Mars in Leo definitely didn’t come in with a roar. Just about everyone I encountered over the weekend was exhausted and irritable.

I did get a boost Sunday from the Sun-Uranus sextile, and my bathroom is now free of hairballs. Thank goddess for small blessings. It’s Monday already in the Eastern Hemisphere, so you all get to start the week out on a positive note (at last count, Real Astrologers had readers in 37 countries on six continents!). The Sun trines Jupiter a few hours later, but the Big Guy just went retrograde, and the trine peaks while the Moon is void of course, so we probably won’t get much more from this aspect than a few hours of good feelings.

Then, that would be a blessing, too, given the way things have been going lately.

Mercury entered the retrograde shadow period at 1:42 p.m. Sunday on the West Coast of the United States, but many of you reported seeing the effects as much as a week earlier. Another blog author I know has been in communications hell. The pre-retrograde shadow phase, which lasts about two weeks, starts at the moment Mercury crosses the degree at which he’ll return direct and lasts until he turns retrograde. There’s also a post-retrograde shadow period. We’ll keep you posted in our Mercury Retrograde Watch feature, a Real Astrologers exclusive!

I’ve also had several reports of bureaucratic delays similar to my own. This no doubt was a reflection of Mercury’s square with Saturn last week, but with the Messenger now in shadow, it hardly matters what “caused” it. Delays are going to be the rule rather than the exception from now until the end of June.

I definitely have been seeing some powerful effects of creeping Mercury retrograde. I’ve had trouble getting through to the right people and missed the delivery of an important piece of mail. On Friday, I found out that I’ll be starting a new job on May 26 – the day Mercury turns retrograde! I tried to talk my way into starting a few days earlier, but no luck. The last job I started on the day Mercury turned retrograde was a total fiasco and ended disastrously.

On Wednesday, the Sun squares Neptune. This is another low-energy aspect and, depending on which houses in your chart these bodies are transiting, you could feel discouraged about a particular area of your life. It’s worth mentioning that the North Node recently crossed over Neptune and Chiron, and the three are still relatively close together. This is not a comfortable configuration, and it may be creating a certain amount of existential angst for many of you. I’ve been more focused on the subject of spiritual enlightenment than usual, and I’ve been questioning myself heavily about how I measure up.

The Libra Moon on Thursday and Friday should help us regain some balance. But then we get thrown off again on Saturday, when Venus squares Chiron. The angst may extend to your sexuality and body image.

She’ll more than make up for it on Sunday, though, with a sextile to Uranus and then a trine to Jupiter. Don’t be surprised if you react to unexpected good news by diving into a vat of caramel turtle ice cream. Some people eat when they’re unhappy, but many of us are just as likely to overindulge in a moment of pure joy. I haven’t quite figured that one out. Maybe it’s because we’re afraid the good feelings will go away, and we want to prolong the pleasure as long as possible. Entirely understandable these days.

So if you go for that triple hot fudge sundae, promise me you’ll enjoy the hell out of it, with no regrets on Monday morning!

Love and blessings with a cherry on top,
Pat