Mars Retrograde and More on Jack and Jill

The variety of ways people are being affected by the present Mars retrograde cycle is too numerous to describe fully. Some of the more notable events I’ve seen first-hand are motorcycle accidents, an increased number of injuries by athletes, fights with co-workers, medical diagnoses that have powerful effects, inflammations and infections at a higher than normal rate and much more. This is the physical way Mars can affect us. The reason why Mars is amped up at this time is that during its retrograde motion, Mars is closer to the Earth than usual thereby increasing its effect. Other ways I’ve seen depends on what house the Mars retrograde occurs in a person’s chart. One person whose 8th house is affected is getting his Will changed. In one’s 7th house, there are conflicts with friends and co-workers. And in the 2nd house a person is really looking at changing their strategy of investing and earning more money.

However, there are also very positive effects that often occur at this time. This is due to the fact that this is a great time to review our strategies and change the direction we have been taking. Sometimes matters get worse so that we are forced to deal with something. One friend has had harsh dealings with her boss and it turns out that this boss has a lot of anger issues and is being overwhelmed with the number of people lining up against him. It’s subtle but the boss is sick more often than usual and is having to miss work. Hopefully as the cycle continues he will feel the necessity of really examining his behavior and the degree to which he is negatively affecting others around him and ultimately himself as well.

Jack and Jill

The way our two friends are experiencing the Mars retrograde is quite positive and is worth going into in some detail.

“Jack” –  is experiencing the Mars retrograde in his 7th house of relationships. Although he has been going through a tremendous amount of shifting in his consciousness about his parents and family, his relationship is also shifting but in a very positive way. He writes, “While the most dramatic aspects of my life revolve around the drama of dealing with my family and friends, my personal life is the happiest it’s ever been. I have been in a loving 3 year relationship with my boyfriend (my first long-term relationship) and I couldn’t be more personally satisfied. The healing that has occurred as a result of this loving relationship has allowed me to deal with my family problems in an adult and mature way.” Also, his relationship has enabled him to learn that there are times when it is necessary to assert himself (Mars) and express what he needs in order to create a good relationship.

Mars also rules the way we deal with anger and that issue has come up in connection with his mother. In this regard’ Jack’ writes, “While dealing with my mother is hard and emotional for me, I am not angry with her. I love her but I can’t allow her to continue to treat me (or my brother or her grandchildren) in a way that’s hurtful. It’s a grown-up feeling that’s new for me.”

I know that Mars often is associated with physical movement, but there is also a very important psychological component to it as well. “Jack” has been examining classic 7th house issues of co-dependency, especially with his mother and observed the following:  “I’ve have noticed many situations where my need to control (which I always think of as  “helping”) flares up and I take a step back and let people take care of their own needs. I’m very sensitive right now to people around me who I feel are trying to manipulate me versus ask me to do something for them in a direct way. I usually take the bait and they don’t even need to ask because I am so good at anticipating needs. So now I’m working on standing back and not taking the bait forcing them to ask me directly for help or allowing someone else to take up the slack.

And finally, “Jack” has also been looking at his assumptions in life. Mars rules ’surgery’ which includes cutting out unnecessary or outworn belief systems. That’s what “Jack” has been doing as well as he writes- “I have been revaluating everything in my life especially my assumptions, like working too many hours in order to buy a house or working myself to death so that I can become rich (What I thought was the American dream). It feels like a veil has been lifted and I’m starting to see things as they are. It seems like I’m surgically separating the assumptions of what I have always thought my life should look like (A Martha Stewart life with an immaculate house and nice things) from my deepest desires and goals (Living as an artist, creating, living outside-of-the-box). I’ve even been contemplating moving to another country, one that allows gay marriage, national health care, child care, etc. A country that aligns with my values already. In my day to day life I have been focusing on enjoying myself while I do tasks, and not try to rush through them”. All these facets that ‘Jack’ has written about are part of what the Mars retrograde cycle is all about. Now, let’s take a look and see how “Jill” has been affected by the Mars transit.

“Jill” - with Mercury turning direct, Jill’s business has been picking up and her income is improving. Also, she has started teaching classes that are helping her form and coalesce a very new and unusual approach. Jill has a Jupiter/Uranus conjunction and is coming up with a radically new system which combines astrology, yoga, soul retrieval with goal setting. She is combining all of this with her expertise in beauty products and makeup and developing a method for women to invoke new energies and paradigms through the use of color and makeup. This new strategy is coming together now, in the middle of the Mars retrograde. Ironically, as she is re-inventing herself, she is simultaneously developing and refining a system where she can assist others to re-define themselves.

Part of the changes she is making has to do with developing new ways of ‘languaging’ what she is offering, developing new symbolism for her system, which is especially difficulty as what she is doing is so out of the box and eclectic. Yet, this is exactly the fullest expression of her chart which is really coming forward right now.

She expressed her challenge to me as basically one of figuring out how to bring all these different facets together. She knows how to do it herself, but what is not so easy is how to speak about it publicly.

Also, the problems in her life that she is tackling is what she called ‘tying up loose ends.’ This includes paying off debts, getting her financial house in order and discovering how all she has learned in the many aspects of her life are coming together and how they apply to her personally. The internal/external process she is going through right now is incredibly interconnected and quite dynamic.

With Saturn and Pluto also involved, it is not surprising that the primary theme of her life right now is that of re-inventing. The part that the Mars retrograde is playing in this is that she is having to, in a sense, let go of everything that she knows and has learned up to now and give herself enough time so that it can reconstitute itself in a totally new way. This is how Mars retrograde can assist her.

And how it can also assist us as well.

I hope this article helps you understand some of the potential ways that the cycle we’re in now can be used to our advantage. And I really hope many of you will comment on our blog and tell us how you are being affected as well.

Good luck as we move into the Full Moon!

Jill – Part 2

Jill's transits bi-wheel

It’s time to begin taking a deeper look at the transits that Jill is experiencing and the effects these are having in her life. Above, you see the chart of the most recent New Moon (December 16) overlaying Jill’s natal chart. Before describing what is happening with Jill, let me outline the major astrological significators that are in play.

(An aside – I know that many of my readers will not understand what I’m talking about. If you can read what is written as casually as possible, taking in whatever you can and not being too concerned with what you don’t understand, you may find that you will absorb more than you think. I will explain the key features in both this article as well as the ones that are coming and there will be repetition, so we can learn by absorbing. In other words, do the best you can and see if you can begin to understand more with each article. Try it!! It’s fun.)

Here are the 5 significant transits affecting her the most:

1. This New Moon is very significant as it is the first one of the year that is located in her 1^st house.
2. Venus in the New Moon chart is exactly conjunct her Ascendant or 1^st house cusp.
3. Saturn is exactly conjunct her Mid-Heaven or M.C. and her Jupiter and Uranus, while Pluto is squaring these same points.
4. The Mars retrograde which begins on December 21^st is going to trine her Ascendant and her Sun and Mercury during its 6 month stay in her 8^th house of change and transformation.
5. The coming Mercury retrograde which begins on December 26^th is exactly conjunct her Venus at 21 degrees of Capricorn.

To those of you who do not know anything about what was just written, it will be helpful to know that to have 5 very significant transits all happening at the same time, is very rare and therefore very significant. This indicates that this phase of Jill’s life will be the kind that she will look back on 10-20 years from now and be amazed at how life changing this year was, perhaps one of the most important of her life.

All of the transits I’ve listed above are now affecting her and will develop in the coming months, so we will be watching these closely in the upcoming articles. I will not be able to cover all that is happening in any single article for to do so would create excessively long articles, so I’m going to isolate on specific areas of Jill’s life and over time we can get a good sense of how these different transits are coming together and creating a new life for her.

It is interesting to note that Jill was sick during our recent interview. She believed that her illness represented a kind of “breakdown” that was caused by the intensity of all that’s happening and a fear of the unknown as she has no idea of what, if anything, will actually manifest in the coming months. So many balls are in the air that she knows they will not all pan out, but it’s also very likely that some of them will. Only time will tell. This feeling can cause great anxiety, especially since she is still not getting the income she needs to pay her bills as of now. Here, however, help seems to be on the way.

The first thing to know about Jill is that her boyfriend is moving in with her. She has known him for many years and they are now moving toward a more committed relationship. This is an example of the New Moon in her first house with Venus exactly conjunct her Ascendant. Also, the north node is going over her natal Venus which rules relationships and partnerships so not surprisingly, this transit is bringing about a change in that area. Actually it is affecting more than just her romantic relationships.

She has written a TV show with several other people and someone with enough power to get it produced is interested in looking at it. This is an example of both Venus and transiting Saturn at her Mid-Heaven being engaged. In addition, she has re-united with a partner from her past to jointly create a consulting business that would present programs to assist businesses to flourish. She feels she also may have a chance to meet potential investors for a spa she and other partners are interested in creating. As you can see, there are many balls in the air right now. With transiting Pluto (representing powerful people) squaring her Mid-Heaven there is indeed a chance that she could meet people who could help her manifest many of her dreams. The fact that the north node is going over her Venus also supports this possibility.

Jill has a Jupiter/Uranus conjunction at her Mid-Heaven. This combo is a sign of brilliance and out of the box thinking that is presented to the public. Let me give an example of how she manifests this archetypal principle. One of the things she is engaged in is the use of astrology, color and chakra balancing to help people change the energy of their bodies and the situations in which they find themselves. Jill, an expert in the art of makeup, is able to use eye liner to both help a person to let go of old, outworn patterns as well as invoke new energies. For example, the color green (which rules Venus and the sign of Libra) can be used to promote improvement in relationship and assist in starting any new projects or patterns. The knowledge she has gained over the years are coming into play now in new ways, which bodes well for her as Saturn remakes her public image. The transit of Saturn over the Mid-Heaven is a culmination of efforts made over 14 years as one can now reap the rewards of one’s efforts or on the other hand learn about the areas in which one still must make more effort.

For many years, Jill has been engaged in the study and practice of using archetypal energies to create what one wants or even dreams. This is the definition of practical magic, though Jill hasn’t thought of it in this way. She has conducted Full Moon ceremonies for a long time and uses astrology and guided meditations in these rituals. For example, when there is a New or Full Moon in Sagittarius, she will invoke the principles of Jupiter, the ruler of expansion, wealth, happiness, spirituality and wisdom. This part of her practice is also growing right now as she is gaining comfort from all of the experience she has gained over the years. And finally, she has learned that one of the best ways to succeed is to assist others to succeed as well. The wisdom she has gained has taught her that the more she can help others grow, the more she will grow too. In many ways, she is on the way to discovering that she is a manifesting the energy of the High Priestess of the Tarot.

The Future – with Mars in her 8^th house, we can expect her to become very involved looking at her business relationships and how to structure them. With Venus in play due to the Mercury retrograde, she will be adjusting her life to a new living situation as her boyfriend moves in with her. He is scheduled to move in on December 31, only 3 days after Mercury goes retrograde conjunct her Venus. Other partnerships also may emerge and grow. And, of course, her public persona will continue to change as she continues to develop new projects that change her career. Just as Jill helps others to reinvent themselves, she is engaged in the same effort. I’m sure that over the next 6 months, she will be doing a lot do that. When she looks back at 2010, I doubt she will recognize her new life. It will be that different. And although she will do all she can to plan and work hard, because Uranus and Pluto are involved, there will be many surprises, unexpected shifts and turns to which she will have to adapt. Jill is on a roller coaster ride that she cannot control, but which is likely to take her to new and exciting places. Yet, she must live day to day, as well all must do while knowing that the unexpected could turn up at any moment.

I will be mixing the “Jack and Jill” series with other articles discussing the complex set of transits that are affecting us over the next 6 weeks. It is an exciting and potentially challenging time right now, so I hope the articles will assist all of you.

Jill – Part I

Jill's Chart

Welcome to the first article in the “Jack” and “Jill series. Unlike the children’s story, our Jack and Jill do not know each other, although if they did, my optimistic Sagittarius rising nature would certainly believe that they would be getting along famously. The process of making these selections was not easy. Since there were many applicants, I received help from several graduates of the School and especially from LeeAnn Lambright, who reviewed half of the original submissions. Many thanks to her for her help.

In the beginning, we had to decide the qualities that we wanted for the person in this series. The first attribute that was necessary was, of course, an interest in participating in a project that will last at least three months. We didn’t want the person to leave prematurely. This, as it turned out, was not a problem. Many of the applicants were willing to engage in this lengthy process. The second priority was that the chart be very active in terms of transits and progressions. That turned out to be the main rationale for how the decision was made. There are two very important transits occurring in the next several months that will be affecting all of us. The first is the coming Mars retrograde, which lasts from December 21, 2009 – March 7, 2010. The second is the transit of Saturn squaring Pluto which is in effect right now and lasts for nine more months. Our Jack and Jill are affected strongly by these transits and is why they were selected. I hope this series will be interesting and informative as my intention is for you to discover that the application of astrology to one’s natal chart actually makes our life more alive and authentic. I will not focus on prediction, although I will be extrapolating on where events seem to be taking the person. What’s more interesting and important is the process the person is going through as they navigate the turbulent waters in which each person is immersed and how astrology can assist them at this challenging time. With this introduction to the series, let’s begin.

Introducing Jill

As you can see by her chart, Jill just turned 41 years of age and has been going through quite a few career changes in the past few years. For many years she was a professional make-up artist in Hollywood and had a successful career in this, until she began to discover more about what was driving her interest in this field. For Jill, it wasn’t just a lucrative and glamorous career, although at times it was that. What she saw was that the challenge of the make-up artist was in bringing forth the inner essence of either the actor himself/herself or the character they were playing. She noticed that the makeup was enhancing the ability of the actor to portray a character that was genuine. It was an assist to both the actor and audience that allowed for the character to emerge in a way that was convincing and real. But for this to occur, a transformation had to happen. The actor had to reinvent themselves. They had to find a way to ‘be’ someone that was either not who they were, or an aspect of themselves lying dormant in one’s own psyche. It is this aspect that caused Jill to become interested in something much broader than being only a makeup artist. She began to want to help clients find ways to reinvent themselves so that they could take their lives to the next level, whatever that meant for the client.

It was between 1993-94, during a very important transiting conjunction between Uranus and Neptune that she began to feel a great need to expand her work and subsequently her career goals. Jill began to study and practice a variety of metaphysical techniques such as chakra balancing, guided imagery and meditation and, in addition, the study of astrology. She sought to combine these into a unified set of practices and services. This is very typical of the sign of Sagittarius, which often seeks to combine seemingly unlike things. Jill’s Sun is in Sagittarius in the 12th house along with her Ascendant or Rising sign. This combination is one of the most positive and optimistic in the zodiac for it constantly seeks to achieve and assist others to aim as high as one can imagine. It also includes learning to set goals that push oneself to one’s limits and to achieve one’s dreams of success. This is what Jill pushed herself to do and now she sought to help others do the same. Astrology became for her a way to understand the central goals a person could achieve and a better understanding of the cycles of their development. She then began to relate all of this to the chakras in a person and to their level of functioning.

One of the most significant aspects in her chart is the conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus at the Mid-Heaven. This is the planetary pair of finding brilliant solutions to life problems and situations and it showed itself powerfully when she said that “Helping people succeed requires out of the box thinking.” Jupiter also is extra strong in her chart as it is the ruler of her Ascendant and expands everything it touches. These types want to make a difference in the world, often in a big way and are willing to make sacrifices to accomplish this. During her 1993 transit she began to shed everything in her life that didn’t enable her to be the kind of person she knew she was inside. She didn’t know where it would lead her, but she knew somehow it was necessary. This time of intense self-examination is an essential aspect for people with 12th house planets and Jill has three, including her Sun. Another fact of life for these people is the need to surrender or let go of anything that is holding them back from the fullest expression possible and anything that blocked her natural proclivity of having a can-do philosophy of life. This led her to the need to deal with her emotions from her past, especially her childhood. She knew she would have to clear away any psychic debris that prevented her from growing.

In her interview with me, Jill made a point several times of telling me that there was a reason why she had to go deeper than she had ever gone. With Saturn in her 4th house, which often indicates some type of family restriction or disadvantage, Jill did not know who her father was. This theme will be developed further in future articles. But for now, it is helpful to understand that hardship and pain often drive us to examine our life in ways that we simply wouldn’t do if everything was fine or normal.

Right now, transiting Saturn is conjunct her mid-heaven and natal Jupiter and Uranus. Transiting Pluto also squares these. We will be examining these transits closely in the next several months, but right now she expressed what’s happening in the following way: “I feel that I am in the right place and that things will be working out well, but as of now, nothing seems to be happening.” Money is tight for her right now, which has not been true for many years. This is very typical of what transiting Saturn can do when it is as active as it is. Saturn requires patience, hard work and if it delays progress, one must hang in there while not giving up on the guiding dreams and goals. Also, although Mars is not retrograde yet, it is moving very slowly and is making a semi-square aspect to her mid-heaven. This further slows things down for her.

In future articles we will go deeper into what’s happening for Jill as well as what she’s going through internally. We also will be looking at other aspects of her life, such as relationships and her life history.

The next newsletter article will introduce “Jack” where we will get to know him a little bit. Stay tuned for this wonderful chance to observe astrology and life in action. Let’s see if we can discover where the line is between ‘fate’ and ‘free will.’