The Mars-Jupiter conjunction in Gemini is the headliner–but it may not bring the impact we anticipate, since it could consist of Big Talk about action, rather than actions themselves. Is that a bad thing? No–it may be a useful exercise in floating options and measuring reaction to them in ourselves and others. Action is less likely than talk simply because ruler of Gemini, Mercury, is currently retrograde at 0 Virgo, suggesting that the inner consciousness is busy trying to organize, trying to account for our own methodology and internal logic. Pluto in Aquarius is quincunx that Mercury, stirring up the depths; it’s why we keep obsessively going back to mull over certain thoughts, certain situations, and it may be the engine that keeps us trying new solutions that we think will solve old problems; our success rate will directly reflect how accurately we perceive the issue in the first place (Uranus sextile Neptune, the latter at 29 tortured degrees, reaching the limits of both imagination and illusion/ delusion).

There’s a willingness to trot things (especially things we see as facts) out in public, making it easier than usual to see and consider the potential impact of what people think if they try to make these things a reality; too, this period can act as a compass, pointing each individual toward what matters to them, and making that clear to those around them. Our communications are useful sources of information, beyond the words: what we focus on, what we accept as real, factual, logical, will shape how we see the world, and so respond to it.

The Mars-Jupiter duo is square Saturn in Pisces, which offers two possible effects, one suppressing Mars-Jupiter (so probably keeping matters in the talk-speculation arena), or making an almost magical effect that manifests almost as soon as something is expressed, a ‘speak (or think it) and it becomes so’ formula. Saturn in Pisces can put a glamorous sheen on reality, and suggests creative responses to the ideas put forth by Mars-Jupiter. Making the ideal real, though, carries a possibility that we get what we want, but that it has effects we either didn’t consider or didn’t believe might come to pass. Ask for what you want, but think it through, as you just might get it.

By the 14th the most notable change is that the Leo Sun is close to perfecting trine to Chiron in Aries. It’s like both our pain and our most unique skills are put under a spotlight. If you can do something about what causes you pain, then do it, but don’t waste what could be a glorious expression of your abilities by staring too much at your wounds.

The 15th sees that retro Mercury move back into 29 degrees of Leo–and the caterwauling of the individual who believes they haven’t received due attention may be deafening. For the rest of us, this may bring a moment or three of displacement, of feeling like we’re not who we think we are. It’s all part of the Mercury retro cycle’s gift of returning our attention to what we should be reconsidering, namely, ourselves, this time around.

By the 16th Mars is starting to pull away from Jupiter, giving us more realistic perspective on our own actions and choices, and Mercury retro moves out of the 29th degree, de-stressing Self-reflection, taking it from our stressful imaginings (quincunx Neptune) to the realm of genuine surprises, not all of which will be positive (square Uranus in Taurus) but at least some of which will answer our questions about the availability of resources, our own comfort with current circumstances, and what we can do to feel more secure in this mad mad world.