Strange how the night moves with Autumn closing in. — Bob Seeger
Mars enters Leo on Sunday night shortly before 10:00 pm EDT. This will take place four days after Venus put on Libra’s costume and four days before the Sun follows suit, marking an equinox. There is a balance in this temporal symmetry of sign change, and the red planet is in a pivotal position. It would be entirely consistent if you were to reach a concurrent turning point your own life over the next week. That is not to imply something will happen to you. On the contrary, the astrology indicates you will be facing a choice of how to direct a newly empowered ability to act on your own.
Planets do not beam down some zombie energy that manipulates you like a puppet. The objects orbiting the Sun are archetypes, each one representing a different reality in our lives. As those archetypes move from one sign to another, they change to a different set of clothes. As you know from your own life, what you wear can dictate what you do or how easily you can do it. The same is true for planets.
The archetype of Mars is Yang, the vitality that is attracted to the receptive Yin, between them yielding change. The essence of Mars is to assert what is within us, so that we can be proactive with relation to the wider world around us. Change, action and vitality all imply movement. As you know from your own experience, some types of clothing are more conducive to movement than others.
For a month and a half, Mars has been wearing a damp Yin uniform while making its way through the cardinal water sign Cancer. That wet and ill fitting wardrobe has served to make it difficult for the Martian energy to move. You may have witnessed evidence of that symbolic inhibition in yourself or others lately, as some inappropriate argumentation has surfaced unexpectedly. Such is the fatigue of slogging for six weeks with a seasonal initiative in tow.