All Signs

Mercury Retrograde to May 3

Mercury Post Shadow Phase to May 21

Photo by Tamu Miles

Let’s just remember that Mercury is Retrograde until May 3, OK? And while Mercury goes direct station on May 3, the Post Shadow Phase will last until May 21 and this means that we will continue to feel its effects until then.

That means it will be necessary to continue to pay attention to inner transformation and growth and ride out the difficulties that arise in your daily life.

The universe is tricking us all anyway. It’s using any means necessary to help us remember to celebrate the good things in life. To look at change not as a scary and daunting task, but one of joy and one that can be filled with enthusiasm.

In First Nations beliefs Coyote, the Trickster, symbolizes spirit medicine. Spirit medicine doesn’t concern itself with our comfort zones, or what we think should happen, or how a situation should be. You know what I’m talking about. We might not always like the medicine were administered, but we always need it.

Coyote is teaching us to keep on track with personal goals and with practicing daily inner growth even when it seems that the whole world is against us. It’s your job to go after what you want, to stay in alignment with your whole being even if you’re too tired and you think you’ve finally slipped to the end of your rope. Coyote will use “bad” experiences to help us see the truth of the situation and actually learn from it.

Coyote also teaches us how to laugh at ourselves, to join in the cosmic joke we are playing on ourselves by stumbling around like we do. The by-product of the medicine of Coyote is that it uses laughter and comedy to show us new perspectives and reveal new solutions.

So let yourself get tricked into rebirth. Shed what is old and useless. Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. Celebrate how far you’ve come with friends, colleagues and family, and let those people be a reflection of the joy, hope, and courage you carry within you.

Aries – Mar. 21 to Apr. 19

Uh oh, you’ve been pushing yourself too hard lately and you’re starting to get exhausted. Make time for self-care (time alone, lazing on the couch, taking a hot bath with the music blasting), and remember that family is important, too. You need to show true leadership in this situation and reward those who have been working hard alongside you and show by example that taking the time to regenerate one’s batteries is as important as the work itself. A narrow perspective will not serve you right now. You need to keep all aspects of your life in focus. Stay at the centre of your own web, and be the true weaver of your own reality. This necessity is another reason for taking some time to yourself. You need to be able to gather your thoughts and internally put all your ducks in a row.

Taurus – Apr. 20 to May 20

You’re still facing some challenges, but the energy has shifted slightly. There’s more spring-like potential, more trust that the fall harvest will be bountiful. Practice gentleness in all your interactions. Use gentleness as a way to connect to the spirit, or the core, of those you love, and thus their hearts and minds. Find creative ways to deal with challenging or antagonistic situations, ways of drawing out the beauty in your friends, family, colleagues and associates through kindness and love. I know this can be a little bit of a challenge for you, Taurus. You want things to be straight forward and rational. However, this is your lesson right now. There is huge potential for growth in all aspects of your life, and if you continue to work toward your goals with grace and perseverance, your harvest will indeed be bountiful.

Gemini – May 21 to Jun. 20

You continue on a path of learning how to deal with difficult and frustrating situations with a sense of humour and receptivity. The learning process is taking place on all levels right now: you are learning about who you are, you are learning to understand and have compassion for the situations of others, and you are learning to face pain and difficulty with a positive attitude. Use this time to gather your strength and resources. Save for a rainy day with your energy, you time and your money. See that both the act of doing a good deed for a stranger or friend and taking time for yourself are forms of deposits in the energetic and karmic bank. I know it feels like there is an endless cycle of tragedies in your life, but this time will pass. It’s all about your attitude and perspective. Really. Keep that at the forefront of your thoughts. Once you have truly learned this lesson a breakthrough in your life will occur.

Cancer – Jun. 21 to Jul. 22

Well, there are still some kinks to work out; a couple of issues you thought dead and buried have reared their ugly heads. But take heart. That’s only a fraction of what is really going on right now. Overall your life is in synthesis and there is a heavy dose of transformation taking place. You are ripe with birth and new ideas and new beginnings. You have a lot of energy and feel as though you can conquer the world. So don’t let those pesky issues get you down. Use the energy of change that pulses through you to truly deal with them once and for all. Don’t be afraid to face issues head-on with the intent that you are going to transmute them into wholeness with the power of self-love.

Leo – Jul. 23 to Aug. 22

Something has shaken-up your world and is causing you a great amount of distress. It’s OK, though. Take some deep breathes and focus your mind. There is healing energy available to you and the situation and the other people who are effected, so stay receptive to it. You might even find that deliberately distracting yourself or others from this negative situation would help everyone shift perspective enough to see the whole thing from a new angle and thus find solutions. Speak what you know, but don’t push your agenda. You are at the mercy of these circumstances right now and you need to remain calm, maintain a positive outlook, and act with caution.

Virgo – Aug. 23 to Sept. 22

Ugh! You are still dealing with an opposing force in your life. Whoever this is is trying to make things very hard for you, picking fights, spreading rumours and keeping secrets. Maintain your integrity. You need to act from your core truth at all times and seek out the reasons for the antagonism. Work toward a solution as best you can, even if this other person is not able to hear you right away. Be cautious with your words and protect your own heart and energy. Try to refrain from saying things in anger, and when sharing your deep, dark secrets be sure you can trust who you are talking to. Find people you do trust so that you can vent your feelings freely without fear of judgement or anger.

Libra – Sept. 23 to Oct. 22

Look deep within and allow yourself to recognize the growth that is taking place. You are pre-spring, you are the bud before it has burst open. You are the tundra before it comes alive with wildflowers. Let yourself be that deep, dark earth. Contemplate the many aspects of your being, the very cells that make up your physical self, how these cells work together, and the sheer wonder of your existence. There’s not a lot going on in your outer, physical life, in fact things are pretty quiet right now. So take this time to gather and store energy and resources. Things will shift soon enough and you’ll need all the energy you can get to deal with the rush of growth and change.

Scorpio – Oct. 23 to Nov. 21

There are too many things demanding your attention. You need to focus on what is important; you need to prioritize and minimize. Get back to basics. A transformation wants to take place in terms of relationships. You’ve gotten trapped in a cycle of ordinariness when it comes to your lover/partner. Love wants to flourish and dance and play, and the mindset you currently have about what relationship is supposed to look like is hindering you and making it impossible for you to dance with ecstasy and sensuality. It’s also making it impossible for you to let yourself be truly seen. Let that loved one see you. They mean only the best, and even if you get hurt down the road, isn’t love and connection worth it?

Sagittarius – Nov. 22 to Dec. 21

Don’t let yourself get pulled off your path, dear Sag. Use that keen inner sight of yours to see through lies and deception. Steer clear of other people’s fear. Reduce things down to their elements. Somewhere inside you’re lugging around old baggage. You need to let go of that old crap so you can create the energy you need to tackle the world and your various projects. And keep in mind that if you do get caught up in the drama of others, if you allow these people and circumstances to distract you from what is important, you will learn the hard way that you are participating in the drain you’re experiencing on your energetic resources. This will make things harder later on when you really have to step-up and put-out to attain your goals.

Capricorn – Dec. 22 to Jan. 19

You are so close. Don’t give up now. The universe is so much on your side and a kind of rebirth is taking place within you. Your head is filled with too many thoughts. You need quiet and meditation; time to think and feel. Let go of preconceived notions, judgements, and beliefs. Postpone whatever it is you’ve been planning for just a little longer. You’ll know when the time is right because the energy will shift. Right now, take some time to open to spirit, to the universe, and notice the magic and synchronicity that is taking place on a daily basis. If you don’t see it, you’re not paying enough attention. Rebirth is hard. It challenges us to break down all the preconceived notions of the Self. Every button that can be pushed, will be pushed. Be the shaman and face this birth head-on. Don’t shy away from the challenges of becoming a better person.

Aquarius – Jan. 20 to Feb. 18

It’s a time of plenty; you have all that you need and more — emotionally, spiritually, and materialistically. But if you look closely you’ll see that you don’t really need all this stuff, especially the material possessions and ideological perceptions of the world. Logic dictates that it’s time to clean house, to cleanse your life, both externally and internally. It’s like the life cycle of a deciduous tree. In the fall the tree must lose its leaves and bring all of its energy down to its roots in order to prepare for the outburst of spring and the production new leaves, flowers and seeds. You are making room for new ideas, projects, people and experiences. Use what you have to benefit the lives of others. Give especially to those who have supported you in the past and who continue to support you in the present.

Pisces – Feb. 19 to Mar. 20

An overpowering external force threatens your goals and plans and there is nothing you can do about it. The key to riding this out is in how you respond. You have a considerable amount of power in the situation, this power just happens to reside on the sidelines, on the periphery of your attention. You cannot predict how this will turn out, but if you stand by your convictions and do not allow yourself to be swayed from your path, new doors of opportunity will open for you. There is a gateway open to a whole knew modus operandi for your life. This is good as it means that you will have accepted that you are worthy and capable of bigger and better things. So let things disintegrate. Let them fertilize the soil that will grow a healthy new harvest.