By Amanda Painter

Free at last! That is, we’re free from Mercury’s post-retrograde shadow phase as of this afternoon. If you’ve been working through the lingering reverberations of recent glitches, you should notice that easing up considerably. The timing couldn’t be better, too, as other factors in the sky are urging self-expression and action.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

The major current aspect is the Sun in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn, exact Friday at 3:33 pm EDT (19:33 UTC).

It’s possible you’re feeling this as an urge to purge: either materially, removing ‘stuff that’s always been there’ from your home or work-space and making your surroundings more beautiful or harmonious; or even more likely, in terms of behavior patterns that have long gotten in your way, including attitudes toward authority figures.

Yet there’s a third kind of ‘purging’ that might come even more easily and be just as beneficial: simply getting something off your chest that’s overdue to be put out there. Chances are you know what that thing is; if not, Pluto adds a deeply introspective tone. You may feel compelled to listen to yourself more closely as the weekend nears.

On Wednesday, Eric wrote of this aspect, “Pluto focuses the Sun, and a square represents an inner impulse or drive. This is about independent self-expression. Independent means not dependent on the permission of others. You are the one who must give yourself consent to be who you are, and to express your soul’s intentions. This is your journey.”

I would add that the fact that this is your journey means you have more influence over how self-expression happens than you might like to imagine some days. It’s easy to get drawn into fantasies of big, dramatic displays of ‘telling your truth’ to someone in authority, especially if you’re the type to shy away from that in actual reality. As the inner tension of a square builds, sometimes the image of really letting things rip feels cathartic, satisfying or downright justified.

Sometimes it is. The vast majority of the time, however, it’s not truly necessary. What’s more, it can inflict collateral damage, both to yourself and to important relationships.

A simultaneous square (which was exact on Wednesday) underscores this idea. Mars in Capricorn is square Jupiter in Libra. All squares are about action, but Mars-Jupiter in cardinal signs is pushing the ‘Do it now!’ button particularly clearly. This can be an ambitious aspect, so remember: a little will go a long way. And working for the sake of doing good work beautifully — as opposed to doing it for the glory — will be rewarded.

Eric’s new class, It’s All In the Houses, will be held on Oct. 8. Discover the key to truly understanding a chart. You may sign up here.

Luckily Libra is a strong factor right now. The Sun and Jupiter are there, and Mercury arrives on Friday at 3:55 am EDT (7:55 UTC), about twelve and a half hours before Sun-Pluto is exact.

Mercury in Libra can sometimes be an indecisive placement; but Saturn’s ‘exalted’ influence over Libra adds some stabilization to the mental environment, even though Saturn is over in Sagittarius currently.

Let’s not forget Libra’s desire for harmony and fairness. It was recently pointed out to me that the shadow expression of Libra can manifest as manipulative, controlling or secretive tendencies, thanks to placing too much importance on superficial harmony and making situations ‘look good’ — that is, avoiding at all costs the friction or confrontation that can come with honesty. But without going to that extreme, the harmony-and-fairness urge can guide you quite well.

Think of it this way: there’s a huge difference between yelling and slamming doors to make your point, and pretending everything is okay while going behind someone’s back. In the middle there’s a sizable swath of terrain where you can experiment with genuine, independently driven, soul-level self-expression that respects your desires, respects anyone to whom you might direct this expression, and also respects your other relationships and shared environments.

Were this the easiest option, just imagine what a different world this would be. Yet it’s also not the hardest thing to do, either. You can live your soul’s intentions and purge some karma without creating more. The first step is the choice to do so.