When Mercury the planet is retrograde, his trickster brat side really comes out to play! You might experience delays, wrong numbers, emails sent prematurely or to the wrong address, computers behaving strangely, missed or rescheduled appointments, and spending hours preparing for an event only to discover that you used the wrong time...

Thankfully, Mercury retrograde only lasts about 3½ weeks (May.07-30). But the effects are lurking nearby while Mercury is in the retrograde Shadow for 2+ weeks before & after the retrograde period (Apr.22-Jun.15). As a rule, Mercury is better behaved when in direction motion and not in the Shadow, although anyone with a strong Mercury or Gemini in his/her natal chart can tell you Mercury often feels like it never really goes direct...

During the New Moon cycle in Gemini, it's Mercury's time to shine since he embodies Gemini energy. But with Mercury retrograde, we can expect that he will be particularly "playful" during this lunar cycle. At its worst, it might feel like 4 weeks of Mercury retrograde, but there are ways to meet this energy half way and to thrive on it. At its best, this can be 4 weeks of living on the lighter side of life and learning how to laugh and not take life so seriously.

Humor is to be found in every situation – not laughing at, but laughing with. Mercury is currently in Taurus, and although Taurus tends to be known for its hard work and pursuit of material goodies, Taurus adores comfort and pleasure. And humor is a great way to feel comfortable and get more pleasure out of life.

When life throws difficult circumstances at you, one of the best kinds of humor is irony – the kind where you shake your head in wry bemusement, knowing that life is bigger than the situation right in front of you, and that you will get through it. Ironic humor is a curious combination of wonder, disappointment, sadness and silliness, as well as submission to and respect for the greater whole of which you are a part. Irony can lift you out of a rut and transport you safely over even the most painful experiences. And even if it only lasts for a moment, that fleeting relief may be enough to break the grip of gloom and despair that might otherwise keep you stuck.

The Sun-Moon conjunction (which is what a New Moon is) is in a close quincunx aspect (150°) to Pluto. Now Pluto is not exactly known as "good time Charlie." And Pluto in serious Capricorn is even less likely to be the life of the party, unless transforming the results of economic disaster is your idea of fun.

The quincunx, on the other hand, can be a bizarre comedy of errors. This aspect generally connects planets in signs that have nothing in common – not the element (Fire, Earth, Air, Water), not the modality (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable), not the polarity (feminine/negative/yin, masculine/positive/yang), nothing. Ancient astrologers would say they "don't see each other." It's a little like putting two people in a room together who speak different languages, come from different cultures, interpret physical gestures differently, etc., and then asking them to solve a problem together. It can be either impossibly frustrating or hilariously funny, and quite possibly both!

So, imagine big, somber Pluto in Capricorn, grunting and muttering under his breath, complaining about the huge mess he must clean up. And then imagine the Gemini New Moon running around him like a hyper, yappy little dog, excitedly jumping in the air, trying to get him to play. Okay, maybe Mercury in Taurus wouldn't exactly be jumping in the air, but maybe he would try to lick him to death.

The Gemini New Moon calls on Mercury to give it direction, but Mercury in Taurus is a little busy right now trying to deal with a stressful square aspect to the Chiron-Jupiter-Neptune brigade that's all crowded into one-quarter of a degree at 26 Aquarius. This could be a time when you might feel disillusioned, disappointed or confused, and wondering what happened to all that promise that blossomed a few months ago. It hasn't disappeared; it just has to be integrated with and tempered by reality. (Read more about the Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron conjunction.) Mercury's stressful aspect to this conglomerate could bring some depression, discouragement or a sense of resignation to what seems like the "same old same old."

On the other hand, it could also be a window to see new, weird and wacky ways to try something different and experiment with new ideas. Allow that slow, methodical Taurus patience to work for you by letting it pace you instead of reacting to whatever is happening in your life. This is good advice under any Mercury retrograde, but right now it is bound to be especially helpful. If you are going through frustrations, disappointments, delays or confusion, use this to learn new insight – it's showing you something about what isn't working and what you need to feed your soul. I'm not talking about just the surface circumstances, but a perspective of who you are beyond the immediate situation.

Saturn is virtually unaspected right now and still the "handle" of the chart (meaning it is a loner off by itself on one side of the chart, and not connected very well to the other planets by aspect). In its favour, it is finally moving in direction motion, which means that part of us is more able to focus on forward progress in our long-term goals. However, it may be a while longer before we can really get a solid footing to get moving. This is probably just as well with Mercury still being retrograde, since this is better used as a time to gather information, evidence, resources and support. When Mercury goes direct on May.30, the Sun will be applying to a square to Saturn – not the easiest aspect to connect to Saturn with, but at least it's more grounded and it may well be a time when your mounting ambition and conviction hurl you forward like a slingshot.

One more thing worth mentioning (this is a busy update!) is the fact that the Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron group gets a lot of traffic during this lunar cycle. They are sextiled (60°) by Venus and Mars (who themselves are creeping closer toward their conjunction on Jun.21). Mercury continues his 3-pass square aspect (90°) to the trio, and the Sun makes trine aspects (120°) to them in mid-June. This lunar cycle will see a lot of energy tied to the conjunction of Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron. You will likely see it manifest and played out in many areas of your life, from your state of mind and perceptions, to your social and love live, to your health, physical energy and sense of purpose.

Remember, the one ally you still have is humour – irony, hilarity, fun and laughter at how crazy life can be. Mercury sextiles Uranus right now, and Uranus always loves to look at things inside-out and upside-down. Take off your glasses and put them on the other way around, or put on someone else's glasses and see how bizarre and silly the world looks. A personal reading can, believe it or not, help you find that uplifting, transcendent perspective that can brighten you up out of a heavy mindset. And when you get a personal reading with me, you'll find that Pegasus loves to join in to make you smile.   :-)