Moon Mondays: What Makes You Feel Alive?
Venus retrogrades and Mercury in Scorpio: reconsider what we’re making room for in our lives.
I first learned to ski at Sun Valley when I was four. I recall old steel cable bindings attaching my brown leather boots to bright blue wooden skis. I was freezing, and much preferred the towering inferno and hot chocolate in the lodge. The actual skiing? It’s a total blank.
My first memory of skiing itself came at Buttermilk, on white Hart Gremlin skis with red lettering. I loved that they said “Hart” on them — they were my “heart” skis. I’d graduated to plastic ski boots by then, but whenever I fell, the entire binding plate came off with my boot. I thought that was so cool, but clicking the binding back into the ski was frustratingly hard for little me. Once again, I was frigid and far more interested in hot chocolate and hot dogs than the skiing part.
By elementary school, I was skiing every Wednesday with the Aspen Community School. Somewhere along the line, my perspective on skiing changed. I fell in love with terrorizing the mountain at high rates of speed, linking tree trails to jumps — like the Toilet Bowl and Bear — and feeling the freedom of no school and a ski gang of friends.
Something I initially associated with cold and cocoa became one of the defining joys of my life. This makes me wonder what else might be worth revisiting, whether it’s something I previously dismissed or loved for years but no longer brings me delight.
That’s where this week’s astrology takes me: Mercury enters Scorpio on Wednesday and Venus turns retrograde on Saturday. When planets retrograde, I think of it as a signal to slow down and reverse our paths a little, too. It’s an opportunity to reflect on where we’ve come from and where we want to go next.
If you’ve been feeling stuck, Venus retrograde offers a little respite to get curious. What excuses or limiting beliefs might be keeping you from doing something you genuinely want to do?
Maybe you’re an empty nester who’s always wanted to make art, but now that you finally have the time, you can’t get started. Without everyone else’s schedules and needs organizing your days, you feel untethered. You’ve spent so long tending to others that you’re not sure what to do with your newfound freedom. Give yourself some space and grace. Maybe you simply get out your supplies and see what happens — sans pressure.
Venus’ reversal brings the completion of her 19-month cycle, which invites us to consider what phase of life we’re concluding and what we want to make room for next, without shaming or “shoulding” ourselves into action.
Which brings me to Mercury entering Scorpio. Scorpio is the sign of aliveness, intensity, and passion. This deep-water sign is bored by the mundane. Scorpio slips beneath the surface to find what makes it feel fully alive.
Coupled with Venus retrograde, this Scorpio-flavored Mercury invites us to go inward and seek out what lights us up. What gets your juices flowing? What makes you forget to look at your phone because you’re so absorbed in what you’re doing?
Just as importantly, what have you convinced yourself you “should” be doing that doesn’t actually give you much pleasure anymore?
Lately, I’ve been questioning some of the things I previously considered must-dos in my schedule. Choices I thought I needed for my well-being, like classes during my workday or dietary plans that stressed me out. Somewhere along the way, activities that were supposed to make me feel better had become mindless obligations.
Which brings me back to skiing. Even with something I love, there’s a difference between skiing because I feel like I “should” get out, and skiing because I genuinely want to be on the mountain. Maybe I don’t need to catch the first chair (powder days excepted), ski until my legs cry “uncle,” or even bother with bumps anymore. Maybe all I want are a few smooth, sunny runs, followed by a long lunch.
The point isn’t to squeeze more activities into an already crowded life. It’s to notice what actually brings me alive — and what I’ve been doing simply because I think I “should.” For now, I’m interested in making a little more room for the things that make me feel like that kid flying down Buttermilk on her white Hart skis — except with warmer feet.
Sheridan🌙
Moon Sisters Circle, Astrologer, and Astrology for Real Life Coaching