Today and going forwards, 5 April 2018, we have some noteworthy challenging aspects to Mercury that will be beneficial for us to be aware of.

Mercury squares off with Mars & Saturn in this period. 

Mercury is the planet of communication, expression,  reasoning, coordination. Mars is the planet of energy, drive, action, desire. When these two planets square off, our thoughts, words, actions may be more “aggressively” expressed, we may be more short-tempered & rushed in our thinking, leading us to say or do the wrong things, jump to conclusions & over all feel short tempered. Therefore, pause, breath, listen carefully and think twice before speaking, acting, doing. Conflict can easily arise in this period, so take your time to breath & consider before expressing, especially if you are already in an emotionally charged or challenging position.

Mercury the planet that wants to express, communicate, also squares off with Saturn, the planet of structure, control, restrictions, order, responsibility, discipline. It is called the Guru or Teacher. When these two square off, you may feel a resistance to expressing your thoughts; your mental energy may feel restricted, & there may be obstacles & delays in your mental process & projects which may frustrate you.

We may have difficulty communicating, experience mental blocks, be skeptical, cynical & overly critical and conversely experience the same coming from those interact with. Indeed we might feel even a bit more depressed than usual for no true causal reason. 

Know that these impulses are temporary and will pass. If you feel the intense urge to lash out, or simply retort with the first thing that comes to mind, perhaps you would be better served by waiting a few days before acting on the impulse… remember, breath and count to ten…

These aspects are like Dr Seuss’s “Push me, Pull you” animal which had two heads and two sets of legs, on either side of the animal. So when it wants to go one way, the other half pulls the opposite direction, resulting in frustrations & ending up going nowhere. This feeling of being stuck aside from frustration can lead you to feeling like you want to just speed up and go for broke. Probably not a good idea because you may just end up doing the totally wrong thing & cause yourself some massive grief.

This is a great time to study, research, go deep into the production and work of some project you may be working on. Make productive use of the energies to slow down.

Now more than ever, take the time to think mindfully before proceeding. Hold your temper. Take a chill pill & give yourself a bit of TLC.  As always, yoga, meditation and all the energetic modalities will help you. Moreover, look after yourself, your self interests, your goals & your plans. Be your own best compassionate advocate. 

“We must each lead a way of life with self-awareness & compassion, to do as much as we can. Then whatever happens, we will have no regrets.” HH Dalai Lama XIV