Supersize standoff

Mercury retrograde debacles continue: this week an old name of mine resurrected itself on a contract—the name I had when I was married—and it has been a *while* since I was married. I checked a previous contract to see if it was there and I missed it, and nope, this one's just special. Additionally, due to an autopay malfunction and despite me signing multiple authorizations for autopay, my car insurance got cancelled and I didn't know it (they communicate with me via snail mail instead of email 🤦‍♀️ ), so I was driving around without insurance all week. That's fixed after I called and begged for help. You can't make this shit up, and that is Mercury retrograde for you.

This week: Venus moves into Cancer, which is just *nice.* Cancer likes to do homey things so...bake something. The sun is conjunct Uranus right now and for most of the week, and people who have an active Uranus transit will have their attention called to what is changing or what needs changing. Mercury retrograde ends on 5/15.

What I really want to talk about is the week beginning May 14, because there will be a T-square in the sky between Pluto, Jupiter, and Mars. Pluto and Mars will oppose each other in Aquarius and Cancer/Leo (Mars will change signs during this) and Jupiter will move into Taurus, squaring both of them. This looks like a standoff in the sky, and I hope that doesn't wind up equating itself to you participating in a standoff of some sort. Let me break it down for you, because it's complicated:

• about 40% of birth charts have t-squares in them. They look like this.

  • People with t-squares tend to put emphasis on the planet that's being squared and overdo that energy.

  • In this case, the planet emphasized is Jupiter.

• Mars and Pluto are individually a TON of energy.

  • Both of them will be squaring Jupiter as it changes signs from Aries to Taurus.

  • Both Mars and Pluto individually are prone to anger and violence and when aspecting each other in the sky it's a more dangerous time than normal, so you shouldn't take stupid risks and you should avoid putting yourself in situations where you know you're going to be angry yourself or around angry people.

    • I am not saying you are in danger, but I am saying that it is a bad time to take stupid risks. Or take up knife juggling.

  • If you have a lot of manual labor you needed to get done, May 14 - 24 would be a great time to do it. Even if it's just a thorough closet cleaning.

• This aspect is happening primarily in fixed signs.

  • This is why I say "standoff": Aquarius likes to idealize and not move until it's in the perfect situation, Taurus likes to be comfortable, Leo likes to shine with all eyes on it. These signs do not get along well. Imagine you have 3 friends who are trying to decide where to have dinner: Aquarius won't stop reading Yelp reviews and suggesting things, Taurus is being picky and wants to go to a nice place with good food but doesn't want to go anywhere overcrowded, and Leo's regaling them with stories of fine dining and fabulous celebrity chefs he met one time. If they all continue to do what they're doing, how likely are they to select a restaurant and actually go out to eat? Since I said that the emphasis is on Jupiter, in this scenario, picky and slow-moving Jupiter in Taurus is shooting down the suggestions of Aquarius and Leo. The night is probably going to end getting fries at the McDonald's drive-thru because everyone's hangry.

    • You will see scenarios involving stubborn people who won't move until they get their way in the next few weeks. Sky energy plays out in real life.

• This situation also underscores the fact that Pluto is squaring the nodes of the moon, which I wrote about last month. There's pressure on the late degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn (28-29°), and the early degrees of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius (0-2°) as it is, because of Pluto's presence in this area. People with active transits here are pressured to make changes they don't necessarily want to make, but know they need to, and the added presence of Jupiter and Mars will either throw additional pressures or combustible materials on the situation.

  • If you are feeling the heat, deal with it. Go to therapy, journal, get enough sleep, eat a balanced diet, make a list of options for yourself in a long-term planning sense and make the best (or least-worst) decision about how to move forward. Talk to friends. Don't isolate. Pay attention to your dreams and what they're telling you. Ask for a reading if you're lost—I’m just an email away.

  • If you're just in a standoff you don't want to be involved in, remember: you can leave and go home. Unless you are home. Then you can go on a sudden weekend trip somewhere else to decompress.

    • Please remember that you cannot control other people, and do not try to do so. If someone’s trying to control you, get away from them for a while.

Stay sane out there.