The Astrology Blog – 12 January 2015
All times stated are in GMT
Mars takes the lead at the beginning of the week, leaving the air sign of Aquarius and entering the water sign of Pisces. As Mars has a two year cycle his travelling speed is roughly double the time of the Sun, so the last time he was in Pisces was February 2013. He’ll be travelling through this sign from now until 20 February:
Monday Mars ingress Pisces (10.21)
What does this suggest? Mars is the god of war and is therefore connected with how we deal with the cut and thrust of life, how we go into battle and how we get motivated. This new cycle is not exactly what we could call dynamic as Pisces is a very subtle and sensitive energy, much more likely to swim away from any kind of conflict than to enter into it. However, as always with Mars, he is a double-edged sword. In psychological terms Mars in Pisces can be what is called “passive-aggressive”, behavior that is characterized by negativity, indirect or covert hostility and a somewhat helpless resistance to meeting the demands and challenges of day to day life. There is a manipulative streak to the Mars in Pisces combination and game playing, intentional or not, can be a hallmark of relationships or dealings that start at this time. Be aware of those who utilize the victim role to get you to do things for them! Similarly, be careful not to slide into this role yourself if you’re feeling hard done by. Leave martyrdom to the saints.
The best way to capture the positive vibe of this Mars is to think in terms of stealth energy and strategy rather than going in all guns blazing. Empathy is a top must-have too. If you want to improve any relationship, personal or professional, the starting point is to understand what makes someone else tick, to take a moment to look at the world through their eyes. This makes me think of the quote that defines To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, an Aries but with Venus/Uranus in Pisces:
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
Often those with this natal placing (ie Mars in Pisces in their own horoscope) have an acute understanding of other people’s natures. They operate instinctively or even psychically. In the natural sequence of the horoscope Pisces belongs to the 12th House, the “vale of tears” where we find suffering, seclusion or sacrifice, and those with this Mars usually have some tale from their early life that captures these themes. But whether you have this natal Mars or not the message about climbing into someone else’s skin is the same. Mars in Pisces asks you to take that leap of imagination during the coming weeks (unsurprisingly the sign of Pisces/a strongly placed Neptune are recurrent features of the horoscopes of many actors) and to practice compassion.
Note that Mars’ first aspect is a difficult one –
Thursday Mars square Saturn (06.12)
This is all the more reason not to be in a tearing hurry or to expect too much of others. Saturn loves to block or slam the brakes on, especially by a difficult aspect like the square, so if a wish is denied to you it may help to know that it is being denied for a reason. If a situation is stuck then stand well back and trust that it will sort itself out in due course or that, no matter what you try to do, you’ll only be forcing round pegs into square holes and that you may easily make it worse. There’s no point in charging down a road only to find that it’s a dead end. If you have a disappointment to shoulder or a wound to lick then you may need some seclusion, to shed your tears in private or to come to terms with a personal matter that is hard for anyone else to understand.
At a literal level – look out for problems connected to water (eg plumbing – and do not buy a new washing machine or dishwasher this week!) and watch where you’re putting your feet. That might sound whacky but in the physical body Pisces rules the feet and Mars – Saturn squares are notorious for injuries that slow us down or completely immobilize us.
In the meantime, hurray, there are other more exciting aspects to liven up the week. Uranus – planet of surprises, the unexpected, rebellion and spontaneity – is still on his long journey through the fire sign of independent Aries and was in the news just before Christmas as he turned direct late on 21 December (having been retrograde since July). This event in itself speaks of turnarounds of the dramatic kind, the thing you couldn’t possibly have seen coming or a turn of events that triggers major changes. Uranus turned direct at 12 degrees of Aries so if you have planets at or close to this degree – and especially in the same sign or in the opposite sign of Libra – then this turning point will be especially significant for you.
Remember that if you don’t know the sign and position of your natal planets you can find them here in a matter of seconds – just tap in your date, place and time of birth –
http://www.alwaysastrology.com/birth-chart-calculator.html
You will see the visual of your horoscope, all the planets positioned on a wheel. By hovering your mouse over the glyph (symbol) for each planet you’ll be able to see which planet it is, what sign it is in and what degree of that sign it holds.
So, this week Uranus is back in the news as both Venus and Mercury are currently travelling through Aquarius (the sign co-ruled by Uranus) and both make harmonious aspects to Uranus in the first half of the week –
Tuesday Venus sextile Uranus (20.13)
Wednesday Mercury sextile Uranus (10.26)
Uranus picking up aspects from the personal planets travelling through his own sign heightens the Uranian themes. Venus is primarily the love planet – but she also rules money and all of life’s pleasures – so look out for news in the romance or cash departments. For some this will link back to events that unfolded on or around 21 December. Social events and invites also get a big tick.
Mercury’s aspect to Uranus is more important. As I said last week, with regard to the Mercury – Saturn aspect, Mercury’s aspects at this time are not one offs. This is because Mercury will be turning retrograde next Wednesday and will then be backtracking through Aquarius for three weeks, repeating the aspects to Saturn on 5 February (the week before turning direct again) and then again for the third and final time on 19 February.
Similarly, Mercury will repeat the sextile to Uranus on 28 January and 1 March. What does this signify? Mercury in good aspect to Uranus signals news of the surprising kind, spontaneous decisions and significant communication in all its guises – ie emails, phone calls, messages, news, information, discussions, meetings and so on. However, such events are currently part of a sequence – even if they don’t seem like it at the time. Because of Mercury’s backwards and forwards movement to come, there will be some “to-ing and fro-ing” going on, some details may change, something that you thought was watertight may spring leaks or something that you thought you’d planned or communicated clearly may suddenly become complicated or in need of further discussion. In other words, whatever is supposedly signed or sealed this week is unlikely to stay that way. This isn’t necessarily cause for alarm – it doesn’t mean that life will completely unravel – it simply means that there is a lot more to come.
Mercury is already slowing down and although he doesn’t turn retrograde until next week it’s not too soon to start building in your get out clauses and clocking the nearest exits… in other words, don’t back yourself into any corners or make any huge promises, and remember the right to change your mind. Mercury will turn retrograde at 17 degrees of Aquarius so, as mentioned before in relation to Uranus, if you have planets at or close to this degree – and especially in the same sign or in the opposite sign of Leo – then this turning point will be especially significant for you. I expect I will have major events unfolding over the next month as my natal Moon is 17 degrees of Leo. I’ll keep you posted if it’s printable!
There are no other major aspects in the second half of the week but the next one to note falls on Monday, which means that it will be “applying” (becoming exact) over the coming weekend –
Monday (19th) Venus opposite Jupiter (13.45)
These are the “benefics” – Venus being the lesser benefic, and Jupiter being the greater benefic – and whenever they come together this generally spells good news. Even by an inharmonious aspect this double act is FUN, the opposition signaling possibly of the over the top variety, but if you need to let your hair down then this coming weekend is the time to do it! Recklessness is probably not a good idea but get together with the friends who know how to enjoy themselves, splash out on going to the places you love or on the treats that always make you feel good, or liberate yourself (Jupiter is the freedom fighter) from any oppressive situation while the going is good. In fact, do as much as you can throughout this whole week while the going is good, ie before Mercury starts tying us all in his notorious knots – and I’ll be talking in more detail about this next week.
Until then, with love from Greece,
Joanna