Roadblocks to progress and requisite emotional meltdowns are possible this week, as the already-spicy Mars Retrograde season is getting turned up to “Vindaloo.” Mars is the planet of getting stuff done, how we check tasks off our list, how we defend ourselves and how we go to war. The retrograde, which began at the end of October and will last until mid-January, turns all of that on its head, confounding our best efforts, bringing a sense of powerlessness or uncertainty. In Gemini, this could relate to myriad areas of capability, but those most likely to be affected have to do with the processing, deployment and dissemination of information: how we put knowledge to work and how we can communicate effectively. And breakdowns in that realm may be becoming more and more apparent as Mercury, the planet with general dominion over those realms, finds itself in a contentious position with Mars, one that may make it feel like you’re banging your head against a concrete wall, knowing the answers lie just on the opposite side.

What’s more, and as I’ve written about extensively in my Sagittarius Season write-up, Mercury and Venus are traveling together very closely, so our experience of knowledge and our experience of Venus’ spheres of influence – aesthetic, value, enjoyment, entertainment, attractiveness, and to some extent, emotion – will be hard to pick apart, as if they are fused together. We may be more likely to get haughty and bothered about what we do and do not know, what we are or are not able to do. What’s more, since Saturn is also configured tightly to Mars, albeit in a positive way, we may feel duty-bound to get these things accomplished right now. That sense of obligation and structure CAN be very helpful, and I can think on somethings I’ve taken care of recently that I would not have if I didn’t feel that imperative. But the really vexing thing will be those tasks we cannot complete even though we feel that we must.

The lunar cycle may also contribute to frustrations today, as the waxing moon comes into conflict with the Sun, causing disharmony between self-image and gut feeling or appetites. This disharmony may propel us toward alternative solutions, however. By evening, the moon will cause what is known as a t-square, a tense configuration involving all the forces previously discussed above. If we are still hard at work, that work may become granular, possibly a slog. Then again, if you gravitate toward detail-oriented, admin-flavored tasks, this might be your jam. This will likely persist into the following morning, though hopefully you will not have to.

Tomorrow though, on Thursday 12/1, the moon will make contact with Jupiter by midday. Jupiter is freshly direct and likely to inject optimism and a spirit of goodwill into your day. Mileage may vary!

However, Thursday also sees Mercury jump out of the frying pan and dive deep into the ocean’s briney depths without a flotation device. That is to say, Mercury will begin peeling away from its negative relationship to Mars and lock into a tricky position with Neptune. This is likely a more precarious position for Mercury, and given that Mercury is currently giving Mars its marching orders by traditional rulership, it’s not great for Mars, either. Before, the Messenger planet was barking commands at an impertinent enforcer in his employ, now he’s trying to shout down an untameable wall of water, and the enforcer is only hearing angry “glub glubs” over his earpiece. In truth, this will probably start to be felt a day or two earlier, but Thursday is when this aspect is partile, or exact. Facts and figures are likely to get slippery, though this would be an excellent time to binge through some fantasy or crush through a video game. Artistic endeavors are similarly encouraged, though it’s going to be a bad time for PAs and stage managers and anyone who has to try and herd all the creative cats. Coming from that world myself, though, I daresay they’re bitterly used to it.

Friday (12/2) sees the moon enter energetic Aries, bringing fresh ammo to the front lines, and its conjunction with Chiron may even help us correct any problems with our aim. Saturday (12/3) has Venus following Mercury into an exact square with Neptune. While this is not any planet’s favorite place to be, Venus’ lore has her rising fully-formed from a giant clam shell, and the planet’s resonance with the emotional self bears out this ingrained connection. In short, Venus is naturally a better swimmer than Mercury, as it were…though the humidity is probably frizzing out her hair in a way she’s not fond of.

Plus! This contact is uniquely interesting because it occurs on the day that Neptune ceases its retrograde and goes direct in Pisces, and because some have referred to Neptune as a higher octave of Venus. Neptune represents our link to the imaginal, to the great sea of dreams and nightmares, and depending on where this transit hits an individual’s chart, we may feel that connection’s eddies stir and twist into a new direction. From my Sag Season write-up: “We can expect our aesthetic, social and sensual expressions to be problematized by confusion, coming out as a distorted versions of how they may have seemed on the inside. Not every substance should be exposed to air, as they may spoil. Neptune is also thought to preside over altered states, and it may be that things don’t manifest as expected because the expecter is somewhere else entirely. Then again, this needn’t be a bad thing; Neptune direct is likely to stir inspiration and romance and feelings of interconnection, you might just stub your toe on the way to all of that.”

Around this time, Mercury will begin to square Jupiter. There’s a lot going on! More on this later.

Sunday (12/4) and Monday (12/5) see the moon’s movement through Taurus. On Monday, it will make contact with Uranus conjunct the North Node, a powder keg union I have written much about in prior months. It’s not quite as volatile as it once was, but shake-ups and surprises are possible here. Jupiter is already preparing to leave Pisces, moving into the 29th degree today, its anaretic degree. A planet’s influence is traditionally thought of as weaker or muddled here, though Jupiter is still very strong in Pisces; Superman on a bad day is still going to save a lot of people.

Then on Tuesday (12/6,) Mercury locks into the 29th degree of Sagittarius, an exact square to Jupiter. This is the last day before Mercury changes signs, and he is coming into conflict with the planet who informs him, a petulant student trying to take the benevolent teacher to task for not giving him all the answers. If we’re particularly keyed into Mercury, we may learn something valuable today, something that elevates our thinking on a particular matter.

There’s a potent Full Moon incoming, but that’s not until the 8th. So, until next Hump Day!