The oldest trick in the narcissist's playbook is manipulation through fear. Smart sociopaths know that the fear of fear itself is far worse than the facts, which rarely get in the way of a good story. They will fuel your panic and then tell you to calm down, leaving you drowning in a sea of dread and woefully stricken.

Despite a crowded cosmic choreography, this week bows down to our lady Venus in iconic mode. Her passage through Aries has been greatly obscured by the smoke and mirrors of the Mercing through Neptunia. The next few days we will feel the ripples as she stamps her authority and reminds us of the power of our heart to rule.

You don't have to do it alone, darklings. Just ask Stell and that big smile, the one borne of patient encouragement and unconditional belief. I know she can swim. I know you can too.

As we gallop through the midpoint of Merc's retrograde and he meets the sun in Pisces, we are at the tipping point of this transit. And there is just so very much on multidimensional platforms to consider. Enter the ghosts of missteps past, whose unholy spectre arrives to pull your reluctant attention by the nose.

Though the moon is newly reborn in Pisces, this is not a start line from which to clang or bolt or proclaim. Not all moons are created equal and lunar solidarity resists such limiting prescription, tis the feminine after all. In Pisces the new moon is curtains parting to reveal a deep ocean, gently lit by moonlight whose shining surface promise only its depths.

A word to the wise mermaids, as we navigate the fathoms of Pisces season and Mercury's emo retrograde. Though this sign cultivates the shamanic depths and our emotional currents, it also has a spectacular penchant for drama, delusion and evasive bypass. Pisces is just as great at opting out or cultivating unconsciousness. Everything has its shadow.

Grateful as we may be for the ebbing away of that discerning lunar close up, there's no rest for the wicked. Not this week anyway. Claiming centre stage now as the lights dim are our lady Venus and Uncle Pluto, arm in arm in Capricornia.

Let me tell you a tale, all too common. It starts somewhere near where you live with once upon a time but doesn't end in happily ever after. Because as the statistics overwhelmingly prove, the epidemic of domestic violence in our country - and probably yours too - is beyond crisis point and only getting worse.

Dark moon bolthole, anyone? You know by now darklings my penchant for the isolation and wonder of the dark moon. And its blessed bliss is now upon us in the midst of madness, mayhem and a solid first week Mercing.

The glitching is almost delicious as Mercury and Neptune, space and time, solar flares and the Schumann resonance ripple and warp. As though the multiverse has set its sights on a spluttering earth and all kinds of mighty forces have come out to play. Together making for a continuing unprecedented adventure into the roaring twenties.

The sun's plunge into Pisces is our latest initiation point. Now we dive into Neptunia. Pisces is our shamanic sight line, the domain of peak emo as barometer and compass.

Sure it is only day one of the Mercing and already tech is behaving as if from another dimension, your old flame / nemesis / itch has resurfaced and so many ideas are downloading your head might explode like a star. Revolutionary times call for evolutionary astrology. This is no time to whinge about inconvenient blindsiding or bemoan all gadgetry that does not bow to your command.

Two significant movements in the cosmic choreography over the next day proffer a whole new terroir and a strange union of opposites. Merc turns retrograde in Pisces as Mars charges into Capricornia. The former a nebulous dive and the latter a rocket sent from the planet Ambition.

Valentines Day is named for the 5th century saint who used to marry couples in secret and was brutally murdered for his trouble. Terribly romantic unless you are St Valentine and his hung drawn and quartered heart. The celebration Hallmark nicked and beat up into V Day was originally the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia.

The overture and the undertow of our impending Mercury retrograde is already being deeply felt. In a climate of manoeuvering and misinformation, Merc's first rx offers nebulous antidote to a world in the throes of revolutionising itself.

With all this unprecedented disaster and catastrophe and serious change, it is easy for anxiety and despair to sink their talons in. And that's before you add whatever thafuck is enacting a similar impact for you personally. We knew this revolution would be televised but nobody said there'd be days like this, to quote the sages.

New year brings new readings, deeper shadow work and a whole bunch of new ways to work together. If you are looking for a sign, this is datura.

Venus in Aries is iconic and leaves an indelible impression. A one word moniker is often all that is required for these wonder women and gamechanging men. Audrey. Marilyn. Gaga. Rihanna. Einstein. Lincoln. These powerful ranks include epic go getters like Elizabeth Taylor, Jack Nicholson and Katherine Hepburn. Venus in Aries natives are born to shine brightly, lead the charge and leave a formidable legacy.