Welcome to Ghost of a Podcast. I'm your host, Jessica Lanyadoo. I'm an astrologer, psychic medium, and animal communicator, and I'm going to give you your weekly horoscope and no-bullshit mystical advice for living your very best life.

Hey there, Ghosties. In this episode, I'll deliver your astrological weather report for the week ahead. Every Sunday, I help you prepare to navigate through life's up and downs and provide you with practical insights for planning ahead and staying on top of your game. And don't forget to hit Subscribe whenever listening to this podcast, or just mark your calendars, because every Wednesday I'll be back with a live, in-depth reading with a listener. Maybe it'll be you. So sit back, relax, and get ready to get astrological.

Welcome back to Ghost. This week, there's so much happening astrologically, just so much. So I'm going to jump right into it. But depending on when you're listening to my voice, there may still be time to register for my April 16th class at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time called The Moon in You. I'm really excited about this class, and I hope you'll join me there. And if you miss it and you still want to take the class, give me a couple days and I will have it for sale on my website. So you can always catch it there.

Okay. Before I get into the details of this very influential week astrologically, I want to just remind you that whenever we have major astrological developments, we are likely to feel a lot of feelings. That means we are more likely to be activated or triggered or creative or to move through things that we've been stuck around. It can be really supportive, or it can really challenge us. Or it can do both, which is, I think, what happens to most of us most of the time, is you make a little breakthrough here, and you have a serious setback there, and⁠—you know, life. Am I right?

So, before I give you these astro details, it is important to know that all the things that are happening are activating. And so, if you're feeling activated, that's normal. That's okay. And the astrology that I'm going to explain to you in just one moment is a resource for kind of contextualizing the ways in which you're activated and hopefully put you in concert with the song that's being played by the goddamn cosmos. Okay? And what this looks like is flowing with the energy instead of against it. That's the best we can do. And astrology⁠—thank you very much⁠—helps us to do that.

Okay. So, all that said, we are looking at the astrology of April 16th through the 22nd of 2023. And we start off the week with nothing big, just a Solar Eclipse in Aries. Let me tell you all about this. At 9:12 p.m. Pacific Time⁠—if you are not in Pacific Time, if you're on the East Coast of North America or across the pond, it's going to be happening on the 20th⁠. Just do the damn conversions. And if you're not good at doing the conversions, consider subscribing to my astrologer's pro tool, Astrology for Days, where it doesn't just track the transits for you, but it converts it to your time zone. And it's easy to change the time zone. So, if you travel a lot, you can just bada-bing and bada-boom, and then there it goes. Okay?

Okay. So, 9:12 Pacific Time April 19th, we have the Sun and Moon meeting at 29 degrees and 50 minutes. Now, first of all, a Solar Eclipse⁠—big deal, right? But I do want to also remind you that this is the second Aries New Moon because Solar Eclipses always happen during New Moons, when the Sun and Moon meet at the same degree of the same sign. So this is our second Aries New Moon of 2023, and that's unusual. Usually, we get one per year, one New Moon per sign per year. But this year, we got two.

And so it is wise to look back at what was going on for you the last New Moon in Aries, and that happened when the Moon and Sun were at zero degrees and 50 minutes of Aries on March 21st. So you might want to take a peek at what was going on for you then, and I don't just mean what was happening, but how you felt, what was going on in your heart, in your innermost psyche, because we're talking about the Moon. So we really want to, again, keep on coming back to how we feel, keep on coming back to our personal lives, because those are the things that the Moon governs.

When we're talking about a Solar Eclipse in Aries, what we have the opportunity to do is to come into greater alignment around our identity, our will, our agency. And that is a powerful thing, and it is even more powerful because it is happening at this anaretic degree. We're at 29 degrees and 50 minutes of Aries. So that just means that this is a critical degree, a critical moment, and it strengthens the energies of Aries. It doesn't weaken them. Because we're at the final moments of Aries, it strengthens them.

And so I want to really point your attention towards you aligning with your agency around how you feel. And I refer to agency because, so frequently in life, we feel stuck or we feel like we have no choice or we feel some sort of overwhelming feeling that we tell ourselves we have just no choice but to feel because someone else is doing something, because our situation is a particular way. But one of the core lessons that Aries teaches us is to have balanced ego energy so that we can embody a sense of agency, a sense of free will, a sense of, "I know I am, and therefore, I will."

That is strengthened by Jupiter's presence. We've got Jupiter at 23 degrees of Aries and 44 minutes, so it is sitting on top of that Sun and Moon. And that strengthens our resiliency. It strengthens our capacity to tap into the big picture of our needs, our wants, our identity, and again, our agency⁠—really beautiful, really helpful. But because life, because 2023, it is not unqualified, because we have a Pluto square to the Sun and Moon and more widely to Jupiter. This Pluto square to the Eclipse is not great news, my dudes. It's less than a degree apart. They're out of sign but less than a degree apart. And this means it is a powerful square.

And so I want to just pull back and remind you that whenever we have a New Moon or Full Moon, its scope of influence is about a month. But when we're talking about Eclipses, their scope of influence⁠—like how long we're going to feel the effects, how long it takes for the full impact of this astrological event to fully show itself and play out⁠—that's six months. So, when we are looking at this Eclipse, we have to really keep in mind that that Pluto square complicates things because Pluto square to the Sun and Moon⁠—and more widely, Jupiter⁠—likely brings up power struggles because Pluto tends to bring up power struggles. It likely will bring up something major in society, and it is very likely that it will have to do with gender-based rights or gender-based violence, that it will have to do with grassroots movements⁠—because Pluto in Aquarius—and the potential for people organizing a coming together in response to feeling oppressed or repressed.

And this is the thing. The shit side of this Solar Eclipse in Aries is people with power trying to grab more power and to use that power for their own individual gain at the expense of thinking of the collective, at the expense of groups of people. That's the shit side here on a collective level. On a personal level, hopefully you can translate that. The shit side of this Solar Eclipse in Aries can be that we become selfish, that we become so self-involved about our will, our perspective, our feelings, our needs, that we are willing to screw over others, that we are willing to be manipulative, be controlling, to perpetrate harm against others or ourselves because, really, seriously, when we perpetrate harm against others, it is perpetrating harm against ourselves.

But we can get involved in shit or be the agent of shit that is at cross-purposes of our needs simply because the feelings we're feeling are so intense that we just don't know how to act, and so we act out. So, on the social level, I definitely am going to be paying attention to the news. I'm definitely going to be staying active and activated in the world because Pluto in Aquarius teaches us that it takes all of us to come together, to build coalitions, to build community. And we're just at the beginning, and we're already seeing so much evidence of this.

But on a personal level, what we want to pay close attention to is our own feelings around community, our own participation in community. It is our own relationship to taking up space and how we know how to do it. A lot of people who have a difficult time with boundaries, a lot of people who have a difficult time being assertive or being in disagreement⁠, when they finally do those things, do it defensively, do it aggressively, because it's kind of like if you don't think you have a right to take a sip of water and you keep on denying yourself a sip of water, eventually you're going to be so fucking thirsty, you're just going to gulp the whole thing down. You're not going to take a sip of water anymore; now you're going to just down it because you've been dehydrated for so long. You've been denying yourself.

And so this is the time where, if you find that you are really acting out or being really defensive around this Solar Eclipse, that is an indicator that you have not been embodying your own agency and your own needs and then asserting or expressing them in a way that is honest because that has built up to a place where you're really defensive. Now, that's just generally. That might not be you. The other thing that can happen with a Pluto square to a Solar Eclipse is that we encounter a power monster, somebody who's just a dick, somebody who is manipulative or cruel and does it on purpose or unconsciously, because a lot of harm that people perpetrate is done from an unconscious place, to be fair.

So you might be dealing with a dick. You might be dealing with somebody who has power over you or who believes they have power over you, who's trying to harm you, in which case you need to pick your battles and your weapons wisely. And when I say pick your weapons wisely, I mean if you're going to talk something out with someone, choose your words with care and intention. If you're going to avoid the conversation because that seems to be the wisest thing to do, again, make sure that the ways in which you do it in terms of tone and presence⁠—you know, with intention. Just be intentional because all this Aries energy is a lot of energy, and Aries is a zodiac sign that's all about fighting⁠—pow pow, punch punch, kick kick.

And so it would be very easy to fall into conflict, to get involved in fights. And going limp, not engaging, trying to be passive, trying to be nicey as a way to get out of things⁠—best of luck. That's unlikely to work this Eclipse because all of this energy is about participation. So understand something that I've been talking to you about for quite some time. Doing nothing is an action. So how you do nothing, the motivation with which you do nothing⁠—that's core to the action of doing nothing.

It's really important for us to recognize that when we're dealing with so much Aries energy⁠—and I should say we have Chiron, Jupiter, Moon, and Sun all in Aries. That's a lot of Aries energy, right? Dealing with all this Aries energy really tests us in knowing ourselves because how well you know yourself has so much to do with your own ability to track what's happening within you and therefore what is coming out of you. Kind of on that tip, I will say the ego is not bad. Anger is not bad. Nothing that Aries or Mars represents is bad, and anyone who says that it is⁠—I don't agree. We can disagree. That's cool. But I don't think these things are bad. They're part of the human condition.

So it's about proportion. It's about how much anger, anger in what way, how much ego, ego in what way. Those things are important questions for us to be asking ourselves. When we vilify parts of our human nature, when we just try to repress emotions or impulses or things that are true to us, they become much bigger problems. And this Solar Eclipse honestly is a really powerful opportunity for engaging with these parts of ourselves in a more present way, in a more honest way. But because Pluto is present, it's going to cost us all a little something. It's important to let go when Pluto is involved, to release control, to release attachment to the way we think things are supposed to be or the way that other people are supposed to behave or whatever it is.

This Solar Eclipse, you want to pay close attention to jealousy, possessiveness, that kind of stuff, because Pluto can really trigger those feelings inside of you. So may I remind you of a quote from somebody that I've forgotten? "Comparison is the thief of joy." It robs you of joy. Do not compare yourself to other people. Do not compare yourself to where you once were or where you thought you would be. Comparison will rob you of your joy. Our best move, and really the only move when it comes to the Moon, is coming to a state of acceptance of how you feel here and now, and from that place, that foundation of acceptance, motivating in whatever direction you need to motivate.

But if we just try to change how we feel or fix a problem without first coming to a state of presence and acceptance, generally it doesn't work out well because you're leaving parts behind. The good news I want to remind you of is that Jupiter is involved in all this. And so Jupiter can bring us greater resiliency, which we love. The downside of Jupiter being here is that it can also inspire us, which⁠—we didn't really need help with this because Pluto in Aquarius and all this Aries energy⁠—but it can inspire us to just rush in and out of things, to really be very impulsive. Jupiter is a gambler, so to be very impulsive and to just be like, "I'll deal with the consequences later. I just want to stop feeling the way I feel." So, again, be on the lookout for that. Bring as much self-awareness as you can to your own inner landscape as a foundation for handling the shit of life and the beautiful things of life in the healthiest way you can.

Now, I will add a couple things to this Solar Eclipse mishigas, which is that we have a Mercury/Uranus conjunction in Taurus. And the North Node is conjoined to the Sun and Moon out of sign. And what this means is a lot of things, but I will ground you into and remind you that that North Node conjunct the Solar Eclipse, and in particular because it is in Taurus station direct, is reminding us to align with our values. So a great way to bring balance to the ego and to reaffirm our agency, which all this Aries energy wants us to do, is to get aligned with our values so that it's not just I'm, like, reacting with my ego to things. It's more that you are choosing to prioritize the things you value instead of prioritizing your strongest, loudest, most insistent feelings, which, with a Pluto square to the Eclipse, is very possible.

But again, if you need motivation to do your damn best this Solar Eclipse, let me remind you of this. How you engage the Solar Eclipse puts an emotional ball in motion that will last about six months. So listen. If you have total drama, if you act out, it's not the end of the world. It's information. If somebody else acts out, if a situation goes sideways on you, it's not the end of the world. It's information. And what you do with that information, how you show up, that's on you. You cannot control the world. You cannot control what other people say or do or how they do it. All you can do is get aligned with yourself and try to be as healthy as possible with your responses to your reactions. Your reactions? Fair game. No holds barred. You're allowed to feel whatever you feel. You're allowed to think whatever you think.

But then there needs to be enough space between your reactions and your responses that your responses can reflect not just your strongest feelings but also your wisest feelings. This is really important, and we know this. We know this because Pluto always teaches us⁠—but also, all this Aries energy can teach us⁠—that our strongest, sharpest, quickest feelings are often a response to our own insecurities, our own defenses, our own triggers, all that kind of good stuff. And they're not reliably clarity, because they're coming in too hot.

One more thing that I want to point out about this chart is that there's a Mars/Chiron square. And this Mars/Chiron square really challenges us to be embodied, and challenges us to be embodied in a way where it might be really hard to literally feel okay in your skin. It may be really hard to have a well-adjusted ego at this time. What's important when Mars is square to Chiron, especially because Chiron is in Aries, the ruling sign to Mars, is that we make an effort to be present in the body and to be kind to the body and to not use our ego, no matter how big or small it is, to tear ourselves or other people down. There's just no value in it. If you're going to fight, fight for something, not just against something. Fight for something. If you find yourself tearing other people down⁠—individuals, groups of people, whatever⁠—I gotta say that there is an element of that being a reflection on you. And that doesn't mean that there's not a bazillion people to tear down or to criticize. I'm not vilifying doing that.

But this is a Solar Eclipse. And so it behooves us to use this moment to better understand our own defenses, our own emotions, our own ego, because the more healthy we are, the better aligned that we are within ourselves, the easier life gets to live. Now, doesn't mean anything else around us gets healthier or better, but you don't have to personalize it when somebody walks around showing their ass, because that's on them, not on us. When you yourself are the one showing your ass, well, then, this is a good time to own it and to strive to shift, to grow, to evolve.

You don't want to forget that Pluto is square to the Solar Eclipse. And it may feel like you're getting fucked. You know what I mean? Not in a fun, hot way, but in a just⁠—"Fuck, Pluto. Fuck." Right? And Pluto is a real dick. Whatever you think of dicks is irrelevant in this metaphor. Pluto can be a real dick. And so the key with this transit, with this Solar Eclipse, is to notice how you feel and to allow room for your reactions, to not allow how other people are behaving around us to define us. What defines you, what defines me, is what we do and how we do it, not what happens to us⁠—not unless we let it.

Now, the world is big, and the myriad of situations that a person can experience is wide. And so⁠—I don't know⁠—maybe for you, your situation does define you. I don't know. But as a general rule, this Solar Eclipse is a really powerful time to learn from your own defenses. The things that make you defensive are really great things to notice. It's especially valuable to notice it if you don't focus on the person or thing that's making you feel defensive, but instead, on what's happening inside of you.

Final thing I want to remind you here is that when it comes to Solar Eclipses or any Eclipses at all, it is not the time for manifestation work. It is not the time for ritual work. We don't do spiritual work during an Eclipse because it's like trying to⁠—I don't know⁠—do a tarot reading for yourself in a park during a windstorm. The Eclipse itself is a spiritual experience. It is an event. Don't try to contain it or control it or to understand it while you're in it. Try to be present. It's a Lunar transit. I'm deep in the mind of the Moon because I'm teaching this class on the Moon. What the Moon wants from us is presence, and not exclusively presence, but foundationally presence. And so, when doing any kind of manifestation work, spiritual work, it is often not just about the present, but it's the present and the past and the present and the future. And that's not what an Eclipse wants from us.

Also, the energy at play during Eclipses it so unpredictable that it is not wise to try to wrangle it. Put on pause your ritual work around Eclipses, certainly on Eclipses. I will also say this is a terrible time to do drugs⁠—consciousness-raising drugs, any kind of heavy drugs⁠—because Pluto is involved in this Eclipse. It's tightly square to the Sun and Moon. It's just too unpredictable, and it isn't wise to put yourself in a position where, first, things feel out of control and overwhelming because it's an Eclipse, and then you imbibe something that further takes you from embodiment and presence with yourself. It's really not what this astrology asks for, so it's not my recommendation. And also, do your fucking thing. It's your life. Do whatever you want. Right? Right. Right.

Okay. That's the Solar Eclipse. Let's talk about the next transit.

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On the 20th, the following day, at 9:27 a.m. Pacific Time, the Sun is exactly square to Pluto, so a really tight square. And I just want to kind of ground you into the meaning of the Sun square to Pluto, even though I've already talked about it in the context of the Solar Eclipse chart. Sun square to Pluto is an intense transit. It is one in which we can achieve meaningful healing, where we can create repair or move through something, transform something in ourselves or our lives.

However, it is a slog. It's work. And oftentimes, what happens for people during this transit is that paranoia, jealousy, defensiveness comes up. A lot of stress, controlling vibes⁠—there can be power struggles that lead to some sort of crisis or drama. All of this stuff is likely with a Sun square to Pluto. Because we're dealing with the Sun, there's identity issues. So your sense of self is triggered. So sense of self is identity. It's self-confidence. It's all this kind of good stuff. And Pluto drags out our triggers, and it kind of sucker punches us with our triggers.

And so, again, this is an extension, kind of a dragging out, of that Solar Eclipse vibe so that we are really in our shit this Sun square to Pluto time, this Solar Eclipse time. And it is possible that you or someone around you will behave in compulsive ways that are destructive to others or themselves. That's very possible. And again, what we want to stay aligned with is how we respond is on us. It's the only thing we can control. This is not a good time to try to control anything. It's a good time to try to show up. That's the move.

Generally, during transits to Pluto or Pluto transits in your birth chart, you always want to be aware of your safety⁠—psychological/physical safety. And to not consciously put yourself in unsafe situations is always a good idea because Pluto⁠—kind of a dick, kind of unpredictable. So protect yourself. Stay safe, whatever that means. And I say whatever that means because when it comes to Pluto, it governs our flight-or-fight mechanisms. It governs our sense of survival. And so, oftentimes, what happens during Pluto transits is the part of us that doesn't feel safe gets engaged, and this is especially true if this is hitting your birth chart exactly.

It's now Taurus Season. April 20th, it's Taurus Season because the Sun is now at zero degrees of Taurus and 20 minutes, and Pluto ditto⁠—zero degrees Aquarius and 20 minutes. And so, if this hits your chart specifically, if you have something at the very end of Aries or the very beginning of Taurus or Aquarius⁠—any of the fixed signs⁠—you really want to pay attention to this transit and this Solar Eclipse because it's hitting you directly.

On this topic, I will say this is a very intense start to Taurus Season. We have an Eclipse on the 19th at 9:12 p.m. Pacific Time, and then it becomes Taurus Season at 1:13 a.m. on the 20th. So we've got this Sun moving into Taurus happening right in between⁠—like mathematically in between⁠—the Eclipse and the Sun square to Pluto being exact. It kind of indicates a very Plutonian experience of Taurus Season, which can mean a lot of things. And I think we're already seeing the playing out of a lot of these things around gender-based rights and the economy and all these other very Taurean, Venusian themes.

But on a personal level, what I want to kind of bring you back to⁠—always bring you back to when it comes to anything Venus-driven⁠—is your values. This Taurus Season is a powerful one to connect with or reconnect with your values and to make sure that your material behavior reflects the things that you value the most, even if it means⁠—maybe even especially if it means⁠—needing to let go of people, places, things, identities that stand in the way of you being right with your values.

One more thing I'll say about Sun square Pluto is that this transit can often bring about drama interpersonally, especially in a relationship where you show up as yourself or you're⁠—not just your pal but someone you're very real with. And any drama that occurs during a Sun square to Pluto⁠—it's really important how you conduct yourself because what you do will act as a boomerang. It'll come back at you. So just because somebody else is being an ass doesn't mean you have to be an ass. No shade to asses. And so we want to really be conscientious about our own conduct during a Sun square to Pluto. I mean, I feel like I'm saying that a lot, but it can't be said enough.

And that brings us, my dear loves, to this little thing—you may or may not have ever heard of it⁠—called Mercury Retrograde. Yes, Mercury goes Retrograde on April 21st at 1:35 a.m. Pacific Time at 15 degrees and 37 minutes of Taurus. Let me tell you all about it. So, first of all, this particular Retrograde⁠—it's going to be in Taurus the whole time. As I said, it goes Retrograde on the 21st. It stays Retrograde until May 14th. It's not too long. And the Retroshade, which began on April 7th, ends on May 31st. So is May a wash? I say no. But for the last week of April and the first couple weeks of May, we're in Mercury Retrograde territory.

Now, broadly speaking, Mercury Retrogrades are a time when the planet Mercury appears to be moving backwards. What it means astrologically, what it means for us functionally, is that communications don't go the way they're supposed to. They don't go in a forthright, forward sort of way. They're discombobulated. Mercury, my friends, is not in Retrograde. It cannot be in Retrograde because Retrograde literally means moving backwards. So Retrograde refers to a motion and not a zodiac sign, like Mercury is in Taurus. But it is Retrograde, okay? And it's very important that I point out that this miscommunication about how to talk about the very basics of Mercury Retrograde is so Mercury Retrograde.

Now, most people know Mercury Retrogrades in general are just a bad time for signing contracts. They're a great time for miscommunications. They're a great time for technical difficulties. And so what you want to do instead of moaning and groaning, "Oh my God. It's a Mercury Retrograde again"⁠—you want to remember that this is a natural part of Mercury's cycle. Mercury goes Retrograde a few times a year. That's the thing. So don't sweat it. If you're traveling, yeah, I mean, maybe don't check that bag, but if you gotta check that bag, be mindful. Put a couple things on your carry-on or whatever that you know you might need in case your bag gets lost. You can prepare. You can do little things to prepare against the problems that are likely to have with Mercury Retrogrades. And when and if those miscommunications, those tech devices, whatever it is, goes sideways on you, you can be like, "All right. Look. Astrology," instead of being like, "Why is my life so terrible?" which⁠—also, you're welcome to bemoan how terrible life is. I'm a Capricorn. I encourage it.

Okay. So Mercury Retrograde. Is it a good time to sign contracts? Fuck no. It is not. But there's a reason why it's not. The reason why it's not it's because you're likely to miss something in the contract. Maybe there's some subtle, small error in the contract that you missed that's actually a big deal, or whatever parties are involved in the contractual negotiation are not being completely clear with each other in some way⁠—that kind of shit, basically. So it's not like you are doomed; don't do it. It's just better if you don't do it. But so many people, so much of their life is about signing contracts. You might have to move or whatever. Don't sweat it. Just triple-check it.

Mercury Retrograde is not like a torture chamber. I promise. I will definitely, and always do, tell you when something looks real bad. The reason why this happens in Mercury Retrograde is so that we follow the rule of re's. We reflect. We reassess. We recalibrate. This particular Mercury Retrograde, when it goes exact, it is exactly conjunct the Moon in Taurus. So Mercury is at 15 degrees and 37 minutes of Taurus, and the Moon is at 15 degrees and 53 minutes of Taurus. It's very close. Also, Uranus⁠—17 degrees, 52 minutes of Taurus. So we have this incredibly tight conjunction between Mercury and the Moon, and Uranus is also conjunct Mercury and the Moon. What does it mean? I will tell you.

It means that this is going to be a particularly emo Mercury Retrograde. When Mercury and the Moon are conjoined, we tend to take things really personally. We have a hard time separating my opinions and attitudes from my safety and my wellness attitudes⁠—Mercury, safety, Moon. It's important that we know that people⁠—including you, right? You're people⁠—that people are likely to be really reactive, take things personally, and things get messy when that happens⁠—real talks⁠—especially because Uranus is involved. So Uranus is there egging on everything, egging on our reactiveness, our instincts to leave. Uranus loves to bounce, loves to leave a situation.

And so this Mercury Retrograde, it is really wise⁠—like, really wise⁠—to do your best to create space to spend time processing your thoughts and feelings before reacting. And that's what Mercury Retrograde wants you to do any old ways. It wants you to reflect so that you can reassess. You may really need to change some attitudes that you're holding. There may be major changes within some of your friendships or platonic relationships, and it's important to be open to those changes, especially because Uranus is there. Uranus wants us to be open and also to make change.

Now, in this Mercury Retrograde chart, the Sun and Pluto are still square. So we still have that defensiveness. Jupiter is conjoined to the Sun. It's not exact, but in this chart, it is activated. And so, again, we have this stronger reiteration of the potential for growth and change and repair, and also destruction, overreaction, and impulsiveness. Fun. What are you going to do, right? My advice, spend some time with your dear diary. Spend some time with your therapist, or maybe get back into therapy.

This is a good time to do whatever works for you around connecting with yourself, listening to yourself, processing your own thoughts and feelings, not so that you can have control⁠—that's not the move⁠—but instead so that you hold your feelings and your thoughts, and then you act in ways that reflect empathy, compassion, grace, growth, instead of the more shadowy side or challenging side, which is defensiveness, impulsiveness, power grabs.

All of those things that I named will not always come across as aggressive. We are dealing with a lot of Taurus energy⁠—the Sun, North Node, Mercury, Moon, Uranus, all in Taurus. Taurus can be quite passive-aggressive. It can be passive-aggressive because it's a Venusian sign. And so, instead of being really assertive and forthright about its preferences⁠—I'm not talking about people who are Tauruses; I'm talking about the archetypal energy of Taurus, just so we're clear. But this energy can have us striving to keep the peace by being nice⁠⁠—and I'm putting air quotes on "nice." You can't see me, but I am⁠—instead of being kind, because I would argue it is not kind to be accommodating, to be nicey-nice, instead of being authentic.

I would argue that when you don't show up as your true self and you don't give other people a chance to get to know you or to respond in a way that will actually improve the situation, it's not really that kind. So we want to make sure that we are willing to show up for the messy stuff and not just the necessities of life. And the way to do that, as I mentioned before, is to align with and act from your values. That's right, from your values. Mercury Retrograde is in Taurus, so reflect on your values. This is the time. This is the time. This is the moment. This is the space. Reflect on your values, and then you'll be making the best possible use of this Mercury Retrograde.

And as a quick reminder, when we're talking about Taurus, we're talking about your values just broadly, but also, Taurus governs finances, money, personal possessions. It governs the sensual delights, sense-based pleasures in life, and relationships. So those are all things that are likely to be kind of on the chopping block this Mercury Retrograde. So go in there with care. Use this Retrograde to really reflect. And within that, within those reflections, notice your own knee-jerk reactions. Notice your own defenses and where you get controlling/manipulative towards yourself, towards others, whatever it is, because that's good information for you to have about yourself, not so you can beat yourself up, but so that you can better understand what's underneath those sharp reactions.

That's how healing occurs. That's how it happens. Doesn't happen overnight. Doesn't happen quickly, necessarily. But that's how it happens. And again, this Solar Eclipse means we are looking at a six-month process, a six-month process. So it doesn't have to happen overnight. And while, yes, I'm right now talking about the Mercury Retrograde, part of what we're seeing in this Mercury Retrograde chart is a Sun square to Pluto. So you get the point, right? It's all connected this week.

And that's it, my loves. I mean, I feel like that's enough. I feel like that's enough, but that's it. That's what happens this week. On the 19th, there's an exact Solar Eclipse. On the 20th, there's an exact square between the Sun and Pluto. And on the 21st, Mercury goes Retrograde in Taurus. That's your horoscope.

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All right. Have a great week. Stay safe out there, and I'll talk to you in just a couple of days. Buh-bye.