Mercury in Aquarius

"All wars are follies -- very expensive and very mischievous ones." That's one of hundreds of quotes from ahead-of-his-time American statesman Benjamin Franklin, a notable Mercury in Aquarius. A rebel Founding Father, he was self-taught, an inventor, wore John Lennon specs -- and I've always been amazed that he only slept a few hours a night. He was also a sky watcher, and included astrological information in his almanac. Did he and Thomas Jefferson even choose July 4th because the Moon moved into Aquarius, out of opposition with the Sun in Cancer? Read more about Ben Franklin as America's astrologer-statesman in the article When the Moon Was Full in Aquarius. And if you're interested in some of his cheekier writings, check out Fart Proudly a collection of lesser known essays like "On Choosing a Mistress," and "Rules for Making Oneself Disagreeable."

Mercury has moved into Aquarius, and with a retrograde coming up, won't leave this sign until mid-March. The first Mercury retrograde of 2008 is from January 28th through February 17th. When Mercury is in Aquarius, communication doesn't get tangled up in heavy emotion or go off the deep-end with passion. This makes it easier to toss around complex ideas, and come up with surprisingly original solutions. The staff meeting flows better, because group aims seem a worthy preoccupation. It's a time when flashes of insight drop into the collective mindstream from who-knows-where, and become integrated into the discussion. How do we know what we know? With Mercury in Aquarius, it's more clear to see that there must be trapdoors in the mind that lead to other dimensions.

• Mercury Through the Signs