On May 17th, the Sun conjoins Uranus in Taurus for the last time and they won't come together again in the zodiac sign of the Bull for another 84 years. This is great news for people who like their rules clear and criterions consistent because Uranus, the planet of revolution and change, has been shifting those goalposts like a two year old on a sugar buzz since May 2018. It can be argued that shake-ups bring opportunity, but after a while those upsets in the game plan take a toll on one's nerves and peace of mind. Yet the funny thing about Uranus is that for all of its radical departures and reversals one often winds up back where they started when the planetary transit began. That's because the word “revolution” – which we connect with overthrow and rebellion – also refers to a planet's single orbit around the Sun; a full turn of the wheel if you will. But just because you end up back where you started doesn't mean you're the same person. Experience has changed you and it will be that same experience that allows you to make more informed decisions moving forward.

Chances are the child who pointed out the Emperor wasn't wearing any clothes likely had Mercury in Taurus. There's something wonderfully frank and unbothered about the planet of messengers when it's traveling through the zodiac sign of the bull. Its interest in telling it like it is comes from the fact that it simply reports what it sees. This brings to an end weeks of pretending that things were OK when they weren't or toeing the line out fear of being called out or ostracized. Now that you see how those who said they were in-the-know weren't, you're ready to remedy the situation. Thankfully Taurus's nature isn't to retaliate or to shame. It's to repair what was broken. This will allow you to skip the finger pointing and get down to the business of salvaging a situation before it's too late. Things have been so heated lately with so many planets moving back and forth in fire signs that it will be nice to enjoy a period when cooler heads prevail. Mercury will be strolling through Taurus from May 10th to May 25th.

The good thing about Pluto turning retrograde on May 4th is that whatever crisis you've been struggling with these past six months will retreat back to the dark corner from whence it came. Retrogrades mark a change in planetary disposition; a time when what was on is called off. We often think of retrogrades as upsets in our routine because things don't go according to plan (like with a Mercury retrograde for instance), however retrogrades can also signal a time of reprieve – like when Pluto, the planet of ordeals, reverses direction. But just because something's gone dormant doesn't mean that it's been taken care of. It will be back – which means that you have five months to make the switch from being reactive to proactive. Make the necessary adjustments, the bold moves, and decisive choices you need to make to ensure that you are leading with your best foot forward rather than being buffeted about by circumstances. To be well-prepared is to be well-armed. Pluto comes out of retrograde on October 13th.

This week's T-square in fixed signs means nobody will be giving an inch. Needless to say it's not the time to make a pitch, request, or plea because it will be immediately shot down. Moreover trying to get feuding sides to see reason or to negotiate a compromise will fall on deaf ears. Tensions that were already heightened when Mars reentered Leo last week will only escalate as Mars squares the Sun in Taurus on April 20th, the Sun squares Pluto in Aquarius on April 23d and then Mars and Pluto oppose one another in Leo and Aquarius respectively on April 26th. The trouble with fixed T-square energy isn't in its combativeness, but rather in its defensiveness with each party picking up their toys and retreating to their separate corners until somebody else apologizes. And given the intransigent nature of the configuration, it will be up to intermediaries to coax wounded parties back to the table. In the end, people will start talking again but things will be little changed from where it all began.

Neptune is the planet of vision and visions are good for lifting our sights and challenging us to imagine a life that's different from the one we're living now. Wanting to be a better version of ourselves is very much a Neptune in Aries ideal and when it trines Mars, the planet of gumption and drive on April 19th, then you'll feel a push to push past self-imposed limits to realize your inner potential. This can be an enormously creative transit as well as an ennobling one. You'll be surprised by how quickly anxieties and insecurities fall away like the Earth when seen from a capsule rocketing into space. But Neptune, planet of vision, can also be delusional. This is what happens when you live in a “bubble” which Neptune rules over. If you surround yourself with people who always agree with you and who encourage you to shut out critics and dissenters then you're in danger of believing only what you want to believe. This can lead you to “circle the wagons” which winds up closing the mind and heart. Be open to those who disagree with you. Visions aren't intransient. If anything, they benefit from having holes poked in them because questions prevail upon you to broaden your horizons and to take into account things you never considered before.

Mercury coming out of retrograde is usually good news. That's because it's during the time that Mercury is traveling backwards in the sky that we experience unexpected fiascos like our car breaking down, our computer going on the fritz, or appliances just giving up the ghost. It's like somebody threw a cosmic monkey wrench into the smooth running of our day-to-day lives. Unfortunately Mercury's change of direction on April 7th won't exactly be life returning to normal. That's because Mercury turned retrograde in one sign (Aries) and came out of retrograde in another (Pisces). It's like going to sleep in one place and waking up somewhere else with no idea of how you got there. If you were born under a water sign then it's no big deal because somnambulism – figuratively or literally speaking – is hardly a foreign concept. You just go with the flow. But for everyone else, you'll want to wait until Mercury re-enters the zodiac sign of Aries on April 16th to get the lay of the land.

The beauty of trines and sextiles is in the way they bring out the best in all the planets affected. Even ornery characters like Mars, Saturn, and Uranus undergo an attitude adjustment under the graces of these astrological aspects. Mars becomes fostering rather than bullying, Saturn goes from being a hindering force to a supportive one, and even Uranus – famous for knocking over the fixtures in our lives – makes the switch from revolutionary to reformer. This is something you'll experience for yourself when Saturn sextiles Uranus, Mars sextiles Uranus and then Mars forms a trine to Saturn all on April 4th. This cosmic redirection of counterproductive and potentially harmful energies into a more positive and constructive vein is sure to bring about the results you seek. It won't be easy at first and there will be plenty of times when you'll wonder if it’s all copasetic, but going the distance is the way to go. All you have to do is remain focused on the best possible result – no matter how long it takes.

The Solar Eclipse in Aries on March 29th marks the end of the Aries/Libra Eclipse cycle that has dominated the skies for the past two years. This will come as a great relief for those tired of the wild pendulum swings between war and peace; harmony and cacophony, but we are still not out of the woods. Aries is the zodiac sign of the rugged individualist. Aries people don’t rely on others but rather look to themselves when the going gets tough. This makes them scrappy and brusque, but what they lack in politesse they make up for in heroism. If the Eclipses have taught us anything, it’s that each of us has a responsibility to transmute the Mars energy into something higher. Either we can bully and laugh at others’ misfortune or we can draw upon Mars’s ennobling energies to stand tall and safeguard those who cannot safeguard themselves. Where others run from catastrophe, those born under Aries run toward it seeing what they can do to help. It’s one of the great gifts of the sign and something that can inspire us all now.

It isn't always easy to tell the difference between a vision and a fantasy. Each beckons you to have faith in the phantasmal; to put aside your doubts and fears and follow your dreams. You pray that your dreams are taking you to where you want to go, that you'll arrive at a place in life where you can get everything you want; but you also can't escape this uncertain feeling that they might be leading you astray. This is the question you'll be struggling with on March 19th when the Sun conjoins Neptune in Pisces for the last time in our lifetimes. Are you really on track to getting what you want or are you just chasing after another mirage in the desert? Unfortunately there's only one way to find out and that's by pursuing your hopes and aspirations. Even if you wind up with a fistful of sand it's better than not having pursued them in the first place and being left to wonder – what if?

Are you at the end of your rope? It’s a question worth asking when there’s a Lunar Eclipse in Virgo on March 14th. Virgo is the zodiac sign of work, health, and service in Astrology so these are going to be stressors during this time that the Moon grows red beneath the Earth’s shadow. You may feel helplessly stuck in a dead-end job, that your body is suffering from all the pressure it’s under, or that people are exploiting you while promising you that your sacrifices will be worth it in the end. You’ll want to erupt in anger and maybe even lash out – or storm out – but it pays to remember the three virtues of Virgo. First is temperance because blow-ups only lead to situations that you have to go back and try to salvage, second is self-care that if practiced properly revitalizes as well as builds stamina, and the third is exit strategy where you’ve carefully worked out ahead of time how to leave that corner you painted yourself into. These ideas may seem woefully insufficient while the Moon is eclipsed, but give it a few days and you’ll gradually see that they’re tremendously effective.