"The trick has been to live in the contradictions while maintaining principles, beliefs, and purpose."

— Eve Ensler
The Vagina Monologues

The bold, pioneering spirit from last week's Aries New Moon are an important part of this week's environment. We are ready to demand as much freedom as necessary to initiate sweeping change — 'Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!". However, there are strong, contradictory cross-winds this week. The Sun-Saturn square demands that we check our plans thoroughly — check our plans and 'stay in line'. The response is likely to be, "The hell, you say!" Mercury and Venus take turns squaring the stationing Jupiter, encouraging [...]

"Everything from the little house was in the wagon, except the beds and tables and chairs. They did not need to take these, because Pa could always make new ones."

— Laura Ingalls Wilder

Mercury returns to conjunct Neptune this week. The strength and duration of the Mercury-Neptune conjunction is intensified by Mercury's station and turnaround before resuming direct motion on Thursday. The intellectual fog bank is thick, producing significant confusion but also offering the potential for powerful inspiration. Our mission over the past few weeks under the retrograde Mercury has been to review our past and jettison the baggage that has weighed us down. Once we have processed our past, we can [...]

"The past is never where you think you left it."

— Katherine Anne Porter

Last Wednesday's Pisces New Moon (6:03 AM PST 15° Pisces), occurring just as Mercury turned retrograde, set us off on a review of our past — our past successes, our past failures, and our past experiences in general. We may even find ourselves looking back into our ancestral past for some relevant clues about our current situations and challenges. The potential for confusion is significant and we may find ourselves battling shadows — ghosts of regret and lost opportunities. In essence, we are struggling to free ourselves from [...]