What The Fourth Mercury-Pluto Sextile This Year Means For Your Love Life And Relationships This Week
The past always comes back for a reason.
We may get tested this week when our zodiac signs experience Mercury sextile Pluto, with Mercury in Scorpio and Pluto in Scorpio, on November 10th. An old flame or ex may reach out, but before you become upset, stop to consider what the reason might be.
In astrology, a sextile is when two planets are within 60 degrees of one another, creating a positive and beneficial aspect that also can be the point of initiating action. In this manner, this aspect, which involves Mercury in his retrograde motion, will trigger something from the past, but also something that was previously hidden or kept from common knowledge.
While it’s normal to ignore that text or call from that unexpected person who still pulls on our heart strings, this time, we owe it to ourselves to see what the reason is.
Everything in life occurs for a reason; sometimes it’s wonderful and other times it ends with us swearing off love forever. But regardless, both occur for a greater purpose. When we look at events and circumstances in life as occurring not only for our greater good but also for our greater knowledge and growth, we can separate our emotional responses or triggers.
Rarely are people excited to hear that an ex may be coming back into their lives. but it’s not always because we don’t want to hear from them; rather, it's the interaction that can knock us off whatever foundation we’ve built.
Hearing from an ex is a little like taking a nap in the middle of the day and waking up to it being dark, having no idea what day it is. It leaves us shellshocked, unsure of what the interaction even means. And even if we’ve acknowledged every logical reason in the world why someone isn’t a good match or why the relationship ended, our hearts really don’t care about that and tend to still do summersaults for those we love or loved at one point.
But nothing in the universe is done to mess with us or negate growth, so this sextile occurring during a Mercury retrograde means we owe it to ourselves to ask why. To take time to see if greater healing can come from the conversation and interaction instead of being afraid of what might be said.
Mercury is the planet that governs our communication and thought process, so depending upon which sign he’s transiting through, we are affected differently. In Scorpio, Mercury is more intense and ends up bringing up things that previously haven’t been discussed or buried. It’s a sign that likes to examine the darker side of life, of love and what it means to move through this life as a soul having a human experience.
Scorpio is comfortable with our shadow side, the one that has moved through wounding, trauma and triggers. With Mercury in this sign, we start to open up about things we previously hadn’t, which means that ex coming back into the picture may be for a positive reason.
Adding to that is Pluto, the lord of the underworld, known for ruling everything below our surface like those qualities and feelings of Scorpio. That's why it’s no surprise that sign is the ruler of this planet.
Pluto is a small planet, but like so many of our own secrets that we often try to forget about, eventually the truth emerges. Life takes the twists and turns so that no matter what we’ve tried to ignore, we’re faced with the moment and we no longer can hide.
While Scorpio rules Pluto, this lord of the underworld is currently transiting through the earth sign of Capricorn. Together, these two push us in ways that we wouldn’t normally go, not only to reexamine our relationships or balance of power within our lives and relationships, but also ask us to leave behind those parts of our lives and behavior that are negative or outdated. Pluto wants us to bring our darkness to light and then leave it behind, knowing we’re going to be stronger for it.
Capricorn energy has his eye on our long-term structures, and because he’s also a powerful sign, he’s not intimidated by Pluto’s energy; instead, these two work together. To make the most of Pluto-Capricorn energy, we need to be focused ahead, not think too small, or hang onto parts of our lives or the stories we’ve created to remain in our comfort zone.
We need to take every moment — including that text or call from our ex — as one that is trying to teach us something, to help let go of the parts of ourselves we no longer need, and to begin new cycles and chapters in our lives that are healthier.
Mercury retrograde is famous for bringing back exes because, when in retrograde motion, it brings us back to issues and people from the past. This is because as much as we want to move forward and run away from those things that had previous hurt or confused us, it’s those same situations we need to face so we no longer repeat cycles, especially within relationships.
While many of us are going to hear from an ex in the coming weeks, likely until the end of the month, there will be a few of us that do so because we weren’t finished. In a perfect world, no one would have to break up to get back together even stronger; no one would have to lose something to know they don’t want to be without it.
But this is what we sometimes need to experience in relationships. And so, for some of us, that ex you’re dreading reaching out may be doing so because it’s time to restart the connection, stronger and wiser than before.
The most important thing to remember during this time is to detach from any assumptions we may have about why an ex reaches out. Instead, just embrace the moment and all the lessons that come with it.
Kate Rose is an artist, writer, passionate yogi, spiritual astrologist, relationship and life coach, and motivational speaker. As a spiritual intuitive, she practices the religion of astrology and love. For more of her work, visit her website.