Mercury re-enters Sagittarius Monday at 10:40 pm EST, counseling restraint. It will be a re-entry because Mercury has been away from the mutable fire for less than a month, thanks to a retrograde review of Scorpio’s fixed waters. The advice to discretion derives from an unlikely combination of factors that will come together with Mercury’s return to Jupiter’s dominion. The first factor is the sign itself.
As the innermost planet goes, so your mind, and its expression, is likely to go. With its impending resurgence to expansive Sagittarius, there are several ways Mercury could go too far.
Any planet in opposition to a sign it rules has the potential to be less than dignified in its expression. That’s the case when Mercury takes its annual tour of expansive Sagittarius in opposition to its Gemini domicile. Of course, it can also go quite well. The determining factor is whether the head gets out of hand. On one hand, there is the peril of hyperbole and conceit. The other side of the coin holds a promise of inspired communication. This year, a rare case of mutual reception implies a toss-up.
The phenomenon of mutual reception takes place when two planets simultaneously occupy each others’ ruling signs. This year, for the first time in 12 years, Mercury is traversing Sagittarius while Jupiter is retrograde through Gemini.
Planets in mutual reception often function to resemble each other. A mutual reception in opposing signs becomes more of a reflection. Add apparent motion in opposite directions, and cautious, creative thinking will be necessary to make heads or tails of any concurrent situation in your life. Two aspects immediate to Mercury’s return from Scorpio will simultaneously enhance the creative while revealing a path to resolution. The first of those aspects is a third square to Neptune.