By Amanda Painter

Have you noticed anything going particularly awry, or any near misses that got your attention in the last couple days or so? I’m especially referring to anything that involves communication, travel, your electronic devices or even interactions that have involved your body (and your responses to it).

Juniper-branch heart at Prout’s Neck, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Mercury stations retrograde in Taurus today, April 28, at about 1:20 pm EDT (17:20 UTC). It will remain in apparent retrograde motion until May 22.

This means we’ve been in the ‘storm’ phase these last few days (and will be for a couple more); this is the phase of time around a planetary station when things can feel especially tricky. You might have already gotten clues about some themes and dynamics this Mercury retrograde will be asking you to review.

Mercury in Taurus emphasizes the body-mind connection, including the information you receive about your own state of mind (and emotions) through your senses, thanks to Taurus being ruled by Venus. And as luck would have it, Venus itself will join Mercury, the Sun and asteroid Vesta in Taurus Friday night, just before 8:36 pm EDT (00:36 UTC Saturday).

Venus in Taurus amplifies the conduit between your physical or sensual responses and your emotions; with Mercury there, the nexus includes your thought processes. And since Mercury is retrograde, that implies you might be more attuned to how these connections and influences between mind, body and emotions tend to work within you.

Mercury retrograde is also a review phase; in this case, possibly a review of your physical/emotional (or psychosomatic) habits. But Taurus and Mercury both relate to money as well. So watch for themes around financial habits and material acquisitions over the next three weeks.

Venus and Mercury in Taurus also offer a creative or aesthetic influence. In fact, one reading of the minor planet that Venus aspects immediately upon ingressing Taurus (asteroid Pallas in Pisces) suggests that if you have an art project in the works, it’s time to work your plan. Or, perhaps more accurately, feel your plan and let the beauty flow through you physically and emotionally.

Moving into the early part of next week, I see another set of questions arising as Venus aspects a couple other minor planets: If you encounter issues around jealousy, status or getting your needs met, what’s your strategy for dealing with your emotions and taking responsibility for expressing how you feel? Can you allow yourself to receive the love and recognition that is available to you, without perpetuating negative patterns to ‘get’ it, such as by making demands from a place of possessiveness and insecurity?

Overall, Mercury is suggesting (with the help of Venus, Vesta and Chiron) that you get creative, get physical, get grounded and also open up to the erotic fire within you — along with the emotions it generates — with an eye toward healing something from the past.

I realize this is painful territory for some, and exciting for others. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, I’d offer that we all could use some sexual healing to varying degrees, and sometimes that means getting therapeutic help or intentionally creating a similarly safe, supportive container.

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Mercury is guiding you to review how your physical sensations, erotic flame and emotions intertwine. You might also notice a tendency to sacrifice one of those elements. More than that, Mercury may remind you of the beautiful ways you’ve already experienced healing there.

In the meantime, your Mercury retrograde protocol includes backing up your computer, taking your time to focus and noticing when you’re not (especially in transit or when handling sensitive communication), holding off on major purchases and contracts, and not jumping to fix things that might not truly be broken.

Also consider what you’ve learned from tangible experiences and travel — including simply what you notice about your body as you move from one position to another. How do you feel about how it feels?

If your answer to that is, “Not good,” what do you need to do to feel better? Astrology never points to a problem without also offering a solution. The messages of your body and emotions hold a similar key, if you’re willing to listen. In fact, you may just find reason to celebrate your body and its sensations as we head into May.