It's been a bear of a week for some folks, thanks to Mercury's backward spin (retrograde) that began on March 12. If you've had mysterious computer and phone crashes, senseless arguments and breakdowns in punctuality (stuck trains, gridlock traffic, canceled appointments), you can blame it all on this tiny little planet. Three times a year, Mercury takes a backspin, foiling even the best-laid plans.

However, just as our bodies need to rest between workouts for muscle to repair, Mercury retrograde is a perfect opportunity to do the equivalent in your life. Rather than push forward, turn back. Do you have some unfinished business to handle? Old friends you've neglected while you've been busy making new ones? Books gathering moss on the nightstand? Devote the weekend to diving into these activities, reconnecting with cherished friends and picking up a half-finished project, novel, etc.

That is, as long as it inspires you. We all have a "guilt list" of things we think we SHOULD do. Use this weekend to cross those things off forever. If you know in your heart you'll never do them, give yourself permission to declare, "I haven't done this and I never will … at least, not in the foreseeable future." Free yourself from obligation and "shoulds," and you'll feel so much lighter!