According to at least one ephemeris Mercury makes 3 aspects today, so it’s a complex but rewarding day for Geminis and Virgos. Mercury is trine with Chiron, opposite Jupiter and square with Uranus. That’s good for finding mental solutions to problems and getting to the psychological root of health issues. Mentally there may be a tendency to be too wide-ranging and multi-tasking: take it to the limit by zooming in on your location on Google Earth and then zooming out of the planet again for a sense of perspective. Then the square with Uranus late in the day could find your head buzzing with a storm of ideas. Additionally to start the week we have a sextile between Chiron and Jupiter. Hope and trust for healing could contribute to a miracle, both personally and on a wider scale. That’s not all: today our Sun is aligned with the Pleiades, so if you are into communing with the Fixed Stars (wasn’t that Deneb celebration something else?) the Pleiades is the current venue. All that and we haven’t got past Sunday: so if you are having a lie-in or tuning in tomorrow, you’ve missed yer chance. Or those particular chances, for tomorrow (Monday 21st) the Sun enters Gemini, bringing more focus on the mind and intellect, the sensual emphasis of Taurus being left behind. Mercury also sextiles Saturn in the morning, which makes for an applied start to the working week. Head down, nose to the grindstone and all of that. Wednesday (23rd)…is anyone doing anything special that day? It takes a refined spirituality to make a success of the day with Mercury trine Neptune, but it can be done, and in such a satisfying way that brings the intellect and the spirit together. Consolidate that feeling or perception on Thursday (24th), because Neptune is Stationary on Friday (25th) prior to retrograde motion, and you may wonder at that point if it was all an illusion. It wasn’t : only you need to understand more, so Neptune is on its way to another run-in with the daddy of reality Saturn which is one of the main events for this year and is scheduled for late June. And finally, and also on Friday, a lovely trine between Venus and Uranus. That’s good for impromptu parties and synchronous meetings which make you wonder about life.

One correspondent has already reported a casualty of this morning’s Sun square Neptune under the guise of missing e-mails…and can we also attribute the bizarre results of the Eurovision Song Contest to that? I think we need to keep our feet squarely on the ground today, with Mars squaring Pluto this afternoon. That is a combustible combination so lots of health and safety checks, meditation and rescue remedy are required. Energy is heightened at the moment, not just because of the aftermath of the Deneb celebrations, but because Mars is preparing to return to its home battleground Aries on Tuesday (15th). It will give us a chance to align with our authentic energy before the focus of the New Moon on Wednesday (16th), which takes place in the sign of Taurus. If you are working on manifestation and creativity it’s a good New Moon to take that crucial step forward, and then build on that for the rest of the week. Mars energy rules this week, not least because Rufus Wainwright has just made an impact on our screens with his captivating triple conjunction of Mars/Chiron/Moon in Aries singing it like it is, and the soul expression of his Venus in Leo…is it just me or can you actually fall for a triple conjunction?

Just a reminder that the party is on Deneb today. A few partygoers have been spotted wandering towards the other Deneb (Kaitos). So remember, it’s Deneb Adige in Cygnus. Wear your Cygnus Review T-shirt if you have one!

My old friend Sam Jones woke me from a stupor this week. After years of waiting for the celebration on Deneb I had fallen asleep on the job, but she has not! It says in “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld that every 11,000 years there is a celebration on the star Deneb which is the alpha star in the constellation of Cygnus. The celebration is “an energy of connection in which a singular thought form is presented to the star to allow a more powerful transference from multiple civilizations simultaneously through the star…Such a celebration is scheduled for May 11, 2007. On such a date the adding of your own loving thoughts to Deneb would be valuable.” It ties in quite nicely with Jupiter’s square to Uranus on that day – a few people in Norfolk will be tuning in, and I hope you will too.

We have another early Sunday morning aspect going on today: Jupiter trine Saturn, the balancing aspect we had on 16 March if you can remember back that far. It’s a good launchpad for (again) setting the trend, for a week which hosts three squares and an opposition. It’s also good for a co-operative venture, so you could say start a jogging regime with a friend. Monday morning (7th) brings a tussle between Venus and Pluto in opposition (it’ll be hard to say goodbye) and a square between Mercury square Neptune (you face a long and complicated journey ahead). Venus is also saying goodbye, to Gemini, for on Tuesday (8th) it moves into the sign of Cancer, and there’ll be sentimentality and nostalgia (for those you left behind?). But never mind eh, for later in the day those pastures new look really enticing and exciting in the shape of the Sun sextile Uranus and it will be off with the old and on with the new, temporarily at least. Wednesday morning (9th) starts with capitalizing on that dynamic new vibe with Mercury sextile Mars, but soon (by lunchtime) descends into a reminder of those responsibilities you left behind (Sun square Saturn). Oh, well, it’s often a case of two steps forward and one step back. The early hours of Friday (11th) revisits another important aspect, that of Jupiter square Uranus, which we last saw on 22 January. That brought changes, and in some cases disruptions, in telecommunications. It’s also a chance to assess the changes which were brought about in your life around that time. As if to reinforce the communication theme, Mercury also moves into its own sign of Gemini that day. So if it’s the end of a working week office-wise there could be a rush of frenetic activity, even in the Quiet Office.

Unless you were up before the crack of dawn or live outside the UK perhaps, you would have missed the early morning conjunction of Mars and Uranus today. But if sparks fly during the course of the day, you’ll know why. Tomorrow sparks could turn into a conflagration of enthusiasm, going over the top for some, as Mars squares Jupiter. Tuesday 1st May is altogether gentler, graced by a trine between Venus and Neptune which is ideal for dancing with the stars, and dreams of genius. You might be touched. Wednesday (2nd) is a Full Moon and I will let the Full Moon Survey speak for that: as Project Manager I feel that I’ve been living and breathing the subject for the last month. Suffice it to say that surrender may be the key. Thursday (3rd) brings a conjunction between the Sun and Mercury in Taurus which will assist any focus on practical and mental projects, and clarity of consciousness. Saturday (5th) twists two Mercury aspects together at the same time, and you may find it difficult to untangle them: first up is Mercury sextile Uranus which is great for innovative ideas, but then later in the day Mercury squares Saturn so that the jobsworth beurocrat tries to keep the old conventional structures in place, putting a dampener on things. You will need the ingenuity of Uranus to get round that, but you’ll also have to convince the regulators that you have kept to health and safety standards. That’s if they have stretched the rules enough to work on a Bank Holiday weekend.

With another Full Moon nearly upon us, as promised here are the results of the Full Moon survey based on the last two Full Moons. Of 10 people polled half were strongly affected by them. Of those 5, three had a long-term pattern of being affected. Most cited issues were boundaries, finance and self-esteem. One reported being in a state of transition, and another reported paranoia and betrayal. Lessons learned were self-esteem, recognition of own artistry, awareness, consciousness, harmony, letting go, taking own spiritual work seriously, need for boundaries, need for independence and last but not least clarity. Timing of shifts after the Full Moons ranged from 2 days to 2 weeks after the Full Moon. Of the 5 affected, four reported surprisingly that the April non-eclipsed Moon was more difficult than the March eclipsed Full Moon and the other felt they were equal. Also suprisingly, the prominence of the Moon in the birthchart was not indicative of how affected they were. One of the affected had very testing current transits, which would have added to or overridden the effects. Another commented that their work of breaking up the existing static energies at the April Full Moon will make the energies flow in more smoothly for them at the May (Wesak) Full Moon. We are now looking at the differences in wishing on New Moons and Full Moons, and will let you know if we have any findings. Thanks to all those who have taken part and who are still hanging on in the project! In the meantime, if anyone is skilled in producing pie charts, be my guest…

Sharon was grateful to Janine for driving her to Betsy’s for a Transformation Game to take her mind off the demise of the postman. Betsy was experienced in the Transformation Game, having played it at Findhorn. Each of the four was instructed to bring lunch to share, which turned out to be three quinoa salads and an onion tart. Verity arrived late due to having had four changes of outfit before she came out because of a chance remark by Sharon about colour healing. Halfway through the game Verity stopped to check: “Is this all going into ‘The Quiet Office’?” Sharon meditated for a bit and replied: “Well I think the bit about Verity declaring she would go on the Lighterlife sachet diet should go in”. Verity put on her best Brian accent to say: “You’ll never do it Verity.” Someone asked if Brian had a beard. Sharon said: “You have to wait till the end to find that out”. Verity now doubled as the narrator, with gravitas: “…Brian shaved his beard.” “So – he has a beard?” mused Sharon, grateful for the revelation.

Mixed fortunes tomorrow, so you need to get on track and start the week as you mean to go on. Mercury sextile Neptune favours businesses which have a spiritual angle (take note aspiring Apprentices). Venus squaring Mars however the same day will not let you get away with slightly dodgy morals (again, take note aspiring Apprentices). This is backed up by the conjunction between Mars and the North Node over Monday and Tuesday (24th), giving power to those who have a strong warrior archetype but at the same time ensuring instant karma. Also in the equation is Venus squaring the Nodes, so look for the hidden motives of desire or jealousy creeping in. All that and we’ve hardly begun the week, so get the tone right. Keep the rhythm going until Thursday (26th) when Mercury trine Pluto brings an opportunity to package the deal (take note, aspiring Apprentices) using all you have learned earlier in the week to promote a profound, life-changing product. There’s a change of wallpaper on Friday (27th) when Venus makes two contacts: squaring Uranus, it will promote – well, a change of wallpaper (maybe literally, you could make it your weekend project if you’re not an outdoors type). If you are not planning to change the wallpaper, someone may come along and do it for you (an aspiring Apprentice, perhaps?). Venus also sextiles Saturn so whatever changes may take place in the decor of your life may be set to stay for a while. And Mercury enters Taurus, so the Taureans among us may be using their brains to start a new business venture. They will also be pretty busy because yet another aspect to their ruler Venus occurs on Saturday 28th in the shape of Venus opposite Jupiter. The home decorating could turn into slapstick, relationships could become a tug-of-love, and those aspiring Apprentices could find they have taken on more than they bargained for. Have been watching a little too much TV lately…

You can have a lazy Sunday today: there aren’t any aspects to speak of. Just chill out. In fact, you can have an extra day off too, as you don’t have to work on any aspects until Tuesday (17th), which is the next New Moon. Here’s an experiment: Try making a special wish on the New Moon and see how long the results take to appear – maybe instantly, or at the next Full Moon or by the time of the next New Moon. I’m assuming by now that we are all each day wishing-along-a Barbel Mohr. Thursday 19th brings a trine between the Sun and Pluto: a chance to make meaningful your creativity or create a turn-around and salvage a situation you thought was lost. Saturn also goes stationary that day, so the immovable objects in our lives may be those Capricornians being really really sensible. So really really listen to them. The Sun goes into Taurus on Friday 20th, continuing the sensible theme: collectively we will lose our Arien hot-headedness and take on a more practical persona. And the final flourish of sensibility occurs on Saturday 21st with TWO trines to Mercury from Saturn and Jupiter – that’s the second grand fire trine in two weeks. Time to get the barbecue symbolism out again, and this time you can analyse it from two extreme viewpoints.