Mercury Enters Cancer

In Cancer, Mercury answers to the moon, so while not necessarily debilitated in the sign of the crab, here intellect is filtered through an emotional prism. Cookbook astrology might tell you that Mercury is 'uncomfortable' in Cancer because Cancer is sensitive and Mercury enjoys intellectual rigor free from pesky human feelings. Yet bias is a constant. We are going to encounter bias and project our biases onto people and situations regardless of what sign Mercury is transiting. The perk of Mercury transiting through its home signs of Gemini or Virgo is not that we become better communicators. It’s that we are more *aware* of the fact that our biases are playing a role, and we can orient our conversations or define our arguments with this in mind.

In Cancer, however, it’s possible to con ourselves into believing that 'common sense' is universal, when in fact it is particular to our lived experiences, upbringing, ancestry, or instincts. One person’s 'common' sense mileage may vary, which can make relating a challenge. Yoke logic to our sense of safety and bodily wellbeing, or that of our loved ones, and it's a recipe for defensiveness (at best) or anger issues (at worst). 

However, our choices while Mercury transits Cancer don’t have to be reduced to defense or offence. There is a secret third thing: empathy. If we spend the next four weeks interacting with empathy in mind (which does NOT mean assenting purely to quash conflict, but being present with dissent without immediately attempting to rationalize another’s perspective), we might sidestep the worst of Mercury’s retrograde hurdles when it begins its backspin on June 29/30.