Tuesday, August 16, 2005 MERCURY IS DIRECT as of late Monday just before midnight in North America, early Tuesday morning in Europe and the UK, and Tuesday afternoon in Oz. The station direct occurred in Leo, with Mercury in a 1.5 degree square to Mars, so it's holding a rare, long, as in weeks long, 90-degree angle to the red planet. Mars, for its part, is working its way toward a square to Neptune. Continue to beware of self-destructive behavior in yourself and in others. I regret using the word behavior, but that's the word. We are in a kind of astrological testing ground that takes us through the Full Moon later this week and into the waning cycle. Challenging aspects persist, as do a series of improvements to the general condition. In a day or so, Venus joins Jupiter and Pallas in Libra, and works its way toward a conjunction exact in two weeks on Sept. 1. The Venus-Jupiter-Pallas conjunction is trine Neptune, which is a big opening in the universe after quite a few tight squeezes. As for the more immediate news of the Mercury direct, take this one step at a time, as Mercury is still slow and powerful, and square Mars. It can take a lot of practice to learn how not to hurt oneself under astrology that features self-attack, intense self-criticism and serious doubts about one's values. The whole purpose of being aware of astrology is to raise these aspects to another level, so we can work with them more consciously; indeed, self-consciously. We are in extraordinarily challenging territory for people who suffer from any form of psychological or emotional instability. This is due to the two square aspects involving Mars, the fast changes to Mercury, and the fast-approaching Full Moon in Aquarius. Within yourself, be mindful of extremes of emotion, opinions you may hold of others, judgments and so on. These are especially dangerous traps now, and as the combined intensity of the Full Moon adds to the emotional waterflow, it's easy to say things you regret. When in doubt, stand back, pay attention to what's going on around you and within you, and let the whole thing pass like a dream. It can be a truly creative dream, as square aspects in their highest expression are aspects of integration of inner energies, and making decisions to improve our lives. They may have a feeling of being forced, or made under pressure, or there may be the sense that long overdue changes are being thrust in your direction; but several points of movement, action and resolution are in the neighborhood right now. Struggling, attack and fighting are just a few of the less creative uses of the sky as we're feeling it. As the spiritual aspirant, your job is to find others and put them to work in your life, or to play.