Mars finally gets the [expletive deleted] out of Leo this week. That alone would indicate a major shift, but as those television commercials for knives always say, “Wait, there’s more!”

So much more.

Knives, incidentally, fall within the domain of Mars, who also rules the blood, muscles, and physical energy, along with testosterone and the male libido. That’s why, in his more extreme expressions, he can get a tad aggressive.

Mars normally moves through a sign in about six weeks, but he’s been in Leo since October 16, more than two months of which he spent retrograde. It’s always interesting to observe what happens in our lives when a planet changes signs, especially one that resonates so strongly in our day-to-day existence.

Unfortunately, the first thing Mars in Virgo will do is to form an edgy inconjunct with Jupiter and Uranus in Aries, just as they’re nearing conjunction, which is exact on Tuesday. Mars rules Aries, so we can’t dismiss the potential for complications in global finances and international tensions. That said, Mars in Virgo favors actively seeking solutions, and perhaps he’ll apply the brakes, however temporarily, to the wild and uncontrollable nature of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction.

What I can say with absolute certainty is that we will observe major changes this week, and we won’t have to squint and strain to see them. The effects will be abundantly evident in the news headlines and possibly in our own lives.

I should warn you, though, that while the changes happening now are irreversible, the solutions we come up with to address the problems exposed by these events will not be permanent, stable, or reliable. That’s because Jupiter and Uranus will barely dip their toes into Aries before turning retrograde this summer and going back to Pisces, which is where they will meet for a second and third time. Actions taken now — for example, to contain the BP oil spew — may not be effective, for whatever reason.

In my recent post on Uranus in Aries, I discussed the 29th degree of Pisces, also known as the “weeping degree.” Jupiter and Uranus will make two more passes over this degree between now and mid-March, and Mars crosses 29 degrees Pisces the first two days of April before blasting into his own sign. This will be just after the next spring equinox, also called the Aries ingress. Moreover, Mercury will be retrograde, so I suspect that’s when we’ll really experience the full-blown implications of events in play now.

The New Moon in Aries on April 3, 2011, will be especially symbolic of new beginnings. Even though it’s a ways off, I thought it was worth mentioning now, because this may be when we’re forced to leave our old ways behind once and for all.

Although we have no idea what’s in store for us this summer, it’s hard not to think that the BP oil disaster will feed into it somehow. Among the news sites I’ve been visiting daily is The Oil Drum, a newsletter dedicated to serious debate about the impact of declining world oil reserves. Nathan Hagens, an ecology economics research fellow at the University of Vermont, posted an analysis this morning that puts the issue into stark perspective. Rather than demanding a pound of flesh from the purveyors of evil corporate greed, we need to be asking ourselves the questions he raises.

S&@!, all of that, and I’m not even done writing about Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Mercury trines Saturn, an aspect that can yield very productive discussions. Later in the day, Mars opposes Chiron. I touched on this in my Saturday Extra! post.

On Thursday (Wednesday in some parts of the world), Mercury enters his home sign of Gemini, where he’ll sextile Jupiter and Uranus right away and then square Mars on Friday. The Moon also enters Gemini on Thursday, adding an exclamation point to all of Mercury’s declarations. We’ll be in the world of ideas for the next couple of weeks, and that’s a good thing, in my book. Of course, the square between Mercury and Mars suggests a war of words, but that’s hardly surprising. The problems we face seem insurmountable. You don’t need an astrologer to tell you that there will be acrimonious disagreements over proposed solutions.

In your personal affairs, you may want to tread a little more gently and take care not to be overly critical, lest you end up in needless conflicts with your loved ones. Know where to draw the line.

Saturday is the New Moon in Gemini. I’ll have a separate post on Tuesday or Wednesday. For now, let me just point out that we’ll be heading toward eclipse territory after the New Moon. The next lunation, at the end of this month, will be a lunar eclipse in tight conjunction with Pluto.

We’re wandering deeper into cardinal T-square territory, and whenever we step into a new world, it’s exhilarating and dangerous at the same time.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat