The second Mercury retrograde of the year will begin on Saturday, June 7th and will end on Tuesday, July 1st. Like the previous one this past February and the one coming up in October, this Mercury retrograde begins when Mercury, the mental planet of logic and communication, is in an emotional (water) sign. As it makes its way backwards, it leaves the emotional water sign and reenters a mental (air) sign.

What does all of this mean for us? That this Mercury retrograde will be intensely focused on our consciously examining what unconscious and subconscious programs or behavior patterns are running our lives. In other words, we’ll get to sift and sort through the reasons we think what we think and do what we do. In doing so, we can use this planetary transit as an opportunity to become clear about what influences we want and don’t want affecting our lives. In so doing, we can take our personal power back from these old emotion based programs, thus affording us the chance to consciously choose to live our best lives.

And of course, the usual cautions do apply– try to avoid getting overly emotional or all worked up over little and big things. As with all Mercury Retrogrades, plans and communications screw-ups can take you on a wild and confusing ride. Since Mercury rules communication, transportation and contracts, when it’s retrograde, all manner of mistakes and misunderstandings can occur. If you can, hold off on buying (or leasing) any big ticket items. It’s also a good idea to triple check any and all plans you make. This is an excellent time for research, as those things that are usually hidden from view, show themselves more easily during a Mercury Retrograde period.  Wait until Mercury goes direct on July 1st before making any big decisions.

On April 15^th, we’ll all be experiencing the effects of a lunar phenomenon called a ‘Blood Moon.’ The name alone sounds ominous and that it’s also a Full Moon eclipse (and tax day in the U.S.!)– well, sounds like there’s a horror movie in this somewhere.

Actually, there isn’t. Sometimes a Blood Moon occurs during a lunar eclipse when the Moon passes behind the Earth’s shadow. The atmosphere around the edge of the Moon glows red because large amounts of atmosphere will scatter away blue/green light and let red light go straight through. During a lunar eclipse, the Moon passes fully into the shadow of the Earth and is no longer being illuminated by the Sun. When the red light passing through the Earth’s atmosphere does reach the Moon, it shines on it, and highlights the red glow, thus creating the illusion that the Moon has turned red.

In recent years, this lunar phenomenon has been touted as a biblical warning that dire events will befall Israel and/or other countries. That may or may not happen. The important thing to keep in mind is that it’s an eclipse, and eclipses are intense. So are Full Moons (not to mention the tension of filing income taxes!). And these planetary energy events are world-wide occurrences, so it’s possible that dire events may befall a lot of people and countries. Since energy is neutral though, it’s also possible that some really great things will happen for us, too.

Solar eclipses bring new beginnings into our lives. Lunar eclipses take old, outmoded energy away from us. Let’s use this powerful planetary occurrence to release whatever burdens we’ve been carrying and prepare to welcome the new that will come into our lives on the next solar New Moon on April 29^th. Make a list of everything you want to leave your life and tear it into tiny pieces and throw it away on April 15^th. Also, make a list of the new that you want to come into your life and read it every day, including and beyond, April 29^th. You’ll be amazed at how wonderful life will become as you begin to reflect the fabulous newness that you’re now actively attracting.