An Aries Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste on Being Rash

4.19.06


Now that Mercury's moved into Aries (it happened on Sun Apr 16), our minds are working at lightning-fast speed… shooting out the right answers without needing time to mull them over, and/or jumping to conclusions before the rest of us has a chance to catch up.

Mercury in Aries enkindles our thoughts toward uncharted territory all right, but can rush us into premature yakking if we're the overeager type—and even if we aren't.

This placement is optimal for thinking on our toes, to produce the fighting words we need to assert our stance or defend our livelihood.

As for carefully considering all the ramifications of important decisions? Mercury in Aries is not so ideal.

In the blitz to move things along, it makes rash judgments. And when potential barriers are met, it throws out quarrelsome quips designed to overpower the competition.

Objections? Squashed. Additional considerations? Left unconsidered.

This fiery-mouthed loose cannon of a Mercury is at major odds with the otherwise emotion-driven blend of wateriness defining the current astro-climate. Mercury clashes in an especially combative square with Mars in Cancer, the mark of a much more sensitive impetus driving everything softly along… or trying to, at least.

Our bustling brains and babbling blabbermouths bound way ahead, while our big-hearted bodies lag behind to make sure everyone's feeling okay. What a massive disconnect awaits, to pull us apart at the seams… if we don't let both urges have their say.

Mercury squaring Mars while in Mars's ruling sign Aries indicates significant analytic discomfort with allowing feelings to dictate the route of our actions. (Feelings other than rage and defensiveness, that is.) Our Mars-in-Cancer instinct is to be considerate, to answer others' concerns before they're even voiced. In that way, the unified forcefield of psychic togetherness is sustained. And everything flows as one.

Somehow or another, though, we're also inches away from viciously pouncing. Our warrior-wise, trigger-happy Mercury-in-Aries brain is ready to convince us we're being short-changed. 'What about me?' it barely has a shot of gasping, before it's already heaving out the truth of what it wants—to hell with making nice, or asking what someone else thinks.

Or else (and perhaps worse), we haven't noticed we're being self-centered and domineering in our demands. (Shit, we didn't even notice they were demands at all.) But something doesn't feel right. We've been honest, so why does the weird gut sensation persist? Because honesty isn't enough. Respect's also required.

The Mercury-in-Aries vibe is quicker, more aggressive, and therefore likelier to cause us a problem. That's why I advise sticking close to the Mars-in-Cancer courtesy of feeling out the other parties before blurting a suggestion-disguised-in-the-tone-of-a-command.

When in doubt, don't speak. Don't fix your mind on a particular outlook. And don't listen with your dukes up.

Instead, to give this antsy Mercury his due self-centeredness (not, incidentally, an awful thing), return your mental attention to your solar eclipse wants from a few weeks back. This week, Mercury passes over the degree of the eclipse (8 Aries), giving us a chance to reenergize our recent desire-statements with a conscious cerebral zing.

Why use our thought-power to argue or defend with others, when we can use it to reassert our self-possessed intentions… freeing ourselves up to float along on Mars's watery current?