Tag Archives: mars square pluto

Weekly Forecast April 11: Mars Square Pluto, Full Moon in Libra

© Benis Arapovic for Dreamstime.com

Reading the news headlines this morning, I was struck by the number of words such as “angry,” “attack,” “hostile,” and “bomb.”

Maybe it’s just an average day on CNN and I haven’t been paying attention. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that we’re seeing manifestations of the Mars-Pluto square that began building up last week.

It’s not an overstatement to call this aspect violent. Mars in his own sign of Aries has his finger on the trigger and doesn’t need much of a reason to pull it, while Pluto just went retrograde and is at a standstill, making him more powerful than usual when the square peaks on Monday.

To an astrologer, it’s no surprise that police are shooting at protestors, while authoritarian rulers hole up in fear and international forces fire away at the wrong targets. When you’ve got this much angry energy surging through the collective, it has to have an outlet.

On a smaller scale, we’re at a higher risk of getting involved in power struggles this week, especially over money and control. It’s possible to channel Mars energy into physical work and vigorous exercise. However, with Pluto in the mix, it’s almost impossible to avoid getting caught up in anger and resentment.

Put another way, Mars in Aries might not be such a bad boy if he weren’t up against all these heavyweight outer planets. In a period of less than three weeks, Mars will have conjoined Uranus in Aries, squared Pluto in Capricorn, and opposed Saturn in Libra. Each of these aspects alone would be difficult enough to negotiate, but with all three together, it’s a wonder we’re not all killing each other. On second thought …

Mercury retrograde in Aries complicates matters still further. On Monday, right as he’s halfway through the retrograde phase, he crosses back over Jupiter. The previous Mercury-Jupiter conjunction was on March 15, while Mercury was direct. I recall having a lot of communications difficulties back then, too. Everything got worked out, but there were several issues going on all at once, each of which required several phone calls to straighten out.

When Mercury and the Sun conjoined this past Friday, I experienced a mix-up in connecting with someone that would have been comical if it was in a movie script. While I was e-mailing my contact afterward to find out what happened, my Internet modem suddenly went haywire, and I was without service for a couple of hours until my provider isolated the problem. I expect similar disruptions this week. By next week, when Mercury and Mars meet, matters won’t get resolved quite so easily or politely.

For the rest of this week, Mars moves away from Pluto and toward an opposition to Saturn, which is exact next Monday, right after the Full Moon in Libra. Relationships may be tumultuous. As intimidating as this sounds, there could be a silver lining. When anger builds up between two people and has no outlet for expression, the relationship is harmed, sometimes irreparably. As difficult as it is to deal with anger – yours or your partner’s – airing it could be just what you need to get back on track and become closer. The key is in being heard.

The Moon will be in Libra for most of the weekend. In the hours following her entry into the sign of balance and harmony, she’ll make contact with all of the planets involved in last summer’s cardinal T-square. She conjoins Saturn late Saturday evening, and then on Sunday opposes retrograde Mercury and, finally, the Sun – her last contact before moving on to Scorpio.

The Full Moon normally brings endings, resolution, and culmination. I’m hopeful that the troubled relationships so many of you have written to me about will indeed find some resolution, even if it’s an understanding that it’s time to let go and move on. Hopefully, you can arrive at a mutual decision that leaves both people feeling whole and OK about yourselves. If that’s not possible, do what you have to do to restore the balance in your own life, and let your ex worry about his or her own.

These are difficult times, but we will get through. By the end of next week, some of the pressure will be released, and we’ll get even more of a break when Mars, Mercury, and Venus enter Taurus in mid-May.

In the meantime, let’s do our best to remain open-hearted, kind, and compassionate.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Holy T-Square, Batman!

© Vectorminator/Dreamstime.com

The cardinal T-square is at its peak, and right on cue, springs are sproinging all over.

My computer went belly up on Sunday night. It was nice enough to wait until I’d posted the weekly forecast, and then, ka-boom. I had a bit of a warning last week and should have followed my own advice to back up my files right away, especially since this has happened to my computer before (the one that was purchased during Mercury retrograde). I mistakenly thought I had more time. We always think there will be more time.

We’re out of time. This is it.

This morning I was talking about the T-square to a friend, who said that her husband’s computer blew up the same night as mine. It has been diagnosed as officially dead, and the repair shop is working to retrieve the data on his hard drive. My machine will be next in line. This was after losing the power steering on their car the week before. I suspect that one of them, at least, has a T-square transit to the second house, which rules our valuable possessions.

If it seems as though your life is going to hell in a hand basket, look for the out across from Pluto. That would be wherever you have three degrees Cancer in your chart. If you have a planet or chart angle there, it will further describe your path, which may be quite narrow, and you may not have a lot of choices available. If there’s an empty space there, you’ll have more options.

Now, there’s another possible escape hatch, but the window will be very short – from approximately noon to 7:30 p.m. EDT today (Wednesday), while the Moon is in early Gemini, at an easy angle to Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. The Moon in Gemini favors talking through emotional difficulties in order to make sense of what’s going on. Just don’t get lost in words or mistake talking about feelings for actually feeling. If you can speak from the heart openly and honestly, it can help increase your awareness and release pent-up frustration.

If you’re presented with a possible short-cut route today, take it! Normally, I advise carrying the load and doing the work, but during this short window today, you may get a lucky break. To determine where it might come from, look at your natal chart to see where the early degrees of Gemini fall.

If no break is offered, you may be faced with a situation in which the only way out is through. That is happening to many people I know, and it’s a tough position to be in. It will last for another month, at least, too. So you’ll need to just hang in there and keep your nerve.

It will be interesting, by the way, to see how well BP fares with its attempt to shut off the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher for good. If it works, it will work spectacularly. If it fails, it will be even more spectacular.

Much love and courage to all,
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Weekly Forecast August 2: Jupiter and Mars Square Pluto

Sometimes the way out is up. © Judy Ben Joud/Dreamstime

This is it, kids. It’s peak week for the cardinal T-square — the astrological “week from hell” we’ve been anticipating — with a one-day grand cross thrown in for an additional increase in blood pressure.

I’ve written a lot over the past few months about possible manifestations of the T-square, based on events associated with similar configurations in history, notably in 1989 and, even more prominently, in the early 1930s. The events in 1989 for the most part were well-defined, one-time occurrences, even though some had far-reaching consequences that are still in play.

Conversely, in the early 30s, developments unfolded over several years. In many ways, it was the worst of the two. It almost makes me wish the economy would collapse with an eardrum-shattering sonic boom so we could get it over with, rather than being dragged deeper and deeper into economic depression and worldwide totalitarianism.

If you had a choice, which would you choose? What about in your personal life? Would you rather bite the bullet, suffer acute pain, be done with it, and move on into new territory? Or would you rather suffer low-level background pain continuously over several years, perhaps with an option to numb it until things turned around?

Not that I think we have much choice right now. Under the cardinal T-square, our options are limited. We’re pretty much being forced down a certain path, the only one that’s not blocked. Still, I’m a big believer that there’s always another way out that we just don’t see. When you’ve got four walls closing in on you, sometimes you forget to look up for the escape hatch.

Hopefully you took my advice last week and began confronting the major issues that are standing in the way of your growth and progress. Sometimes all it takes is a new awareness, especially regarding the source of the blockage. Until we identify the source of a problem, we can only treat symptoms and not the root cause.

Getting to the source is this week’s theme, thanks to a high-tension square between Mars and Pluto. Be forewarned that you may have to sit with some discomfort, but if you can stick with it, your chances of getting out of a rut and moving forward are much better.

We’re already hot in the middle of the action as the week begins, with Mars still in close conjunction with Saturn in Libra. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we’ll have a tight T-square with Mars opposed to Jupiter and both square Pluto. If I had to pick the most difficult day during the 2010 T-square, this would be it … although this past weekend was a close second.

The truth can be uncomfortable, which is why many people choose to wear rose-colored glasses or keep their heads buried in the sand. Put another way, waking up can be a painful experience. In my observation, most people wake up to pain first, and then they experience joy and happiness. It’s seldom the other way around.

On Friday, the Moon enters Cancer and closes the open end of the T-square, so that it becomes a grand cross. Emotions could be so intense that some of us might think we’re losing our minds. Some may experience a continuous feedback loop of thoughts going ’round and ’round in their heads. If this happens to you, try to wait out the storm. It will last for several hours, and then it will be gone. Speaking of storms, this also is a prime period for high winds and tropical cyclones.

Later on Friday (Saturday in the Eastern Hemisphere), Venus enters Libra and adds her voice to the cardinal T-square. Venus rules Libra, so she is a very strong voice for beauty, peace, and harmony. We’re in need of these gifts now more than ever, not just in our personal partnerships, but also in the collective and in international relations.

Alas, we may have to fight for them, as the first aspect Venus makes is a testy opposition with “got to be me” Uranus in Aries. You can stand up all you want for your freedom, but you may want to ask yourself, “freedom from what?” The Marlboro man is free as a bird … and alone.

That message will become abundantly clear on Sunday, when Venus conjoins Saturn. For a committed partnership to work, there has to be bona fide give and take. That said, there are imbalances in most relationships I’m observing these days, with one person carrying more than their share of the load. This may be necessary, as we can only carry according to our ability.

Unfortunately, a lot of people are glad to let others carry their load for them, and they always seem to find those who believe it’s their duty. Hopefully Venus and Saturn in Libra will put a stop to that. The willing pack animals among you may need to drop your load in order for your lazy loved ones to step up to the plate. Trust me, you’ll be doing them a favor.

I leave you with this quote by R. Buckminster Fuller, author, inventor of the geodesic dome:

Don’t fight forces, use them.

That’s our mission this week, if we choose to accept it.

Wishing you all the love and courage under the Sun,
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Full Moon Lunar Eclipse, August 16, 2008

 Full Moon in Aquarius reflections
The lunar eclipse at the Full Moon this Saturday is the second of the pair of eclipses this month, with the Sun at 24°21′ Leo and the Moon at 24° 21′ Aquarius.

During a lunar eclipse, the Earth is between the Sun and Moon, and the Earth’s shadow falling on the Moon causes the eclipse. The qualities of the Moon are enhanced, and a lunar eclipse can allow us to get in touch with our subtle emotional motivations without the interference of the Sun’s brilliance.

The Full Moon in Aquarius is conjoined with Neptune, further emphasizing empathy and helping us raise our awareness of spiritual matters, if we so choose. Here is an instance when we are better served by courting Neptune’s higher qualities by finding some form of meditative activity to pursue. This can be as simple as walking in as natural a setting as possible. Walking by a stream, lake or the ocean would be especially healing under this Full Moon, because it would bring the mutual reception of Uranus in Pisces (water sign) semi-sextile Neptune in Aquarius (air sign) into play.

At the New Moon on August 1, the Sun in Leo was accompanied by the Moon, Mercury, and Venus all in Leo. Now only the Sun remains there, and Mercury and Venus have joined Mars and Saturn in Virgo. This is a natural progression from the passion and heat of Leo into the more practical, service-oriented sign of Virgo and a strong indication that we need to start devoting more time to taking care of business and less to playing . . . sigh.

Mercury is still within orb of Saturn but is pulling away quickly. From now until Mercury moves into Libra on August 28, we have a great opportunity to deal with all Mercury related matters, because Mercury shines in detail-oriented Virgo. In fact, if you have tasks that take mental acuity and can schedule them before the end of the month, it would be a good idea, since we have a Mercury retrograde coming in September.

Saturn, Venus, and Mercury in Virgo are trine Jupiter in Capricorn and form a grand trine with Vesta in Taurus – all in all presenting an opportunity to manifest tangible results. Both Vesta and Virgo are concerned with healing and recharging our internal batteries, and Jupiter will be happy to provide the means to enable us to do so. The ongoing Chiron-North Node conjunction in Aquarius is part of this healing theme but more on the societal level, unless that conjunction directly aspects your chart. In that case, you are no doubt already aware of where your wounds are.

If you have planets or chart angles close to 28° in the mutable signs, the waxing square between Mars in Virgo and Pluto in Sagittarius will  ignite anger-related issues and make sure you know that it’s past time to let go and move on. Remember, anger is one of the stages of the grieving process. The cycle of death and rebirth is as old as time and still doesn’t get any easier, but Pluto is inexorable in demanding his due, so practice releasing what needs releasing with a modicum of grace.

The Sabian Symbols for the Full Moon add their usual measure of richness to the mix. For the Sun at 25 Leo it is, A large camel crossing a vast and forbidding desert, with the keyword ADEQUACY; and for 25 Aquarius it is, A butterfly with the right wing more perfectly formed. The keyword for 25 Aquarius is UNIQUENESS.

The first symbol suggests we are up to handling the challenges presented by this pair of eclipses, as difficult as they may seem. We have the reserves and the resources inherently, and part of the process is acknowledging that fact. The symbol for the Moon emphasizes the need for transmutation of emotional energies as part of the healing process. It is often our very uniqueness that can be our salvation.

As this eclipse cycle draws to a close, please remember a couple of things. First, we can’t start healing until we recognize that the problem exists and, second, please remember that we are all human and have frailties, so forgiving ourselves as well as others is an essential component for healing. Be well, and practice kindness to all.

Libra, an Air signposted by Neith . . .