There's an old story in Aesop's fables about a lion and a mouse. The lion thinks he's king of the jungle but then gets caught in a hunter's net, from which the mouse frees him by nibbling through the ropes. The moral is that little friends can sometimes be big friends.
In the next few days the same situation is going to be acted out in the skies by Jupiter and Mercury, the biggest and smallest of the planets. Jupiter, the big one, has been sweeping forward grandly for several months now, but tomorrow he comes to a halt, and will then start sliding backwards. In addition, he's in Virgo, a sign where his powers are severely reduced; in other words, he's stuck. Mercury, too, is going backwards in a sign he doesn't like, but on Tuesday he turns round and starts going forwards again, and in another week he'll be in safer territory, so his luck is changing for the better. An extra twist is that Jupiter's sign is the one Mercury likes best, and Mercury is where Jupiter would like to be, so although they can't change places, what they can do is a bit of mutual back-scratching, trading favours to help each other out.
So what does this all mean? It means that a lot of the grand schemes we thought up while Jupiter was in full swing can't now be delivered or fulfilled; but if we swallow our pride a little, ask nicely, and are prepared to do a few favours in return, then there's a way past the problem. In times like this, when Mercury's got the advantage and Jupiter's in retreat, it pays to think small!
If you want a bit of one-to-one time with Jupiter so you can explain your frustrations face to face, you'll find the planet rising almost exactly due East on any clear night after about 11.30 pm. It's fabulously bright right now, brighter than any star, so you can't really miss it.
