I think for a while I’m going to offer very short daily commentary on current astro conditions. That does mean no long New and Full Moon analyses to chew on–just a little once-a-day nectar to sip. Seems like time to change it up.

Three situations stand out to me today, and all of them have that sting of facing someone or something and catching a glimpse of ourselves in the encounter/ experience. Venus is just out of maximum range of Jupiter, so that’s not going to save us; instead, it removes emotion (Cancer) and the unspoken hope of reward and puts them where they belong, out in the open and at the forefront of our thinking (Moon in Gemini). Refusing to keep secrets from ourselves is the way to avoid conflict and any nasty surprises. The Sun Fire trine to Chiron over the coming few days says it’s easy to feel hurt, and easy to wound others through our actions–so the question becomes, how much responsibility do we bear for others’ responses?

Two oppositions describe the kinds of issues we may be faced with: Mercury in Leo opposed Pluto in Aquarius, the latter of which is trine Uranus in Gemini=ego based or Self-glorifying thinking will definitely draw out those who want to bring us down a peg or maybe even wipe us out–that’s where the shocks and surprises originate, especially as we may see our own insistence on flexing our muscles in those who oppose us–if you get that kind of reaction to Self-assertion, it might be time to check yourself for hidden motives and the taint of vanity. Honest and sincere motivations (those not focused on Self-promotion or the ‘humble brag’) can put you ahead of the crowd, lead to inspired and innovative ideas, and foster Higher Mind understanding. There’s also a loose Air Grand Trine (Mars, Pluto, Uranus) that features a still-barely-there opposition of Mars to Saturn-Neptune across the Libra-Aries axis. This suggests that power and innovation balances can be thrown off by actions and choices that don’t take into account the gap between reality and what we want it to be, and the gap between the possible and the delusional. Framing issues as ‘Us vs. Them’ doesn’t lead to answers, or harmony. Staying grounded in the real and its potentials to manifest the ideal should be a priority today, as that will help us avoid 99% of possible missteps.

Today’s word image is a bee. Are you busy as one, and if so, how does that make you feel? Like a Queen, calling the shots, like a worker plugging away and forever putting off fulfillment (or even simple enjoyment) into the future, or like a drone, desperate to take things off automatic?