Mercury-Neptune Conjunction

Mercury-Neptune Conjunction - New Inspiration

"The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at."

— Jesse Owens

Mars, Mercury, and Venus are all now direct. Each planet crossed a Water/Fire cusp during their retrograde motion — Mars from Leo back into Cancer, Venus and Mercury from Aries back into Pisces. Mercury is the first to cross back from the 'Water element' into the 'Fire element'. Mercury's ingress back into Aries on Wednesday hits Neptune's fog bank, suggesting both idealism and confusion. The Mercury-Neptune conjunction occurs on the first degree of the Zodiac, suggesting a great deal of inspiration aimed at making a New Beginning. However, there is little clarity or tangible action that accompanies the idea of a New Beginning. Notably, Mars also gets to the 'Water/Fire' threshold this week, arriving in Leo on Thursday. So Mars will trine Neptune on Saturday, following up on the Mercury-Neptune conjunction. We might hope that this can bring some creative inspiration that will actually get us moving. However, the asteroid Juno is also riding a 'Water/Fire' cusp as it retrogrades back from Sagittarius (Fire) into Scorpio (Water). Essentially, this creates an out-of-sign Grand Trine, which we also might hope could bring some kind of help to navigate these shifts with tangible action. However, what we are far more likely to find this week is confusion, suspicion and probably even some troubling subterfuge. Juno's connection in this context creates sharp edges with more grievance than graciousness and inspiration. With the return of Mars into Leo, we begin to approach the 3rd of 3 Mars-Pluto oppositions — a standoff between 'Big Power' and individual, personal power — which will complete on April 26th ahead of the Taurus New Moon (12:30 PM PDT 7° Taurus) on April 27th. Individual rights and personal will-power take on new levels of importance. With all planets now direct, our perspectives have finally begun to stabilize. Nonetheless, the broader landscape — the ground beneath our feet — continues to shift. By the end of the week, the Sun's arrival in Taurus seems to encourage us to 'draw lines in the sand'. The Sun in Taurus will form squares to Mars and Pluto next week, producing significant obstacles but increasing the determination to hold the line. The Mars-Neptune trine at the end of the week, with Mars under the rulership of the Taurus Sun, does offer some extra determination. With the return of Mercury and Mars into action oriented Fire signs (Venus gets back to Aries on April 30th), we will doubtless begin to find ways to take the sort of tangible action that we struggle to engage in this week. However, the most we should expect this week is the establishment of 'battle lines' and the determination to hold those lines as we look for ways to make 'actual forward progress' — find the hope for 'Spring Growth' — that we have been trying to stabilize since last month's Spring Equinox.

Emotional intensity powers a fierce determination on Sunday. Discomfort seems to be the the main motivator, though, and that isn't necessarily enough for us to make substantial progress. We see a great deal of subterfuge on Monday. In isn't easy to see where the activity is taking us. Activity seems to heat up on Tuesday but figuring out exactly 'which way to go' continues to be fraught with confusion and suspicion. Basically, the environment seems to feel so unfamiliar that there aren't any recognizable 'landmarks' to help us get our bearings. There is a distinct feeling that we have reached some sort of 'New Beginning' on Wednesday. We can begin to form an intellectual framework for definitive change. Any optimism on Thursday represents a significant 'misreading' of the situation. Individual rights and personal will-power take on new levels of importance. Moody indecisiveness dominates the atmosphere on Friday. Stubborn obstacles keep us from finding efficient routes to tangible action. We're ready to draw a 'line in the sand' on Saturday in order to set ourselves up to display our individual will. It is clear that we are intent on firming up 'battle lines' and show our individual resolve.