Saturn Direct Brings Us Into a Period of Structural Transition

Saturn is currently grinding to a halt in the zodiac as it prepares to station direct at 9 degrees Sagittarius on August 13 (2:50 a.m. PDT).

Saturn slowing to a crawl can bring up our "Saturn lessons" in a concentrated way. We may experience temporarily heightened bouts of fear, frustration, depression, self-doubt, and insecurity (especially financial), as well as feelings of inadequacy or inferiority. All the fun stuff. We may also become aware of areas where we need to get stronger.

Saturn stations can weigh us down a bit, making responsibilities seem heavier and more difficult than they may ordinarily seem. We may feel a little trapped within the walls of our own lives, particularly in the areas related to the house where transiting Saturn is stationing in the natal chart. It may seem that progress has stopped entirely - and for a short period of time, it pretty much has!

But as Saturn shifts forward again August 13 and slowly regains speed direct throughout the rest of the month, we also get a feeling that the show is once again on the road. We've had a period of inner restructuring and sober second thought throughout the retrograde (March 25 - August 13, 2016) and are preparing to once again dig in and make some concrete progress.

After action planet Mars forms its conjunction to Saturn at 9 degrees Sagittarius on August 24, we are officially on our way. We're freer to make decisions and commitments that launch us on a new trajectory.

There may be a feeling of the torch being passed from older members of the planet (Saturn) to younger members (Mars). Or in the best case scenarios, there are new collaborations coming among the older and more experienced and the younger and more energetic.

We're all struggling out of the tail-end dregs of the astrological Piscean era together, friends.


This is an excerpt from the patron article, "Saturn Direct Brings Us Into a Period of Structural Transition." It is available in its entirety to Willow's Web Astrology patrons, or it can be purchased for $6.25 by PayPal or email money transfer. 

Uranian Guerilla Warfare to Combat Pluto in Capricorn Economic Violence

Revolutionary rabble-rouser planet Uranus is almost stopped in the zodiac, preparing for a retrograde station July 29 (2:07 p.m. PDT) at 24 degrees Aries. This retrograde period will last until December 29 when Uranus will once again go direct at 20 degrees Aries, bringing it to within 3 degrees of an exact square to Pluto in Capricorn in early 2017.

That will be the closest Uranus and Pluto get to another exact square.

The series of seven exact squares between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn (2012 - 2015) officially came to an end in March 2015.

So we are now post-Uranus-Pluto square series (as well as post-slow-motion-apocalypse in some pretty fundamental ways), and continued survival of the intentionally-created economic violence of the Pluto in Capricorn years requires some wily and radical guerilla techniques.

With Uranus in Aries, we have to take matters into our own hands. 

Since Pluto first entered Capricorn in 2008, inflation has been absolutely scorching. Rents and real estate prices are mind-bogglingly high in many areas, even for the simplest and most basic of dwellings. Wide-scale gentrification (the Pluto in Capricorn bulldozer) has pushed independent businesses and organizations out of long-term homes, including my own beloved Art of My Heart in Calgary, Alberta in 2009, while gentrification in residential areas has forced long-term tenants to migrate out of beloved neighbourhoods, breaking down the fabric of local societies that have existed for decades or even a century.

Food prices are sob-worthy. Utility prices are cringe-worthy. And a lot of work is drying up as we shift into a "new economy" with next-to-no human-centred leadership within the crystallized, old-era positions of power still being clung to by the dinosaurs (aliens?) on this planet.

We have a money system that works against most human beings, rather than for them, and this creates soul-erosion, wasted energy, and degrading economic violence.

So we're all looking to shave the budget down a little these days, to say the least. It's pretty much a necessity for most people. This is not to say that we should not spend money if we have it to spend - especially locally. This is what keeps people in work and businesses functioning! But a few cost-saving tips certainly can't hurt considering the current circumstances.

With Pluto in Capricorn's dispositor Saturn (institutions) stationing direct in Sagittarius (knowledge, books) on August 13, one of the easiest and best ways to save money on entertainment and intellectual stimulation is by utilizing public libraries.

Libraries seem to have gone out of favour to a great extent in the days of social media saturation, YouTube, Netflix, and Kindle. But I'm here to remind you of the absolute fabulousness of the public library! I can only speak for the Canadian library system, but they are a vast (and free) resource, as well as a desperately needed public gathering place, a solid fulcrum for local culture.

Libraries have heaps of books on every imaginable subject - and if your local library doesn't have a title you're looking for, it can often bring it in from another library.

Willow at the Farmers Market

Photos: Willow

A tablecloth over a U-Haul box.

AKA "Boho Style"

(The "tablecloth" is actually a shower curtain I got at a garage sale for 25 cents. heehee)

A close-up of the wares

You can check out the available earth gems at the Weeping Willow Designs blog. 

Or perhaps you are hankering after some affordable prairie anarchist stylings. In that case, there is Renegade Heifer Photography, offering surprising snatches of beauty from the prairie landscape and beyond. Please contact me at willowsweb [at] hushmail.com for more information.

Meditative Movements and Resurrection Out of Stillness

Photo: Willow

Action planet Mars is creeping-crawling back up to full speed direct, pushing through the bramble bushes, booby traps, and energy drains of late Scorpio. The next couple weeks require the utmost caution and thoughtfulness on our parts as we carefully pick through this territory. Our movements are thick with karmic recoil now, as mighty malefic Mars moves through this quite loaded area of the astrological zodiac.  

From a previous article:

"During Mars' dip back into Scorpio, we will move back over the emotional, psychological, and energetic wakes of past actions/trajectories while also becoming aware of areas of emotional or energetic over-extension."

With Mars now moving direct, we have officially entered a new two-year cycle related to goals, personal direction, desires, sex life, and mergers of resources and/or energy. Contemplating what we would like to accomplish over the next two years, as well as coming up with some basic ideas as far as how we might get there, is a good exercise at the moment.

We can also sense at this time - if we get very quiet and very still for a moment - the directions, goals, driving desires, and relationship dynamics that have now run their course. 

With the degrees of late Scorpio involved, colouring our trajectories for the next two years of life, there is only so much energy to go around. In order to be our most effective, potent, and ultimately successful selves, we must allow some things to come to their organic end, re-investing our energy in what naturally resurrects itself out of those endings. 



This is an excerpt from the article, "Meditative Movements and Resurrection Out of Stillness." It is available in its entirety to Willow's Web Astrology patrons.

Venus and Mercury in Leo Put Our Hearts in Motion

 Photo: Willow

Things are about to get a whole lot hotter this summer as both Venus and Mercury enter fire sign Leo in the near future. 

Love, money, and relationship planet Venus enters creative and heart-centred Leo on July 11 (10:34 p.m. PDT) for a transit that lasts until August 5.

Communication and intelligence planet Mercury follows hot on Venus' heels, entering the colourful leonine sign on July 13 (5:47 p.m.) for a transit that lasts until July 30.

Venus and Mercury will come together in a passionate embrace (erm, conjunction) at 5 degrees Leo on July 16 (2:59 p.m.), indicating a point when our hearts and minds are one.

Love is on our minds - whom we love, what we love, how we can create more love in this world - and we are communicating straight from the heart at this time. This Venus-Mercury mash-up puts hearts in motion. We are willing to travel to the people and places we love most, and we are willing to express ourselves in creative, romantic, and heartfelt ways.

We may be a little bashful about sharing what's in our hearts, about putting it on display or putting it in someone's ears, but now is the time to draw on the courage of the lion and share the beauty and bounty of our heart-deep feelings and creations. They're about to burst into bloom!



This is an excerpt from the article, "Venus and Mercury in Leo Put Our Hearts in Motion." It is available in its entirety to Willow's Web Astrology patrons. 

If you regularly find Willow's Web Astrology blog helpful, consider becoming a patron. Patrons receive full articles to their email inboxes that appear only as excerpts on the blog. 

Venus Opposite Pluto And a Clearing of Relationship Deadfall Ahead of New Growth

Photos: Willow

Just as stationing Mars sets its sights on forward motion, love, money, and relationship planet Venus in Cancer opposes Lord of the Underworld Pluto in Capricorn, exact on June 30 (8:31 p.m. PDT).

From there, Venus continues to a frictional-but-dynamic square to revolutionary Uranus in Aries on July 7 (7:25 a.m.).

Venus rubbing up against the (now loosened) Uranus-Pluto square, just as action planet Mars regains forward-ho motion in Scorpio, really hammers home the "endings before beginnings" theme and indicates that, in many respects, there's no going home again (Cancer).

As Mars goes direct in a sign of thick karma (Scorpio), there can be no circling back to old comfort zones, old hidey holes, or old, familiar patterns.

Or at the very least, there can be no circling back without major karmic repercussions.

We must consciously pick our way through old fears and old draws as we choose something different, something lighter, something fresher, something freer. No one can draw us back into the old yuck but us. No one can take us back to the stuck places without our permission - given consciously or unconsciously. 

From a previous article:

"New life and new energy are coming as we close out this month of June. Certain areas are being resurrected. True feelings and desires are being revealed. And Mars is stirring the pot in ways that the pot desperately needs to be stirred.

 Mars is now stationing direct in quincunx aspect to Uranus and Ceres in Aries, indicating that it may be quite radical and/or shocking breaks from previous trajectories that are nourishing and validating to us now. We're busting out in new ways over the next two years, based on who we are and what we desire now, while also resolving some long-standing and very sticky karmic issues.

The next two years won't always be pretty. In fact, some of it will be pretty raw! But there is no energy in the same old karmic set-ups. There is no life in the holding patterns.

We're moving to where the life is, to where the energy is, to where the inspiration lies.

And with this martial quincunx energy carried forward for the next two years, there is not much that can stand in our way..."

Venus in Cancer opposite Pluto in Capricorn at the time of the Mars direct station indicates a necessity to move beyond old comfort zones, especially relating/relationship comfort zones, lest we get sucked into one of those energy-less holding patterns again. 

Our fears (Pluto) are being stirred at the moment around relationships and money (Venus). The fear that we can't make it on our own is particularly inflamed, tempting us to latch on to whatever and whomever we find handy. 

Certain people and scenarios are in the process of leaving our lives now. Other relationships are simply morphing, changing form. 

Regardless of the situation and regardless of how tempting it is, though, latching on is not going to be successful.

These aspects indicate that the cauldron must be completely up-ended now, completely drained of unsatisfactory dynamics, so that the new life and new directions can get off on the right foot, with the best shot at developing and growing in a sustaining way over time.

The Venus-Pluto opposition at the time of the Mars direct station is a burning away of deadfall in relationships of all kinds. 

There is a requirement at this time to get out of reach of old obsessions, detrimental attractions, and moth-to-flame scenarios, especially as they relate to love, sex, relationships, and the social scene.

Our weaknesses and vulnerabilities are being preyed upon a little at the moment. Our resolve is being tested as far as "not going back" to what's familiar yet enervating.

With intelligence planet Mercury transiting Cancer as of June 29 (4:24 p.m.), we're gaining new perspective on our classic anxieties and fears and how those things tend to keep us stuck in the same holding patterns.

We experience a New Moon on July 4 (4:01 a.m.), as the Sun and Moon come together at 12 degrees Cancer, also opposite Pluto in Capricorn. Coming out of this New Moon, we have to put new emotional anchors to work.

Venus will move on from the opposition to Pluto in Capricorn, forming a square to rock-and-roll Uranus in Aries, exact on July 7 (7:25 a.m.), that propels us beyond the Plutonic fears. This square indicates a requirement to employ new ways of relating, perhaps even ways that would be considered out of character in some respect. 

Under the energy of this Venus-Uranus square, we have to surprise even ourselves by flipping the bird to old fears, insecurities, and anxieties, especially as they relate to other people, relationships, and the social scene, in general.

Both Mercury and the Sun in Cancer will oppose Pluto in Capricorn on July 7, as well, just as Venus squares Uranus in Aries. 

If you find yourself in a "broken record" scenario with old anxieties acting up, choose a different and more active path through it this time. 

If a certain situation would generally bum you out, concern you, depress you, or otherwise disturb your emotional calm, choose not to dwell on it this time. Don't weigh yourself down in a lead blanket of your own emotion - a Cancerian tendency. Drive yourself into different territory, maybe radically different territory, and don't look back. 

Surprise and thrill yourself with your own white-hot independent streak, with your own wiliness, ingenuity, and ability to successfully handle anything the universe throws your way.

Mars Direct! An Unearthing of Previous Articles to Fortify Our New Directions

Well, our boy Mars is just about to go direct at 23 degrees Scorpio on June 29 (4:39 p.m. PDT), initiating a new two-year cycle related to goals, personal direction and trajectory, desires, physical energy, and...sex!

I'm offering a couple older articles here so that interested parties can have this perspective fresh in their minds as they move forward, along with Mars. 

Astrology is like fine wine or an expertly-crafted violin - it often improves with time. The astrological information often makes more sense and gives clarified perspective with a little distance on it. So in light of that, I offer these articles as Mars completes its retrograde period and begins moving forward again through the zodiac.

Please note: Willow's Web Astrology patrons have already received these articles. They were also previously available for purchase on the blog, so some non-patrons may have already purchased them, as well. Please check your email box before purchasing. 

The first article was released February 12, 2016 and is titled, "Mars Retrograde 2016: a Re-Direction of Passions" - $9.50

The second article was released March 19, 2016 and talks about the Saturn retrograde in Sagittarius. This article is called "Entering a Period of Beneficial Restructuring" - $6.50

These articles can be purchased via PayPal by clicking the links above or by email money transfer to: willowsweb [at] hushmail.com.

You may recall that action planet Mars stationed retrograde April 17, 2016 in conjunction to taskmaster Saturn, drawing the energy of that conjunction into the retrograde process and into our next two years on Planet Earth.

Mars and Saturn will finally make their exact conjunction on August 24 at 9 degrees Sagittarius, indicating a check-in point as far as our personal trajectories, goals, and physical mojo are concerned. New directions, goals, and desires should be solidified or shored up in some way around that time.

New life and new energy are coming as we close out this month of June. Certain areas are being resurrected. True feelings and desires are being revealed. And Mars is stirring the pot in ways that the pot desperately needs to be stirred

Mars is now stationing direct in quincunx aspect to Uranus and Ceres in Aries, indicating that it may be quite radical and/or shocking breaks from previous trajectories that are nourishing and validating to us now. We're busting out in new ways over the next two years, based on who we are and what we desire now, while also resolving some long-standing and very sticky karmic issues.

The next two years won't always be pretty. In fact, some of it will be pretty raw! But there is no energy in the same old karmic set-ups. There is no life in the holding patterns.

We're moving to where the life is, to where the energy is, to where the inspiration lies. 

And with this martial quincunx energy carried forward for the next two years, there is not much that can stand in our way...

Some Scorpionic Guidance From the Vault

Mars is slowing to a crawl at 23 degrees Scorpio, preparing for a direct station June 29. 

Many of the issues that were on our plates during Saturn's transit of Scorpio (2012 - 2015) are now being stirred up, inflamed, and otherwise activated by the action-and-war planet, Mars.

For a refresher on the hidden context and some guidance on how to deal with a malefic planet in big, bad Scorpio, consider purchasing my Saturn in Scorpio article, first published in 2012. The themes are highly applicable to this period of time and will carry forward to some extent for the next two years. (Please note: many of the patrons will already have this article.)

Saturn in Scorpio - $10

 

I also have a more recent patron article available on the subject, released to patrons May 26, 2016:

Mars Retrograde In Late Scorpio: A Call to Action From the Deepest Reaches of the Soul - $5.75

 

If you regularly find this blog valuable, consider becoming a Willow's Web Astrology patron. Patrons receive full articles to their email inboxes that appear only as excerpts on the blog. Patrons also receive other random goodies and the odd contest offer throughout the year. 

New Views

Photos: Willow

Saturn Rx in Sagittarius is square Neptune Rx in Pisces, and recovery from disappointment may seem like a full-time job at the moment.

This aspect can have a wet blanket effect with challenges related to disillusionment, crushed dreams, unmet ideals, and a general wishing for things to be different in our material reality on Planet Earth.

Saturn square Neptune indicates some tension between what we had hoped for and what we got. It's harder than we thought it would be - especially for those of a particular sensitivity and/or spiritual orientation - and this square really drives that point home.

The general state of Planet Earth brings this particular theme up quite regularly, but the vastness and seeming immovability of our problems may seem heightened under this square.

The growth work here, in part, is to accept the weight of things, the reality of things, and the (at times) disappointing flavour of things while continuing to work toward the things that inspire us.

Saturn indicates restriction, and with Saturn moving retrograde (even more restriction) in Sagittarius, we can work with even the tiniest morsels of inspiration now, the narrowest avenues for improvement. What matters is that when we get knocked down, we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and keep striving for something better. (After a few moments of wallowing in self-pity, sure...)

Just keep working at it. That's a Saturn lesson. We have to be gritty to get through these times. Our ancestors didn't carry us this far just to have us give up.

The indicator is that the things we're working on now (and the things that are dropping our hearts into the dirt now) will continue to be challenges - at least to a certain extent - through the summer of 2016, from June solstice to September equinox. Saturn will pull into a direct station at 9 degrees Sagittarius on August 13, still within square aspect to Neptune Rx in Pisces. The taskmaster planet will then form the final exact square to Neptune in Pisces on September 10.

Again, just keep working at it, and over time, by equinox, the things that seem like huge challenges now will seem less of a burden. Gear down a bit for a longer haul, and accept your challenges (Saturn) as meaningful. They are meaningful - every last pesky one of them. Growth aspects aren't the most fun, to be sure, but this one involves spiritual growth and validation that can ultimately lift us up and out.

This solstice (June 20) has some inspirational moments and also some fairly intense challenges wrapped up in it, and we may flip between one and the other fairly rapidly. (For added entertainment, clock your mood swings! "Wow, things are going great!" "Ugh, what is the point of continuing on this planet anymore?")

Mercury in Gemini will be activating the mutable Grand Cross formation with Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn Rx in Sagittarius, and Neptune Rx in Pisces from June 20 to 22, indicating that mood swings and changes in perspective will be in high gear. This is a re-activation of the themes written about in the May 20, 2016 article, "Mutable Madness!"

These aspects indicate that we're all feeling a little disheartened, a little weighed down, and a little confused at the moment. A little encouragement goes a long way - both encouraging ourselves and encouraging others. This encouragement helps us to eke forward, no matter what circumstances we may be facing, at this Full Moon solstice, as the Moon grows full on the anaretic degree of Sagittarius (June 20).

Happy Solstice, friends! It looks to be a busy, busy, busy one. Keep paddling.

Snip, Snip! Severing Ties to Toxic Communication Dynamics with the Sun-Venus in Gemini Quincunx Mars Rx in Scorpio

After forming the exterior conjunction at 16 degrees Gemini on June 6, the Sun and Venus have continued into the last decan of Gemini and will travel in close conjunction until the end of June.

Gemini is known as a highly-communicative sign, indicating a need for a certain degree of social circulation, connection, communication, information exchange, and maybe even a juicy bit of gossip here and there. Gemini likes to be in the thick of it. It likes to know what's going on. It likes to stay busy - including (at times) with the business of others!

However, the Sun and Venus in Gemini are also closing in on 150-degree quincunx aspects to Mars retrograde in Scorpio. Quincunxes are fairly awkward aspects involving two signs that are of entirely different orientation.

In this case, we have light-hearted, chatty, and highly-changeable Gemini interacting with deep, brooding, steely-eyed Scorpio. Gemini will pretty much talk about anything, any time, any place. Scorpio is much more private, reserving its true thoughts and opinions for a trusted few. While words flow freely and plentifully from Gemini, ruled by winged messenger planet Mercury, Scorpio takes more time to digest the information, the tone, and the feel of every word that comes its way, turning things over and over until it has drawn out every last bit of meaning and perspective.

Scorpio can be utterly horrified by Gemini's loose lips, just as Gemini can roll its eyes in annoyance at Scorpio's reticence and need for ultimate control.

Gemini is a sign that doesn't like to get too deep. Scorpio is a sign that inhabits the deep, dark depths most all of the time.

Gemini likes light, airy, chit-chatty. It likes unfettered movement from topic-to-topic, conversation-to-conversation, project-to-project. Scorpio would call all that "phony," "flaky," "flighty," and "non-committal."

A great deal of adjustment is required in order to successfully navigate this type of aspect at the best of times, and here we are dealing with a quincunx involving an angry, frustrated, retrograde Mars placement in highly-karmic late Scorpio.

The dueling orientations indicated by these quincunx aspects are potentially inflammatory, to say the least.

Because we are in Gemini season, the Gemini themes are fairly dominant at the moment. But because we have this quincunx to Mars Rx in Scorpio, the chit-chat and social flow are not as innocuous as they may seem at the surface level. There is an underlying subtext building here - even as Gemini tries to avoid it with charm and glib conversation.

Every tone, every opinion, every word exchanged is being absorbed, felt out, and examined by Scorpio.

There's only so much of that "glossing over" bullshit that Mars Rx in Scorpio can stomach.

As the quincunx between the Sun-Venus in Gemini and Mars Rx in Scorpio tightens, we reach our tolerance point. This means, certain conversational flow will have to be cut off. Certain avenues of communication will have to be shut down. Toxic communication patterns will have to be severed. And we may need to lay this out in no uncertain terms.

If you find yourself feeling like crap after interacting with someone - even when talking about seemingly mundane things - it may be time to eliminate (or limit) communication with that person.

If you find yourself feeling used, anxious, unsettled, manipulated, or unsatisfied after interacting with someone, it may be time to get out of that person's reach.

There is an addictive quality to communication that is very prevalent these days with social media and cell phones omnipresent. This addictive quality - the charge we get from constant stimulation and communication - must also be addressed under these Gemini-Scorpio quincunxes.

The Sun-Venus in Gemini quincunxes to Mars Rx in Scorpio are exact June 13 - 14.

Mercury in Gemini will activate the quincunx to Mars Rx yet again on June 26, just as Mars stations direct (June 29), making the aspect very, very potent.

There are some mind games indicated with all this Gemini-Scorpio awkwardness, and it may be difficult to pinpoint exactly what is going on. But you can trust your gut. You can trust how you feel, deep down. You can trust how a person's words or tone make you feel, even when they are friendly and innocuous enough at the surface level.

When Mars Rx in Scorpio urges you to pull the trigger...pull the trigger. (Metaphorically-speaking only, of course.)

Hexagon Issue #3 is Hot Off the Presses!

As mentioned in my recent "Mutable Madness" article, the third issue of Hexagon Astrology Magazine has just come out under the Sun-Venus exterior conjunction in Gemini.

This conjunction of the Sun with the Lesser Benefic planet in the sign of magazines was exact June 6 at 16 degrees and is still strongly in effect.

The Sun and Venus in Gemini are also activating a mutable Grand Cross formation with Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn Rx in Sagittarius, and Neptune in Pisces. (At solstice, Mercury in Gemini will pick up where the Sun and Venus left off...)

This Sun-Venus conjunction in Gemini has ties to the Venus Transits of June 2012 and June 2004, indicating a fairly massive scope with some beautiful and divinely-inspired threads being woven together at this time. In many cases, the connections being made and the information being exchanged now will have ripple effects for decades to come.

As part of this, the third issue of Hexagon Astrology Magazine is hot off the presses, available at Barnes & Nobles bookstores in the U.S., as well as online.

Hexagon has woven together a new social web within the astrological scene, creating interesting new connections and bringing together a diverse and intelligent group of astrologers and readers, showcasing perspectives one would not necessarily find in any other publication. (Definitely not in the case of your anarchist astro-reporter...) A very good informational interchange, indeed.

I have two articles appearing in this issue of Hexagon, one on the astrology of the punk movement and one on iatrogenic (doctor-caused) illnesses, Big Pharma, and the development of the Plutonic Sociological Imagination (PSI). There are many other rich, powerful, and entertaining articles within Hexagon 3's pages, as well as some fabulous horoscopes. You can peruse the Table of Contents below:

If you'd like to purchase Hexagon online, issue #3 and/or the two back issues can be purchased here, under the 'Print Magazine' tab. Please note the different link for non-U.S. customers.

You can also purchase all three issues of Hexagon at once (pictured to the right) and save on shipping. U.S. customers can click here to purchase the Hexagon trio. Non-U.S. customers can click here.

Hexagon Astrology Magazine: www.hexagoninfulleffect.com 

Email: hexagonastrology@hushmail.com

Mercury Opposite Mars Rx: Mental Focus and Endurance are Put to the Test

Communication planet Mercury - still in Taurus - opposes trigger-happy Mars retrograde in Scorpio on June 9 at 25 degrees of the signs (exact 11:01 a.m. CST).

This opposition has some mental exhaustion wrapped up in it, as we are grinding out the final days of an extended transit of Mercury through the sign of hard work, endurance, and sustained effort. We may have to dig deep in order to come up with the energy, resources, and mental power to see this Mercury in Taurus transit through, especially in the midst of the mutable madness currently going on.

Mercury in late Taurus is a very strong influence at the moment, as we have the Sun and Venus conjunct in Mercury-ruled Gemini square Jupiter and the North Node conjunct in Mercury-ruled Virgo.

So it's important to keep our heads cool and our tones level under this potentially-stressful opposition.

The Moon in Leo is working on square aspects to both Mars in Scorpio (11:37 p.m. on June 9) and Mercury in Taurus (1:13 a.m. on June 10), indicating the potential for building emotional tension.

In addition, action planet Mars is moving backward in the zodiac in late Scorpio, creating a bit of a pressure cooker atmosphere, especially in the "subtextual realms."

Watch your tempers - everyone is a little frustrated right now, everyone is a little tired right now, everyone feels a little strung out. We're all stretched at this point. 

Mercury has been transiting the fixed sign of the bull since April 5 (including a retrograde period April 28 - May 22). This transit has provided us with some very necessary grounding, as well as a chance to gain some new perspective on our values, on the values of others, and on how those things mix or do not mix.

But at this point, with just days to go until the end of the transit, the winged messenger is finding it just a little arduous moving through such a slow-paced, solid, and materially-oriented sign.

Mercury wants to fly! But the bull has its feet fixed firmly on the ground.

Keeping our minds focused on work, money, and material concerns (Taurus) is proving even more difficult at the moment because space cadet planet Neptune is stationing retrograde (June 13 at 2:42 p.m.), bringing some multi-dimensional mind drops and surreal time warps.

Even Mercury in earthbound Taurus can have a hard time differentiating between dreams and reality, illusions and the concrete, with Neptune stationing within mutable Grand Cross formation.

The opposition to Mars retrograde in Scorpio adds one final (potentially arduous) hurdle to the Mercury transit, indicating a bit of a "fed up/at wit's end" point - but also a point where one last big push puts us over the top. Again, keep tight rein on your tones and your tempers, and progress will be had.

Mercury has already cleared its retrograde shadow (June 7), indicating some forward-ho progress and a shift related to subjects that have been cemented on our minds since April 14.

This forward-ho movement continues as Mercury enters its own sign of Gemini on June 12 (5:22 p.m.), indicating some ease (or at least some movement) related to communication, connections, transportation, information, ideas, and general mental and verbal flow.

Mercury in Gemini will then activate the mutable Grand Cross formation for solstice (June 20 - 22), forming an opposition to Saturn Rx in Sagittarius and squares to Jupiter-North Node in Virgo and Neptune Rx in Pisces. We're in "fly wide open" territory as the daylight hours reach their peak in the northern hemisphere. It's all a little too much, but I guess that is just enough to get us where we need to go.

Jupiter in Virgo will conjunct the North Node of the Moon exactly at 15 degrees Virgo at the solstice, as well, and some keys are to maintain practical function, maintain daily work and health, stay on top of the mundane details, and carve a path of order out of the chaos. Simplify, purify, and go for your preferences, dropping the bells and whistles.