Blue Velvet

Today, as Mercury moves through the last degrees of Virgo, our senses are hyper-attuned to detail.

But a tense aspect with Uranus opens the door for some potentially unsettling discoveries—like the severed human ear that college student Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) discovers in the grassy field behind his parents’ house in David Lynch’s 1986 masterpiece. Never seen Blue Velvet? Get ready for a wild ride! Watch it here.

Something unusual comes to our attention this week and lures us down a rabbit hole. Maybe it’s worth pursuing—as Jeffrey tells girlfriend Sandy (Laura Dern), “There are opportunities in life for gaining knowledge and experience. Sometimes, it’s necessary to take a risk.”

But if you do start digging, be prepared to find some creepy stuff.

Underworld lord Pluto stations direct today in Capricorn, exposing the darker side of the conventional structures governing our lives. Like the insects writhing in the soil beneath an idyllic suburban garden in the film’s opening sequence, the darker side is there whether we choose to look at it or not. Ignoring it only gives it more power; consciously facing it empowers us.

This doesn’t mean fixating on the darkness, however, but simply acknowledging it for what it is.

Tomorrow, Mercury enters Libra, challenging us to reconcile opposites and embrace paradox. We might wonder how wholesome, idealistic teenagers like Sandy and Jeffrey can coexist in the same town as troubled nightclub singer Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini) and psychotic criminal Frank (Dennis Hopper, who will haunt your dreams ). Or even, as Jeffrey wonders, why villains like Frank exist at all.

But asking questions like this can be a waste of mental energy. If another person has us recoiling in fear or disgust, chances are they’re mirroring some unacknowledged potential within ourselves.

Right now, we’re better off tending to our own gardens, “until the robins come… and the mysteries of love come clear.” Don’t lose hope! Your guardian angels can inspire and comfort you…