It would be great to report that happy days are here again and that most troubling situations – cosmically speaking – are on permanent hiatus. However, that is not in the 2012 game-plan and even two days from now – on a Friday the Thirteenth! – Mercury will unite with distant, mysterious and secretive Pluto while Venus unites with dreamy and far-out Neptune. With these intense planetary alignments waiting in the proverbial wings, take advantage of the joyful vibes coming from this morning’s Moon-Jupiter parallel (6:25AM PST). If you are not a frequent reader of this calendar, be aware that parallel and contra-parallel alignments are calculated by watching celestial bodies moving north and south of the Celestial Equator whereas zodiacal alignments are calculated in proximity to the great circle known as the Ecliptic. The Moon with Jupiter via a parallel formation is similar to a conjunction of these two bodies in the zodiac, and every lunar union with Jupiter normally offers up golden opportunities, an increase in fortunate tidings, and a reinforcement of the power of positive thinking. If you are awake and alert a few hours before the Moon-Jupiter alliance, it is best to keep your mental faculties serene since Mercury makes a frictional, 45-degree link to Pallas (2:12AM PST). The playful and loving vibrations of Leo Moon continue in force today – although some emotional challenges and psychic tensions can envelope primary partnerships when the Moon opposes Venus (9:29PM PST). Build up dear ones with praise and support instead of criticizing them with words of condemnation.