It was an eventful day in the sky yesterday. Jupiter resumed direct motion after having been retrograde in Virgo since Jan. 7. In the middle of its own Taurus retrograde, Mercury made news by visibly moving across the face of the Sun for the first time since 2006.

Soon after Mercury and Jupiter did their thing, the Moon came home to Cancer, the sign it rules. It arrived shortly before 1:24 pm EDT (17:23:26 UTC) yesterday. Luna will remain in its watery cardinal realm until it enters Leo shortly before 5:32 pm (21:31:52 UTC) late tomorrow.

You may have felt a difference after the Moon entered its dominion yesterday. That’s because both the Moon and the sign Cancer, perhaps foremost among their other symbolism, represent feelings

You also might want to take yesterday’s feelings into account today. Specifically, it would be a good idea to consider how you felt (and possibly continue to feel) in the context of what seems to be the operative prefix at this time: “re-.”

Words that begin with the prefix “re-” typically come up repeatedly during periods distinguished by the quantity and/or quality of retrogrades — like now. Even though Jupiter is progressing forward again, four other sign-ruling planets continue to regress back through their respective signs: Mercury (in Taurus), Mars (currently in Sagittarius, but on its way back to Scorpio), Saturn (also in Sagittarius) and Pluto (in Capricorn). That’s no small thing, nor is it at all common.

In spite of beginning with the same two letters, not all of the many words with the “re-” prefix mean the same thing. There are some striking contrasts among them. Perhaps the most important distinction for you to reflect on at this time, however, is more subtle: the implicit differences commonly assumed between two words that could reasonably be considered synonyms: “reaction” and “response.”

Maybe it all started with common use of the term “equal and opposite reaction” as part of describing Sir Issac Newton’s third law of motion. Also, consider how the phrase “chemical reaction” is common, whereas the term “chemical response” is less often used — and would probably carry a far different meaning if it were. The list of such examples could easily go on and on, but you get the drift.  

Whether it’s proverbially cricket or not, common use of the word “reaction” usually implies something automatic and without reasoning far more often than the word “response” does. Given the aforementioned context of the astrology today (and actually, for the remainder of this week), it would be worthwhile for you to think about whether (and to what extent) such relatively arbitrary distinctions are less than helpful when it comes to what might be the most important “re-” word of all: relationship. After all, uncommon times often require an uncommon approach to make the most of their potential.

Perhaps what you perceive as somebody’s emotional reaction is actually a reasoned response from their point of view. Maybe you have had occasion to be misinterpreted in kind. No matter which way the words flow, no relationship is helped when one party perceives a lack of reason or thought while the other side feels a recriminating dearth of sympathy and compassion.

So use your words carefully today. Instead of assuming something derogatory of another person, ask for information that would allow you to put yourself in their place, and better understand how they feel. Additionally, make an extra special effort to be clear with and about yourself and your own feelings. That way, you can help the world experience this uncommon period of many planet retrogrades at once as the time of rewarding recuperation, renewal, refreshment and restoration it has the potential to be.

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