Mars conjunct Saturn in Scorpio: irritation or inspiration

You know people are getting itchy when someone writes in and objects to mentioning in a blog post that I ate lunch. I’ve been seeing this all day. I know what it is — Mars is making a conjunction with Saturn in Scorpio. That is exact Monday, but as you can see, it’s close and it’s closing in. We are all feeling it now. The sensation is amplified by the Sun opposite Nessus in Aquarius, about to change signs. Then the New Moon happens. Quite a moment.

Mars conjunct Saturn as of Thursday.
Mars conjunct Saturn as of Thursday.

Mars conjunct Saturn is a challenging aspect. It also bestows strength of character, or at least persistence and the ability to stay on-message. It has many manifestations, showing up in the natal charts of Lucille Ball, David Gilmour, Mel Gibson, Ellen DeGeneres, Umberto Eco, Goldie Hawn, Carole King and J. Z. Night, the voice of Ramtha. So be it!

Then there’s Neil Young, Venus Williams and David Lynch. And one of my closest colleagues at Planet Waves. Oh, and Martin Luther. Not Martin Luther King — the actual Martin Luther, the guy with the 99 Theses, who singlehandedly took on the Roman Catholic Church and founded the Protestant faith.

If you have this aspect in your natal chart, you have to master it, or it will eat you for lunch — probably once a day. Speaking of lunch, that is.

Now we get to live with it for a few days. You may notice that some people are acting strangely. You may notice that some around you cannot keep a grip on themselves; you may be noticing this yourself. Take a breath. Don’t let anyone get under your skin — and don’t get under your own skin. That is to say, leave yourself alone. There is plenty of self-torture going on in the world; I know many who participate. It’s not necessary. It’s not a form of self-improvement. It is merely what it is, self-torture. If you shift to the space of self-pleasure, you will free up some energy and give yourself a break.

Many people who are experiencing this aspect have no idea what’s bugging them. For some, anything will suffice. It seems to be a general irritant. And that is what makes it so provocative. Mars-Saturn is like an internal combustion engine. It is loaded with horsepower and traction. It’s a power tool.

Summary of Jealousy and the Abyss by William Pennell Rock.
Summary of Jealousy and the Abyss by William Pennell Rock.

If you cannot handle it, then it can be dangerous, and if you can handle it, you have enormous influence available.

I suggest you get onto the drive side of this aspect rather than the irritated side. That may need to be a conscious choice. This is certainly the kind of astrology where you can get a lot done. True, you may annoy some people while you’re doing that, but try not to let that get to you. If ever there was “let them own their stuff” astrology, this is it.

Then there is the stuff that we can own as individuals. I could see this astrology manifesting as some intense sexual passion, including jealousy. I consider jealousy a form of erotic impulse by the way. There are other factors involved, but by one analysis, the heart of the matter is desire. Remember that if you’re jealous — it may well be about how hot you are for that person, even though it’s manifesting as a form of obsessive control, which in the end controls nothing.

23 thoughts on “Mars conjunct Saturn in Scorpio: irritation or inspiration”

  1. Holy intense energy, batman. I can’t figure out whether I want to run a marathon or lapse into a multi hour energy healing session. It feels like all at once my core is being strengthened, while at the same time my desires are threatening to overwhelm… Wow.

  2. Hmm. I think I’m feeling the inspiration side of this. Maybe this is Jupiter close to my natal Venus/Saturn conjunction, or Mercury on my Ascendant, but I have felt more positive and motivated since about around the time you started writing about this Mars/Saturn conjunction. I’m usually questioning my every move and feeling like I annoy people and I actually feel like I can accomplish things right now.

    That and I have extremely high levels of physical and sexual energy, but not the kind where I feel like they are out of control.

    I feel focused and calm, which doesn’t happen most days for me.

  3. Eating should piss me off but it’s depressing me. Black hole. Abyss. Self torture very apropos! Help! It’s squaring my Moon c Pluto in Leo in 8. Total shift in energy since beginning of August. When will this pass? Should I be worried about working with soldiers most of September?

  4. I agree with Sophia, I find your mention of self nurturing endearing, and reassuring. Maybe you should have mentioned what you ate? 😉

    As for the rest, I’ll weigh in that there has been a powder keg situation with a new boss for me. She has been “talked to” from above, and improved briefly. However, now the leopard is showing her spots again. I have turned it over to the “higher powers” so to speak, and now all that is left for me to do is keep my mouth shut. This has not proven very easy, so I am glad I have a day off today!! Not feeling too comfortable with having to go back Monday, though….

  5. My 89 year old mom called last night about 7:30 to yell at me ‘why didn’t you come and get the tomatoes?” Two bushels worth, no wonder she’s cranky. Looks like I’m canning today.

  6. Lizzy! Thank you, I am with you as well. Sending love, strength and healing energy to you this weekend. : )

  7. Seriously? Regarding your article of yesterday, your mention of the simple act/reality of nurturing self with breakfast and lunch in the midst of so much work and creativity was actually the most endearing quality for to me to read.

  8. And this goes on my wall “It’s not a form of self-improvement. It is merely what it is, self-torture. If you shift to the space of self-pleasure, you will free up some energy and give yourself a break”. xxxx

  9. Thanks for this, dear Eric! Am really going to need it as I head back to the famille…. (btw – good luck, for tomorrow, P. Sophia! Great stuff!).
    A good weekend, and thanks and love to all.

  10. What I’m curious to observe/experience is how this energy, Mars + Saturn, when combined with trans. Mercury’s energy in sextile, will affect transiting Uranus, who will be the apex of a yod in the New Moon setup. This could be active for a whole month! Maybe the “Decider” is Venus who will be tightly trine Uranus, square Saturn-Mars, semisextile Mercury, and who also sextiles the Libra ascendant of the New Moon chart when set in Washington D.C.

    This would put the New Moon Chiron at the apex of a 2nd yod. Chiron then trines the Saturn-Mars conjunction, opposes Mercury and semi-sextiles Uranus. All in a chart for a New Moon that opposes Neptune no less. Whose on 1st?

    The ubiquitous grand water trine, this time between Neptune, Juno and Ceres-Vesta, as usual, appear to be providing a safety net (or maybe a trampoline) in case anyone should fall unceremoniously into the abyss and never be seen or heard from again.

    These days the transiting nodes conjunct the U.S. Sibly chart’s Chiron (+ south node) opposite Juno (+ north node), while transiting Ceres approaches an exact square to the U.S. Sibly nodes, something trans. Vesta (:) ) and Mars recently did. It’s like finals week; too much.

    It will take a Virgo New Moon to evaluate these particular aspects with these particular planets (+ an ascendant for U.S. capital) as to who/which carries the most weight. Sometimes I refer to the progressed Sibly chart for the U.S. for supporting astrology, but got Pandora and Kassandra at 17 Gemini which, when combined with trans. Uranus in Aries provided yet another yod with trans. Mars and Saturn in the apex. Not surprising then that transiting Chaos isn’t very far from progressed Pandora and Kass, at 19+ Gemini.
    be

  11. With Mars conjunct Saturn in my natal chart I have experienced it as driving with the brakes on OR the little train that could. I have learned to take my time, a marathoner rather than a sprinter. Monday’s aspect is loosely squaring natal Uranus. I guess I’ll be freeing up some energy – thanks Eric for your insight and suggestions.

  12. Mars and Saturn conjuncting on my ascendant, on my Juno, and close enough to natal Saturn. Thanks for saying to go for self-pleasure instead of self-torture. I’ll remember that. I already had one blow up where a friend called me out on things I said to her that were mean. Turns out the things I said were not mean, (quite the contrary, they were loving), though they were triggers for her, and how is one to know, until the trigger is pulled. We worked it out by being honest and not holding back, till we saw the truth in each other. If that was Mars approaching Saturn, then I shall immerse myself in pleasure, and be compassionate when the buttons are pushed over this weekend.

    Eric, I love it that your horoscopes are so practical, and this one is even better than most.

  13. Thank you for helping us see what we are feeling (or feel what we are seeing), along with the attending protocol. This is indeed a big one to get through, but can be rewarding when you consider that when an oyster experiences an irritant it makes a pearl.

  14. I wouldn’t poo poo this aspect just yet. This would be the perfect day to hit the gym. Use the physically active Mars and combine it with the durability of Saturn, you can shed plenty of calories. Any task that requires muscle should be properly dealt with as well. Besides, it’s just a couple of days, then it’s back to happy, happy, joy, joy mood.

  15. I’d love to let all the internal combustion folk own their exhaust except we all have to breathe it. I have all the power I need on a bike, thanks. Driving cars everywhere is crazy. I’d rather be the irritant by using my power of words to illuminate what cars look like when you’re not in them than to be the irritant who runs a leaf blower on a quiet afternoon when a rake would have done the job. If the power of 8-100 horses is really what you need for the job then ok. The thing is about 80% of car trips are for things like groceries that don’t even require the power of 1 horse to get the job done, let alone the multiple horses you get from blowing things up in a metal box and heating up the atmosphere. Just sayin’.

  16. Same energy. Only this time I would transcend my desires and instead, focus on throwing an I-Ching Hexagram. Got #11, which transitioned to #24 unchanging.

    Not nearly good enough. So I threw the coins again. And again. Frigging coins are telling me in various and sundry ways through various hexagrams to hold up, everyone has their own challenges to face, not just you.

    Ahhh — f-it. I wonder – what is the Hexagram for “Cool Your Shit”? Is it the 65th?

  17. I’m glad to know some of the people I admire have this aspect. This makes it less “malefic” for me in my own chart, and encourages me to further embrace it. Strength of character: I’ll say.

    There’s also a wide Saturn-Mars conjunction in the Mike Brown Shooting chart (almost 9 degrees). Both are sextile Pluto, and both are trine Chiron. Mars is conjunct Vesta , and square Jupiter and the Midheaven. Saturn is square Lilith and quincunx Uranus, while also bi-quintile Part of Fortune. Sexual, biological energy fueling emotionally satisfying (as much as possible in this case) rebellion and transformation, anyone?

  18. This is exactly my day today. I want to chop my own head off. I just noticed this conjunction is square my Mars-Pallas conjunction. Gah. Fortunately, I now live in Colorado, so I’m going to go sample some herb & check out. Sigh. I may never get a grip on these Mars transits.

  19. It feels to me like things are gonna blow. Explode or implode. Anyone else? What to do? Personally, I want to lock myself into a room aline until it passes. Right now, I feel I’m being eaten raw.

Leave a Comment