The planets play with paradox this week. Stability clashes with upheaval, clarity collides with confusion, and as these contrasting patterns unfold, we mere mortals might find it increasingly difficult to hold the tension of opposites. The interplay of energy isn’t quite as simple as one hand versus another, and that complexity is sure to strain already stressed-out nervous systems. The good news is no pernicious celestial interactions interfere with the mechanics of daily life. The best news is that even in the midst of contradiction a sense of wellbeing manages to inform a variety of situations and
interactions.

A Sun/Jupiter trine is at the heart of this week’s positive potential. Jupiter signifies humor, the Sun represents spirit, and when these bright lights work together the capacity for laughter becomes present even in the most serious situations. We love this, especially given how serious life is at this particular moment in time and space—life is hard and it seems to be getting harder every day. Which is why I’m thankful for any opportunity to allow laughter to lighten the load. Humor almost always provides the perfect antidote for overloaded hearts and minds.

Uranus also makes a contribution to the contrasting signatures of the week. First, its ongoing sextile with Jupiter continues to provide a positive but unsettled atmosphere, and that instability is at the core of this week’s inconsistent pattern. Uranus also sextiles the Sun, and while that relationship is essentially positive, it’s sure to provide several additional startling disclosures.

But that’s not all. A Sun/Neptune square provides a heightened state of hypersensitivity and susceptibility making it all too easy to be influenced by people who appear to be secure in quick-fix solutions which might do more harm than good. Be careful who you listen to and always remember to rely on common sense as well as intuition.

It’s never easy to handle the contradictions of daily life. Here, in New York, where a broad spectrum of polarized personal realities play out on the public screen—rich and poor, male and female, old and young, kind and mean, white and not just black, but every color of the rainbow—it’s almost impossible to find a way through the maze of conflicting ideologies and agendas. Of course, simply trying can become a path of its own and millions of us make that effort everyday. And not just in New York. But making that effort doesn’t necessarily diminish the stress of living under the pressure of that kind of intensity.

So as you move through the paradoxical signature of the week, keep in mind, holding the tension of opposites doesn’t always lead to the relief of resolution. What it can deliver is an increased capacity to stay balanced in the midst of turmoil—a skill worth developing and refining, especially if it’s seasoned with a compassionate heart that’s capable of laughing at life’s ironies.