It isn’t mine.  I’m dog-sitting for friends away in Europe.  This dog is not my problem.  Or is it?  What is my responsibility to the fearful watchdog at the window in the next room.  Is this my house or isn’t it?  Who let the dog inside?  How can I calm an anxiety filled animal, a trained animal whose fear overrides logic, becoming dangerous for everyone in the house.  Particularly my eleven pound ball of scruff with a target on her back.

This snarling dog is an energetic theme happening in the world right now.  The light of Monday’s Sagittarian full moon paled in comparison to the rising hackles in everyone’s etheric field thanks to planetary buildup in Cancer and Capricorn.  Mars faced off Saturn late last week, and if you felt frayed, thank the planet of aggression in the sign of guardianship, Cancer.  Today, as I write this, Mercury, planet of the mind catches up to Mars, and they are both facing down Pluto this week.  Fear creates aggression and in this case, aggression is seeking anything to be fearful of, creating a lot of snarling dogs at windows.

What I have to remember is that the snarling dog in my house is otherwise a delightful beast; circumstances have piled up around his reality.   His pack is in Europe, he is dealing with a loss of status in a house with an older dog, and his anxiety has grown dangerous to the household.  It is painful to see and imperative that I maintain boundaries that keep everyone safe.  It is exhausting.  All the doors.

I suppose the question for anyone reading this is:  who else is losing her cool in this heated cosmic climate?  One only need look at the US/Iran crisis in development to get a sense of the way fear and a lack of trust spiral into aggression and chaos.  On both sides.  This dance of authority and fear is one we are being asked to study between now and 2020 when the stakes are higher than ever.

If you feel like you are pretending that a growling dog in your life is not your problem, think about that a bit longer.  Does the situation call for boundaries, intervention, or maybe a little bit of both?  The flip side of aggression is love and surrender.  Mercury wants us to explore how we can create safety without becoming aggressive and fearful.  Be mindful.

Fear is in the air.  We are all learning to dance with it.  If you think you are not a snarling dog in the room, ask yourself where you feel most threatened.  Check in to ensure you are not projecting aggression without consciously intending to do so.  Trickster energy can be anyone’s undoing.  Who is dangling the bait?  Who’s taking it.

Peace and ease through these challenges to us all.