Mars in Virgo: Our Harmony Within

A spectrogram showing a note and the perfect fifth

(the harmonic fifth) above it

(image credit: Omegatron, using Adobe Audition)

.
All on its own, Mars in Virgo is the energy of doing for a given purpose and getting things done. It’s about the need which drives us to do something (whatever form that takes) and the effectiveness and efficiency which gets things done.

It's even about learning how to get something done.

Or learning that something needs to be done.

Mars in Virgo promotes gets in touch with how we feel about things and gaining a better perspective on what doesn't work - and why it doesn't work.

And why it may not be moral. Or ethical.

Yet while it is tempting to think that Mars in Virgo is about 'the rules' and the 'way it ought to work,' that's not true either. Virgo is an earth sign. And therefore, Mars in Virgo is about the evidencing of how our existence - be that our corporeal bodies or our life here on Earth - how healthy that is, or isn't.

So it's not about 'the rules' or 'the protocol' except in the sense that said rules or protocol have to do with real people living real lives. 

It's about the process of learning to be human...a real human being living in a world which often does everything it can to get us to deny our humanity...our humanness...and our instinct to be humane.

All of this will be enticed out of us through challenges and events which take place while Mars is in Virgo (from October 15 - December 7), no matter what else happens.

And much will indeed happen.

For one, let’s just remember that the ruler of Virgo is Mercury. And Mercury is not only currently in Scorpio (symbolizing the stirring up of all those intense situations and personal challenges we’ve all been dealing with)… but Mercury will BE in Scorpio until December 5th.

Which yes, does seem to hook these two influences together. Funny how that works, eh?

This Virgo-Scorpio connection is something I talked about in a previous post – the one about the Sun moving into Virgo back in August. Remember that one? Not to worry…here’s the link:

- link to -

Sun in Virgo…Mercury in Virgo

As with any two signs, there is a two-sided symbiotic relationship. The first (the one written most about in the Sun/Mercury Virgo post) is how Virgo is the 3rd derivative sign from Virgo…which because the 3rd derivative sign from anything is always about mentality, choice, communication, priorities and the ability to follow through productively on things rather than overcommit or scatter ourselves or just build some castle in the sky (of our mind) which then falls apart in reality.

In short, the ability to learn is the heart and soul of the 3rd harmonic (that 3rd derivative sign thing). And because Scorpio is the 3rd harmonic to Virgo, that’s why Virgo placements (and Virgo people) react to many things in life in a Scorpio sort of way: they glom onto things which trip their desire triggers and often shy away from that which asks them to face their own fears and any underlying issues with self worth.

Meanwhile (back at the mental Mercury ranch) there’s also the derivation from Scorpio TO Virgo to consider here, since Virgo’s ruler (and hence a great influence on Mars’ passage through Virgo) is in Scorpio...and is going to be in Scorpio right up to the last few days of Mars’ traverse through Virgo.

From Scorpio to Virgo is an 11th derivation. Thus all things Virgo represent Scorpio, this deeply emotional sign which challenges us so intensely to experience our own security and self worth through our relationships and choices of where to (or not to) invest ourselves in life, in its ‘fitting in role.’

And that’s all about functionality and morality and health and whether what we do or don’t do actually serves to support our greater goals…which is why no matter how much we want something to work or be true (that being the Scorpio thing)…that when it doesn’t, it throws everything into chaos.

Virgo is, after all, one half of the Virgo/Pisces polarity. And whether or not your version of ‘chaos’ is at the physical/operational (Virgo) end of the spectrum or the emotional-rejection-failure end of the spectrum (the Pisces side), chaos is chaos – and when the originating point is Scorpio, the result is demoralizing, sometimes shame producing, and often the source of continued dysfunctionality…the Virgo-from-Scorpio legacy.

Scorpio defeats hurt. And while it’s easy to say they hurt at our self worth or self respect level, what’s harder to cope with is putting the pieces back together – the ‘making it work’ again thing.

The Virgo derivation…the harmonic within which defines the harmony within.

And let’s not forget the solar eclipse. (Yes, that again.) The reason not to forget it (even if we’re tired of thinking about it) is simple: Mars entering Scorpio is going to either fire up our ability TO mend things in life and in our life…or it’s going to represent an upsurge of forces of disruption getting into action.

Mind you…it’s to think through (in intensely Mercury-in-Scorpio fashion, no doubt!) whether or what is really at stake, no matter what really happens. The way metaphysics work, things will happen to us and we will be involved in situations (of whatever kind) which evoke our issues. Considering Scorpio’s presence in this mix, boundaries may be an issue. Considering Virgo’s presence in this mix, questions of whether something is ‘healthy’ may arise. That may be about you. Then again, the issue may be someone else and their Scorpio (power, control, boundary, investment) issues.

Or it could be both of you.

Or it could be what you’re both involved in – or how you’re involved, or the process you’re involved in (or with), regardless of how innocent and well-meaning you both may be.

So…how to know what is what and whether you’re on the right track?

For one, considering that as Mars enters Virgo it encounters Regulus, ask yourself whether there are emotions involved, and if so, what kind of emotionality is in play. Having emotions is fair, of course – everybody should have feelings! (If you don’t, that’s defined as a Virgo functionality problem right there.) And it’s perfectly okay if someone is presenting you with a choice, so long as they’re not threatening you with anything but the repercussions of your choice with regards to the outcome.

Example: the boss who says 'never mind what the laws are or aren't, this is MY law and if you don't obey it, you're out of a job.'

Particularly in today's difficult job market, the tendency may be to toe the line, kowtow or assume some bent over position which puts your hands in touch with your ankles.

But if you know that what your boss is demanding is unethical...or some law they claim exists doesn't actually exist...then you are stuck very squarely in exactly the sort of convolution this Mars in Virgo passage is designed to elicit.

Mars in Virgo is about 'cleaning up our act.' And in that, what may be 'easy' is not always right. The right thing to do is to prioritize being the human being you are. And if there's something unhealthy about that, such factors will require Mars in Virgo efforts too.

All of this requires a bucket load of being honest with ourselves. And that sort of honesty is a definite Virgo/Scorpio issue in which Mars in Virgo will play the part of a heroically villainour energy which will drill through the basics of ‘what works’ to the 'are you out of your mind to be doing this?' level.

It's easy to say Mars in Virgo is about goal orientation. It's harder to tolerate the Mars in Virgo effect linked (through Mercury in Scorpio) to the eclipse and all which goes with the solar eclipse.

And oh, by the way...if you're thinking that you just have to hold on or hold out until November 3rd and then everything will be rosy? Uh, no. That's not how it works. 

Part One: when we avoid, evade or deny the work the energetics of a solar eclipse are aimed at (which generally having to do with peeling back our defenses and getting us to be ourselves at a far more nakedly genuine level) we end up locking ourselves into a pattern which in time becomes the 'bad choice' which cripples our life. You may call it pragmatism...at least for now. But down the life you'll recognize your lack of courage and your unwillingness to be uncomfortable for a couple of months or so has pretty much compromised your life.

Part Two: solar eclipse energetics are FAMOUS for representing our eventual downfall - a downfall which will play out at the next eclipse in a much "bigger" way. In this sense, eclipses are cumulative...and eventually they indicate the process which will take you out.

Yes, that kind of 'take you out.'

Metonic cycles...which is to say, the eclipse cycle...is 19 years long. But before you go shrugging your shoulders about how 19 years is a really long time, allow me add two items.

One: eclipse cycles don't start when we're born. They start at some point at or before we're age 19...GENERALLY. (There are exceptions.)

Example: I had a really bad bicycle accident when I was a child. It happened at age seven. And since then, every 19 years, as that eclipse cycle comes around, something very physical and difficult happens in my life.

So look back. Somewhere back there, there's probably a moment or a passage about which you can say 'oh, there was this really AWFUL thing which happened at age such-and-such.' Solar eclipse effects change our lives at some level. And yes, effects will vary, depending on what they hit...Sun, Ascendant, Nodes...it varies.

But we know the feel of a 'hit' - particularly to our Sun.

And that's another part of the point. Many of us have more than one eclipse cycle which is active in our chart.

And yes, there are a few of us who are never really directly hit by eclipses. That can be good, that can be bad. It was astrologer Chris MacRae who pointed out (in a most cheery, philosophical tone during a lecture one day) that lives which are never challenged seldom go anywhere...or at least very far.

Her reference was to t-squares, as I remember. But the concept applies. Good times are nice, but tough times and embracing the difficulty of the challenge are what lead to ultimate personal success.

That's the metaphysical teaching. Feel free not to like it...but that's still the teaching. And as far as anyone in the astrological quadrant can suss out from charts, it holds true.

The 'mutual reception' quality of Mars in Virgo plus Mercury in Scorpio will now pit us against the forces of control, emotionalism, manipulation and threat - particularly as those things are experienced within. But what Mars in Virgo is attempting to root out is why we react to those negative forces...be they inside our psyches, causing us to make bad choices or choices which cripple some facet of our being (particularly our feeling being and that which asks us to own our emotionality)....and all this is now likely to come to the fore through those who are at a guess, the least connected to the truth of how their emotionality needs to connect to and take into account the emotionality of others.

There are many, many ways we will see this surface. But they are all likely to have a single theme, that being where people point to 'the way it should be done' or 'the way we have always done it' as an excuse not to change. 

Also likely, those who say 'your feelings have nothing to do with anything'...which would be a direct violation of (or attempt to evade) the requirements being put forth by the Scorpio solar eclipse.

Manipulation will be rife. As we all know, this is a cause effect universe. So someone's attempt to manipulate you will create resistance on your part.

But is it really manipulation - or is someone calling you on your resistance and denial and how ineffective that really is.

Scorpio manipulation is a bad thing because it ends up compromising our feelings, and our ability to feel our Self being challenged by our feelings.

But beyond that (call it back at the Regulus Quotient), IF your reaction is to try to get back at them…that’s as bad as the boss whose evil is 'damn the torpedoes - success at all cost, who cares if it compromises real people (including us)?'

Money ranks, by the by, second only to sex/sexuality in the realm of Scorpio manipulative threats. The list appears to go sex, money and then pain.

Imagine that?

So be forewarned: the real question is whether someone tries to pin their effect on your causality.

Got that?

With Neptune still at 2 Pisces (retrograde), there is much afoot about which we all feel unsure. We don’t know how things are going to play out. We don’t know whether we’re on the right path. We don’t know if who we’re dealing with is who we think they are – or who we want to be around/invested with.

There are no quick fixes here. Nor are there supposed to be, as Mars’ shift into Virgo is just part of the greater eclipse process in progress. By October 23rd, Mars will have passed through the opposition to Neptune and be ‘bridging’ into an opposition to Chiron, making October 23rd through November 9th a time when we all will be faced with doing that we not only don’t feel we know how to do, but with things we can’t know how to do without doing.

Please note: this phase of Mars’ transit includes November 3rd, the date of the solar eclipse. Thus this evolving Mars/Chiron dynamic is part of the eclipse’s shift from ‘breaking us and our defenses against our own issues down’ phase into the letting go and beginning to move towards accepting that we need to be ourselves at an authentic level…and if we don’t, then we are by definition, limiting our lives.

Mars in Virgo is about getting things done and making our lives work.

The Virgo question this time around the Mars wheel thus becomes whether we want all of our life to work, or whether we’re content…or even wanting to shut some part of our Self out.

Considering that Scorpio is also the sign of purposeful denial, to take that path would be indeed very Scorpio… in which case, Mars in Virgo will show us if that ‘half-life’ works… or why for us, that really isn’t so healthy.

For some of us, Mars in Virgo is going to be our focusing on one very special thing. And provided that helps us get into better harmony with ourselves (as opposed to greater disparity through neglect of some part of our life or personal development) we can now indeed get caught up with…and even exceed our aims.

As always, the question would seem to be whether we’re doing or being done to – and with Mars in Virgo, some of that is now a choice we can think through and make.

Even re-make.
.
.
.

Vesta in Virgo/Saturn at the North Node

Almodo Ora (Computergrafika) by Benedek Jeno

Asteroid Vesta is about to enter Virgo. It will do so tomorrow (as posts go) on September 10th and 5:06 in the morning UT/+0 time…which would be just about when Saturn enters 8 Scorpio, the degree the lunar North Node is currently transiting.

8 Scorpio is a degree which has a reputation for creating problems when passion overwhelms intelligence. It’s one of those vibrations under which we can outsmart ourselves or think we can ‘get away’ with something which we find we can’t get away with. Life has a way of finding our vulnerabilities and blind spots under 8 Scorpio influences, maybe so that we’ll remember we’re human after all.

Saturn, of course, is the symbol of time, responsibility, repercussions and results. With anything Saturn we get what we earn and that suggests that this is a prime (or primal) moment to be minding our p’s and q’s. After all, the lunar nodes are always about relationships and what all goes into relating…or comes out of it. So it may well not be the moment to be taking on risks – especially those which could ‘cost’ you time. Or which would require you to do/deal with something you rather not be saddled with.

One would guess this is a good moment to know our limits…and to heed those limits no matter what.

Saturn of course is actually pretty good in that regard: depending on whether you work well with the ‘I need to do this in order to achieve my principal goals or not, Saturn could here act as the ‘monitoring’ energy which keeps you on track…or the devil-may-care energetic which gets you into a mess which then you have to take care of.

That all depends on you. And, of course, your natal Saturn and the condition of Scorpio in your chart. (And anything which is in Scorpio, of course.)

The ‘temptation’ factor here is (not shockingly) Plutonic. Scorpio is always about a weighing of factors – the ‘in’ door of choosing to do, or not to do (Mars), and the Pluto ‘out’ door which either transforms our life in a good way or becomes a terrible headache (or worse) as a result of our not having chosen well.

Or – as seems pertinent here – our failing to choose based on the facts, opting rather to get carried away by some passion.

You know passion, right? Passions can get the best of any of us. And the cost for passion can be…well, a downright passionately painful one.

On the other hand, there is that allure, that promise of delight which goes with all things Scorpio. The glitter of romance, the Siren call of carnal pleasure, the longing for personal power – all that.

Just do yourself a favor here: think before you do – and once you think, think again. Scorpio is always about testing our values, and 8 Scorpio is one of those degrees which is ‘smarter than we are,’ and not always in a fun way.

This Saturn/North Node exactitude of conjunction will be in effect from September 10th through September 20th. As distinct from that, Saturn has been within a five degree orb of the Lunar Nodes since August 15th - and it will remain in orb to the Nodes until October 27th. So if the issue of relationships and how you relate to others (or how they relate to you) has already come to the fore, that makes sense - and it will continue to make sense. As distinct from that however, this conjunction at 8 Scorpio is ONLY in effect from September 10th through September 20th.

Think of it as the difference between a general issue regarding relationships (and how you relate to that or your success with relationships or your need to deal with how and who you relate to - and why that would be)...and a very specific, detailed scenario having to do with a moment when some facet of relating...which may have to do with a particular relationship or may pertain to how you go about having relationships as a whole...comes into focus.

Got it?

Vesta compared to other asteroids

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

Speaking of possible costs, there’s also Vesta to contend with. Vesta asks that we protect ourselves, lest the cost of not protecting our right to be our Self go beyond what we’re prepared (or able) to pay. Vesta is an interesting symbol in that it’s all about keeping our promises…which suggests the first promise we have to make (and then keep) is a promise to our Self to be who we are and to live our life in such a manner that we don’t…um…screw things up too badly.

(Yes, this is a g-rated blog. When I set it up, I promised Blogger on that score, so I’m sticking to my promise - which is very Vesta of me.)

Considering that Royal Star Regulus is sitting at 0 Virgo, we are all called upon to take responsibility for what we do/don’t do in particular at this moment – and by implication for the full run of Vesta’s move through Virgo, a passage which will last until November 16th, after the eclipse and just after Neptune goes direct.

If you’re not familiar with Regulus, here’s a link to the ‘master post’ on the subject here at astroPPM:

- link to -

The Royal Stars of Persia (Part Two): Regulus

Though there’s all sorts of nifty nuance connected with this star, the basic premise of all Royal Stars is that they promise success IF (and only if) you don’t fall prey to a particular human habit. With Regulus, that ‘habit’ is revenge – or vengeance, if you prefer. So as Vesta enters Virgo, particularly in this first little while (which this astrologer would think would run at least through Pluto’s September 18-22nd station window)…we are being told that we really truly absolutely kind of have to own our personal choices.

And that means we need to have made some – or be making some.

Given that Pallas is at 2 Virgo and in opposition to Neptune (read: Neptune/Fomalhaut) in Pisces, we can expect some wiffling and some soft focus thinking about now…which is not exactly what this sort of transit really calls for.

So let’s put it this way…if you absolutely, positively HAVE to fudge or break some sort of tryst with your normal boundaries for Self, let it be in some area which has minimal risk and minimal long-term cost.

And beware of anybody doing the ‘I’m so innocent act.’ Chances are they aren’t. They may be innocent but..."so innocent"? Maybe not.

I know I sound a bit like a broken record on this subject, but there’s also the fact that this Vesta-Virgo ingress, which at some level is about working to be the person you will respect yourself for being in the long run (i.e., the person you really are on the inside, regardless of expectations and desires – your own or those of others)…is happening under the auspices of the ‘breaking down’ period heading towards November’s Solar Eclipse at 11 Scorpio. Being that this ingress will raise something of a 3/11 harmonic (it being three signs from Virgo to Scorpio and an eleven sign count from Scorpio to Virgo)…the viability of how we relate to others and what we think relating is about in the fullness of our presence in this world…that’s a natural thing to be talking about.

Or even doing something about, should you need to clean up your act! Let’s face it – Virgo is always about how clean our act is, and when we’re discussing astrology, though the temptation is to project it and think of astrology in terms of what ‘they’ are going to do or be to us, the reality is that the cause/effect principle rules. So if YOUR Virgo whatever needs work, this is a time to consider what that means and the (Vesta) cost of whatever your promises are in regards to those concepts.

Third harmonic: the thought. Virgo's 3rd harmonic being Scorpio speaks to the need to purify or to have control of what's going on, lest it not function well. This combination tends to eliminate rather than add on.

Eleventh harmonic: questions of acceptance and acceptability which generates a sense of satisfaction. With Virgo being Scorpio's 11th harmonic, the thing which works is easiest when it's not scary...but if it's not genuinely who you are, and about who you are at your core, it will ultimately undermine you, feel "toxic" or be a burden to your life.

The challenge here is really about an inner-outer perspective. In other words, there’s the ‘what’ or ‘who’ we each want to be, and the what we think others will like, appreciate or (to some of us) even ‘let’ us be or become.

Reconciling who we really are – on the inside – with what others think of us as, or want to think of us as is a big, big step in our lives. We all have someplace in our world or life where we don’t really ‘feel’ the “popular” thing. Or where we really don’t want to go with what everybody else does. Many of us have faced that moment of dealing with the truth of what our parents have hoped for us and who we really are. My father, for instance, was dead set against my being a writer and someone who thought metaphysics is for bubble heads.

So here I am, a full-fledged professional astrologer about to release a four-volume epic fantasy.

My father and I had a testy sort of relationship, no question. But before he passed, he certainly knew who I had become. Production finance person… astrologer… writer… he saw it happen and wasn’t enthralled that I hadn’t relegated myself to cooking, cleaning and saying ‘yes, dear’ to my hubby (ask the guys I know best how often I say ‘yes, dear’ in a dutiful tone and you’ll hear laughter)… but when he saw that I was good at what I did and was doing the thing which fit my psyche, he realized that there’s a difference between raising a child for whom you have hopes and seeing the adult you raised from a child become their own person.

My dad had many (many) flaws. He was a Hollywood tyrant par excellent (there are still people in LA who don’t want to talk to me because of who my father is) and before that he helped build a paperback book empire. Here’s a little post I wrote about him:

- link to -

Saul David: My Father the Producer

That he was able to get past his own “rules” for me and finally (!!!) agree that so long as I worked to be the best I could be at my chosen thing is one of my dad’s greatest personal accomplishments. (Yes, he was that stubborn!) And at some level, that embodies this Vesta/Virgo ingress, particularly seeing as it is conjunct the ‘dispassionate perspective’ symbol we call Pallas and in opposition to Neptune/Fomalhaut in Pisces, a combination which at its best is all about letting go of the dream as a dream and getting used to a reality which may be just FINE…it’s just not the dream you’ve been holding onto, maybe for a long, long time.

One other little tidbit… As Vesta is entering Virgo, the Moon is moving through Scorpio. The Moon enters Scorpio on September 9th at 1:45 in the morning and exits Scorpio on the 11th at 6:37 in the morning (both times UT/+0). In fact, as Vesta moves into Virgo, the Moon is just crossing over 15 Scorpio – one of the zodiacal cross-quarter points.

This reiterates…or if you prefer…reinforces the idea of choices begetting consequences at every level and whether what you’re dealing with now is going to help you get where you want to go in life…or whether (Saturn/North Node) it could just screw you up royally.

(No offense to Royal Stars intended with that “royally,” of course.)

Sometimes something must be given up so that something else can be earned. Life isn’t always the way we want it to be or as we were ‘taught’ it would be, or as we have imagined it to be. Life is just life. And this is one of those moments when life is not a ‘game’…it’s a reality which we see, we feel, we sense and which we have the opportunity to learn so much from that it’s absolutely breathtaking.

So take a deep breath, and then remember who you are. Peel back the trappings and assumptions and think of what can be gained by accepting that the fantasy illusion is inspiring, but a satisfying reality, the life we really want is not about what things look like…they’re about the honesty and honest quality with which we go about existing. 
.
.
.

Sun in Aquarius

 John Singer Sargeant's Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth (1889)

There are really a couple of ways to look at this year’s month-long Sun in Aquarius transit. What we do as astrologers is looking at ingresses to see what they can tell us...an ingress gives us a marker of influences at a certain point in time, when the cosmic clock strikes whatever it strikes...

...If you know where the rock fell in the pool, if you have some sense of when that rock fell and how big the rock was, that gives you a sense of what sort of ripples you will face if your body and your life are part of that pool

Which it is. We are all part of what exists - that's the big message delivered by E=mc2'd and all the rest of astrophysics.

What happens out there matters. What happens here on earth matters.

It's all part of the self same thing.

So saying...

....As the Sun enters Aquarius, we have asteroids Sappho and Hel just ahead and the Moon at 7 Leo, meaning it’s just passed the ‘Full Moon’ mark.

(Which yes, we know because yesterday’s post was all about the Full Moon!)

We also know that Aquarius is an air sign. So this month is going to be a month where we tend to think in terms of the ideas, concepts, trends, statistics, and likelihoods instead of the facts, evidence, current status and needs of the moment. This Aquarius tendency to postulate instead of consider the reality means we’re going to hear more about income as part of an economy than your landing a job.

What does this mean personally? Though irritating to listen to for many of us, this actually lightens our load because we now get the green light to postulate: what might I do? What could I learn? What kind of benefit should I be able to bring to your company if you give me the chance?

Doors are open now to theoretical discussions. Expect to have them, expect to hear them. And remember - theory gets wacky. Not everything everyone is likely to come out with is going to make sense.


And yet it's always rather revealing - about them, about us, about a world in which such things get said.

Against this, we all will need to put across or demonstrate our willingness to work. Some of us have dedicated track records - and tracks record of dedication. Then there are those who ‘skate by’ or who shuck or jive their way through life. On both sides - the validated and fake, some end up mighty and some end up with a life which is merely flighty.

The dividing line is whether we are found or found out. And whether we are willing to take the time and put in the effort to find ourselves and find out what we are truly capable of doing and being...not merely to or for ourselves, but for others. Maybe even for our world, for people we will never meet.

There are validations for doing big and doing little. There is a necessity to be who we are as individuals and be part of our world - however big or small - around us.

All this is likely to now take another step forward in the realm of getting shaken and sorted out. It may not all come about instantaneously, but it will happen...maybe to a big degree, and maybe as just a chip of one stone on a very large mountain face...but it will begin happening now. You may not recognize anything all that instantly. The changes may not be all that immediate. But they will happen in due time.

How do we know that? Well, that we know because of a

little TNO named Rhadamanthus you might remember reading about a couple of blogs ago (in the Astro-Factors blog for WE0122).

That Rhadamanthus goes retrograde at 20 Libra at 3:41am (UT/+0) means it’s already going into retrograde (reflective) mode as the Sun reaches Aquarius at 10:20am (UT/+0) on January 20th. And given that Rhadamanthus is an emblem of ‘consequence’ (that which now done, cannot be undone) we know that all sorts of things which have been ‘done’ are now becoming clear to us.

But it's not all that simple or something we consciously grapple with until it hits. Any object classed as a TNO refers to events, incidents and realizations we don't normally deal with. So as concerns Rhadamanthus, the question thus becomes not just 'what have you DONE for me/us lately?'...but 'what have you done which shows you know how to do what you do'...

....AND...
 
'whether you should have done what you did. Or still do.

It can even be....'in choosing what to learn, what path to take - or what people to associate with, did you choose correctly?'

Where we haven’t done what in retrospect would seem to be the 'right' thing...or where we haven't dealt with live realistically, perhaps even where we thought only of ourselves and not of those we would/could affect or how our actions might affect them....that's where the Aquarian ‘know the rules, learn the facts – then choose. Then move on!’ comes into ultimate play.

Aquarius is hell on those who don’t deal with realities. While known as a sign of ‘hopes, dreams and wishes,’ what Aquarius really embodies are those ‘if I do xyz, then I can….’ frameworks which require that yes, we DO the ‘xyz’ part first. In other words, you can’t have the party to celebrate the new job until you get the new job. And you can’t get that new job without applying for a job that you have the qualifications/willingness to do.

Yes, this is one of those fixed signs which tests our ability want the result so much that we put ourselves through the hassle of doing. And learning how to do. And honing our skills. And proving our worthiness –first and foremost to ourselves!

And that’s where the ‘fakery’ can come in. Saturn is Aquarius’ first ruler, Uranus the second. So you have to make the Saturn grade before you get to fly to the Uranus stars.

And Rhadamanthus retrograde, that just puts us in a place where we get what that means. Who we have been has gotten us to where we are. Like it or not (which for many of us would be ‘not!’), that’s where we start from now.

Okay. So that’s sort of the ‘usual’ approach to this Sun entering Aquarius thing. But the other part of the astrologer’s-astrological equation would be what happens while the Sun is in Aquarius? 

Yes, I know…you wanted me to do that ‘what it means to my Sun sign thing’ – what astrologers, for better or worse, call “cookbook astrology.” And here’s the deal with why you think that sounds a little funky. It is.

Why? Because what you ask for when you say ‘what does that mean to my Sun sign?’ is ‘what does that mean to – not my life – but to my life force. The Sun is energy. Call it will, call it vitality…it’s not your “life” per se. Yes, it can represent career – but only as a field. Saturn represents the accomplishment. And yes, the Sun can represent intellect – but Mercury is the thinking part: what you do with your intellect.

So though do the cookbook thing once in a while I don’t do it all the time. It bothers me that you would think that's the whole picture - it isn't. So today...? Maybe to honor the quirkiness which is so Aquarian or the Aquarian ‘new conceptualization’ vibe, today we’re going to look at the what else happens thing.

(And yes, you can comment and/or gripe all you want – no problem!)

But really…

...To the point of much of what we have been talking about, not only is the Sun entering Aquarius in the wake of a (duly blogged about) Solar Eclipse about changing times and changing life structures, but the two symbols OF societal, social and personal ‘structural’ growth, enlightenment and learning (Saturn and Jupiter) are both doing a celestial number while the Sun is passing through Aquarius.

On the Jupiter side we have a big red planet – the biggest planet in the whole solar system – moving into Aries. That means a couple of things:

One: Jupiter is currently at 29 Pisces, the last degree of the zodiac. The question thus becomes “what have we learned/what have we yet to learn?” You will hear and see this everywhere you go right now.

Two: In being in the last degree of the zodiac, Jupiter is revealing some pretty big chinks in our armor, holes in our plans and everything else you might go “OH NO!!” about.

Three: Once Jupiter commits to its transit of Aries on the 22nd, a natural whole-sign sextile will be set up between Sun in Aquarius and Jupiter in Aries. There are two basic concepts thus set up – the first being the 3rd sign harmonic set up from the Sun to Jupiter which asks us to choose, learn and to speak up about what isn’t working. This does not favor complaining, though there’s plenty of that likely to be going around! Yet the real point is that of seeing an opportunity in wherever you find or spot a gap, weakness or lack.

Think of life as a marketplace. Those gaps and lacks are exactly where a ‘new product’ success can be achieved.

The other harmonic here is from Jupiter to the Sun – and that’s an eleventh house dynamic…the very essence of Aquarius and Things Aquarian. For those looking to be (more) “successful” in whatever way, this pair of indicators is your ticket to adventure.

However! With that adventure comes some endeavor, courtesy of Saturn – a Saturn which come the 26th will go retrograde. More specifics will be forthcoming on this to be sure, but given that Saturn is going retrograde in Libra, that sets up a Sun-to-Saturn whole-sign 9th harmonic which would be all about (1.) moving ahead with new plans, working through the glitches and challenges which will surely surface along the way, and (2.) expanding one’s knowledge base and point of view.

One of the big tests during this next little while is going to be theory against fact – optimism against proven results. And guess which one is going to look foolish and which one is going to win?

Uh-huh….credibility now goes to the doers and provers, not the pie-in-the-sky believers and postulators. A lot of people are going to get called out on a lot of stuff this month. A lot of plans will fall through, a lot of vows will be shown up to be merely empty promises.

It is our job to learn from mistakes and move on. Wasting one’s time being furious is just that – a waste of time. And who are we really mad at? Once Saturn is in retrograde, the suggestion is that we’re really mad at ourselves for not having been more careful, more realistic, more savvy, more discerning.

Still, those who sit and fume stand to waste a relatively short (five month) window of bonafide opportunity.

The other side of this Saturn/Sun relationship is from Saturn to the Sun, a fifth sign harmonic which with Saturn in retrograde indicates a need to polish our skills and bone up on whatever ‘tools’ we need to move ahead.

As the Sun moves along though Aquarius, the tone of day-to-day life will change as the Moon, Mercury and Venus change signs. But nothing compares to the two celestial signposts we call Jupiter and Saturn.

No matter what Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Ascendant, Nadir…or anything else you have in your chart, these concepts will hold. So ask yourself – what do YOU want to do with this month ahead?

After all, in the end, yours is the only answer which in your life, really counts...

 ...and so drops the rock into the pond.

.