now and Friday. Alternatively, if on Sunday the issue of stating your relationship needs (or of how you tend to ‘keep score’) caught your attention, Mercury might be asking you to follow that back through your relationship history.

Mercury conjoins another asteroid, however, as Friday rolls into Saturday: Eros, named for the god of love. Sounds to me like a reminder that it really is a turn-on to tell a loved one what you like and what you want in bed, and to have them tell you in return. The mind is quite an erogenous zone, after all.

So go ahead: say it out loud, whether in person or on the phone, and see what opens up. If circumstances prevent using your voice, type it out — just double- and triple-check that name and address before you hit ‘send’. Mercury is still retrograde.

The Moon moving into Cancer for Saturday and Sunday (squaring the Aries and Libra planets) might bring a case of bashfulness, an urge toward self-protection that’s at odds with this experiment. So you’ll have a choice about whether you stay in your comfort zone or step out of it.

Can you make that work for you? As in, turn all the lights off or snuggle down with your head under the covers before you speak, or similar? Just beware of the crab-like tendency to try and come at the subject sideways, dropping semi-cryptic hints; with Mercury retrograde, there’s a higher chance that the object of your affection won’t understand.

Better to start small, but be direct. And remember, “You never [X] anymore…” is sure to put anyone on the defensive, rather than in the mood. Stick with positive “I” statements.

Finally, I want to mention a couple of major aspects that are not exact until early next week, but which are definitely in effect now. The first is the Libra Sun squaring Pluto in Capricorn, exact Tuesday. You might be feeling pressure (from within or from another) to drop any patterns of behavior that are clearly holding you back, to make room for what’s productive. With the Sun in Libra, the fairness and balance of your relationships is one possible focus.

You also might find that if you’ve been slacking off with work, someone in authority calls you out on it early next week. So power through today and Friday, no matter how much you want to play on Facebook and take a long lunch. Notice what you’re handling especially well lately, and build on that.

We also have Mars in Virgo opposing Neptune in Pisces, exact Wednesday. As with most Neptune aspects, this cautions against deceptive people, and against letting wishful thinking cloud what the facts have to say. You might have to work a little harder to keep your judgment up to its usual standards.

Don’t be surprised if you feel a little low-energy. Resorting to chemical pick-me-ups (or substance-fueled escapism) is not recommended, though. Better to shift your focus to helping others — that is often a far more productive distraction and motivator than getting caught in your own navel (or thought loops, or emotional swirl, or…).

Through it all, keep communicating. That includes when you talk to yourself.