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A mosaic of two photos: Mars as photographed by Viking 1 in February of 1980
and a time-lapse photograph of the Geminid meteor shower as seen from Bald Mountain,
Georgia (both photos/credit: NASA)
And maybe you remember the Geminids from last year when the object which creates them (Phaethon) was getting some quality scientific scrutiny because Phaethon isn’t your classic comet, but actually an asteroid?
For our strictly astrological purposes of the moment, Phaethon is a couple of different things. For one, at it’s farthest from the Sun (at its aphelion) Phaethon is out there just beyond Mars (‘just’ being a relative term when you’re talking about space) in the heart of the asteroid belt... and at its inner-most orbital point (its perihelion) Phaethon is inside the orbit of Mercury - which in orbital terms is about as close to the Sun as objects go without simply going ‘poof.’
(Okay, so I’m not sure about the sound effects - but the idea is there.)
The asteroid belt (with its thousands of asteroid ‘residents’) being between Mars and Jupiter this describes a point where things leave our person or personal orb and become subject to the whim and will of others. It’s also representative of everything we go through between the point where we ‘start out’ with one aim or idea (that being the Mars part) ...and when we finally come to understand how to reach our stated goal - and whether that is (or isn’t) the goal we wanted starting out (Jupiter). So the asteroids themselves are thought of astrologically as things we ‘meet up with’ or encounter in life - be that physically, emotionally, mentally or any other way - as we strive to grow our life, make things work, and generally make good on our plans.
And in the case of Phaethon, what we’re meeting up with is whatever part of our nature causes us to be ‘headstrong’ about things in such a way that we take on too much and become ruled by the power we grab or assume we know how to handle - a situation which ends with all ‘going up in flames’ as we meet up with the untarnished, unvarnished truth both of what life really is (i.e., bigger than us) and the fallacies - whatever they may be - in our thinking, which here causes all to crumble, tumble and take a great fall.
Phaethon by Gustave Moreau (1878)
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From that headstrong, ‘hard lesson’ (asteroid Phaethon) factor comes the ‘shower’ of sparks which are the meteor shower - the Geminids. Named for the fact that this meteor shower seems to have a radiant point (“apparent source”) in Gemini, this shower adds many ideas and conversations on much worthy and unworthy of contemplation to everything already under way - which with the Sun, Mercury and Venus all already in Sagittarius is already busy.For some, this December 4-17 shower will be one all about making choices (choices are prime Gemini turf no matter how Gemini gets evoked) while for others this shower will be a mass of disparate details - and like as not some moments on insight, and a few others of confusion. Being a meteor shower, some will be ‘sparked’ and some will be inspired.
Know thy Gemini is probably one good test here as to how things are going to run, though meteor showers seldom mark huge life events all by themselves. Alone, they represent those periods of time when we’re thinking about something or enjoying something for a while... and then that fades and we move on, richer to some degree just for having experienced ourselves thinking or feeling something.
And then there’s Phaethon, which is currently retrograding back through the sign of Taurus. As Mars enters Aquarius on December 4th (in conjunction with Sabine) we may be captured, captivated, fixated or intrigued by something on the Mars end while Phaethon is stepping backwards through Taurus, conjuncting the Moon as Mars is executing its ingress (an “I WANT” moment if there ever was one!)... and continuing on to conjunct fixed stars Algol and Capulus as Jupiter goes stationary-retrograde on December 8th - which would also be the date of Saturn entering its 2015 shadow.
Fixed stars Algol and Capulus being all about the strength we operate with... or that we resist our Self or others with, with Phaethon turned inward by retrograde there is a lot being dealt with - or something of personal (Mars) priority on the table.
At least our internal mental table, if nowhere else.
As for what we do with (about, to, etc.) that... that would be the Mars part of things, as Mars has and always will symbolize assertion. Doing. Striking out.
Or not doing, saying or making your point. Either way it’s Mars, the only question being why either is being done.
In entering Aquarius in tandem with Sabine, issues which deal with being held or held back (or what we do because we are held back) are of some priority - though whether that ‘touches’ or involves us personally is another thing. As for how we feel about being involved or not involved, Mars in Aquarius does well with involvement and group efforts providing things keep moving... which given the Aquarian tendency to have ‘the flow’ stopped for individual reasons are never unlikely.
Also... one concept to take as a given is how the quickest way to get nothing done under Mars in Aquarius is to demand that it get done, whether you’re demanding something of yourself or someone else (and that latter goes double if you’re not participating ‘in the doing’ of whatever.
As a sign there’s a sometimes subtle and sometimes heavy-handed ‘regulating’ quality to Aquarius, much as you might think of in terms of the regulating of a power system: to keep it running, the grid needs not to be overloaded and not to be cut off.
Inclusion is thus important under Mars in Aquarius - as will it be to things which go on under Mars in Aquarius. And at the very same time, overloads and overburdening are likely to also be or become problematic.
Such things reflect the very nature of airy Aquarius, a sign which wants everything (inclusively) to work well, yet which in trying to maintain exactly that often goes to some extreme. Known for energy, caution, determination and frustration all in the very same energetic pot, according to our mood, moves and motivations Mars in Aquarius may manifest very physical ways... or in dialogues with our Self or others which is both basic and esoteric at the very same time.
Known for irrational and often priceless hilarity, Mars in Aquarius represents a ‘cutting’ sort of energy which may be witty, critical, incisive and entirely and unnecessarily tangential by turns.
And when we’re not acting and reacting to such things, we’re also likely to be tired and/or anxious, restless or in need of a nap.
About the best thing we can predict is that we will - almost perversely, it would seem - not be all that predictable during the whole of this Mars-in-Aquarius time. As for how long that will last, given Mars’ 687 day-long (1.88 year) orbital cycle we would expect Mars to transit through zodiac signs at an ‘average’ speed of about one sign per 1.8 (call it two) months. But since after entering Aquarius on December 4th (UT/+0) Mars will move through the whole of this most worldly of airy and involving (at least theoretically) zodiac signs by January 12th, that’s just barely over a month - which is Mars perceptually moving at a rather rapid rate.
Just to be clear here - we’re not talking about the actual planet changing speed, but rather our perception of Mars’ movement changing speed - a factor which simply has to do with where Earth and Mars are in their individual orbits around the Sun. So given that Mars symbolizes any form of ‘action’ - from having a thought to doing a deed (etc.) we would expect that over this next five or so weeks that we would be a.) learning a lot through this ‘increased’ rate of perception - and b,) needing to contend with a lot of things, most of which have something to do with our life in the world, as part of our world or in response to the world ...in a somehow and for some reason rather ‘compacted’ way.
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Mars in Aquarius (Glyph Chart)
December 4 2014 - 23 58 UT - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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Mars in Aquarius (Glyph Chart)
December 4 2014 - 23 58 UT - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)
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One more item to note here, that being the idea that Mars is entering Aquarius only in aspect to Saturn - and that being an out-of-sign sextile, which is likely (for many) to manifest as an option which seems like 'too much trouble' whether it actually is or isn't. Mars/Saturn connections tend to be sober... and often sobering or of the 'wet blanket' variety - this is not a dancing-on-the-ceiling sort of combination even though in business or warfare it might be seen as a positive or plus. To some extent, that Mars is entering Aquarius in tandem with Sabine suggests our being committed to... in the midst of... or occupied (maybe even preoccupied) with something. That notion being reflected in the ingress chart by the strong grand trine (actually two grand trine ‘complexes’ in the same set of signs) which doesn’t involve Mars, we could also see this as our ability to ‘move’ (Mars) our Self away from things either physically or mentally - which would also fit with Aquarius, a sign which tries to ‘free’ itself of entanglements and to ‘break through’ restrictions ostensibly in order to make things better.
But yes, sometimes Aquarius energetics simply denote havoc - most often havoc which is wide-spread, either in our own life or in many (wide-spread) lives. Sometime this is a totally natural thing - such as a big weather event which snarls a traffic system - and sometimes it’s something more in keeping with Aquarius’ rulership of all things digital, electronic, societal and/or income-related (rich or poor, individual or otherwise).
Where and when Aquarian influences manifest in problematic or destructive situations, lore suggests there is something we need to learn about why we have allowed ourselves to become locked in - after all, its our world we’re destroying... why would we do that? It’s not the world we hate, it’s something about being confined by some circumstance - that thing which is getting ‘caught up’ in or by something which is not allowing our ‘system’ (or life) to function as we have defined functional.
And sometimes that’s the problem. But it's not their problem - where things aren't going as we might want them to it's our irritation or displeasure and where that comes from which is exactly at issue, not 'them' or the 'nature' of whatever is holding us up or otherwise separating us from that we feel entitled to be seen as deserving.
Aquarius has a reputation for sometimes putting on airs. Sometimes such appearances are quirky, sometimes they aspire towards the iconic and entirely unique. What separates success from failure under Aquarius is that which is born under its polarity sign, Leo - which is to say the difference between those who have earned results and those who haven't (or that which hasn't). What's important about this under Mars in Aquarius is how the Mars tendency to 'push' may push too far... or reveal the sort of brittle quality in someone's performance or presentation which allows others to see through their (social) mask.
Under Mars in Aquarius, how we define things comes to be of focus - and where it’s not of focus, it’s symbolism becomes that of, or that which drives surface issues. If and when we remember that Mars is an ego (personal) energy and that Aquarius is unremittingly universal and impersonal not in the 'emotional collective' Piscean sense but in the 'this works, this doesn't work' which Aquarius challenges us not to make into 'this works for me - this doesn't work for me,' lest we end up with less than we began with (and a bruised ego besides).
So we can work for the All and try to understand the whole and what our effective place in that All would be - or split away from that whole or work at breaking that whole into many or various parts. And we are bound to do some of that if only because we're now operating more under Aquarian Age rules than not - though there is still the issue of world society, which simply because countries, companies and other such structural systems do tend to be run by people who are somewhat more senior in experience is going to face (or create) turmoil because such people are (many if not most of them) imprinted most strongly by the end of the Piscean Era.
But we are now living in a first-person Aquarius time - and we will be living in that first-person Aquarius time for the next 2,000 years or so. During the whole of that time, the individualism which over the last fifty to a hundred years has begun to emerge as the engine which began to - and which continues to dissolve those tiers of power and economic caste which have been looked upon as 'fate' and which have been at the heart of many an Age of Pisces lesson will continue to evolve.
And Mars entering Aquarius is just a nibble on that block. Being that in the Aquarian Age universalism can mean everything, the Mars tendency towards personal ego becomes a challenge here. Will our individualism support us - or will it be so individual or un-modernized that we come to defeat ourselves, or end up being defeated by (Aquarian Age) forces which are...and which will continue trend towards that which is egalitarian, modern, analytical and scientific while negating traditions and the traditional merits which have no other 'claim to fame' apart from their age, tradition, longevity or standing reputation?
Under the Age of Aquarius - and thus while Mars's transit of Aquarius promotes and provokes everything from the need to think to utter outrage and alienation to joining heart and soul with a cause which means everything to us - it is our individualism and our ego's structure (or lack of same) which is going to allow us to build or cause us to experience blockades of whatever kind. And when that happens, it is our Mars essential connection to self which we will reflect on.
Mars in any sign - in part - tells us where we will get the impetus to think about who we are and what we're doing. In Aquarius, that will come from others, from society and from the influx or lack of 'rewards' now coming our way, be they economic or of any other type. And when such things happen, then we - as a Mars-in-Aquarius individual dealing with others (and our world) will get to decide whether we want to... or if we even can deal with the ‘whole,’ or if by trying to break them down we will end up going to the other Aquarian extreme where everything becomes so broken down and lacking in cohesion that there is simply too much to begin to deal with.
And yes, we could try for moderation... although Aquarius isn't known for doing anything half-way, piecemeal or otherwise without conclusiveness - at least of gesture, if not of many-an-opinion.
The bottom line is - and will be that no one answer works unilaterally during this period. Nor will any one perspective, providing it is not that of a unilateral universal. We can try to improve and clarify, and providing we neither do everything alone nor everything together, if we will focus on a more collective notion as being that into which we fit our current concept, to the degree that we remember ourselves as 'a part of,' and not 'apart from' others and the whole of our world during these Mars in Aquarius weeks ahead...?
... Then great strides and great progress may now be achieved.
As for whether we will do that...?
That’s a different question.
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