So anyways, I’ve said before that I’m not a huge one for the shadow period of Mercury retrograde…in my humble opinion, life’s too short too spend such a huge chunk of it worrying about whether Mercury is having the planetary equivalent of a good hair day or not.

Yet, this week, stuff has been happening- Mercurial stuff:

• We fly home from Bali a few days into the retrograde, and Garuda have advised us that the direct flight that we booked for the return trip is now going via Jakarta. Did we want to change our departure date?
• Then there was my pre-beach maintenance booking at the beauticians this morning. I could have sworn I wrote down 9.45am, yet the reminder text came in at 8.45.
• Then I had to scan a contract across to someone I’ve done some writing work for and my laptop can no longer “see” or “talk to” my scanner.
• I went to upload my book to Amazon the other day so it’s ready to launch on Wednesday, and the file wouldn’t accept. I found a workaround, but it happened. Now I can’t see the cover photo. If you still can’t see the cover photo by Wednesday, know that I can’t be faffed sorting it just yet.

Yep, as I said, all Mercurial…and all Mercury shadow type of stuff. A sneak preview, I suppose, of the retrograde itself.

‘I told you so,’ I hear from those of you who are believers in the whole shadow thing, but at the end of the day, it’s all a tad inconvenient, and slows me down, but that’s not entirely a bad thing. Besides, that contract should have gone out weeks ago, I’ve never been to Jakarta before, if the thumbnail cover image isn’t on my Amazon listing it’s not the end of the world, and an 8.45 appointment gave me the whole of the rest of the day to do the things I needed to do.

Mercury goes retrograde for real on or around the 18^th/19^th– depending on where you are.

This week on the blog, the May horoscopes went up, as did something I’d prepared earlier on Venus in Cancer, and the astrological reason for my book launch date.

Speaking of which, over on and anyways is a post on what the book is actually about and an interview with my lead character, Emily.

What else? I’m off to Bali tomorrow for two blissful weeks away from the partition. Hubby and I are celebrating our 21^st wedding anniversary (last Thursday). Twenty-one years- that’s the closing Saturn square.

The closing square is different to the opening square. You’ve come through the 7 year itchy bit of the opening square, reached the crossroads of the opposition (that was the tough one) at 14 years and decided to cross the bridge together. Now there are more adjustments, but somehow they don’t feel quite as challenging. It’s more like a contentment is settling in- although with a 7^th house Uranus, contentment is something I need to shake up every so often! We’ve been together for 26 years- a few of my colleagues pointed out that is longer than they’ve been alive. Man, that makes me feel old!

Although the forecast for my week is quite predictable- 25-31 with thunderstorms every day- you’re probably more interested in the planets.

Mars moves into Gemini on Tuesday, raising the noise levels a tad. Don’t be surprised if your attention seems to be wandering, flitting all over the place. Given that Mercury will be retrograde in just over a week, carry a notebook to keep track of the thoughts, ideas and your to-do list.

Mars’ first meeting of note will be with Saturn on Friday. Saturn oppositions with Mars often feel like someone or something is stopping you from doing what it is that you want to do. Sometimes this is a good thing…just saying.

Anyways, on this occasion, it’s mostly about fighting for or arguing for your point of view. Although it could seem that you’re out there on your own, you’re not. Very often that fear and confrontation you’re feeling is not what someone else is doing to you- it’s what you’re doing to yourself. It’s a perspective thing, and you’ll do well to remember that.

What else?

Venus trine Neptune. Is there any sweeter aspect to finish a week on? Indulge in some daydreaming, use your imagination, and allow reality to drift away for a few hours. If you can.

Have a great week!

Jox

Oh, I nearly forgot- I have a couple of posts scheduled, but won’t be on Facebook for the next few weeks. I will be on instagram, and I will be posting the occasional Bali post on and anyways.