Learning to drive: Teenage Mars meets Moon-Uranus square Pluto

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011. The Moon is in Aries all day and early on it makes a conjunction to Uranus at 4:03 am EDT. This aspect brings up tension between groups and individuality, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself wanting to stand out. You may find that prospect exciting, or intimidating if it carries a little baggage over letting yourself shine or step out of roles you’ve held till now. Plugging the Moon into Uranus beams some high voltage in to our emotional bodies, and it’s not happening in a vacuum.

The Moon’s conjunction with Uranus introduces it into the square with Pluto, which may have the effect of bringing the revolution home to your emotional experience. In fact, given the role of the Uranus-Pluto cycle in American history (the two were conjunct in the 1960s), you could call this aspect ‘your own personal 60s’. You may feel like ‘everything is happening’, a distinct shift from Monday, and potentially overwhelming.

You’ll likely experience this with noticeable emotion. Mars is in Cancer, a sign ruled by the Moon. And it will be square the Moon-Uranus conjunction in Aries, a sign ruled by Mars. There is some real fire and electricity from both sides of the aspect entering into a conversation with deep feeling, and strong tension. It may want to erupt, and when it does, it will want to flow. The question is whether you’re able to guide that energy or let yourself be propelled by it to someplace you desire, or whether it catches you off-guard and steaming. If you feel your personal kettle starting to boil over, take a moment to check yourself before scalding anyone.

One reason to be especially conscious of your inner pressure-cooker is that we are still dealing with a rather young Mars. He’s not a child anymore, but he is old enough to borrow the car. The thing is, he hasn’t quite attained the judgment of a mature adult. Mars is a bit reckless in this stage and is coming up against boundaries — such as trees on the side of the road. Hitting one is certainly a way to learn to slow down, but that comes with avoidable damage and potential injury to say the least. Keep an eye on how the heat and drive are trying to manifest, and direct them carefully.

In more Mars action, the Sun in Leo is making a semi-square to it today. Another name for this aspect is an octile, because it represents one eighth of the circle. Some say it is a minor aspect because it is half of a square, yet these are the aspects we use to distinguish one Moon phase from another. For instance the Moon is said to be in the ‘new’ phase until she reaches 45 degrees from the Sun, when she moves in to the ‘crescent’ phase.

So, in this sense Mars is moving from the new phase on to the crescent. In the organic vegetative cycle, this is the point at which a plant goes from being a tender seedling to where it begins branching out and firming up its stem. In terms of the human life cycle this is the point halfway between birth and the first Uranus square at 21 — in other words puberty, where secondary sexual characteristics develop and the identity struggles to catch up to a body which is now capable of reproduction.

So, this is a transition point with regard to the ability to handle and transmute energies of Mars — which is concerned with the desire for excellence and separation from others, in the sense of actively seeking individuation. In this way, the theme of the Moon’s conjunction with Uranus on one side of Mars is echoed by the Sun’s relationship with Mars on the other side.

Depending on how well you feel you are achieving excellence or separating yourself from the crowd, your parents, etc., you may be feeling some frustration or anger. This may be particularly true if last week’s connection to Uranus-Pluto felt a little overwhelming to a still-new Mars.

If you are feeling either of these it is important to remember that they are secondary emotions. Frustration and anger usually come from feeling like you’ve been injured or separated from/lost something. First it is important to determine whether that something is something personal or something collective. Second it is important to determine the appropriate boundaries.

If your anger/frustration is due to something collective, whether that be something tangible like our national credit rating being downgraded, and/or something less tangible such as respect for your government, it is important to remember who to focus the emotion on — that is, who to hold responsible for it — which is not your fellow citizen, or your friends and family. Rather, that focus belongs on your government representatives, corporations, and the like. You and your fellow citizens are here to help you deal with the loss, by listening to and helping each other.

Frustration or anger may be coming from a sense of not accomplishing something or coming up against personal limits, even if that is your sense of being an individual capable of self determination. (For some, this sense of limits may in turn be due to a poor economy and a government that seems to be fouling it up even worse.) In this case it is important to recognize the need to take responsibility, step up and push through the difficulty. It is okay if you need to ask for help, because even the act of asking for help is taking responsibility for seeking to improve a personal situation.

By Gary Caton and Amanda Painter, with Eric Francis

Notice and choose: in fresh horoscopes weekly and twice monthly, the current sky speaks through your Sun and rising signs. Eric unfolds the themes in Planet Waves subscriber edition and Planet Waves Light so you can notice your patterns and choose consciously.