I woke up this morning laughing at a comical dream, courtesy retrograde Mercury. In the dream, the glyphs for Mercury and Mars were revolving around the Sun, which was shining over a field of golden wheat waving in a violent wind.

Now, skeptics would say this was just my psyche conjuring up an image, with my conscious mind fully aware that Mercury and Mars were about to conjoin at the Full Moon in Virgo. Maybe. But it’s not the first time I’ve had dreams with images symbolic of planetary movements. Planets often appear as characters in my dreams, and almost always when they’re in a major transit. I was, after all, born with Moon in Pisces, just a few hours before Neptune went retrograde. And right now, Pisces energy is raging across the sky like killer goldfish in Lake Tahoe (I’m not making this up).

Sure, I’m open to the possibility that there’s nothing magical about my nocturnal stage plays, but then I’d say it’s no great mystery that our psyches are in tune with planetary movements. In fact, that’s key to my belief about how astrology works.

“Belief” is a keyword for Pisces. I’ve often written about beliefs, about how they inform our world and also how hard it is to change them. Back in 2006, when I was writing for my blog The Pisces Chronicles, I took the opportunity of Mercury’s retrograde in Pisces to discuss how we’re shaped by our beliefs and, more importantly, how if we’re going to change the world, we need to start with our own belief system. I revisited that article a year later when Mercury went retrograde in Pisces again, and I figure it’s as good a time as any to give it a third go-round. There’s one big difference now, though, in that Saturn is in Scorpio, and as the planets move through Pisces, they each form a supportive trine with the planet of structure, in the sign of transformation. There’s no time like the present to examine our beliefs and assess whether they really are true.

Our political beliefs are among the biggest candidates for change. As many of you who followed The Pisces Chronicles know, I used to write a lot about politics and had quite a large following. I swore off political astrology after the 2008 election, in which so many people were sure that Barack Obama was the next savior of mankind. I was one of the few astrologers who weren’t falling all over themselves in adulation, and I made the mistake of predicting that Sarah Palin and John McCain had a chance of winning the election. Several readers believed I was endorsing the Republican ticket and felt within their rights to post flaming personal attacks. There are people in the world – bless their hearts – who thrive on stirring up angry debate, but I’m not one of them. I just do my thing, as sincerely and genuinely as I know how, and I figure if anyone doesn’t like it, that’s what the “delete” key is for.

Given that history, you can imagine my amusement upon receiving a huffy e-mail from a reader last week accusing me of being – gasp – a Democrat. Here’s the full text:

I love reading ur blog, but I don’t like that u put Romney in the same context as Osama Bin Laden. I realize he’s no genius, but I find ur reference offensive. It’s obvious from this comment & others in the past, what ur political leanings are.

I suppose that means I should post a correction putting Mitt in the same sentence with Einstein. Any objections?

Kidding aside, I’m fascinated that this reader had no problem with Romney in the same sentence with a convicted murderer, but not with a man whose villainy is accepted by millions as indisputable truth, even though he was never charged in connection with the 9/11 attacks, let alone convicted. I recall that as the news was breaking, the driver of the bus I was riding to work was on an angry tirade about how that bastard Yasser Arafat was going to pay for this. There was no question in her mind that it could have been anyone else. The Bush administration managed to convince millions of Americans that Saddam Hussein was to blame. Once Saddam was neatly disposed of, bin Laden’s alleged confessions conveniently surfaced in prerecorded videotapes. Bin Laden was assassinated – at least that’s what we’re supposed to believe – without benefit of a trial or conviction. One of the few things we do know for sure is that he came from a family of wealth and influence with close ties to the Saudi royal family and to the family of then-president George W. Bush. If conspiracy theories have flourished, it’s because so many facts are missing. Absent the truth, people will believe what they want. Politicians on both sides of the aisle know this, and they use it to their advantage.

I’m not sure that all this Pisces energy is going to help uncover any truth. But it could. It certainly could help focus attention on the human tendency to believe what we want to be the truth, rather than taking the time to examine facts with an open mind. Analyzing data is one of Virgo’s special talents, so Monday’s Full Moon could aid in separating the wheat from the chaff. Be prepared for tempers to flare, though. It’s not going to be an easy week, as you’ve probably recognized by now, given that we’re well into the period of influence of both the Full Moon and the Mercury-Mars conjunction.

As you can see in the Full Moon chart, the Sun and Moon form a mutable T-square with Jupiter in Gemini. Mercury rules both Virgo and Gemini, so it’s quite possible that emerging facts could upset some hardened beliefs. This could be quite sudden, too, with Jupiter and Uranus in a tight sextile favoring explosive change. Now, Jupiter isn’t happy in Gemini, and a lot of random facts don’t add up to truth. But the empty side of the T-square falls in Sagittarius, which is the sign of Truth, with a capital “T.” At least to the extent that it can be known. Jupiter and Sagittarius are about the big picture. I found an interesting news article last week about the so-called “God particle” that nicely illustrates this concept. First off, we’re still not sure it’s been found. But if it has, and if physicists are right about it, it could tell us that we’re all doomed. We might well start calling it the OMG particle.

Ceres also is in Gemini and at the Full Moon is in a close square with retrograde Mercury. Astrologers are still collecting information to decide how we should treat transiting Ceres, but my intuitive reading of this aspect is that some of the facts coming to light this week could be embarrassing for factions trying to restrict women’s rights, degrade the environment, and harm the food supply. The New York Times Magazine’s cover article this week is an exposé on how the junk food industry abuses science to create addictive snacks (thanks to Peggy Petersen for the link).

Right after the Full Moon on Monday, Venus enters Pisces, the sign of her exaltation. She’ll conjoin Neptune on Thursday, which I hope will be a blissful antidote to Tuesday’s Mercury-Mars conjunction. The thing is, with both Mercury and Mars in Pisces, it’s possible that arguments will be indirect and passive-aggressive. It’s hard to talk through conflict when the other party won’t even tell you they’re upset. Then, it’s hard to talk though anything with Mercury retrograde. I was having a difficult time negotiating an important project last week, and my solution was to ask to defer further discussions until the end of March. Fortunately, I’ve got the luxury of time. You might not, and so if you’ve got a deal on the table, be as direct as you can and as clear as possible about what you want. Even then, I don’t recommend that you engage in discussions of any consequence on Tuesday or Wednesday. Thursday might be better, and Friday holds some promise, too, with the Sun sextile Pluto and trine Saturn. Even with Mercury retrograde, this triumvirate can cut to the chase and produce a win-win situation. Again, the most productive exchanges will be those in which all parties are willing to open their minds and at least set their beliefs aside temporarily.

For more strategies to cope with Mercury retrograde, check out the latest video by Armand Diaz.

I’ve been way too busy in the past week to spend much couch time with my favorite BBC production, but the urge to escape and pull the covers over my head is coming on strong. Still, don’t let that deter you from sending a nice e-mail. I just received a lovely response from a new client who was elated that someone finally was able to help her understand the complicated cardinal grand cross in her chart. Truly, that makes the occasional flame worth it, and it’s why I do what I do.

Off to catch the end of the Academy Awards – oops, I mean the “Oscars.”

Wishing much love and courage to all,
Pat