Frustrations begin to mount this week, as Mars enters Gemini and Mercury, Gemini’s ruler, slows down in advance of next week’s retrograde.

Mars has been in slow-moving Taurus. That hasn’t entirely been a bad thing; there’s something to be said for endurance as opposed to a sprint. However, there’s been a drag on our energy, and that will lift after Mars enters speedy Gemini on Monday. The movements of Mars are always important to watch, particularly in world affairs, but that has been doubly true since Uranus entered Aries in 2010. With the planet of unpredictability and upset in the sign Mars rules, he has been receiving something like an intravenous drip of caffeine. Whenever he moves into a new sign, the shift is exaggerated, and the risk of impulsive action is ever-present.

For the first few days this week, we’ll likely feel a sudden surge of activity, but not necessarily with any goal or direction. If you know what you want to accomplish and can focus on that, then you should be able to put this energy shift to good use – the key word being focus. Concentration can be all over the map under this influence.

As the week progresses, Mercury slows to a crawl, and by the weekend, he’s stopped as he prepares to shift into reverse on Monday. The correct terms are “stationed” and “retrograde.” Despite the science community’s negative opinion of astrologers, we do have a clue about this stuff. It’s just easier to say that a planet is stopped or in reverse, and that’s a better way to describe the astrological symbolism. I hate having to explain this every time Mercury goes retrograde, but want it to be clear to whoever might be reading that we aren’t ignorant enough to believe that a planet actually stops in its tracks and reverses its orbit around the Earth.

Had you there for a minute, didn’t I? Jokes aside, this Mercury retrograde could be a bear, given that he’s receiving a hyperactive and aggressive vibe from Mars. I can’t help but think of trigger-happy cops and overly enthusiastic military “advisers” in foreign countries. I think we’re going to find that the typical miscommunications and misunderstandings accumulate and build on themselves, making it nearly impossible to untangle the threads. If you sense the beginnings of a disagreement with someone – if it hasn’t begun already – you’ll need to be ruthlessly honest with yourself about your thoughts and feelings, even if you choose not to share them with anyone. You can’t be honest and direct with others if you don’t know your own heart and mind. As a situation progresses, you might decide to conceal your position, or you could blurt it all without thinking. “Without thinking” is usually what gets us in trouble during Mercury retrograde periods.

On Thursday, Mars opposes Saturn in Sagittarius. Even though Mercury isn’t retrograde yet, an incident on Thursday or Friday could be the setup for a persistent misunderstanding or communications nightmare in the next week or two. Other areas to pay attention to include traffic, packages sent through the post, and electronics. If you’re planning on buying a new laptop or notebook, put it off until after Mercury returns direct on June 11, if at all possible. If you absolutely have to have it now, then hang on to the receipts and all the original packaging in case you need to return it. Also make sure you understand the return policy. On the positive side, Saturn’s discipline can help with focus. If you have trouble concentrating early in the week, you can make up for it on Thursday and Friday. I know what I’ll be doing.

The only other major aspect this week is a lovely Venus-Neptune trine on Saturday. This is date night heaven. You won’t need words to convey your feelings. With both planets in water signs, it’s also a great aspect for artistic creativity and imagination. Hopefully that will include some sweet dreams. Mercury’s square with Neptune on Saturday night produced some downright bizarre dreams for me. If you missed it, you’ll get another chance, as Mercury will repeat the square twice as he goes backwards and forward again.

The New Moon in Taurus falls on Sunday night (May 17) in most of the United States, but it will be Monday on the East Coast, so I’ll write about it in next week’s forecast.

Wishing much love and courage to all,
Pat

© Pat Paquette, RealAstrologers.com, 2014.