Tag Archives: Mercury

The Day of Consequence: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is April 5
The Day of Initiative | Pre-order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Focus your energy actively on your higher ambitions and thoughts. Resolve that distractions will be kept to a minimum. This is a pivotal moment for you, and you have every support possible at your disposal to facilitate constant growth. Treat the matter as if no door is closed to you, because that will be pretty near the truth. Even if getting through some of them might take considerable effort, set no limit on your sights.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Today’s Aries New Moon — a conjunction of the Sun and Moon — takes place at the very midpoint of the sign. This means it’s also square the position of the Capricorn New Moon and partial solar eclipse that we experienced on Jan. 5. You might take a moment today to think back to that week (and the whole winter eclipse season). How does what you’re doing now relate to the clearing, intention-setting, constructing and initiating you were involved with three months ago? Can you see any continuation, development or sense of integration?

Also intriguing about this New Moon chart is that it features four separate conjunctions across Pisces and Aries: Venus conjunct the centaur planet Nessus in Pisces, Mercury-Neptune in Pisces, Vesta conjunct the centaur Chiron in Aries, and then the Aries Sun and Moon. Taking a broad view, this mix of spiritually sensitive and imaginative energy with the fiery get-up-and-go of Aries could be a potent combination for getting some things done. What might those things be? Healing of past hurts and growth processes is one possibility.

This chart also speaks of the process of bringing vision out of the clouds and into contact with vital life-force energy — whether that be through creativity, sex, or any other form of enacted agency. As in, the kind of thing that creates you as you are creating it. Any time we commit energy to tangible actions, we not only have an effect on our environment, but on our perception of who we are. That effect might be subtle; it might take a while to fully manifest, or for you to begin noticing the ways you’re growing into it. Why not plant some seeds of initiative and see what next step appears before you?
— By Amanda Painter

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Pairing Up with the Aries New Moon

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By Amanda Painter

Early on Friday the Sun and Moon conjoin in Aries for the Aries New Moon. This is occurring right at the midpoint of the sign, in a rather interesting chart. The sky right now features a strong mix of Aries and Pisces; and while that often occurs at the very beginning of this season, the mix is feeling especially striking to me this year.

Simplified chart section for Friday's Aries New Moon, showing the four pairs of conjunctions. From top: Nessus & Venus, Neptune & Mercury, Vesta & Chiron, Sun & Moon.

Simplified chart section for the Aries New Moon, showing four conjunctions in Pisces and Aries. From top: Nessus, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Vesta, Chiron, Sun, Moon.

I chalk that up partly to the fact that the Mercury-Neptune conjunction is still going strong, its influence seemingly all the more potent due to its level of exactness when Mercury stationed direct a week ago.

Related to that, for the last week I’ve been repeatedly confronted by a mix of my intuition being right on some things, and other thoughts and feelings — sometimes related to the same topic — being completely wrong. Heightened awareness of energetic, emotional or spiritual boundaries, particularly when I’m starting to overstep them, has been another prominent theme for me.

What has your week been like? Your personal experience of the energy may vary considerably, yet Mercury-Neptune is the background against which tomorrow’s New Moon occurs, so it’s worth considering. I sometimes think of the Aries New Moon as kind of the ‘other shoe’ to the equinox. It’s a ‘restart button’ for a shorter-term cycle (lunar rather than seasonal) that invokes, concentrates and then releases into the same energy of newness, growth and initiative.

Yet what caught my eye about this New Moon chart is that the Sun-Moon and Mercury-Neptune conjunctions are only two of four conjunctions in effect right now across Pisces and Aries. There’s also Venus conjunct the centaur planet Nessus in Pisces, and Vesta conjunct the centaur Chiron in Aries.

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The Day of the Idealist: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is April 2
The Day of the Idealist | Pre-order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Be bold about showing who you really are. You have intrinsic power and depth in abundance, and you are also full of unique ideas, which deserve to see the light of day. You are under no obligation to conceal these qualities for the comfort or convenience of others; you have a right to express the fundamental essence of your being. Those around you might also learn a thing or two from your courage.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

What holds more influence in your life: your drive to evolve as a person (such as on a deep or soul level), or your need for attention, recognition or power? That might be one way to think of today’s square between Pluto in Capricorn and Eris in Aries. Squares represent energy that needs to be expressed — preferably consciously. When we try to suppress square energy — such as by ignoring our frustration or tension, or through the denial of the urge to take action — it can come back to bite us in some way.

With Pluto and Eris also in contact with the lunar nodes (in Cancer and Capricorn) and the asteroid Pallas (in Libra), you may even be at some kind of karmic/dharmic tipping point. Which of your options to take action feels like a step into real growth, and which one has the markings of feeding your ego or insecurities? Although refusing to choose is a form of choice, it’s not the choice that’s likely to express this energy constructively.

Bear in mind that also exact today is Mercury’s conjunction to Neptune in Pisces, the third conjunction in a series related to its recent retrograde. The Pisces Moon will join them (and a couple other objects that are making contact) briefly today, amping up the emotional and/or unconscious ripples. There’s some potential here to overreact to what you’re perceiving, making it extra important to hang loose with whatever it is you think you know. A sense of clarity might not be fully trustworthy right now.

Can you trace a path between what you were thinking about (and how you were thinking about it) on or around Feb. 19, March 24 and now? What seemed to get confirmed, and what has been disproved? If you wiggle around to consider it from a new vantage point, does everything still line up clearly, or does the shape or emphasis change? If information is still missing, what have you learned about how you tend to account for that, process it, or move ahead without it? By all means listen to your higher guidance, but perhaps save final conclusions for down the road.
— By Amanda Painter

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The Day of Tenacity: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is March 31
The Day of Tenacity | Pre-order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Trust in your own significance. You can make a substantial difference in the world without needing to win great fame or worldly success. Even small local changes can have a surprisingly far-reaching impact. You might begin by simply looking around you and deciding on something you would like to introduce or improve, and then set about doing so. Your attention is most likely to benefit your immediate environment. Start close to home and work your way outwards.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Mars — the ‘energy planet’ — enters Gemini today. This tends to be a witty and alert position for Mars. Yet, with Mercury (Gemini’s ruler, and the planet of the mind and communication) newly in direct motion and still conjunct Neptune, you’ll want to stay aware of how much energy finds its way out through your speech. Your idea of ‘witty’ might not be received as such if your mouth runs faster than your empathy can. That said, it may be possible to lean on the duality of Gemini to see both (or more) potential ways your ‘great’ impulse could land, prior to enacting it.

If you feel restless while Mars moves through Gemini (which it does until May 15), see about changing tasks regularly to keep from dissipating energy. If there’s more than one way to do things, why not try both? (That could apply to sex, you know.) Also, consider connecting to and harnessing a sense of purpose. Energy directed consciously will likely feel less tiring and more productive.
— By Amanda Painter

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The Day of Uncompromising Vision: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is March 30
The Day of Uncompromising Vision | Pre-order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Focus on doing what is meaningful for you, and what enables you to experience the world in all its richness. Live, grow, dance and learn. To make the most of your time may involve some routine or hardworking days; yet you can manage this while still avoiding habit for habit’s sake. The occasional necessity for dullness can be supportable if you’re aiming at something important, and so long as you’re getting enough enjoyment from your activities.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Continue to tread carefully, particularly in thought and speech, as Mercury settles back into direct motion. If you’re processing new insights that arrived with Mercury’s station direct, it would be wise to continue checking them against demonstrable known facts and actions. For example, if you discovered that your intuition was right about one thing, be careful not to assume you must be right about everything else related to the topic at hand. Neptune could continue to be a powerful and potentially misleading influence for a good week or two.

If you’ve discovered that you were wrong about a hunch or assumption, can you trace the factors that led to the misperception? Understanding how you got there could be a useful way to gain key awareness about the projections, blind spots and personal myths that are always lurking in the corners of your psyche (we all have them). The better you get to know these elements, the easier it should be to catch them next time before they run away with the show. On another note: continue to keep an eye on how you can stay balanced in the face of crazy-makers. You may have an opportunity today to turn a corner on how you deal with them. Go for what feels like an evolution in strategy, rather than a rehash of reaction.
— By Amanda Painter

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The Day of the Observer: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is March 29
The Day of the Observer | Pre-order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Make friends with your inner wild child, though do so consciously. That means be aware of the implications of your actions, and stay in control. The gifts of the passionate side of your nature involve knowing what you really, truly want, without any judgmental barriers or false shame. The more thoroughly you investigate your desires, the more likely you are to find the most profound ones, those that bring meaning to the quest of existence.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

What happens to your best-laid plans when you’re facing someone with subversive or less-than-ethical behavior? Does crazy-making spur you to work harder at being equitable and balanced, or do you tend to get thrown off-kilter in your reactions? You may have an opportunity to review this dynamic today, as retrograde Pallas in Libra opposes Eris in Aries. Upping the ante — and potentially the emotional power issues — the Capricorn Moon sweeps through the aspect pattern early in the day. As it does so, it’s amplifying Pluto by conjunction, as well as the lunar nodes (which are in Capricorn and Cancer). If you consider how you’ve dealt with such people and situations in the past (or if you’ve ever been the attention-seeking chaos instigator, even unconsciously), are there other options you’re finally in a position to choose?

Keep in mind that Mercury, although now in direct apparent motion, is still slow and powerful and churning the sensitive waters of Pisces — all while conjunct Neptune, the master of illusions (and of higher love, on its better days). Continue your usual Mercury retrograde protocols for at least the next week. Writing down your rambling thoughts, unexpected insights and wildest fantasies could assist more than you’d expect in your efforts to get re-focused.
— By Amanda Painter

The Day of Innocence: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is March 28
The Day of Innocence | Pre-order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Get ready for a new phase of your life, or perhaps a change of direction. Before you take those crucial first steps, however, you’ll need to tie up some loose ends and clear some space for yourself to move more freely. Stay in the moment; proceeding thoroughly will probably get you to your goal faster than any attempt to sprint. Preparation is your friend. What you’re doing is worth the time you need to do it right.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Say a cheer: Mercury stations direct today at 9:59 am EDT (13:58:41 UTC)! Now repeat after me: I will keep checking my facts. I will continue to regard any ‘really good deals’ with skepticism, and do my research. I will reach for the phone if emails or social media get twisted up, and will try for face-to-face if phone calls aren’t getting through. These are words to live by for at least the next couple weeks, as Mercury slowly moves out of the part of Pisces where it has been retrograde, and gradually leaves the company of Neptune. If an unexpected puzzle piece comes you way today, add it to the puzzle but perhaps wait on declaring it ‘complete’. Reviewing your notes from the last three weeks could prove useful.

More than one current aspect pattern is offering a reminder to watch your boundaries. This applies both to incoming energy and outgoing energy or actions. A square between Vesta in Pisces and the Galactic Core and centaur Ixion in Sagittarius offers a reminder that when we get excited about helping, it can be harder to notice our underlying motivations. By all means, hold space where it’s needed and aim to serve the greater good; just check your ethics in the process. The idea is to act in a way that integrates lessons learned with what you offer the world. It’s not all that complex; we just are operating in a moment when all may not be as it seems — both within and without.
— By Amanda Painter

You’re Not Actually About to Float Away

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By Amanda Painter

Are you feeling like a total space cadet this week? Or maybe like you’re beaming in somebody else’s daydreams? How many times have you absentmindedly suffered a minor injury / locked yourself out / thought it was a different day? Are your efforts at sensitive, empathetic communication just not landing anywhere near your intended target (especially online conversations)?

A giant Pinocchio balloon above the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in Manhattan, probably during the 1930s. Photo by Walter Kelleher / NY Daily News Archive.

A giant Pinocchio balloon floats above the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and its many handlers in Manhattan, probably during the 1930s. Photo by Walter Kelleher / New York Daily News Archive.

Is the world an ever-morphing mix of crazy-beautiful and scary-surreal?

Okay, I’ll grant you, that last sentence has been applicable for a good three years now — or perhaps for all time. But from my perspective, all those other questions appear to have been peaking in this last week — described by Mercury traveling in apparent retrograde motion in a tight conjunction to Neptune in Pisces.

Mercury makes its direct station today at 9:59 am EDT (13:58:41 UTC). It does so (cozied up to Neptune) while making a T-square to the asteroid Juno in Gemini and Ceres in Sagittarius.

This image just came to me as I was writing that sentence: that Juno and Ceres are kind of like a couple of handlers from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, each holding a line to one of those giant cartoon-character balloons high in the air. (I know, I know: wrong season. Just bear with me.)

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