On April 3, the day before Neptune (god of the sea) slid into its home sign of Pisces, I awoke to find that a mini-tsunami had hit my kitchen. A pipe had burst under the sink, flooding the cabinets and floor. Because that day was also an Aries New Moon in my 11th house (feng shui sector of Helpful People), my home was suddenly filled with purposeful men (Aries) – fixing leaks, setting up giant blowers, hacking up the ancient flooring.

This is all a great blessing, mind you. Chaos precedes new birth. With the insurance company’s help, I will soon have the kitchen of my dreams. Meanwhile, however, the stove and fridge are in the living room along with the cat box, and I’m living on Trader Joe’s salads and take-out sushi.

I hadn’t planned on remodeling my kitchen so quickly, especially while Mercury was retrograde and delays or do-overs were inevitable, but the Universe had other ideas. Nor would I have chosen a time when Pluto turned retrograde just as Mars was squaring it (April 9-11). When in hard aspect to each other, these heavy-hitter planets can generate unbearable pressure. Yet they also transform whatever is outdated or unworkable. And goddess knows, that kitchen – with its barely functional appliances and cabinets packed to the gills with my dad’s detritus – is a relic of the past.

My colleague Dana Gerhardt has dubbed this backward phase of Mercury in Aries (through April 23) the “Fix-It” retrograde. It’s a good time to get things done. Problem is, backward Mercury along with fuzzy Neptune in Pisces make it hard to see what’s around the bend. Neptune’s strong currents can be overwhelming, so be gentle with yourself and others. We probably won’t know where things are headed until month’s end. Meanwhile, tackle in-your-face projects and get your (proverbial or literal) house ship-shape. Because there’s no hiding under the covers during this retrograde. All hands on deck!