Mercury is stationary and just switched to apparent retrograde motion at 7:14 pm EDT (23:14:20 UTC) tonight. It will station direct on July 31 (or Aug. 1 for some time zones). You can read a little more about tonight’s chart here. Of course, no planets actually physically change direction; it’s just a trick of perception due to our perspective here on Earth.

Macro shot of an exotic peony; photo by Amanda Painter.

Even so, Mercury retrogrades do seem to offer unique opportunities for review and introspection — and sometimes maddening glitches. A couple of aspects this week suggest some extra weight and energy to this process, along with the current eclipses.

You likely know by now that Mercury retrogrades tend to be easier to handle the more willing one is to slow down — whether that means being more deliberate in thought, pausing before sending a text or email, delaying major purchases or negotiations, or checking event details before rushing out the door (not to mention staying focused while driving). Yet that’s often easier said than done, particularly in our increasingly fast-paced and digitally based world.

If there are patterns you’d like to shift regarding the ways you handle communication — such as reacting while defensive, over-identifying with your ideas and statements on social media, or more general habits — this particular retrograde may offer a boost with that, since it’s beginning between two eclipses. (We had a total solar eclipse in Cancer on July 2, and the corresponding lunar eclipse is July 16-17, with the Capricorn Full Moon.)

Tuesday’s first quarter Moon — the Libra Moon square the Cancer Sun — marks the midway point between the current two eclipses. You may find it useful to consider what of note emerged for you on or around July 2, and to check in on any intentions that you set. Is there anything you can do this week to continue moving something forward in a tangible way? Have you encountered any unexpected opportunities or adjustments?

Full chart for tonight’s Mercury station retrograde. View glyph key here.

As for this week’s other major aspects, the first is the Sun opposing the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn. The Sun’s exact opposition to Saturn is Tuesday, and the exact opposition to Pluto is on Sunday, July 14, but you can think of it as one weeklong event. Since the Sun is an expressive archetype, you may notice interpersonal dynamics similar to what you experienced when Mars recently made these same aspects.

Specifically, you’ll want to stay aware of how you’re reacting to limitations that seem to be set by other people or circumstances, as well as anything that could be described as a power struggle (particularly with authority figures). Where is the point of balance between your need to express yourself and your obligations?

Can you communicate these needs honestly with those in a position to negotiate with you, without being domineering? Stifling yourself is not a great option, as it can lead to reckless rebellion — which is not any more constructive than ignoring important duties from the outset.

Intense encounters with others, including seeming breakdowns in relationships, have the potential to reveal things that have been ignored and need to be met directly and openly. Can you move through frustrations, fears and ego defenses to really dig into fundamental changes for the good of both you and those around you?

The potential is there — and could ride along the wake created by these eclipses, kind of like how a water skier enjoys the strip of water behind a motorboat after the effort of getting up on the skis. Just remember that your point of focus — where you look — will go a long way in determining both your balance and where you end up.

Simplified chart section showing Thursday’s Mars-Uranus square, with neighbors; from left: Juno, Mars and Mercury in Leo; the Sun, lunar North Node and Venus in Cancer; Vesta and Uranus in Taurus. The Sun’s proximity to the node indicates it’s eclipse season.

Finally, Mars in Leo is moving into a square with Uranus in Taurus, exact on Thursday. This is a restless, impulsive, ‘I just wanna be freeeee!’ aspect. And while that could merge quite well with the general Eclipse Zone energy, Mercury being retrograde really ups the ante on the necessity to think carefully. The Sun’s aspects to Saturn and Pluto also complicate the following of spontaneous urges, as just described.

It looks like the key with Mars-Uranus is to be as preemptive as possible in noticing where you can — and need to — make creative changes in your life, and then doing so. Four days’ notice might not feel like much enough to be ‘preemptive’, but you’re likely already aware of where your life is starting to feel stale or cramped. What processes could use a new spark of effort or imagination?

Note that if you find yourself encountering explosions (especially the metaphorical kind), it could be a sign that you’ve been unconscious or in denial of something you need to break away from or change. Again, with Mercury retrograde, and close to Mars, it might not be immediately obvious what that is. A light hand and a circumspect approach that considers all possibilities likely will be helpful should you find yourself in this position. Someone who knows you well might also offer valuable outside perspective, which you can check against your own intuitive hints.

All in all, this looks like a week to tread deliberately — which is not the same as fearfully. The astrology is suggesting the need to be true to yourself. You just need to recognize that you’re doing so as an interdependent being surrounded by other people also trying to be true to themselves — many of whom share your wider goals and dreams, even if you’re going about them in different ways. As always, communication will be key. Consider noticing what messages you’ve been sending to yourself, first.