Astrology 2/29 – 3/6: Water Pressure

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This week, the Sun’s undersea journey through Pisces sees the pressure mount as the depth increases.   As we go progressively deeper, the light of the waning Moon steadily disappears, leaving our eyes to adjust to the scarce light of the deep-sea realm.  Though it may be dimly lit, there is a flurry of activity about.

The early week is characterized by Venus crossing the midpoint between Saturn and Uranus, which queries the ratio of freedom to duty in our lives. The weekend, though holds a cluster of configurations.  Mercury makes a potentially irritating square with Mars on Friday while the Sun completes an onerous square with Saturn on Saturday.  Furthermore, both Mercury and Mars move on to new signs over the weekend, with Mercury entering Pisces late Friday night and Mars making a portentous move into Sagittarius on Saturday.

Duty and Liberty

The early portion of the week is colored by Venus’ aspects to Saturn and Uranus.  Monday holds Venus’ dutiful sextile with Saturn, while Wednesday contains a pleasantly pattern-breaking sextile with Uranus.

Here Venus treads the path that Mercury walked last week.  With this pair of early-week aspects, the heart encounters both the weight of obligation and the lust for freedom.  While these impulses are on the surface contradictory, this configuration illuminates the possibilities for reconciliation.  The issue is always one of proportion and our ability to reconcile ourselves with the ratio that we create.

Take Venus’ mediation between these two powers this as an opportunity to reflect upon what portion of your energy you have bound and what you have left uncommitted, to be used as you see fit.  We are always free, always duty bound.

Harsh Words

Mercury and Mars come to dominate the aethyrs as the weekend approaches.  The pair not only ingress into new signs, but also perfect an aspect just before doing so.  Mercury and Mars square on Friday, the 4^th (9:42 PM PST).  Though tightest on Friday, the friction between the two spheres will be evident from Tuesday onward.

The aspect between the planets occurs with Mercury at 29’ Aquarius and Mars at 29’ Scorpio- just before their respective ingresses.  This is a frictive angle, and considered to put the two planet’s agendas at odds. While Mercury in Aquarius calmly advocates for detached analysis, Mars in Scorpio impels us toward passionate action.  The two imperatives are not easily reconciled.

Mars is quite strong in Scorpio, and in position to rise first.  Mercury is thus considered to be at a disadvantage, which means that Mars’ significations will tend to over-rule or interfere with Mercury’s.

The result of this will be similar to what many people associate with Mercury’s retrogrades.  Communications, travels and electronics may be troubled.  On a personal level, people will tend toward the irritable, and anger may hijack trains of thought.  The friction between Mars and Mercury will not lay waste to otherwise harmonious relationships, but it will provide the spark necessary to ignite combustible ones.

This is actually the third and final Mercury-Mars square since December’s solstice.  The first occurred on December 29^th, and the second shortly thereafter, on January 5^th.  This last installment of the series may thus bring resolution, or at least proper diagnosis, to issues which the year began with.

Dream Journal

Mercury enters Pisces on early Saturday morning (2:22 AM PST), shortly after squaring Mars. Mercury’s time in Pisces opens the mind to vast oceans of awareness- the big picture.  However, this panoramic perspective can make it easy to overlook important details.  Mercury is considered to have a difficult time in the watery sign, as it is more predisposed to poetry than precision.

In practice, Mercury’s time in Pisces can be quite helpful when directed toward imaginative works, although pursuits requiring diligence and rigor may suffer.  Mercury will be in Pisces from March 5^th until the 21^st.

Fire When Ready

On Saturday, March 5^th, Mars enters Sagittarius (6:28 PM PST).  While Mars usually spends only 6 weeks in a given sign of the zodiac, this year he will be present in Sagittarius for almost 5 months.  The ingress on March 5^th begins the first leg of this trip, which will last until he regresses into Scorpio on May 28^th.  As if this almost 3 month stay was not enough, Mars will return to Sagittarius again on August 2^nd, and take until September 27^th to exit the Archer’s sign.  In total, that is nearly 5 months of time Mars will spend in Sagittarius.

In Sagittarius, Mars rushes forward in pursuit of dreams, ideals and grand works.  The goal, which resides just over the horizon, provides the bull’s eye and center of gravity.  A vision of accomplishment hangs in the sky here, like an aurora borealis.  This celebratory banner, though, tends to maintain its position on the horizon, never growing closer, for it is the image of ideal realized- a metaphysical contradiction in terms.  Yet its appearance is necessary, and powerful, for this burning vision provides the heat necessary for the unification of diverse functions and resources.  Body and mind, horse and human, become one in the figure of the centaur.  The heart of Mars in Sagittarius’ war is this struggle to achieve functional unity in pursuit of what truly matters.

It is worth noting that the entire time that Mars is in Sagittarius, he will share the archer’s sign with Saturn.  Although they will not conjoin precisely until August, their mere co-existence will serve to double up the pressure in one area of life.  Together, the two malefics will sing us a song of ice and fire, obligation and impetus, which will be the soundtrack to this year’s ordeal.

Opacity

While last week the Sun conjoined Neptune in Pisces, this week the Sun moves on to square Saturn in Sagittarius.  Although the applying aspect shadows much of the week, it is precise on Saturday night (10:03 PM PST).  Here we move from dreams to discipline.  The weight of necessity increases throughout the week, and our happiness will suffer to the degree that we are not equal to our commitments. The Sun’s square with Saturn thus darkens the week, for it pulls our gaze toward obstacles both stubborn and opaque.  Yet neither heavy clouds nor eclipses actually extinguish the Sun’s light- they merely conceal it.