Mars square Jupiter — Find the Edge by Experimenting

Today’s aspect is Mars square Jupiter — it has arrived (and is exact at 6:46 pm EDT or 22:46 UTC). Mercury is now in the picture, so what we really have is Mercury square Mars and conjunct Jupiter; like a guitar chord, there are a lot of ways to name it, and Vesta is right there in early Scorpio.

The theme I see is that it’s necessary to learn from making mistakes. That is to say, unless one is actually taking action to the point of making errors, there is unlikely to be much progress, much push, much of anything. The conventional wisdom of the world — don’t piss off anyone, be humble, don’t take on more than you can handle, keep your life in balance (et cetera and so forth) all fall flat when it comes to guiding yourself into new enterprises and new uses of your creative talents.

Here’s what I am NOT saying. I am not saying that in the long run, minding your politics is irrelevant, nor using your energy efficiently, or learning the best way to do things. Those are separate issues. What I AM saying is that at the outset, when you strive to do that different thing you’ve wanted to do, you must work your way out to the edge of a number of boundaries and do some transgressing on a fairly regular basis, to test the environment, to see what works, and to see what you can actually get done.

The pre-approval of others matters far less than your willingness to dare. In fact pre-approval is about the last thing you want to focus on, because most people have next to no gumption whatsoever, and many are likely to give you resistance for daring to do what they would not do. What we think of as humility is usually counterfeit. What we think of as good politics is usually trying to please our parents and to dodge some paranoia about how society will react to whatever you want to do.

If all those concerns are on your mind, your mind is in the space opposite that of creativity, of enterprise, of being willing to take sufficient risks to actually succeed. You will know you’ve left them behind when they are reduced to passing thoughts, perhaps with a laugh, which you’re too busy to bother with because you’re actually engaged in some experiment, creative project, business endeavor or most likely, all three at once.

I am covering all of this territory for the 12 signs and rising signs in a project called Good as Gold, which will be available soon. Check this blog or your inbox for ordering information.

39 thoughts on “Mars square Jupiter — Find the Edge by Experimenting”

  1. You see? He’s right, “don’t piss off anyone, be humble, don’t take on more than you can handle, keep your life in balance”; those are old-school words of wisdom regarding the use of your creativity in new ways. Instead, work your way out “to the edge” of boundaries, “do some transgressing”, “test the environment”, “see what works”.

    So far, it’s working for me!
    be

  2. Hey Eric – though I often don’t understand some of the complexity of Be’s posts – I find them insoiring and enriching – and I particularly love the way they work with Len’s pieces, like a beautiful dance.

  3. Marymack.

    I can barely follow B’s posts — it’s just a difference in style of writing about astrology. I think that it’s easier for an astrological writer to strip the aspects down to the very few salient points, explain them and get out.

    If I took the other approach, my weekly edition would be 10,000 words.

  4. I keep thinking that one day I’m going to read Be’s post and understand what’s going on. OK, maybe not today, but maybe soon. I am such a fan of this place. All ya’ll.
    m.

  5. Eric, I can only offer thanks for this reassurance. I’ve spent the last three weeks enveloped in the strange, spiraling beauty of two passionate friendships that sometimes morph into one. I have roadmaps to take me to the edges of this new territory, and I’m so grateful to you and to what I’m learning about astrology for helping me walk this new, fecund, undiscovered ground.

  6. ” unless one is actually taking action to the point of making errors, there is unlikely to be much progress, much push, much of anything.”
    And
    “when you strive to do that different thing you’ve wanted to do, you must work your way out to the edge of a number of boundaries and do some transgressing on a fairly regular basis, to test the environment, to see what works, and to see what you can actually get done.”
    Spoke with a business coach this week who said similar.

    Southern lady polite has felt like a curse to me, though I’m sure with sufficient boldness I can turn it into an asset. Thanks for this report, Eric. My actions this weekend will be bolder. My thoughts about what I’m creating will be bolder. The creation itself is bolder already!

    Mars and Jupiter have been square dancing all year, cancer/libra. The shift to Leo/Scorpio, concurrent with sun to Leo laid me flat. Now that I’m adjusting to the energy, I think my Scorpio ascendant and Saturn, as well as Pluto on my Leo mid heaven, are gonna like the heat.

  7. This is so relevant to me right now it’s not even funny. Just this I began offering astrology and Oracle readings to my friends for a fee and was inundated with requests. I’ve taken many classes and been following the stars for years but just took the plunge out of necessity. It’s fascinating to me and very enjoyable, but at times I fear making mistakes and what other people think of me for revealing this part of myself. But the urge to go forward and experiment is stronger than my insecurities, for the moment at least. I have Scorpio North Node which indicates I need to be more risk taking, but my Taurus South Node wants to remain cosy and safe. Thanks for the great insights, Eric!

  8. ..apparently my link is fucked.. well, it get’s you there anyway… apologies.. told you I was derailing.. good Luck. I’ll catch back when able.

    Jere

  9. It really is, Jere. That’s a great link you posted. Will check it out myself! Cheers and sweet dreams! (i’m on my morning coffee this side of the world…).

  10. It’s a beautiful thing Lizzy, thanks.

    Here’s W3C

    ..Apologies, missed my parentheses…. in the link (first time around…)..

    Jere

  11. Hi Holly. Check this out (just the intro):
    http://en.support.wordpress.com/videos/youtube/
    So to post a youtube video, you have to
    1)move your cursor over the youtube address at the top of the page (see the link I posted),
    2)click on the right hand part of the mouse or computer bar –
    3) when the box comes up, click on ‘copy’ with the left hand part of the mouse/bar.
    4) come back to your PW comment and move the cursor where you want to post the link
    5) click on the right hand part of the mouse/bar, and when the box comes up click on ‘paste ‘ with the left hand part of the mouse or bar. Et voilà! The yuotube address will appear – and when you post it it usually turns blue.
    Bloody ‘ell, that looks complicated! Hope I got the instructions right. You might well have been doing all this already and it just didn’t work out. But being hopeless with technology myself, thought I’d lend a helpng hand.

  12. Holly, click on “right here”, it lights up (should have been in the first place). The link works..

  13. Holly, <ahref commands,.. check this out right here . Also copy and paste ahead of time (well, copy, paste afterward.)

    The tutorials are sufficient. Enjoy.

    I’m out,..

    Jere

  14. It’s called No Matta What by Toya. Ooh, technology can be frustrating at times but what can you do.

  15. have spent most of my life doing exactly as you say: leo pluto on the AC in a kite with venus, the grand trine involving uranus and neptune/lilith conjunct chiron across the third house cusp. sun/mercury opposite 12th house saturn in cancer in a tsquare with the neptune/chiron/lilith stellum. plus nessus conjunct MC, vertex conjunct IC.

    and now with the mars/jupiter square, sun conjunct natal pluto, and jupiter approaching this point, i will push some more: are draconic charts worthwhile? what’s your take on this?

    thanks and cheers!

  16. Amy E! Bless you, I’d never even HEARD of a Finger of the World aspect and now, to hear of it in this way – Chiron with Jupiter and Mars – in a chart that has Chiron all over it, well, whole new worlds await my exploration.

    On the surface of it, the Finger of the World aspect made up of all hard angles, would indicate a need for grit and determination to overcome obstacles. Since Chiron leads the charge so to speak, and he also participates in the grand trine with Venus in Cancer and Saturn in Scorpio, his role as teacher might involve learning how to move energy via water through the use of fire (Jupiter). Thanks again.
    be

  17. Happy Mommy as well, had to share my son Nicolas Lorenzo, just pitched one of his best. An incredible tournament game in Steamboat Springs, Co. 101 pitches, 19 first pitch strikes, with 9 strike outs. Not bad at 73mph ave at just turned 14..He’s on a high, and cause he’s my biggest blessing..makes my heart sing!

    (Just noticed my comment below is number 16. Could not have planned this if I tried : )

  18. This has already been an incredible week starting off on dream, wing and a prayer on Monday. Doing it all, as the cosmos and you guide/reiterate .. the energy feels so good. Not to mention being met with incredible openness, left, right and center! I could not stop this creative push even if I, or other tried. Feeling completely free, I can accomplish anything I set my mind to I believe.

    In conjunction with this aspect, I just noticed the Grand Water Trine Venus sits conjunct natal Orcus in 10th, Natal Sun’s house. Saturn is exact conjunct Natal Pallas sandwiched by Natal Neptune 15+ and Juno to follow 18+ Scorpio. Then Chiron transit Pisces is conjunct Natal Chiron. Wooee! Sounds similar to Fey’s comment..all is connecting and going for it, creatively! Oh, and everything is coming up 16’s.. that’s my number baby!

  19. Finding the edge by experimenting. Taking risks. Rebel against social conditioning. Sounds like the goal of the average teenager. It make sense since Leo is the Divine Preteen/Teen. Why do you think society today view teens in a mostly negative light? Teens are awakened to the truth and they actively distance themselves from fakery. Teenagers know they won’t be listened to by the powers that be. Their brains aren’t fully developed yet, they are still children, so naive, why are they so mad when we po po their silly ideas. Those who use these lines are the same people who got us into WARS. The teens are experimenting with weed because they understand it is harmless. Teens are down with gay marriage because they see those opposing this are nothing more than angry, old, white people with too much time on their hands. We as young people, teens AND young adults are daring to change the status quo. We are slowly winning, don’t you worry.

  20. I love the sentiment “taking action to the point of making mistakes” and “you must work your way out to the edge of a number of boundaries and do some transgressing on a fairly regular basis” as a way of freeing up mental/emotional energy, which could be all about keeping the status-quo pre-approval peanut gallery happy, that one could use for creative experimentation.

    My experience is that my progress (on any front) has woven within its very nature the mis-takes made along the way and, actually contribute to where I am NOW.

    As a painter, the mistakes are sometimes the very thing that makes a painting compelling; they can inspire the viewer to slow down, drop in, and feel the composition in an intimate way.

  21. Oh, wow. Thank you for this! I’ve re-read it several times and am in awe… Edge-walking is such a precious gift in these times and receiving guidance as wise as what you’re able to share is priceless. These were exactly the words I needed to read today.

    And also this: “Check it out: do we have especially creative jobs? Dare we say what we feel, go where we want, be who we are, or have sex with who we desire? Or are we pruned, modified, dictated to, and denied out of existence by our own self-control?” Yes, yes, yes. Thank you!

  22. Wow, PW and Eric Francisco Coppolino:

    Boom. Boom. Boom. Since last Saturday’s New Moon conjunct Jupiter, I have felt like I’ve been kicked in the butt in the best way possible: creative impulses broke through a logjam, new forms of expression, and now new collaborations with completely new artists and art forms. If you go to my Facebook page, my new cover pic will give you a hint.

    I am making a change as my living situation is now in creative turmoil. My elderly landlady needs to sell her house to pay for her care. I have impetus to move for a place of my own. Its a heart-felt wish. So I am going for it all. Failure not an option. In fact, every living fiber in my being is saying GO, GO, GO for it!! All of it. And I won’t stop until its done. For this solar Aquarius, this square is like reaching the wall I have anticipated to climb in an obstacle course, only now I know I have the strength to do it. Pulling now on the ropes and climbing, parallel to the ground, rising up. Ready to get over the hump, with humble gratitude for all cosmic influences guiding me to this place.

  23. Here is the core of my theory on guilt — co-written with Joseph Trusso in this article.

    http://www.planetwaves.net/Taurus_How_To_Be.html

    Fritz and Laura Perls, early pioneers of Gestalt Therapy, taught that guilt is resentment turned against itself. Generally speaking, children, being the powerful yet powerless little critters they are, take upon themselves the notion of “fault and blame.” They cannot imagine adults (who are personifications of the gods and goddesses) making an error. If they do, it’s still the “fault” of the child. “If only I would’ve done this or that, daddy wouldn’t hit me.” “If I was more quiet, mommy wouldn’t drink.” And so on. Since they are at “fault,” they are “guilty,” and since they cannot rage against the adults very successfully or have a real impact on the direction of events, they turn the resentment at being pruned, modified, corrected, disciplined, strongly directed, or dictated to, back at themselves.

    That is guilt. It’s fair to say that our lives, so often filled with the idea that we cannot influence the direction of events, so often caught in the web of control, of bosses, of taxes, of children, and yes, of our sexual relationships, are often holographic copies of these original crushing relationships with parents and teachers. Yet as adults, the programming, the patterns, are contained within us. They are internalized. Check it out: do we have especially creative jobs? Dare we say what we feel, go where we want, be who we are, or have sex with who we desire? Or are we pruned, modified, dictated to, and denied out of existence by our own self-control?

  24. If we were to incorporate into the square between Mars and Jupiter et al, the degree Chiron was in when he was discovered (3+ Taurus), it would put Jupiter et al at the pivotal point, the short end of the T.

    Chiron’s maverick image fits nicely with what is described here as pushing out to the edge of boundaries.

    If then, we also added the Chiron Discovery Chart’s Mars at 2+ Leo, it would put even more heft to the Leo/Jupiter leg of the T. More emphasis on creativity, boldness, fun, purity of purpose; even innocence.

    For the fun of it, we might want to incorporate the Chiron Discovery Chart’s Moon in Cancer opposite the now transiting cathartic Pluto in Capricorn; a Moon which also trines the Chiron chart’s Sun-Uranus (conscious-awakening) conjunction in Scorpio which would SEXTILE the now transiting Pluto. Incorporating the heart and soul of Chiron into the present-day square between Mars and Jupiter stretches the boundaries already; it stretches Time to include the past.

    Today’s TRANSITING Chiron, now retrograde at 16+ Pisces draws (from a trine to his own natal chart) the talents of his natal Mercury at 17+ Scorpio, then combines this talent with the TRANSITING Saturn at 16 Scorpio 45; stirring and blending. It would seem then that transiting Chiron, as he trines transiting Saturn, has lent (his own) voice toward the materialization (Saturn) of Scorpio feeling. If then, this manifestation of Chiron-flavored Scorpio feeling is provided to the transit of Mars (and Vesta) in Scorpio (which would push the boundaries of orb a little), while squaring transiting Jupiter in Leo (and Chiron’s natal Mars) and opposing Chiron’s discovery degree, what would we have?

    We could be looking at a Shakesperian drama; a cathartic release of suffering for the purpose of healing past and present. Can’t thank you enough for leading me to this revelation Eric!
    be

  25. Eric, you’ve said in the past, “If you’re experiencing Guilt, then you’re going in the right direction.” (not an exact quote, but close I think). This small marker was/is very helpful to me and I repeat it often. It opens up a lot of inner dialogue, and then the potential to address restricting aspects in one’s experience in very tangible ways. I thought it would be appropriate here.

  26. The theme for me of late has been clarity as it relates to connecting with people and accomplishing my goals. I am actually receiving guidance from a therapist about this matter as result of your posts, Eric. Resistance led to action which has led to most welcome results thus far.

    At a point where my goals and visions are coming up against a little wall with the therapist, this post is right where I’m at. I’m striving to remain true to my convictions and make my case while honoring the connections involved here. Appreciate the clarity of your words here.

  27. “The pre-approval of others matters far less than your willingness to dare.” I am taking that on as a personal mantra to help me push past these karmic and ancestral and my own fearful creative blocks that have been literally strangling me. Thank YOU! I’m off this weekend to my first Colorado music festival in the one and only Crestone, CO. I’ll be doing sound wave meditations using tibetan singing bowls and steel tongue drums. (far enough away from my conservative Kansas family, to not give a damn what anyone thinks) And with 5 planets in Virgo, I think Mercury and Jupiter will be giving me a boost! Thank you Eric now and always for your cosmic insight and generous sharing.

  28. You really have to stop wandering into my head at night to see what I’m thinking about and then writing some brilliant solution for it and posting it the next day – otherwise I am going to end up being successful…

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