Mercury direct

Planetary news this week: Celebrate Mercury turning direct

Astrological update for the week of May 8-15, 2023

art by AI

After a couple of fairly intense lunations, both of which were eclipses, the planetary energies are calming down a bit. Jupiter is finishing up its travels through the sign of Aries this week and will enter Taurus next week (read more about that here).

Venus has just entered Cancer, adding to the watery emphasis already in place with Mars in that sign. Where Mars (action) can be somewhat difficult in Cancer, Venus (relating) finds comfort and satisfaction in the emotional connections that are more easily made under this influence.

The sign of Cancer is ruled by the Moon – the doorway to the soul – and its connection to Venus helps us to develop relationships and interactions with others that are deep and radiant. Cancer is highly sensitive and very much in touch with the ebb and flow of emotion, and while Venus is in Cancer (May 7 – June 5) the bonds of family, either by birth or by choice, will be of paramount importance.

Mercury turns direct.  Mercury is retrograde for three weeks four times a year – a beautiful dance like the ebb and flow of the ocean. All planets turn retrograde (appear sometimes to travel backwards from our perspective on Earth) and at these times their influence can be stronger, and their messaging more important.

Mercury IS the planet of messaging – it governs the way information is accumulated and communicated, so when Mercury is retrograde (it’s also closer to the Earth during these times) all kind of information flow become more critical which is why sometimes we have problems with the processing of information. When Mercury turns direct, which it […]

Share this article...
By |2023-05-08T10:09:37-04:00May 8th, 2023|Planetary news this week|2 Comments

Planetary news this week: Planetary stations and Aquarius season begins with a bang

Astrological update for the week of January 16-23, 2023

art by Krystlez

Retrograde update. This week the last of the retrograde planes change direction, and we will have no planets retrograde until June. When there are no retrograde planets time tends to speed up; without the pull of the retrograde planets to review and re-discover, we tend to find our lives passing without much reflection. We can adjust our own intention to incorporate this reflection into our daily lives though, through ritual and routines which support our inner experience as well as our outer one.

Planetary stations. Mercury turns direct on January 18th, and Uranus turns direct on the 22nd. Both of these planets are stationary in the sky as they prepare to change direction, which means their influence is more intense – especially if they are hitting a sensitive point in your chart and this is especially true of Uranus which has only moved one degree since early December from the station at 15 degrees Taurus, and it won’t move past the 15 degree point until March 16. This is a long time for Uranus to shine its laser beam of electrical charge and instigation for change, especially if you have planets between 10 and 20 degrees of the fixed signs (Taurus, Scorpio, Leo, Aquarius). Personally I have three planets in those signs and I’m feeling it for sure!

A good way to handle this Uranian energy is to use its inspiration for innovation and change in our own lives. What can we do that will take our lives into a completely new direction? Where are we stuck? What changes do we know we need to make but have been resisting? Those fixed signs can make it […]

Share this article...
By |2023-01-16T08:29:34-05:00January 16th, 2023|Planetary news this week|5 Comments

Astrological news this week: Clarity to push through retrograde issues

Astrological update for the week of September 26 – October 3, 2022

art by Elaine Bayley

Fresh on the heels of the Libra New Moon (September 25, 4:34 pm EDT), we have a week full of positive energies to help navigate through any issues that we may be dealing with. The planets are always doing something, but this week we get a boost from harmonious alignments which provide support and ease us through challenges.

There is a dearth of the water element in the skies at the moment, with only Neptune carrying the influence of feeling and intuition, so we may find ourselves somewhat disconnected from our inner senses and focused more on the outer experience. We can counteract this by spending more time in quiet contemplation, tuning in to the sights and sounds of nature to soothe and calm any jangling of the nerves.

We do still have seven planets (including Chiron) in retrograde motion, and Mercury (mind) is at a virtual standstill as it prepares to turn direct next week. With so many planets retrograde it can feel like we are stuck, that it’s difficult to get anything off the ground. Patience furthers, as the IChing says, and if we stop to listen we will soon discover the solution to any problem.

We also have the challenging square between Saturn and Uranus at its tightest point since 2021 during the month of October: that conflict between the old way (Saturn) and the new (Uranus), the pressures of rebellion (Uranus) against conformity (Saturn) – expect to see all of these issues re-emerge for one last time.

Without a lot of big planetary interactions the faster moving planets and lunar energies become more evident. Here’s what else is […]

Share this article...
By |2022-09-26T08:43:58-04:00September 26th, 2022|Planetary news this week|1 Comment

Weekend update: Mercury direct, Venus in Leo, and Neptune Rx

Art by Marie Desbons

I have to say, this has been the weirdest Mercury retrograde in recent memory, for me at least. As many of you know, I like to soothe people’s anxieties about Mercury retrograde and the truth is that snafus happen when Mercury isn’t retrograde too.  But this one, with Mercury having changed direction in a square to Neptune, has brought a Neptunian layer that has just been weird.  Orders not just going wrong but disappearing entirely.  Contractors giving bad information based on wrong assumptions.  Schedules being disrupted by people showing up when they said they wouldn’t.  Just weird!  Maybe it’s worse for me because all of this has happened right on my Gemini ascendant.

Neptune has been stationary in the sky through the entire three-week retrograde period – when a planet is stationary it carries a more potent punch, and Neptune’s purpose is inspire us to step away from the mundane world of schedules and to-do lists and instead move into more of an imaginative and creative experience.

How has it been for you? Let me know in the comments!

Mercury has now turned direct, but it will make that returning square to Neptune again on July 6th so if like me you’ve been having a weird time, don’t get too comfortable quite yet.  😃

Speaking of Neptune, in other big news Neptune has just changed direction so it will continue to be stationary for another few weeks.  Stationary planets appear to stand still in the sky, and therefore if you are having a transit of Neptune to your personal chart (look to see if you have any planets in the 18-28 degree range of Pisces, Virgo, Gemini or Sagittarius) you may continue to feel somewhat confusing energies, like […]

Share this article...
By |2021-06-26T07:36:30-04:00June 26th, 2021|Planetary news this week|8 Comments

Weekly update for February 22-March 1, 2021: Virgo Full Moon and the end of Mercury retrograde

In this week’s video I begin with some philosophy about fate and the astrological chart, a question I was asked by a viewer recently. Mercury just turned direct, but its motion won’t return to normal for another week or so and I explain why.  We’ll explore why the Virgo Full Moon comes at the perfect time for the changes that are formulating under the ongoing square from Saturn to Uranus.  There’s a lot packed into this video and I hope you enjoy it!

For the astrology of current events, follow me on Twitter, and for  video updates follow me on Youtube. Daily astro updates can be found both here on the blog and on Facebook!

I gratefully accept donations to support my work: Venmo or Paypal


Transcript (transcribed by tiny little creatures inside my computer and roughly edited by me, please excuse errors and consider watching the video instead!)

Hi, everybody, my name is Lynn Hayes. Welcome back to my channel. And if you’re new here, I’m really glad you’ve joined me today. In today’s video, we’ll be talking about the astrology for the week of February 22 through March 1 2021.

There’s a few things I would like to talk about, of course, before we get to the astrology for the week ahead. One thing that came up in the comments from last week’s video is somebody who was asking why her life is so hard. That question is not new. I think that’s an interesting topic to discuss when we’re talking about an astrological chart, some people have astrological charts that don’t involve a lot of trauma. They don’t involve a lot of challenge. They don’t show violence, they don’t show depression, particularly and some people […]

Share this article...