By Len Wallick
Mars in Sagittarius, repeat it to yourself.
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Consider the table tilted. It’s a big shift of energy and emphasis. Today the red planet is involved with the Moon, Venus and Pluto. That involvement will give us a glimpse of just what Mars in Sagittarius could mean. Also on the docket today is the Sun’s conjunction with a long-lived and tightly aspected Scorpio stellium. But first, a peek at the end of the week.
This week winds up with Chiron, then Neptune stationing direct. Both of them will be conjunct to the degree in Aquarius, beginning the last tour of that sign after a long tenure. Chiron returns to Pisces February 2011, Neptune makes its first ingress the following April.
Smack in-between the Chiron and Neptune stations we will have the Scorpio New Moon, taking place at a degree well warmed up by Venus and two other planets. A degree that will also link us back to the previous New Moon in Libra, also through the aegis of Venus. But all of that is a few days away. Let us return to the present.
For months on end, Scorpio has been host to a sustained triple conjunction with a nautical theme. Deucalion is an object that on average, maintains a greater distance from the Sun than Neptune, and crosses the orbit of Pluto. It was named after the ancient Greek equivalent of Noah, survivor of a great flood who re-booted a corrupted humanity.
Ceto is also a trans-Neptunian object, actually a binary with its companion Phorcys. It crosses the orbits of Uranus and Neptune in addition to Pluto. It is named after the primordial mother of sea monsters in Greek mythology. Completing the enduring triple conjunction in Scorpio is Poseidon, one of eight hypotheticals classified as Uranian objects. It is named after the Greek equivalent of Neptune, god of the seas.
Wading into this stellium today is the Sun. This on the eve of the sea-change that may accrue with the mid-term elections in the United States is an auspicious placement. The combination of the sign and the aggregate theme of the objects would seem to indicate that the consequences are anything but clear, even in Sol’s presence. There is a depth and mystery akin the the ocean itself. There are indications of a beginning with obscured origins that may begin to define itself by the time the Sun is in Pisces.
And speaking of Pisces, that is one of the two signs classically ruled by Jupiter and where Jupiter finds its current placement. What does this have to do with the current astrology? The answer is found in the other sign ruled by Jupiter, Sagittarius. When Mars moved from a sign that it rules and into one ruled by Jupiter, that was a major shift. It may not be apparent now, but there is more than the element of fire being awakened. With its preeminence as the ruler of both the most evolved fire sign and the most sophisticated water sign, Jupiter is in the process of assuming a highly influential, perhaps dominant role in our sky. This is a theme we will return to repeatedly.
But today, the Mars influence is felt more in aspect than in rulership. The root of these inter-relations is that retrograde Venus, Pluto and the Moon, along with the red planet, are reaching the same placement in their respective signs all at the same time. Let’s break it down.
The Moon is in Virgo, Pluto is in Capricorn, both earth signs. As previously reviewed, signs of the same element have a relationship characterized by the word flow. Thus the luminary of our intuitive and emotional selves is in a supportive conversation with the planet of transformation. The indicated opportunity is the discovery of a comfort zone of sorts. An awareness that grounding is possible in a season of metamorphosis. That the continuum itself is the kernel of constancy. That the inevitability of change is a source of stability.
Precisely in between the Moon and Pluto is Venus in Scorpio, a water sign. This relationship between water and earth elements we have previously characterized by the word harmony. The difference between the flow and the harmony is that harmony requires some conscious effort. Rather than happening serendipitously, it must be made to happen. Here the placement is fortunate because Venus itself is, among other things, the symbolic benefactor and facilitator to the cause of harmony.
So between Luna, Venus and Pluto we have one third of the zodiac comprising a powerful wave that could be fairly be described as copacetic. The role of Mars is to make it a bit more interesting than that. That is the placement that many of us may be identifying with today.
The relationship between signs of the fire element and those of water and earth is perhaps best thought of as problematic. There is potential for frustration but there is also a promise of creative synthesis that only challenge met can yield. It all depends on how we handle it. Mars has a willful vibe and is inclined to force issues. Today would not be the time to let that tendency be indulged.
The placement in a spiritual and evolved fire sign creates another avenue through which the energy of Mars may be authentically expressed — that being the path of sublimation.
In the literal, objective, empirical realm of chemistry, sublimation is the transformation from a solid state to a gaseous state without occurrence of a liquid state in between. The sense of the word in psychology is abstracted and figurative but very close to that of chemistry and just as real in its expression. The concept itself is consistent with the feel of Scorpio and the transition implied by its adjacent sign, Sagittarius.
Thus akin to Venus, Mars is also fortunately placed today. As the ruler of Scorpio, recently transited to Sagittarius, the way to sublimation would seem to be open if our awareness can pick up on the synchronicity. But this is no flow and this is no harmony. This is working through tension by choosing response over reaction. That takes some conscious and directed effort. Today will introduce us to that labor that characterizes both the potential pitfalls and rewards of Mars in Sagittarius. If we don’t do so well? Don’t worry, this is just the beginning. There will be other opportunities. The main thing is to pay attention and learn within the framework that sublimation provides. If we we can do that today and get a better idea of what that feels like, we can call it good.
Offered In Service
Thanks all for your responses and bless you in all your endeavors!! Saying a prayer for tomorrow and hoping for the best. Such a strange world, seems too bad that All Souls Day is buried in political cacophony. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some peace and quiet to remember loved ones gone on before us and treasure our time with friends and family? We’re all no further separated than 50th cousins, you know, before having to begin to claim kin outside our species.
Be:
That is great news from your bank, re. your mortgage and new rate. Well done! Re. the candle story — those moments are so reaffirming aren’t they, aligning our spirits, helping us keep the strength to fight another day.
Very pleased you enjoyed it!
Thank you also to both yourself and susyc for the “sublime” and “bitching” poetry! I enjoyed them both immensely.
😉
shebear,
Stories like your candle, fireplace and shadow are what make me a believer – over and over again. Thank you for sharing. I couldn’t resist the allure of copacetic either, and yes, the bank is going to refinance my mortgage and give me a lower rate, and therefore more $$ every month. Out of no where comes divine help!
susyc,
Thank you for sharing your talent and expressing your frustration so subliminally. You enspire me to share a less witty ditty on this All Souls Day.
My body is bitching;
my right eye is twitching
my left eye is itching..
I’m thinking of switching
my plans.
Instead of enriching
my lifetime by hitching
to stars and bewitching;
perhaps I’ll be pitching
these goals.
From the bank I’ll procure
a loan (not demure)
in hopes to assure
a way to endure
these times.
Perhaps a brochure
could provide some allure
for one so mature,
and therefore ensure
success.
So what would be fitting
for one who is getting
prepared to be sitting
all day with her knitting –
For real!
Oh who am I kidding?
The stars do their bidding;
there’s no way of quitting!
Those thoughts I’ll be ridding
me of.
be
susyc — love it. thanks for sharing!
here here, sarah! i was struck by that phrase, too.
“An awareness that grounding is possible in a season of metamorphosis. That the continuum itself is the kernel of constancy. That the inevitability of change is a source of stability.”
I loved this, Len … Let’s bloody well hope so! If change isn’t going to go away, then what I want is to roll with it — or to rock ‘n roll with it. 🙂
— S
susyc,
That’s a mouthful.
Sublime Sublimation
Financial insecurity
My paycheck held hostage
To missing paperwork
Could have me hopping mad
A spark to ignite
A change in my worklife
A conflagration, despite this
Uncomfortably muggy weather.
Aggravated by the demands of
Other people, its
My karma to be hit up
By needy people.
Flashpoint? Or should I beat
A hasty retreat?
Some might see it as a mean retreat
But I don’t care.
It’s time for me to surrender
To my divine inception as…
A Porn Star!
But not just any porn star
Not like those dead-eyed girls
Hiding behind masks of
High-gloss paint
Shame-bound and full of hate
For the automatons they service
I’ll be like that one girl I saw
(Only one out of so many!)
In that tiny photo
In the back of the AVN catalog
I looked into so many faces to find her
I know some of you know
What I’m talkin’ about.
I’ll be weightless
Winging my way from
Stamen to pistil
Dancing between the flowers
Drawing the nectar
In pure joy
Like a butterfly or hummingbird
Choosing my co-stars
For the sunsprays of laugh lines radiating out
From the margins of their kind eyes
For their hungry reciprocity and
Ability to nibble and munch
The crimson up through
The skin of my cheeks and
Nether petals.
My nether petals….
Transforming them from a pale transluscent pink
To a tropical flush so distracting
That spirits pause in their
Ghostly ascension to
Admire their radiance…..
(From the other day: To give honour where honour is due – Lens was a word phrased by someone else on these pages)
Otherwise many thanks…
xxxp
I smiled when I read the title to your post Len — Fire and Light — because this morning I had to put on my gas fireplace while I meditated, because it was quite nippy indoors and then I lit a special candle on the mantlepiece above it. There was my fire and my light!
It is All Soul’s Day in Ireland and today, it is especially poignant as my best and dearest friend buried her husband on Saturday. She is my age, we were born three months apart and it is really heartbreaking for me not to be there to give her hugs and moral support right now. When I heard of the death I took the candle which is special to me because she bought it for me, and I lit it these past few days to wish her husband peace on his journey and comfort for my friend and her two step children.
In addition, my meditation ended on a really lovely moment. The sun had risen behind me and when I opened my eyes, a sunbeam was shining right onto the candle flame and in turn onto the wall behind the candle, casting as well the shadow of the candle. This ended up being in right in the centre, or framed as you will, by the sun’s glimmering reflection in the wall, making a kind of silhouette. The sun’s timing could not have been more perfect. Even by the time I got my camera to capture it, the sun’s shadowy reflection that was the frame, was already moving along the wall. For me it was a……. “copacetic” * moment?!
*I see you employed its use as well, Be, in your comment and I had to chuckle, because while reading Len’s post it also caught my eye! I have heard the word used many times but I don’t ever remember seeing it before, so i looked it up. Seemed appropriate to use it here as well. I hope your call to the bank was indeed just that!
Thank you Len for setting the tone for the day; it was another great lesson. I am always in awe of the depth and breadth of your analysis and each time I visit you, I learn SO much.
Len,
Thanks for the “heads up” on Mars and his relationships. Glad I read this before I returned a call to my bank; he might have been a fly in the ointment given the opportunity! Anyway, a clue to the Ceto, Deucalion and Poseidon placements could be the Scorpio Full Moon last April when the Moon was at 8 Scorpio 07. You remember, 8 days after the BP oil rig explosion? Okay, guess I will call the bank now. Copacetic would be a welcome relief.
be