Mars and the Cardinal Cross

Dear Friend and Reader:

This week, the movement of Mars begins a new phase of astrological history.

Here is an idea to work with, if you strive to understand astrology. In every era, there are slow-moving patterns of planets that take a long time to form, and hold their positions for years, and sometimes for many years.

Then there are faster-moving planets -- anything from Mercury out to Jupiter, and sometimes Saturn, that can get into the pattern. This might last a few days, a few weeks, some months or even a year.

It would not be oversimplifying to say that in reading a chart, to really see what is happening, it helps greatly to study the dialog between the slower-moving points and patterns, and the faster-moving points.

The slower-moving patterns, which include points such as Chiron, Neptune, Pluto, and Eris -- what are sometimes called outer planets -- can be enhanced, personalized, and brought closer to the realm of human experience and sensory experience. This involves what the inner planets represent, as compared to the slower-moving outer ones.

Naked Eye: Visible and Invisible Planets

Rob Hand put it this way, in a conversation (I am paraphrasing): the visible planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn; and the Moon and the Sun) represent elements of normal waking consciousness.

The planets you need a telescope to see (Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Eris and many others) represent alternate forms of consciousness: dream states, growth impulses, revelations, inner awareness, kundalini experiences and other things not easily described, quantified or even acknowledged by most people.

Outer planet patterns also tend to represent the sweeping changes that society is going through. When the inner (faster, visible) planets get involved, suddenly difficult-to-describe processes can seem to jump into the foreground.

You can think of this as contrast; or as blending two levels of awareness; or being able to feel and observe what was difficult or seemingly impossible to feel or observe before. This is what's about to happen as Mars, a nearby, visible planet that everyone has in their chart, enters Cancer on Wednesday, and mounts the cardinal cross.

That's worth explaining: the zodiac is organized in three crosses: cardinal, fixed and mutable. They are easy to tell apart. When a new season begins, the Sun enters a cardinal sign (in the Northern Hemisphere, spring begins when the Sun enters Aries; summer when it enters Cancer; autumn when it enters Libra; winter when it enters Capricorn). The season peaks with the Sun in the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius), and it disseminates and blends into the next season in the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces). Each sign of the zodiac is a mini-season within the season. This works for the world around us, and for the personal world described by our charts.

Most Action is Currently on the Cardinal Cross

Currently, most of the action in the sky is on the cardinal cross. If you've read INTELLIGENCE, or really any of my recent articles, you're familiar with this: Chiron, Salacia and Eris are in Aries (in that order). Pholus, Quaoar, Saturn and Pluto are in Capricorn (in that order).

In Libra, there is a very, very interesting conjunction of two Pluto-like planets orbiting our Sun, called Logos and Makemake. (I have not said much about this conjunction, which lasts for many years.) Many of these planets are packed into the first few degrees of their respective signs, so they are making an aspect called a T-square.

The T-square covers the early degrees of three signs: Aries, Libra and Capricorn. This leaves a kind of opening in Cancer. And now Mars is about to enter Cancer, and make a series of aspects to all of those planets, sometimes several at a time.

Between now and July 1, Mars will do the following, in approximate order: it will form an opposition to Pholus, Quaoar, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn; it will square Chiron, Salacia and Eris in Aries; and it will square Logos and Makemake in Libra.

All of this takes place over about five weeks. The last aspect in the sequence is Mars square Eris on June 22 -- right after the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice.

Then for the next few weeks, the Sun traces the same path through the sky, and makes all the same aspects to those distant, slow-moving planets. This seems poised to bring out some of the features of both our personal lives and of society in their current state.

A Deeply Personal Planet

The news will take care of itself; you can pay attention if you want. Because of what it represents, Mars is a deeply personal planet. For one thing, Mars represents the desire principle, which is as personal as it gets: what you want, and what you're willing to do to get it.

Mars represents your energy: how much you have, how you like to express yourself, and how you relate to motivation.

Mars represents an element of your sexuality, which is the outwardly expressed desire principle.

Mars represents one's tendencies toward aggression, anger, attack and being prone to accidents. Mars can represent fear, thoughts of reprisal, and self-destructive habits. In general, Mars in a natal chart describes or represents whether one chooses to use one's vital force energy creatively or destructively.

These are all the types of circumstances that are likely to arise, each set in the context of the outer planets it will make aspects to. Early in the sequence, as in during the current week or so, Mars will begin by making oppositions to Pholus and Quaoar in Capricorn. Both of these points take us down the ancestral wormhole, one to the origin of the family of origin -- the great-grandparents (Pholus) -- and the other to the origin of the tribe or humanity (Quaoar).

From there Mars moves on to the sexual healing aspect, Chiron conjunct Salacia. So we go from the ancestral realm to the sexual. Of course, the two are related.

I'll be picking up the discussion on tonight's Planet Waves FM.

With love,

Flash Sale: Intelligence Readings for 2019 and 2020 Fulfilling Astrology for Our Strange Moment

Dear Friend and Reader:

When was the last time you read something truly fulfilling? Something that taught you a little about yourself and the world?

When did you last read something that offered an idea you didn't already know?

Writing that did not add to your anxiety or confusion?

It's pretty rare.

And it's even more unusual to find anything that will help you cut through the despair of our world as it is today; something that will help you feel welcome on the planet.

However, I have a resource for you that will qualify -- your INTELLIGENCE reading for 2019 and 2020. This reading will help you make sense of your life, and help you gain some bearings in our dizzying world.

Read more... Monthly Horoscopes and Publishing Schedule Notes

Your extended monthly horoscope for May was published on Thursday, April 25. We published your extended monthly horoscope for April on Thursday, March 28. Please note: we normally publish the extended monthly horoscope after the Sun has entered a new sign. Aries (March 20-April 19) -- Write yourself a memo tonight. TO: Myself. FROM: Myself. RE: How not to overreact this week. Mars, your ruling planet, is about to enter Cancer; this happens overnight Wednesday to Thursday. It's been in Gemini for a while, and is also in a condition called out of bounds, which means potentially skating out of control. This condition lasts into midsummer, so it's time to practice anger management and also desire management. And with Mars entering Cancer, we could add insecurity management. This week and going forward, pay attention to any tendencies you may have to overreact to emotional situations. It's all the rage and vogue these days to forgo the need for limits. Yet underneath general issues like that, there is something specific developing for you, which is overdoing your concerns about integrity to the point where you have no fun. What is the relationship between holding yourself down emotionally, and containing your sexual desire, based on a mental-level excuse? Pay attention to what you will and will not allow yourself to do. Pay attention to what you do anyway, and how you feel about it. Get your full Aries reading by Eric here.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) -- Venus and Mars both change signs Wednesday (see Aries for the details on Mars, which can describe certain factors of your intimate relationships). Venus enters Taurus, and begins a conjunction to Uranus, still new in your sign -- and that means adventure. Yet this is about the adventure of who you are becoming rather than where you go. Your sign is not famous for its love of change. We all depend on you for your consistency and your persistence, but you can take things too far sometimes, working for stability above all else. Even if that usually feels good to you, aspects this week are encouraging you to hang loose. That's not easy these days; there is so little trust, and so much anxiety. One message of this transit is that you have the ability to reinvent yourself, in ways large and small. That may not happen in a day or a week, though you may get the idea for what you want to create for yourself. This is likely to come with some instructions for how to put your plans into action, which is best done one step at a time. This week, one may be quite enough. Get your full Taurus reading by Eric here.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) -- Be careful not to get caught in anyone else's web of intrigue or deception. Check carefully the claims people make, particularly about financial matters that influence you directly. It will be easy for you to slip into a space where you're guided by unseen and unconscious forces if you don't follow the visible, obvious signposts. In any event, you would benefit by pausing on any important decisions until next week, after Venus and Mars change signs. Yet be aware that there will be many moving parts in your personal environment even after these transits take hold, and you'll need to re-evaluate where you stand with the people around you. That will take a few days, because many of them are experiencing shakeups and being reoriented in ways large and small. The emotional environment is in flux, which means it will feel like people are making decisions based on different values than usual. This includes you; make a study of what is motivating you. Then look around and see if you can determine what's motivating others -- when relevant. Get your full Gemini reading by Eric here.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Mars enters your sign this week, and begins a trek through the most intriguing territory of the zodiac. I've described this in the article above. It's a lot to relate, though in summary form: over the next few weeks, Mars makes aspects to numerous high-potency planets in your relationship sign Capricorn and your career sign Aries. There are additional points in Libra that help complete the picture. I'm not talking about asteroids, I'm talking about "minor" planets in the category of Chiron and Pluto that describe the innermost healing our struggling society needs to work on. We see all the outer stuff, the politics and other madness in the news, with the Saturn-Pluto conjunction. The deep, personal material is addressed by planets including Chiron and Pholus. There's no way to overstate the energy contained in this aspect pattern, and now Mars is about to get into the picture. So I am instead using understatement. Pay attention. Any aggressive moves you make are likely to flash right back at you, so monitor your thoughts, your speech and your actions carefully. Tread lightly on the Earth. Get your full Cancer reading by Eric here.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) -- There is no point keeping secrets. Everything is already known. However, it is your prerogative to choose with whom who you want to discuss any facet of your life. What will not help you is carrying around an aura of being cloaked, like you're on a secret mission. This will only stoke your anxiety, and hint to others that you're not trustworthy when in fact you are. The next few days are likely to arrive with positive turns in your professional or vocational developments. You may receive an unexpected offer of some kind, or see an opportunity you had overlooked at first. The way the astrology plays out, you may be able to give some tangible form and substance to something that was only a wild concept. Everything about your professional or vocational life is pointing you toward something exciting, intriguing, different from the past and a little strange. At minimum, you need to invest yourself in what you find to be exciting, what feeds you, and what makes you want to get up every day and do that thing. Get your full Leo reading by Eric here.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) -- Be mindful about what you say and do in the public eye. There are elements of your most intimate and personal life that could be punted into the public sphere -- and few people understand the problem with this. We live in times when we're stalked by cameras and GPS, and we know that anything we type into the field of a seemingly private text message could end up going viral on Twitter 15 minutes later. The living hell of having no inner sanctuary is not fully recognized by most people alive today; the memory and the feeling has been practically erased. But imagine if you could sequester yourself in a nice hotel room for a few days, with no access to the internet, with only a good book, a notebook or sketchpad, a few pens and pencils, and maybe a musical instrument. How would it feel to have an interval of nobody monitoring your thoughts, nor you broadcasting them to anyone? How would you feel? Can you even imagine not being interrupted? Who would you become? This may be what you're searching for. Get your full Virgo reading by Eric here.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) -- Be sure you're the one who speaks for yourself this week. You don't need any proxies to represent you. Don't send anyone anywhere to do your bidding. You are the person best suited to advocate for yourself, and to stand up for your own values. Yet consider this: you don't need to do anything other than be who you are. Your example is what teaches, and what makes the strongest statement about you. With Mars so prominent in your chart right now -- and undergoing a kind of initiation process (see above article) -- the best thing you can do is notice how you influence your environment. By that I mean: when you walk into a room, feel your own presence and how others respond to you. Most people are insensitive to this; I suggest you become a student of your own aura, what you project and how others respond. Watch their faces. Listen to what they say. Observe who notices you, and pay attention to whom you are attracted. And listen carefully before you speak. Get your full Libra reading by Eric here.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) -- What do you believe? Do you even know? Belief is a strange thing, because usually it's veiled as certainty. When you peel back the surface of certainty, what you usually find is that people merely believe something, with little basis for understanding why, or what that belief implies. However, be it known that such a removing of the layers reveals many things that are not usually visible, and which it may be inconvenient to find out. For one thing, you might discover you were wrong about something significant. Then you would need to learn the truth. Fortunately, you're in an excellent position to do just that. But it starts with recognizing that you merely believed something you thought you were certain about, at which time curiosity and hunger for the truth would supplant any disappointment. Whether you take part in this process or not, something of this nature will become a central feature in your life in the coming days and weeks. You can benefit and even profit from the process, though it may be a little weird. Get your full Scorpio reading by Eric here.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) -- You're probably getting the message that it's time to be honest about your need for intimacy and your sexual desires. You might also be figuring out there is something that irks you a little about being too close to people -- some element of your individuality that you might have to sacrifice, or your urge to have space around you. In truth, you can compromise neither. So you will require some other method of preserving your personal integrity while getting the human contact that you need. One question it will be worth asking is what role sex plays in your ideas and direct experiences of intimacy. Said another way, how do you relate to your own sex drive? Do you own it fully, or do you let others own it for you, partly or fully? This is a topic too complicated for many people to go into today, though I suggest you open up the discussion with yourself. Aspects over the next few weeks are likely to put you in contact with your deepest feelings, including some inner conflict that will be looking for a way to resolve or express -- not itself, but you. Get your full Sagittarius reading by Eric here.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -- You will need to measure your words and your responses this week, particularly with intimate partners and those with whom you do business. Mars enters your opposite sign Cancer, and begins to make a long series of complex aspects that may get you into emotional water that is over your head. However, you are equipped with a warning system that will help you know when you're in the right place and when you are not. It comes down to one thing, really: are you having fun? You are inclined to identify many aspects of life as duty or responsibility, and allow the fun aspect to be subtracted. But right now, this is your canary in the coal mine. It's true that your life is somewhat complex at the moment, and you may not see a way through the maze, or out of the past. Yet one sensibility will serve you: your ability to experience pleasure, which means to laugh, to be curious, and to create your life, if only in seemingly small ways. For your purposes now, they are all equal. It is the feeling that counts. Get your full Capricorn reading by Eric here.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- You have work to do. You may face some seemingly daunting tasks. Yet you will be well served to engage in two yoga practices that will be helpful. One is to remove obstacles from your path. With many decisions you make, you will have the choice to add a block of some kind, or to get it out of the way. Second, prepare for the future. I don't mean the distant future so much as the immediate one, weeks or months ahead. Know what responsibilities and challenges you face, and prepare your life to meet them. Make sure you've allocated resources to take care of certain important situations you know you will have to address. Consider your time and your health as your most valuable resources, and use them wisely. If you have to push to get something done, do your best to remove other commitments from your schedule. You cannot get up early and stay up late every night. Remember that anger is a vast waste of energy. You don't need it, and there are more efficient and creative uses of your personal resources. Get your full Aquarius reading by Eric here.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- You are a Pisces, which is presumed to be the most pleasure-seeking sign. Would you really want your life to be an exercise in hedonism? Probably not. Pisces can be the most self-sacrificing tribe of the zodiac, the least realistic, and the most driven by a nagging sense of responsibility. Then there is the infamous guilty conscience. You must keep all of those factors in balance now, beginning with a healthy dose of bold honesty with yourself. Then, make sure your basic responsibilities are met from day to day. At the same time, keep the level of pleasure, recreation and creativity flowing in your life. Call this the Pleasure Principle -- the thing that greases your wheels or floats your boat. Use it to guide your way through the world. If you find yourself faced with work, focus on doing it in a way that is fulfilling. If you're concerned about money, find the sweet spot between what works financially and what works creatively. You need both. Most of all, be real about who and what you want, and what you want with whom. Get your full Pisces reading by Eric here.

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