Today marks the last full day of Mercury in Scorpio before it ingresses Sagittarius at 9:42 pm EST Wednesday. The three all-water-sign Mercury retrogrades this year have gotten us well acquainted with what it’s like to feel our thoughts. And while Mercury in Sagittarius should bring some sharpness and quickness back to our minds, the aspects accompanying its ingress signal a need to pay careful attention to details that might otherwise go unheeded.
Even now, while still in Scorpio, Mercury is square Neptune in Pisces (exact Friday). Marked by “impractical idealism,” and posing a challenge to one’s ability to concentrate, Mercury square Neptune often shows up as self-deception, denial and so-called white lies. As Eric has often noted, if you are honest with yourself, it’s harder to lie to others — and those who lie often deceive themselves as well.
Although Mercury in Sagittarius tends to be honest (a little impatient, and prone to foot-in-mouth disease, but all in all sincere) it also represents a mind that is more focused on the long-range picture rather than the details. It is sharp but often needs some directing, according to Isabel Hickey.
In a square to Neptune in Pisces — another big-picture, soft-focus type of placement — there’s a chance for what would usually be honest thought to become a little lost in dreams, or caught in projections of how we wish things were. Given a little momentum, it can spiral into actual self-deceit; and once we’re lying to ourselves, even with lofty intentions, it opens the door to deceiving others.