Mars in Libra

 image: 'Stars' by Maxfield Parish - Mars photo by the Hubble Space

Telescope (photo credit: NASA, JPL, Caltetch)

A friend and I stood chatting a couple of weeks ago. It was one of those comfortable chats you know you want to go on for hours, but that day neither of us had time.

So we decided to make a plan about getting together.

(Him) ‘I have exams coming up – I can’t do it until after December 7th.’

(Me) ‘December 7th…?’ My brain was already busy checking references.

And just as obviously, his wasn’t.

(Him) ‘Sure - December 7th . We’ll finish the conversation then. Celebrate a little.’

CLICK: my brain delivered the answer. And being one of those Pisces girls who can’t resist a good line) I gave him a smile. ‘You mean we could get bombed, right? I can’t actually think of a better day to get bombed on than December 7th....’

Hearing myself say those words, the writer in my soul sighed in pleasure. And yet, bright and brainy as he is, he still didn’t connect: for my painful pun I got one of those ‘what the fern are you talking about now?’ looks.

(Me) ‘December 7th is Pearl Harbor Day…what better day to get together and get bombed?’

So today is December 7th and it is indeed Pearl Harbor Day and I am duly grateful for the peace my life and my nation is graced with. I give thanks to those who have served.

It’s also the beginning of the Geminid Meteor Shower which brings up that whole conversation we had on November 28th about Rock Comet Phaethon.

Link to: PHAETHON, ROCK COMET

Phaethon energy has a reputation for being (overly) headstrong - possibly to the point of destroying an aim or ability to achieve that aim, at least for the moment. And since Phaethon’s radiant (the ‘place in the sky’ the comet appears to ‘come from’) is in constellation Gemini, the inference is that Phaethon's 1.43 year-long cycle is saying something to us about our mentality or something experienced on a mental level.

In being like ISON (you remember ISON – the comet which failed to die?) in that Phaethon’s orbit takes it all the way inside Mercury (in other words, 'right into the face of the Sun') speaks to how close or personal we might take such matters now...or how people or forces from 'out of the blue' may bring to us some perspective on what we're doing in our lives. As a ‘rock comet’ (a comet with no tail and thus no dapples of meteoric insight), Phaethon’s origin in the asteroid belt and its lack of ‘spark’ says good or bad, mundane or magnificent, what we're going through is just part of life - and thus something we have to live with or get through.

And so, on this Pearl Harbor Day, as our thoughts are being touched off, as we're going about our efforts (some of which, in true Phaethon style may be hasty or not as yet 'matured')…THIS is the day that Mars enters Libra at 8:42 in the evening, UT/+0 time.

The lower reaches of Mount Sharp, as photographed by the

Mars Curiosity Rover (photo credit: NASA-JPL Caltech, August 2012)

 

Of course once inside the proverbial 'door' of Libra, Mars comes into the orbish auspices of M87…the black hole of relationship alternatives (whatever that means to us at the moment)…and that's a quality, an energetic which may well affect much which happens between now and  mid-December, when Mars leaves M87's orb. Wherever we are coming from, we are either able to see or maybe graced to see or at last willing to see things from a different point of view.

And yes, that perspective might be the perspective being held by somebody else.

Then again, you may now see ("perceive") possibilities in or for your own life which you have never seen before.

Or as you have never seen such an idea before.

Whatever that becomes, Mars entering the orb of opposition to Uranus on December 12th (which happens at about the moment Mars that emerges from M87 territory)...that becomes a time of restlessness or energy, when the need to 'do something' (or change things) becomes rife. And though ordinarily we would think of Mars-Uranus in opposition as explosive (and it may be despite all) there is that relatively genteel Mars-in-Libra energetic to provide us some critical negotiating room with ourselves and others...so instead of being explosive, this may just be when we finally get 'to' something. When we make that change happen. When we 'break through' our own reluctance or hesitation. And that’s the genius of Mars in Libra: it’s ability to ‘trip the balance’ of some situation not through assertion but through asserting yourself in the cause of getting the results you truly want.

There are a few challenges however, with Mars in Libra. One comes from Libra being an air sign. Air signs deal in theory and Mars is an energetic which is all about ‘can we just get on with this?’ (You know…the making it happen part.)

Then there’s the fact that Libra is one-third of the zodiac’s 3rd or interactive quadrant and Mars’ primary rulership is of Aries – the quintessential Me-I-My Ego/Aim sign, one which comes from the ‘I’m Learning About Who I Am and How to Be Me’ zodiac quadrant.

So to capsulize Mars in Libra – (and I’m being very blunt here) - we could say it’s all about how to be (Mars) me while caring enough about them that I get what I want…which is sort of asserting ourselves by being nice enough to not go around being a butthead.

(Actually, there are those who in reading that would immediately insist that there’s time enough for Mars assertiveness to take on that butthead thing once Mars reaches Scorpio come JULY 2014.

(Wait, I hear you say. Did she just say JULY of 2014?)

I did, I did – I did say July 2014. As of December 7th (Pearl Harbor Day), Mars will be in Libra until late July, 2014.

That’s seven months. You know...over a half-a-year.

So it’s pretty much your choice: are you going to be ‘having to deal with’ relationship issues from here until late July 2014? Or are you motivated to pay attention to how you relate to people and to work with(in) yourself on whatever will get the responses or results you want from one and all (personal and professional, platonic, familial and intimate)?

It’s our choice. The things which cause us to choose along these lines (eventually getting us to think more about the subject as a whole, most likely) will occur in many a different venue. We’ll probably make such choices thousands of times between now and July, and slowly we will come to understand why what we do or don’t do…or how we do something (or don’t do it) makes all the difference – both to ‘them’ (whoever they may be) and to how ‘they’ and ‘things’ and the world as a whole responds to US.

Which yes, is what we tend to care about most. Even when you are barely breathing with concern over a loved one – or over some grievous threat to somebody else, there is some degree of not wanting to feel that tension. That (Mars) wanting to act but knowing your Mars actions are being curtailed. That wishing there was something you could (Mars) do but knowing the situation isn’t yours to (Mars/Pluto as Scorpio) control.

If you’re thinking that this super-sized cupful of Mars in Libra must include a retrograde, you’re right. Mars will go retrograde in Libra on March 1st (with Saturn following suit on March 2nd, should you need any convincing that something needs contending with, lest it become problematic). Mars in retrograde can be very annoying, granted. And with this one occurring in Libra, that ‘someone else’ or ‘them out there’ side of the Libra quotient may well be bothering you. If you can turn that ‘bother’ to self-examination without getting defensive, you may well come to understand, appreciate and benefit from what your learn now.

And if you can’t redirect that ‘they’re bugging me’ energy? Then either that energy turns inward (not pleasant!) or you are likely to attract people who will “own” that energy for you…which could be helpful, but might manifest as criticism.

Obviously this is a looooong, long transit. With regards to December (specifically), especially as the Sun will be moving towards the end of Sagittarius as Mars opposes Uranus on December 17th things may get out of hand – or (alternately), you may feel sufficient conviction… motivation… courage… whatever it takes to get past some sticking point. And as this happens just barely prior to Venus going on station to turn retrograde as of December 21st, it is to be guessed that Mars/Uranus is also a stepping-stone in some greater process, though Mars-Uranus connections are plenty vital to herald an event you’ll remember.

And maybe learn from.

That Mars reaches that singular degree of 8 Libra on December 24/25 suggests a couple of days when feelings may be touching, haunting, telling…or even overwhelming – and it’s all in how you use it. This is not an energetic which works particularly well when focused on the Self, particularly not under a Venus retrograde except where self-denial is a conscious choice made for the benefit of someone else.

The overall sense of Mars in Libra is connective. It’s about working with others and on ourselves in connection with how well we ‘work’ with - or get along with, or are able to get what we need from - others. Every time Mars goes retrograde (a bit less than every two years or so), we experience a period of testing where we are ‘pitted’ against ourselves in some regard. The last Mars retrograde began in January 2012 in Virgo, when we dealt with our own ability to keep ourselves on track.

Now we’re seeing how…and if…and how well we are able to ‘take’ our (Mars) efforts out into the world. The who and the what and the why and the why not and the highly Libran question of what and who am I equating myself to? in life…?

These are all important questions.

We’re not going to answer them all at once…but by and by we’re going to know we have to answer them –lest we either lose our Self, our life, our sense of identity and ability to fulfill ourselves.

This is just the start of a process. And a conversation. Where Mars is concerned, being aware is a positive. Being overly certain is iffy. With Mars entering Libra, there is always what the ‘other guy’ has to say...and at the moment they're busy going through their own Mars in Libra issues - which are as important as ours, but not more valid, nor more human.

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