Mercury Opposing Jupiter

Mercury Opposing Jupiter - Mountains out of Molehills

"I can think. I can wait. I can fast.'"

— Herman Hesse, Siddhartha

There is a general feeling of frustration this week as the Moon wanes in light and the retrograde Mercury opposing Jupiter keeps us off balance. Many things do not turn out as we have planned. We are being asked to adjust and adapt (re-balance) but the slowing Mars in Gemini keeps tempting us to 'hit the gas' before we really have any idea where we're going. Mars won't turn retrograde until October 30th but it's pace is slowing already, which is keeping us from effectively articulating and implementing a plan or vision for our future. The waning Saturn-Uranus square begins to revive some of the slowdown effects that we were dealing with all year last year. Saturn's retrograde motion brings the square back to within one degree of orb this week. The pressure of that square will increase until Saturn turns direct on October 22nd and only slowly begin to dissipate throughout the retrograde phase of Mars (which continues until January 13, 2023). We cannot escape the fact that we have a great deal of work to do in simply balancing our perspective and clarifying our vision of what we really want. Every idea we have, every innovative new direction we can see, must be checked and rechecked before initiating any tangible action — no 'free passes' should be expected. Obstacles must be recognized and dealt with responsibly. Mercury spends much of the retrograde phase in a long opposition to Jupiter which, for the most part, tends to make us feel as though the obstacles we are facing are much bigger than they really are. At the same time, the Mercury-Jupiter opposition can increase our expectations to unmanageable levels. We are also likely to feel hamstrung by indecision at various times. The Sun trines Uranus at the beginning of the week, giving us flashes of new perspectives of the past that we are trying to grow out of as well as tantalizing glimpses of what our future might look like. But the feelings of excitement or confidence are likely to be transitory. By Friday, Venus makes an uncomfortable square to Mars, suggesting that we are prone to blaming others for our own indecision and uncertainty. And a Sun-Neptune is likely to have us pulling back with moody confusion or even slipping into feelings of martyrdom as we end the week.

Flashes of insight could easily get us quite stirred up on Sunday. We should be cautious of indulging in 'dreams of grandeur'. Things do not turn out as planned on Monday. Adjustments must be made. Our thinking can begin to slow down on Tuesday, matching the slowing pace of overall activity. We have the chance to downshift and adjust our aims and goals. There is a danger of faulty thinking and over-confidence on Wednesday. Sudden developments can through us off balance. Frustration builds significantly on Thursday. A 'sure thing' slips from our grasp. A Venus-Mars square on Friday stirs a great deal of interpersonal chaos. However, there are also the seeds of promising resolutions. Moody confusion may keep us isolated on Saturday. The need for re balancing our support system is 'front and center'.