The Moon waxes its way over an energetic but potentially contentious week.  The Sun in Pisces spends the week opposing a retrograde Mars in Virgo, clarifying challenges but also shortening fuses. Meanwhile  Mercury emerges from the late degrees of Pisces mid-week, entering rash Aries on Thursday morning, on his way to a conjunction with chaos inducing Uranus and coming ever-closer to his March 11^th retrograde station.  Finally, Venus makes her way slowly to an opposition with Saturn on Saturday, sobering moods and bringing up serious emotional and financial issues.

There’s a lot of forceful energy at work this week, and its important that it be directed wisely.  That fire is there to heat the steel of your life, but it can burn you.  That hammer’s in your hand to beat your metal into shape, not to chase flies around.  Stay on task and save the hammer for the steel.

Sun-Mars Opposition:  Into Focus

The Sun in Pisces and Mars retrograde in Virgo stare across the earth at one another this week, perfecting their opposition this Saturday.

On the surface of things, this opposition heats the week, adding dynamism and power, yet also stoking smoldering conflicts.  Beneath that, this opposition illuminates the meaning of Mars’ retrograde process, bringing the underlying personal implications into consciousness.

Nonetheless, there’s a lot of fight in the air, and so it’s especially important that you recognize and direct  it toward your real battles- the struggle to reshape your life, to reforge yourself.  No projected enemies, no distractions.

Mercury’s Movements: Crooked Roads

Early Thursday morning, Mercury enters Aries, leaving the soggy confusion of the mindsea behind for the angry certainty of the Ram’s sign.  In Pisces, Mercury deals with emotionally loaded confusion, while in Aries the answers sought are action oriented.   Normally Mercury’s ingress into Aries signifies a shift toward greater clarity, but this year the situation is complicated.

First, there is Mercury’s upcoming retrograde (March 11th-April 3rd).  Although Mercury will not actually go retrograde for a few weeks, the swift but slowing planet has already stepped into the degrees he’s destined to backtrack through.  The ground the messenger covers this week and next holds questions without immediate answers, complicated issues that may take weeks to untangle.  Keep an eye out for a bump in classic Mercury retrograde symptoms such as miscommunications and technical problems.

Second, there is the fact that Mercury’s entrance into Aries puts the planet right next to Uranus, which it spends the week moving closer to conjunction with.  Mercury’s pending conjunction with Uranus in Aries sends surprising news through the wires and revolutionary thoughts through the mind.  There is the capacity to see fresh perspectives here, and a willingness to break from the past.  There is also impatience, impulsivity and a touch of crazy.

Due to the upcoming retrograde, Mercury will not make one, but 3 conjunctions with Uranus over the coming months, suggesting that many of the radical thoughts broadcasting are connected to complex issues that will take weeks to tease out.  Don’t rush it- give big ideas the time and planning they deserve.

Another issue is that Mercury’s movement into Aries puts it into a special relationship with retrograde Mars in Virgo.  Technically a mutual reception, this aligns the thought processes that Mercury blows along with the season-long changes that Mars’ retrograde has entailed.

In one sense, Mercury’s time in Aries helps reveal what radical steps are necessary to complete the ongoing revision of personal power.  A break from the past, from old patterns, is mandated.  But this set of influences will make it all too easy to throw out the baby with the bathwater.  It’s a challenging month we’re heading into, defined by important questions and a lack of easy answers.  Work with it.

Venus-Saturn Opposition: A Sobering Reflection

Venus in spends the week moving into an opposition with Saturn, which she completes on Saturday.  This opposition brings the passions into opposition with a need for emotional and financial balance.  Ungrounded excitement will fall earthward and the will to excess will encounter natural limits. This opposition puts a bit of a damper on Venus in Aries’ party-time fire, cramping some weekend plans, but party-time fire may not be exactly what we need right now, anyway.

Horoscopes

Horoscopes are not a real chart reading by an experienced astrologer. However, they are fun and can be reasonably accurate. In addition to referring to your Sun sign, read your from Ascendant and Moon if you know them. If you don’t, find out. I’m a long time fan of the free chart generation software at astro.com.

Oh, and if you’re still concerned that your sign has changed, get a little clarity here.

Aries: The Ram

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars heats the week, emphasizing the necessity of managing practical problems while keeping your sanity intact. It can be done, I promise.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd, amplifying the mental energy at your disposal, yet also tempting you with a variety of revolutionary, but unfinished ideas.  Let the inspiration in, but don’t rush toward implementation.  Give the ideas the time they need to unfold into plans.

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn, putting some stress on your relationships.  If in doubt, compromise.

Taurus: The Bull

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars heats the week, the energy pointing especially toward interactions with the people you need to implement your plans.  Take note, as sticking points are likely to emerge.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd and shifts your thinking into a somewhat more grumpy, introverted place.  Nonetheless,  insights into the power you’ve forgotten to claim lurk here.

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra, cramping the vibe and suggesting you conserve your energy to deal with potential fiscal and/or physical issues.

Gemini: The Twins

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars highlights friction between the conflicting needs of work and home. You may need to fix issues surrounding your living situation before you can properly attend to professional concerns.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd, amplifying the mental energy at your disposal.  Mercury’s time in Aries may stir up some issues with friends or potential contacts, but you’d be wise to suspend judgment on social connections until Me

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra, asking you to modify the amount of time and energy you’re spending on social activities in the interest of life balance.

Cancer: The Crab

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars heats the week, emphasizing the difficulties in reconciling your long term goals with all of the short term work you need to accomplish.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd, shifting your thinking toward your mutating professional life.  Radical ideas about what you might be – and do – abound.

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra, asking you to balance your professional passion with your obligations to your living space and family.

Leo: The Lion

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars heats the week, emphasizing friction around questions of ownership.  Keep cool as you work with questions of how much of the pie is yours, and how much ain’t.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd, shifting thinking and communications to your long term goals and larger perspective.  You’re due for some sudden changes of opinion in this area this month.  Ride out the upcoming Mercury retrograde before you commit to any big plans.

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra, emphasizing the necessity of taking care of short-term tasks before losing yourself in the vision of the big picture.

Virgo: The Virgin

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars heats the week, emphasizing the friction in your relationships.  Keep a cool head amidst the tensions.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd, shifting your thinking to your exchanges of time, money and energy with the people in your life.  You’ll likely have a number of different ideas about what to do in this area over the next month.  Let the upcoming Mercury retrograde play out before committing to any particular arrangement.

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra, further emphasizing the exchanges of time, money and energy between yourself and other people.  You’ll probably need to make some adjustments here.

Libra: The Scales

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars seeds the week with with small tasks and little fixes.  Keep clear of frustration and stay solution oriented.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd, amplifying the amount of communication between you and others, though not necessarily clarifying it.  As we travel the on-ramp to the upcoming retrograde, you may want to employ a little extra patience with the people in your life.

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra, which may see you trying to keep your cool while others lose theirs.  Patience, patience.

Scorpio: The Scorpion

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars heats a busy week. You’re likely to have less down time than you’d like, and may end up spending more time than you’d expect solving other people’s problems.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd, shifting the flow of your thoughts toward practical matters.  You may find yourself in the process of making some radical changes to your habits and/or having to handle a disruption of your standard rhythm.

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra, highlighting the connection between practical problems and your psychological balance.  Don’t let the little stuff rattle you.

Sagittarius: The Archer

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars heats the week, placing a big emphasis on your changing professional life as well as your living situation.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd, shifting your mind toward creative and fun topics.  You’re due for a few surprises and changes of perspective in this area over the next month. You may want to sit on new projects for a few weeks before committing your energy to them.

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra, asking that you find a compromise between what you feel like doing and what others expect of you.

Capricorn: The Goat

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars heats the week, spotlighting ongoing changes to your long term plans while you handle the immediate demands on your time.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd, shifting your thinking to your living situation, and other fundamental factors.  Use this time to envision different changes you could make, but don’t be impatient with implementation.  Good plans take time.

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra, bringing pleasures into conflict with professional commitments.

Aquarius: The Water Bearer

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars heats the week, highlighting the cost of handling problems for other people.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd, seeding the next few weeks with a wide variety of peripheral tasks.  Be on the look out for miscommunications so that you can catch errors before they bloom.

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra, bringing the pleasure of small trips into conflict with commitments to long term goals.

Pisces: The Fish

The Sun’s opposition with a retrograde Mars heats the week, highlighting the friction between yourself and others.   Work on smoothing out the interpersonal wrinkles as they arise.

Mercury enters Aries on the 2nd, shifting your thinking toward your mutating financial situation.  Ideas about how to create radical change in this area abound this month,but not all of them will be good.  Take the time to plot properly.

The weekend sees Venus in Aries oppose Saturn in Libra, cramping the mood a bit and highlighting the importance of paying what is owed.

Private Consultations

If you find yourself a little confused by the strange waters of the season, or interested in a personalized map of those yet to come, consider a consultation. For details, click here. Send inquiries to ac@austincoppock.com.