Cupcakes and Pepsi, distracted driving, and déjà vu
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Cupcakes and Pepsi
Venus enters Pisces this week (March 26, 12:43 pm), where it travels through April 19. I will freely admit to a positive bias where Venus in Pisces is concerned: my mother had this Venus placement, and a dearer person never lived. She believed the best in everyone, and most of us would strive to live up to her expectations and avoid disappointing her.
But life with her also had its quirks. We grew accustomed to passing through the living room of our tiny house in the morning and encountering random, down-on-their luck acquaintances crashing on our sofa. We picked up some of her less-than-optimal financial and dietary habits, like running up credit card debt and washing down Hostess cupcakes with Pepsi…for breakfast.
Back then, I felt guilty about being a cranky, judgmental introvert who never lived up to my mother’s selfless example. But throughout my life, I’ve internalized some of her lessons—albeit with a little fine tuning. For instance, as I near the end of my sixth decade I’m much better able to control my temper and am a lot more tolerant, which would make her proud. And luckily, I’ve also managed to eliminate debt from my life and embrace oatmeal.
Traditional astrologers considered Venus in her exaltation in Pisces, meaning Venus can do some of her very best work here. We’re closest to achieving unconditional love with Venus in Pisces, most proximate to our gentlest, most generous and lovable selves. But one caveat: Venus in Pisces will make a conjunction with Neptune in this sign in a few weeks, and this emphasizes the impractical nature of both. So spend wisely, eat nutritiously, and be sure you know who’s sleeping on your couch.
Déjà Vu all over again
It’s been a particularly challenging Mercury retrograde period (since March 5). In fact, it feels as though it’s been going on for months instead of just a few weeks. For all Mercury in Pisces’ artistic gifts and intuition, it also tends toward distraction, blind spots, and mistakes; the usual retrograde aggravations have accentuated these qualities.
And so I’m happy to report that Mercury finally turns direct this week (March 28, 6:59 am). But until Mercury finally reaches the end of its promenade through Pisces on April 16/17, don’t expect all the soldiers to turn around as one and march forward in a straight line. Mercury must first retrace all its steps since mid-February, mostly making the same aspects to the same planets. So if it the coming few weeks have a strong flavor of déjà vu, that’s why – and it’s probably not such a bad thing. Because we’ve all made our share of mistakes in the past month or so, and this will be our chance to discover them and set things right.
Distracted driving
I live a few blocks from a busy thoroughfare that connects three mid-town neighborhoods with busy retail areas. The avenue was designed a century ago as a trolley route that serviced what were, at that time, bedroom communities for downtown workers.
By the 1930s, the trolleys were increasingly replaced by buses, and later automobiles. Consequently, while there are many things I love about my neighborhood, the congestion along the avenue is not one of them. Cars, buses, pedestrians, bicycles, and recently electric scooter riders all vie for space along one two-lane artery lined with parked cars.
Unless you’re the patient type, which I fully confess that I am not, navigating our main drag is an exercise in frustration at most hours of the day. It’s the embodiment of Mars’ transit through plodding Taurus, which began on Valentine’s Day and ends, finally, next weekend. It’s essential to drive carefully in a crowded space, but there’s no doubt that it’s the wrong thoroughfare for someone who is in a hurry – someone with planets in Gemini, for instance.
Mars moving into Gemini (March 30, 11:12 pm) is much happier on a faster highway. But even if a Gemini type lives in a busy place, like Los Angeles, they find ways to adapt to their lengthy, frustrating commutes. When I lived in the Pasadena area and commuted to my office near Dodger stadium, my seven-mile morning commute could easily take an hour. Blessed with the Moon in Gemini, I spent that time behind the wheel of my Toyota eating my breakfast, drinking my coffee, finishing my makeup, and occasionally writing a song. These days, I’d be chatting on the phone or listening to podcasts instead of the drive-time radio jocks who used to amuse me. But the modus operandi is the same: Gemini will go to any lengths to avoid boredom.
As hard-driving Mars moves through easily bored Gemini through May 15, we’ll find its light, zippy quality is terrific for certain things, like catching up on correspondence and fighting speeding tickets. But trying to do too many things at once can be perilous; and while focus will be challenging while Mars is in Gemini, it’s not impossible. You’ll probably have better luck, though, working for awhile on one thing, then another, then another, then circling around to the first one again, like a hummingbird that’s busily pollinating. Just remember that Mercury, Gemini’s planetary ruler, is still in Pisces, where it is apt to be forgetful- so keep a checklist to help you remember what’s finished and what’s still in progress.
© 2019 April Elliott Kent
