Today is Monday, Oct. 17, 2011. The Moon spends most of the day in Gemini, and ingresses Cancer just before 9:38 pm EDT. This may translate to a chatty workday as the Moon trines Saturn and the Sun in Libra. Did you participate in the international Day of Action associated with Occupy Wall Street on Saturday? You may find it hard to focus on work in favor of discussing the event, the greater movement and all manner of justice/injustice in the world (and perhaps in your relationships). After the Moon enters Cancer, it also opposes Pluto. This may find you ‘separating the wheat from the chaff’, as Isabel Hickey puts it, with regard to how you really feel about all you’ve discussed during the day and experienced over the weekend.
Through all of it, the thing to remember is to take your own convictions and beliefs with a grain of salt. Stay flexible and open in your conversations, especially with people whose stance conflicts with yours. Mercury in Scorpio is opposing retrograde Jupiter in Taurus, just as Venus did last week. This is an aspect whose behavior varies significantly depending on the signs involved. Mercury polarizes Jupiter, since they happen to rule opposing signs (Gemini and Sagittarius, or Virgo and Pisces, respectively). That’s kind of like a double polarity, and in the fixed signs involved, any stubbornness of will or resistance is going to exacerbate matters. Mercury opposite Jupiter in fixed signs may give strength to your convictions, but it does nothing to ensure they are correct.
The thing about this Scorpio-Taurus axis is that it’s partly about values and the material (Taurus) and partly about deeper forms of energy exchange and transformation (Scorpio). That can be a lot to handle any time; an opposition calls for some conscious negotiation. Recognize what you value that others give; look for ways to receive graciously and give in kind. In fact, to help keep focus where it belongs, try to start every transaction by offering a little first. Then receive. And then evaluate any information that comes through.