We’re looking in at each other and we don’t know what to do.
— Pete Townshend
Venus, holding forth in Pisces, opposes Mars, retrograde in Virgo, on Wednesday, the first day of February. You don’t need to be an expert with astrology to grasp the symbolism of that scenario. Pause to consider what you already know. You know that opposition is like being face-to-face. When you are facing another, it is either very comforting or very confrontational; you know that too. Unless for some reason you enjoy discomfort, the objective of working with Venus opposed to Mars becomes clear. It means doing your part to reduce conflict and contribute to consolation, both for yourself and for the other looking in at you. You may have started already.
Monday last, we proposed that you note a few things down and put them in an envelope until the end of the week. If you followed up over the weekend by opening discussion after opening the envelope, you have laid the foundation for comfort. That’s because the tension of opposition is first addressed by talking about it. It takes two people who are receptive to communication, and willing to act on it, to make a creative and gratifying conversation possible. The archetypes of Venus and Mars fill those requirements.
Venus corresponds to how the receptive and attractive work in your life. Mars, on the other hand, symbolizes the active and creative. When face-to-face with each other, as Venus and Mars will be on Wednesday, the conditions of communication are optimized. Once conversation has commenced, however, there is the question of its quality and content. That is where the respective signs come in.
Earlier this month, Eric described the opposition of Virgo and Pisces as “the axis of practical imagination,” with earthy Virgo as the more pragmatic field, and watery Pisces as the reservoir of creative conjecture. Since Venus moving forward in Pisces is as comfortable as a native in its natural element, the conceptual component of conversation would seem to be readily available. Mars, however, is in a marginal position.