By Amanda Painter

In just four days, on May 18, Mercury stations retrograde in Gemini. This means we’re in the ‘storm’ phase: consider this your heads up to back up files and hard drives, and to stop to think more often than you don’t, as the days surrounding a Mercury station can be especially glitch-y. But Mercury is not the only planet in Gemini making itself known.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

Mars arrived there Monday. It’s in an opposition to Saturn in Sagittarius that’s exact at 2:03 am EDT Friday, but you’ve likely already noticed its effects.

A good friend of mine recently described how much more flexible she has become in recent years. For most of her life, being ‘right’ was incredibly important to her; it was the thing that mattered most in any interpersonal conflict. She realized, however, that stubbornly insisting others see things her way causes deadlock; sometimes moving forward means allowing someone to be wrong, and working from there. Sometimes being happy means letting go of being ‘right’ in a disagreement.

Keep these dynamics in mind as you interact with others over the next couple days. Mars-Saturn oppositions can be challenging, because the planets involved represent opposite impulses. Mars represents compelling desire and the drive to take action (among other things); Saturn, in part, represents limits and containers. We need both to get anything done in life.

Think of Mars as your body’s muscles and Saturn as its bones, and you get a sense of how the interplay can work: your muscles need something to push and pull against to move your body; your bones not only provide the scaffolding for the muscles, but in turn need the muscles to expend their energy so that you don’t just lie rigidly on the floor.

Placement in the signs Gemini and Sagittarius flavors this relationship into a less physical, more mental/verbal expression. Mars in Gemini can have a quick, sharp tongue. It wants to make a point — and may even have a very good point to make. Saturn in Sagittarius makes for a big-picture, belief-oriented type of authority, though it can be proud and is unlikely to suffer affronts.

However, Saturn is currently retrograde. Whoever in your life is currently setting boundaries and making the rules is focused inward on themselves. As Eric described to me, Saturn retrograde in Sagittarius is saying, “I believe what I believe and you can’t change that.”

This feels maddening when you know you’re right about something and have all the details you need to argue your point and prove the other person wrong. But in the long run, can you really change what they believe? Ultimately, does it matter?

There can be times when it is critical to your survival or the wellbeing of others to speak your mind and convince another person to see things your way. But how often is that the case? This week, you can leave people room to be wrong — including yourself. As Mars continues through Gemini aspecting other planets and Mercury stirs up the mental plane over the next few weeks, knowing your own mind and what brings it peace — and some grace and flexibility — may come in handy.