When you say that

Last year around this time, Venus was retrograde in aspect to Mercury and Pluto. Then Mercury went retrograde and stayed in aspect to Pluto for extra-long. This year, Mercury is stationing (appearing to stop) pretty close to Pluto while Venus passes through that area, as well. The good news is that the sky is NOTHING like it was last year: this time around, you can basically hold your breath and fly through it, if you want to. Last year, the drama seemed eternal.

Now, on the other hand, if you'd like to invite drama into your life, this would be the week to do it. Go absolutely apeshit. Tell people what you *really* think of them/their haircut/their outfit. Mercury-Pluto aspects mean that not only will the message be received, it'll reverberate around in the head of the receiver for a good long while. Mercury-Pluto energy is shit you can't un-say. Sometimes you find yourself arguing "but I didn't mean it to sound like that" but it's kind of pointless: you said it, they heard it, and they can still hear you saying it. Given that Mercury will retrograde, you do run the risk that people will misunderstand you, so...beware.

Then there's Venus-Pluto energy, which will be fleeting but present. Wanna revive a lost cause? Perform the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet? Have feelingsy chaos everywhere the light touches? You can! And then you can have ample time to think about the shit you just did while Mercury retrogrades for half of January. Or just re-watch the second season of the White Lotus for a heavy dose of the same energy.

You may need to think intensely or get in your feelings intensely, but it won't be anything like last year. Just try not to take hostages, ok?

We're close to the end of Mars retrograde, which means that Mars has basically appeared to stop in the sky again, this time at ~8° Gemini, where it will be for almost the entire month of January. I've talked about this situation plenty already, but the main things I'm finding about this retrograde at this point are that I can't multitask, my brain feels full most of the time, and it's a chore to do mental things I don't want to do. Gemini normally loves new information, being the jack of all trades, and flitting around. Mars retrograde in Gemini is not about that life. So if you have books you want to read but can't make yourself, media you feel like you should be watching but don't want to, or conversations you can't force yourself to have, fear not: your wherewithal will return mid-January.

XO,J