We have a little more action this week with two planets changing signs and one major aspect – Jupiter in Virgo square Saturn in Sagittarius. Venus is reluctantly leaving one of her home signs, Taurus, for flirty, playful Gemini. Mars is doing the opposite because he is moving back into Scorpio again from fiery Sagittarius.
Mercury is now direct in Taurus though it won’t be really picking up speed until the weekend. Having the Sun and Venus in Gemini will help Mercury shrug off the effects of being retrograde and get lined out again. We may finally begin to be able to see some movement in our mental gears too. Mercury receives significant support from being part of a Grand Trine in earth with Jupiter in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn that will remain in effect all week. Simple, practical solutions are best.
Tuesday is the day Venus leaves Taurus for another year and bounces into Gemini. The very first thing she does is oppose a retrograde Mars in Sagittarius that same day. This makes me wonder if we’ll run into an old love interest, have a brief delightful fling for a few days, then boom! Mars returns to Scorpio and they are gone into the night.
On a more pleasant note, Venus will be traveling within a few degrees of the Sun right up to the Solstice when the Sun moves on into Cancer. She will soften the edges of Gemini’s wit and help everyone communicate with a smile instead of a frown. An air sign Sun-Venus conjunction always has Libra overtones and as such adds a civilized note to social gatherings. So even if the whole Mars retrograde situation has you wanting to punch someone out badly, the Sun-Venus conjunction will help prevent this.
Whether or not you like the idea of Mars returning to Scorpio for awhile may depend on if you have personal planets from 23° to 29° in Taurus, Leo and Aquarius because Mars in Scorpio will oppose or square those. Mars in Scorpio is implacable and tenacious which means any unfinished business will be shoved right under our noses again. May as well take care of it for once and for all! Mars reaches 29° Scorpio on Friday.
The last exact square between Jupiter in Virgo and Saturn in Sagittarius takes place at 13° on Thursday. This has always felt like an odd couple to me because the signs and planets involved seem to have reversed roles. Saturn is known its restraint and dutiful ways while Jupiter is optimistic and bold. Virgo is careful and meticulous while Sagittarius is free spirited and easy going. This square is loaded with cognitive dissonance and that is reflected in the areas of our natal charts it falls. Thankfully this is the last one! F.Y.I. both planets will be at 13° from May 22 to May 30, and will continue to add to the Mutable Muddle for awhile longer.
The Mutable Muddle is my term for the loose ongoing Grand Cross/T-Square in mutable signs in evidence on the Full Moon in Sagittarius. Whenever the Moon is in a mutable sign (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) from now until September when Saturn in Sagittarius makes its last square to Neptune in Pisces and when Jupiter enters Libra, we’ll have our weekly dose of mutable confusion. Compared to the long, long years when Uranus in Aries was squaring Pluto in Capricorn, the Mutable Muddle is very short lived.
Monday arrives with the Sagittarius Moon finding clarity via a trine to Uranus in Aries first thing in the morning, after which she will be void-of-course for the rest of the day. We could find our energy flagging by the end of the day. The Moon moves into earthy Capricorn during the night and won’t make any major aspects until Tuesday night when she will be sextile dreamy Neptune in Pisces.
One thing about the Capricorn Moon is she excels at helping us set priorities and that ought to help keep us on track Tuesday when Venus makes her move into Gemini very early Tuesday morning. Tuesday night is when the Capricorn Moon makes a Grand Trine in earth with Jupiter in Virgo and Mercury in Taurus. Hopefully this will give us a good night’s sleep because Wednesday she will conjoin Pluto during the morning. She won’t square Uranus in Aries until Wednesday evening so we won’t have to deal with unexpected interruptions during business hours.
Thursday is air sign day because the Moon arrives in Aquarius as the day begins, after which she will gain energy via a sextile to Mars in Sagittarius before happily joining up with Venus and the Sun in Gemini. This resurgence of air will finally help reengage our minds and ability to be more objective. Thursday is the best day this week to sit down and talk things out, for both business and personal matters.
On Friday even though the Aquarius Moon starts off her day with a steadying sextile to Saturn in Sagittarius, it may be more challenging to maintain perspective because of a square to Mercury in Taurus midday. Fixed sign squares tend to end in stalemates and it might be a good idea to delay serious discussions until next week.
We might as well plan on being flexible with our weekend plans. The Moon ends her stay in Aquarius squaring retrograde Mars in Scorpio midday before going void-of-course until late afternoon. Once she slides into Pisces’s waters for the evening relaxing becomes much more inviting.
Sunday is this week’s Mutable Muddle day with the Pisces Moon all mixed up with Neptune, Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn in Sagittarius and the Sun-Venus conjunction in Gemini. The Moon’s day, and ours, will end on a better note than it started with the earth planets coming to her rescue late afternoon and evening. A quiet evening at home might be the best way to close out the weekend.
This week should see a gradual but definite improvement in our ability to shift our minds into high gear with Mercury now direct and two planets in airy Gemini. Not only that but a better elemental balance always is more conducive to making better choices and seeing more options. Mars returning to Scorpio makes it more important than ever to remember to go forth and do no harm . . . please.
Note: Timing is averaged for EDT to PDT.
Image: Tuesday’s Child © Michael Parkes
Libra Seeking Balance 
Reblogged this on Jude's Threshold and commented:
This Week in the Cosmos:
“Mutable Muddle” is a great term! 🙂