What do influences active on the 10th tell us? Be smart: concentrate on making the most of your own authority and power, and be willing to make changes within your own sphere in order to maximize reach and effectiveness; be very clear on what comprises your ‘territory’, and what’s actually another’s responsibility; be open to negotiating more favorable power balances, and be honest about what things you are willing to oversee, which you are okay with handing off (Pluto parallel and Mercury trine Ceres).

Mercury, now in forward apparent motion, enters Scorpio after a brutal retrograde, making us naturally more reflective and prone to dig up the bones; don’t let that propensity disturb arrangements that at present are actually complementary, that are in balance with each serving their parts–we need to keep our highest values and commitments at the forefront of consciousness at this time, in order to avoid succumbing to a too-strong inclination toward change or destruction when something isn’t quite as we’d like (Venus contra-parallel Mars and novile Vesta).

On the 11th everything that was stirred up but didn’t settle yesterday prompts unwise or discordant action–so don’t (Mars semi-sq Ceres). Use ideals and goals to re-align efforts, and pull from the imaginative fog those gems that are both inspiring and useful (Venus qnx Neptune, Sun qnx NN).

The 12th may be very active, with a lot of ‘we have no choice’ change coming at us–so disorienting at the least, and super unpleasant and disempowering, at worst. Jupiter, Pluto, and Pallas all pile up together, and the thing is, this may read as the social order telling us what to do–but wise up, as the reality is that what those who are both knowledgeable and in power are telling us to do or asking of us is actually wise and most practical–even if we can’t see this. You notice that key phrase, right? Knowledgeable and in Power–if somebody has only one of those (specifically, someone who holds some kind of sway or power but who can’t point to actual facts), then the smart thing to do is not to listen to them. Can we abandon our prejudices and partisanship long enough to do not just the right thing (from the individual way of thinking) but the smart one? I hope so.

The Weekly Word Image is a tremendous windstorm that should knock over trees, fences, and other vulnerable structures, but doesn’t. Roots and foundations are deeper than they seem to be, and that can be a good thing, when values are clear and others are respected, or a very bad thing, if what supports is sunk in prejudice, hatred, or fear, all of which are almost definitively irrational. Know that right now, surface arguments aren’t worth having; make sure you’re aligned with what is True (and if you’re not sure, just ask if what you see as Truth respects the well-being and rights of others–if it doesn’t, it’s not something to build your life view on–it can’t be True if it imposes your Will)—because if you respect what’s objectively True, then you’re also aligned with Love.