Impatience, Impulsiveness, Mental Illness, Thinking Traps and "Speeding"...

Mercury is How we think, What we Think about and thus our Personal Perception of the world.

Steer differently with your mind, says Mercury Retrograde. (This one ends on May 3rd). Another chance to nip Faulty Thinking and repair Screwy Wiring, in the programs we run in our heads.

One theory I find interesting is that when a planet if Retrograde, it could be expressing through the secondary ruler. Mercury expresses through Gemini ways. Seeking and translating and transferring things or info. When retro, (inverted) Mercury thus expresses through Virgo, it's secondary ruler. So suddenly information is processed differently, more methodically, more critically, with more discernment. [Venus would  express through Taurus means (appreciating, enjoying) while retro, she would express through Libra means (evaluating relationships)]. 

Mercury Retrograde is now in Aries.

That was quick. Yesterday's news is already old. What I posted about Taurus themes, has shifted. It's still about self-worth, since we began this Retrograde in Taurus, but it's now about our very personal spheres: who we are and what we want. We're about to take things highly personal again, for good reason.

Mercury has retreated back into Aries, so it's worth a read of this FB post on the curses of Mercury in Aries from last year, so you're forewarned and (dare I say it) forearmed...

March 30 2016: Mercury in Aries

Mercury is now in Aries. People talk faster. People listen slower. The pitter-patter of waiting & tired feet is obvious at checkout lines. Listen for people sighing more (likely from annoyance), or they'll "huff and puff and [threaten to] blow your house down" (or at least throw you a few choice words). But it's mostly Hot Under The Collar pressure-relief. Mental agitation is common. But so too are *Great New Ideas* that come fast and furious and are gone just as quick ...so be sure to act on them or note them down.

No more mental-wallowing in the waters of Pisces. Our minds and conversations are now turned fully towards: things we are angry about, swearing or telling someone off, getting something started, our energy - of lack thereof, ourselves (me, myself and I!), personal boundaries, MY stuff versus yours, speed (watch for red lights and tickets), childlike fun, games & sports and competition...

When your mind is irritated, angry or impatient you're likely to wind up bumping yourself. Instead, move swiftly (yet carefully lest you knock your head) on to something you CAN control/manage or handle... then go back to the troubling issue with Fresh Eyes...

www.NewWorldAstrology.com

The name of this post comes not from the news of Mercury Retrograde in Aries, at 29 degrees. But from angry Mars (Aries planet) now in Gemini (Mercury's sign) stirring up brain activity, turning up the cerebral testosterone and heating up minds and mouths. And...

Mars square the nodes suggests an angry karmic jam, in which we may have to seemingly fight out way out (in Gemini it seems the war is in our heads). Action is called for (Mars is DOING). Our HEAD and our HANDS need to work together. Or else. No sitting stifling, for long. Sooner or later, minds are electrified into action when enough Mars frustration and trapped-desire-energy has built.

Right now, watch for Wars of Words. What is said, is attacked. How it was said. People bicker. Twitter is no doubt about to blow up again. In Gemini, could there be some duplicity and double-speak? You betcha. Two meanings to things said? Oh yeah.A lot unsaid, of course. Mars in Gemini is the reader and writer who rushes. The person ever-ready to explode and argue. People want to get the last word, even if it's not in their best interests.

Mars square the nodes is a choice to APPLY OUR MENTAL (Gemini) DESIRES (Mars) AND MENTAL (Gemini) ASSERTIVE FOCUS AND DRIVE (Mars) either TOWARDS USELESS PURSUITS  (south Node in Pisces) or TOWARDS PURPOSEFUL CONSTRUCTIVE SOLUTIONS to pressing problems (north node in Virgo).

The low side: 

wasteful wars. childish conflict. regretted words. Hasty ill-timed decisions.

The bright side: 

fast flow of info, multiple questions asked and answered, no more deliberations or delays, 

speedy decisions at last, mental dexterity.

Face it, we all have problems. The north node is in Virgo for us all. WE ALL HAVE TO WAKE UP AND CLEAN UP. We ALL have to repair or replace broken merchandise. Repair ourselves when we're sick.  Reach for a healthier, more sober way of living, without losing ourselves to emotional desolation or self-abandonment. All actions are now led first and foremost by choices first made in our minds. The current place of war. That's not a great thing. But drive and ambition to effect change in things that aren't working, is palpable. Frustration energizes our minds into deliberate action.

Mars in Gemini is a quick learner. This could really get you ahead now. Whatever is daunting to you, may not be as hard if you were forced to suddenly have to learn. So try a new skill. Push yourself, (mars) with some positive affirmations, held firmly in mind (Gemini). Better yet, write down your Desire and Read It Every Day. 

Boredom (a dreaded Gemini downfall) leads to Mars aggression now. Not being heard. Not being listened to. Being ignored. Being beaten down by nasty words. Being made to look stupid.

Moving too fast. Be warned.

Caffeine, sugar, Adderall, crystal meth. "Speeding" in this article refers to the desire to increase the heart rate, to be amped up. It also relates to traffic tickets and being pulled over. Wanting to speed up is a very common choice for many, in a wearied world and still expected/pushed to hurry. What's better than apathy, boredom, depression for many? To be Driven. Ballsy. Aggressive. Pushy. Multiple projects. Lots on the go. Rushing from here to there. Competing. Conquering. Dominating. This is the alignment of Uppers, all behaviors, and drugs that increase testosterone and up the likelihood of frustration, anger, conflict, violence and overkill. That goes for too much sugar and caffeine too!

Look around. People are either playing games on their phones to dispell stress, or frantically pecking at keys in text message arguments. Please remember, to Slow Down and Breathe, right now. 

Sleight of hand. Mars in Gemini could be the "look over THERE while this more important thing I want you to miss goes on over here..." tactic used by all magicians, and many media outlets.

Stay curious, but retain the facts until you have a chance to hear the story again. Chances are high, there will be a discrepancy at play. Hard to spot when you're rushing. And that's part of the plan, for those trying to cause conflict as a deceitful distraction.

This is a MULTITASKER alignment, for better or worse. It's like one relentless ongoing Google Search. Useless facts, "about to's", bickering, waste of words, hot air or useful info. Contradictory details. A myriad of unrelated pieces of an incomplete jigsaw picture.

This period could agitate mental illness, as Mercury retro in Aries combined with Mars into Gemini speeds up the mind and the chances of agitation and anger are higher. Gemini is the inner tennis match between the hemispheres, ideas, options, opinions and perhaps moods and mindsets. We may all be lost to the demons of mental anguish and imbalance at certain times during this Cycle, experiencing a sort of cognitive dissonance, as we hold two thoughts at once, sometimes at complete odds with other. The love-hate, push-pull black and white of bi-polarity.  We may all feel a little unstable and changeable under these conditions, so the planets advise us to protect our minds by monitoring our desires and trapped energies so that we can re-direct them accordingly. When irritable, change your focus and your mindset follows. Don't spin your wheels or words. No need.

IS THE INFO USEFUL? Will this agitate my mind or help me to focus clearly on what I desire?

Ask these questions regularly as a check-in to avoid spinning mental wheels and draining your energies and efforts.

WILL IT MOVE THE STORY OR CONVERSATION FORWARD?

Is there a solution being offered or merely a new repackaging of the problem?

Always seek improvement, right now. However small. 

The practical way forward through the questions and questionable leads us to an ongoing choice: 

South to Pisces fading, or North to Virgo Improving. 

As always, our own Free Will. The Nodes are about to leave these signs, and the results will be shortly in, on how well we did with these Lessons.