Thinking is smart, even if it lags a bit behind the curve (the “Oh yeah, now I see it!” effect), and we have to make a concerted effort not to fall prey to delusion, fantasy, or deception–so question yourself and your assumptions, question others, question things that don’t seem right, are too good to be true, or that feed a dream you’d previously felt blocked from–you still are. Connecting to reality is tough but necessary in order to move in the right direction, to make things pay. What benefits us? Be willing to modify our individuality so that it doesn’t grate on relationships, curb spending on the unique (which could later in brighter light turn out to be merely freakish), and refuse to dwell on what didn’t go well, or what hurts–that kind of attention will only burn our wounds into our psyche, and we really should just let them go, yes? (Venus qnx Uranus and sq Saturn, Merc conj Pallas and qnx Neptune, Sun sesq Chiron)

Somebody searched “Buying a House During Mercury Retrograde”. I may be uniquely qualified to address this, in part because I’m an astrologer, and partly because I’ve actually done this. It was decades ago, and inadvertent; I wasn’t really thinking about Mercury’s status when we signed–after moving continents and always living in a place someone else owned, I only wanted a place to rest that was mine. We went through escrow, and it was only as they scheduled the closing that I realized we would be signing in the middle of a retrograde–but really didn’t feel I had the authority to stop it (now I wouldn’t hesitate–that’s the juice you get from age and experience!) The reason we’re advised not to make agreements or sign contracts at this time is that there’s inevitably something we don’t know or can’t see. In our case, this resulted in sellers who wanted to close, but didn’t want to get out! They asked to remain for an extra month, offering no compensation–and we said no, and that didn’t sit well. They still drug their feet; their RV and trailers were parked in front of the house when we arrived with our things, but we were in, and they were out, for five years–until we sold. It wasn’t easy–new construction at low prices were going in nearby, and our first realtor was a dud–and nothing moved until we changed realtors and waited for another Merc retrograde–during which we got three competing offers, unusual for that time and place. It was as if we needed to wait for the same sort of energy to get rid of the place that had allowed us to acquire it. Yes, there were some hidden surprises in the sale–that’s inevitable, with the planet so prominent–but buying during a retro seems to come with its own set of difficulties, maybe not what you’d get when you buy during direction, but not insurmountable, all the same. I would advise waiting, though–making an offer or signing now would likely be jumping the gun–almost certainly, you’ll find out something after Merc goes direct that at the least would’ve changed your offer, or even prevented it entirely.

Today’s daily word image is ‘hydrotherapy’. What does this word conjure for you? Indulge in, or maybe just think about, what this brings to mind, and what it means to you.