When astrologers talk about “love” or “the love planets,” they are usually talking about Venus and Mars. Those are certainly good places to start if were talking about love and/or sex. But is any decent counselor can tell you, relationships are built first and foremost on communication, and that’s where Mercury comes in.

Fortunately for us (or those of us who enjoy communicating, or those foolish enough to try to make a living at it), Mercury is now in Gemini and will stay there until July 8th. Since Mercury rules Gemini it is considered to be a “strong” placement. All else being equal, it should be easier for you to get your thoughts and ideas out.

Take advantage of the clear communications while you can though: Mercury goes retrograde on May 18th, until June 11th, and this is generally a time when your thoughts and intentions and business plans and such can go wonky without warning. This doesn’t mean ALL your communications are doomed to failure of course, but it means you should put a little extra thought into that email before you send it.

Some particularly useful dates to keep in mind are as follows:

May 3-5: Mercury opposite Saturn

Communications could be a little heavy or unnecessarily severe. Make the effort to express yourself with kindness.

May 8-11 and May 28-30 (Rx) and June 22-24 (Rx): Mercury square Neptune

This transit can have a rather dreamy and poetic feeling to it, so it might be a great time to send a love letter. However, since Neptune tends to confuse things, make sure you’re sending it to the right person, okay?

May 11-22 and July 2-4: Mercury sextile Jupiter

Jupiter brings good times and good cheer to anything it aspects, so this would be a good time to attend the party or plan one or find the right words to cheer someone up.

May 18: Mercury turns retrograde

Not the end of the world, but certainly a good time to double-think signing any contracts, find your short trips more carefully, and spell-check that angry letter to your boss. Better yet, don’t send that angry letter to your boss.

June 9-11: Mercury sextile Venus

Mercury-Venus aspects often turn up in the birth charts of writers, poets, idealists, and dreamers, and the sextile is a relatively rare aspect, since Mercury and Venus have to be close to their maximum distance on either side of the Sun for it to happen.  Borrow a page from the book of those aforementioned dreamers and write a love letter, ask for a job, beg forgiveness for that late rent payment, plead your feelings with someone you’ve admired from a distance for too long, or just open your heart to someone. There’s no guarantee of success, but you’re likely to do so more skillfully now.

June 11th: Mercury goes direct

If you followed my advice, you didn’t get yourself fired, accidentally flirt with your cousin, or sign up for any time-share vacation condos. Congratulations!

July 8th: Mercury enters Cancer
…and Cancers start to think about how they fit into the world and get mildly suspicious. More so than usual, that is.