Cutting to the Chase

4.16.07


Ever say something on the spur of the moment… only to later wish you hadn't said it, or could take it back?

Well, of course you have. Hasn't everyone?

While such spontaneous utterances may occasionally come back to bite us in the ass, they also usually hold a marrow of coarse, inelegant truth… unfiltered through orderliness, untainted by expectation of others' reactions (and the consequent 'playing to a particular audience'), and unencumbered with carefully-thought-out exceptions or exclusionary clauses.

Here it is—take it or leave it. From this uncompromising stance, no big questions remain to wonder about… just reactions to the crudely-stated directness left for us to manage. What we lose in the soft delivery, we make up for in cutting-to-the-chase quickness and clear-cut lack of ambiguity. That first sting? Ouch. Feelings hurt? Perhaps. A call to advance to the next step, idea or action-plan? Unquestionably.

As Mercury continues to move through Aries, we might as well embrace this shoot-from-the-hip manner of free-for-all in our thoughts and communications. If we want to work with the current energies, we have no other choice. Our minds are changing fast, and our mouths, moving even faster.

When we impulsively hit upon what seems a 'right answer'… then, in expressing it, we immediately recognize if it soars into flight or crashes to the ground with a thump. And if it flops, do we sit back and cry about being wrong? Maybe for a second or two (Mars is, after all, currently in Pisces), but not too long, or we'll miss the next great spark of genius following quickly behind.

Mercury in Aries tends toward the short-and-snappy style, lobbing its words for maximal self-assertive effect. 'Make no mistake,' he broadcasts, 'about where I stand.' But while the sharp mental points or ragged verbal edges may lead to momentary skirmishes, those will pass as quickly as we allow 'em to. In that regard, Aries is not a grudge-holder—he hardly possesses the composed constancy for that.

In the meantime, forcefulness in our exchanges will serve to hastily break any ice that would otherwise have frozen us up. At least the gears are cranking, eh? Do yourself a favor, and decide not to hold onto any bad feelings generated in the Mercury-in-Aries brainstorm-and-discussion process.

What comes up this week, as daring or disconcerting as it may seem upon first exposure, could well prove to be lasting in its influence. The typical ephemerality of Mercury-in-Aries's impromptu notions is stabilized by a grand trine with Jupiter and Saturn, building to exactitude this coming weekend (Apr 21-22). A grand fire trine is a gift of synergistic jet-powered propulsion: Light a match, and the flames take on a life of their own, engulfing everything in their path.

With Jupiter and Saturn bolstering his intellectual confidence, Mercury is literally blazing with pioneering propositions, crazy concepts and wild words. Let him do his thing. Don't withhold what instinctively comes to you, for fear of being shamed into submission or defeated on the playing field. It's not who wins or loses, but whether you're out there in the game. A fiery mind, blocked from externalizing its efforts, burns itself up from the inside… leaving only ashes of good ideas never to be shared with the world. What a waste.

Tomorrow morning's (Tue Apr 17) New Moon, also in Aries, presents an occasion to commit to a return-to-basics simplification… the perfect deployment for Mercury's economical directness while in the fire-pit. The conjoined Sun and Moon also form a fire trine—to Pluto in Sagittarius, for an extra charge of cathartic cleansing to use as we see fit. Spend this week clarifying which zones of life require the deep-clean… and the rest of the month actually eliminating the waste, with a proactive tone-of-voice and state-of-mind that won't shy away from necessary confrontations.

Cut to the chase. You have nothing to lose… except an ideal astro-backdrop for making said cut. One snip, and at least something will come loose.