Wow! Can you feel your mind (and so, especially if you’re Air-heavy, your outlook) expand as Mercury comes out of that Scorpionic cave? The thinking may be changeable and ‘on fire’ (Sagittarius), but what does the flame need to thrive? Oxygen, and that may be in short supply right now, with only asteroids and Earth in the Air element–but today the transiting Moon in Aquarius offers support. Mercury’s emergence (and our mentality’s ability to ‘come into the light’) may be accomplished through a marriage of intellect and feeling, and the determination to stay grounded (Earth in Gemini) even as the horizons expand. No matter what the elemental composition of your natal chart, a sense of renewal, of opening up, is yours, should you be willing to embrace the following: optimism, on a grand scale, while simultaneously facing the facts; the ‘Big Picture’, to include an awareness that there are things we don’t know or see; seeing the ambitions for what they will actually bring, if pursued; and perceiving the way empowerment may not support (or may require adjustment for) the identity. This is a shift that may be more strongly felt, and more disorienting, than we anticipate–hold on to your hat!

(Mercury enters Sagittarius, Sun sxt Zeus and qnx Juno)

Today’s word image is applause. How often are you applauded in life? This can be any kind of complement, accolade, praise, or absolutely literal. Do you live for this? Is it more meaningful to you than criticism, or do they carry equal weight? Are you able to hear only one, praise or criticism, and not the other? Does applause affect how you behave, your commitments, where you put your energy, or your feelings about yourself or others? The more susceptible you are to changing yourself and your viewpoint in response to praise/ criticism in all its forms, the more difficult it is to hear and follow that inner voice, to maintain personal standards, or to be honest with yourself.