If nothing else, this is going to be quite an interesting week. Rather than putting labels “good” or “bad” on it, I suggest only that you keep your antennae up for certain kinds of experiences, as these will contain information that could be critical for your future.

I say that, because most aspects of any consequence this week fall in the early degrees of the cardinal signs — Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn — and this is going to give us a taste of the cardinal T-square that starts next year, when Jupiter and Uranus enter Aries. At times during 2010 and 2011 when faster-moving planets are in Cancer, we’ll have a grand cross. This is going to be a wildly instable period during which we’ll experience sweeping changes, as individuals and collectively.

So why worry about that now? Well, not to be alarmist, but by the time the collective changes are upon us, our options for dealing with them may be severely limited. Those who foresee the challenges and act accordingly will be better prepared for what could be some pretty serious disruption.

We begin the week with Mercury stationed retrograde at 6 degrees Libra, in a separating square with Mars. Mercury retrograde periods are great for reflecting, rethinking, revising, and regrouping, but not so good for reacting.

The nice thing about Mercury retrograde in Libra is that we are better able to find the balance in refraining from action. There will be plenty of opportunity for that in the future. Do be prepared for the inevitable frustrations and delays, though, and you know all the rules by now about not buying expensive toys, especially electronics, while Mercury is in retreat.

Mercury also is in an applying square to Pluto, who turns direct on Friday at 0 degrees Capricorn. You’ll feel this shift most strongly if you’re a Scorpio or Rising Scorpio or if Pluto is transiting a key planet or angle in your birth chart.

Pluto will be part of next year’s T-square, with Uranus in Aries and Saturn in Libra. From now until July 2011, we’re also in a series of eclipses in Capricorn and Cancer, which will act as an accelerator to change. This series began a couple of months ago, and while some of you felt them, my general feeling is that their messages were delayed. With Mercury retrograde and Mars coming up on the degree of the first eclipse in the series (exact on September 19), those messages will get louder in the next few weeks.

We may hear some whispers this Saturday, when the Moon enters Cancer. She’ll oppose Pluto and square Mercury before conjoining Mars on Sunday. Lunar transits are fleeting and don’t always register on our radar screen, but if you try to tune in, you should get some feedback. Once again, try not to put a label on it. Just observe. I’ll be recording my impressions in my journal.

The only other aspects this week of note are oppositions from Venus to Neptune & Co. She starts out by aspecting Jupiter on Friday and then aligns across from Chiron late Sunday (Monday morning on the East Coast of the United States and in the Eastern Hemisphere). I don’t foresee anything too jarring here. Indeed, if you’ve been impacted by this powerful three-way conjunction, she may help you make some sense out of it and assimilate the new information into your body/mind. It may not be the most comfortable feeling, but it won’t hurt too much, either.

Keep your eyes and hearts open.

Much love,
Pat

Image: Mercury Appearing to Aeneas, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1757. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Jupiter sends Mercury to Trojan warrior Aeneas, who must choose between his destiny to found the city of Rome and his love for Queen Dido. The story recounts the mythological events of a changing era and the dawn of a new empire.