The sky on Thursday, April 8, 2027
| Sun in | Aries |
|---|---|
| Moon in | Taurus |
| Moon phase | New Moon |
| Illumination | 3% |
| Ingresses | Mercury enters Aries |
| Exact aspects | Sun conjunction Saturn Jupiter trine Saturn |
| Mercury retrograde | No |
Mercury enters Aries today and begins a new chapter of its cycle there. Sun and Saturn stand at nearly the same degree of the zodiac today, a conjunction, and their themes read as one. Jupiter and Saturn stand about a hundred and twenty degrees apart today, a trine, traditionally read as the easiest of the major angles. The Moon is in Taurus, near new and all but invisible beside the Sun.
What does Mercury mean in astrology?
Mercury is the planet of thinking, speaking and exchange, and it never strays more than about twenty eight degrees from the Sun.
That closeness is why you only ever see it low in the sky near sunrise or sunset, and why it is never more than one sign away from the Sun in a chart. It spends a few weeks in a sign, and rather longer when it turns retrograde.
Astrologically it covers language, learning, trade, travel and anything that moves between two parties, including messages and money. It rules both Gemini and Virgo, the talking half and the sorting half of the same skill.
Mercury turns retrograde about three times a year. That is a matter of orbital geometry rather than a curse, and it is described on its own page here.