"The barriers are not erected which can say to aspiring talents and industry, 'Thus far and no farther.'"

—Ludwig van Beethoven

There are striking and unexpected shifts quietly unfolding this week as we approach the stationing of Mercury to go direct. Venus has been in 'mutual reception' with the retrograding Mercury and the important connection between the two planets has helped to alleviate some of the stubbornness and 'stalled thinking' sometimes associated with Mercury in Taurus. Venus breaks the mutual reception 'connection' at the beginning of this week when she leaves 'vivacious' Gemini and moves into the demure and compassionate sign of Cancer. The initial effect of Venus in Cancer [...]

"Everyone knows that the yielding overcomes the stiff,
and the soft overcomes the hard.
Yet no one applies this knowledge."

—Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

As we ride the wave of last Wednesday's Aries New Moon (9:12 PM PDT 29° Aries), themes of stabilization and security are drawing a great deal of our focus. In some way or another, we can see the need to plan our course in a way that lays a foundation that is stable and secure. However, we may feel such a strong emotional imperative to feel secure that there is a significant potential for irrational responses. We may find ourselves focused entirely on amassing or even hoarding resources, instead of methodically assessing what resources are already at our disposal. As well, we run the risk of becoming too rigid in our individual determination to lay out a plan and follow through on it, while missing the opportunity to [...]

"What makes a freethinker is not his beliefs but the way in which he holds them. ... if he holds them because, after careful thought he finds a balance of evidence in their favor, then his thought is free, however odd his conclusions may seem."

— Bertrand Russell

It isn't easy to gain our footing this week. In a sense, we have come through the 'birth canal' into a brand new reality. There are any number of intriguing, new, 'shiny bits' that draw our attention. We seem to be somewhat torn between wanting to explore our new surroundings, test the boundaries, but also look for ways to establish a new, reliable sense of security within this new environment. The Sun-Jupiter conjunction on Tuesday expands optimism and produces the courage to explore some 'New Horizons'. However, Mercury is slowing down to turn retrograde (April 21 - May 14) in [...]