Mars Going Back to Its Direct Motion

Well, it’s not the most exciting title I’ve ever come up with for an article, but given the fact that Mars has been retrograde for 10 weeks, the fact that it is about to return to its normal direct motion, will hopefully be exciting enough for us. The end of any retrograde cycle is often the most difficult part to handle. The reason is that on one hand we’ve been working with whatever the cycle demands of us for a long time but at the same time we’re somehow not quite done. Worse yet, is that the planet is moving ever so slowly at the end of the cycle, so that it sometimes just tests our patience. “Why can’t we get started already,” can be our plaintive cry. Right now, Mars is only 13 minutes from where it will be when it turns direct on March 10, 2010 at 0° Leo. So, it is barely moving at all. This means that it can feel like there’s nothing we can do to move forward, and that to try to force anything can only bring frustration. This is not to say that some of us are not busy. But what we’re busy with is often concerned with the finishing up of an old cycle.

Another common theme at a time when Mars is moving so slowly is that whatever has been building up and has not come out into the light of day, will do so now. A friend reported to me today that she was at a meeting where things that have been discussed privately between many of the staff for many months, has suddenly come out into the open and in front of the supervisors. Here again, this group was dealing with old business that had been avoided. How many things in our life can be characterized by the term – ‘Hiding in plain sight!’

I would urge my readers to use this often frustrating time to make sure that anything you know that is ‘Hiding in plain sight’, be allowed to break free from its deadly silence and let out into the open plains of our conscious mind. I know that Mars is often associated with war, conflict, anger, and even violence. But ironically, such things occur in life when aspects that really need attention are resisted or worse, completely avoided.

Mars will go direct at 9:09am on Wednesday, March 10th. This should quickly bring a sense that things can begin to move again. Many of us will feel the shift pretty soon after the change occurs. But just as Mars is going very slowly now, it will continue to do so for many weeks. So, it’s best to not expect a sudden turnaround of momentum during most of March. By April, Mars will begin to get back to its normal speed and with many planets in Aries by that time, we will be able to really feel like we can get started into new territory. By then, the winter slowness will be quickly fading and feel like a distant memory.

Pluto in Capricorn

With Pluto now having moved fully into Capricorn (5°) we are beginning to see its meaning. Also, the square it is making to Saturn,( which is extra important since Saturn rules Capricorn), the meaning of this transit is also becoming clear. If I had to give you one word to describe the essence of this transit, that word would be DEBT. Of course there is much more to it than that, but let’s take a look at how deeply the use of debt has become in our society. Our entire economy has been based on it. We go into recession or worse, when people stop living with large debt. This means that the nature of our present model that operates our economic system is that it has encouraged us to live beyond our means. That is what is changing right now as we are having to look at the results of this. By the way, this problem has reached a peak in the European economy with the debt crisis in Greece and its spillover into all of Europe. We automatically assume that somehow it will all work out. Well, now we are discovering that this assumption is false.

One of the telltale signs of the beginning of a sea change has been the increased status in the Obama administration of the economist Paul Volcker. This change has been a part of the Mars retrograde cycle. Volcker was the head of the Fed in the early 80’s when he raised the interest rates to record levels (18%) in order to stop inflation. He was demonized at the time, but the effect of his action was profound. Not only did inflation stop, but the economy has avoided high interest rates for the last 30 years. So, Volcker represents an official who did what was necessary even if it was unpopular. He saw what was needed for the long-term and ignored short term pain. That kind of approach seems nearly impossible today. What Volcker is proposing now is a major set of reforms of our economic system. Right now, it is Volcker who is representing the major thrust of the Saturn square to Pluto in Capricorn. Not surprisingly, his proposals are being attacked and resisted. So far, economic reform seems to be in a stalemated position as the mammoth banks are fighting back with all their might. Here are a few of his proposals: He wants to prohibit risky investments by commercial banks. Also, he proposes that banks be limited to trading within their own accounts. Simply put, he wants to ensure that the economic crisis that we’re still in, is prevented from happening again, though I think it’s fair to say that our human species has a strong tendency to forget once the crisis is over. He also added that although this country may never return to having the manufacturing base we once had, it is necessary to begin ‘making things’ here again. He proposes more manufacturing and less importing. Why? Because we are so deeply in debt and continuing to move rapidly into even worse shape, that he is afraid a real crisis is inevitable if this doesn’t change.  We need to begin making things again that can be exported to other countries. His fear is that if we don’t do this, we are on the way to becoming more like a third world country than any of us could have ever dreamed. For years, our middle class has been dying out.

In a recent interview, he very calmly described our beloved Congress as the most “dysfunctional” he has ever seen, describing it as unable to enact any meaningful legislation of any kind. The Republican party won’t even allow for the confirmation of key positions in the Dept. of the Treasury, making it unable to do its job. He also said something else that is worthy of serious consideration and asks important questions about the present values of our nation. He reminded the interviewer that in the past, our best minds went into engineering, physics, medicine, etc., but that now those same minds have become ‘financial engineers.’ They produce nothing. They create no real wealth. They just create schemes for making money. And they create such complex systems, that not only does no one really understand how it works, but even more scary is that no one knows at all what the effects will be on the economy of our nation, as they pile up. How can an economy survive when the obvious is no longer understood or even seen?

The problems this country is facing are hiding in plain sight. But with Pluto now fully in Capricorn, we will be forced to experience the reality of our short-sightedness and greed. The party is over, but it does not appear that we realize it. You can watch and see for yourself how things develop in Congress with regard to financial reform. There is a really funny skit at the following link  from Funny or Die that you might enjoy if you haven’t seen it already. I’ll be commenting more in the near future about Pluto in Capricorn, especially as we approach the summer transits.

Venus Making Its Appearance

While we have focused as of late on the Mars retrograde cycle, which is still in effect and the even tougher aspect of Saturn squaring Pluto, beginning this week Venus is rising to get our attention. But this is a less personal Venus since it will have a very Piscean tone to it. It may start out feeling a bit subtle, but it will be gaining strength in the next week. It began by conjuncting Neptune on Sunday, February 6th at 25 degrees of Aquarius and then will amplify its Neptunian ambiance as it enters Pisces on February 11th, 2010 (the ruler of Neptune) and then conjuncts expansive Jupiter at 7 Pisces on February 16th. Not only does this conjunction occur in Pisces, but Jupiter is the co-ruler of this compassionate water sign and Venus is exalted in it as well. We are about to experience this archetypal energy in a very powerful way.

Of course you’re asking what this means and I must tell you a brief story. Last night in class, a student expressed the fact that she has a very hard time understanding and talking about Pisces. Then, another student who has the Moon in Pisces in her birth chart, said, “I know, even I do too!” The reason for this is that this sign is such a dissolving archetypal form, that it defies and must defy simple verbal definition. It literally rules the principle of imagination and idealism, so no wonder that when we approach trying to describe it, we find that we must do so by using images, story, metaphor, and so on. The symbol of Pisces is literally two fish looking at or opposing one another, and yet tied together somehow. This immediately evokes the image of contradiction and to those familiar with archetypal transformational symbols, the notion of reconciliation of opposites. Another story that might help is the woman who called me a few days ago and asked me what was ‘up with the stars’ last Sunday. She said she was watching all of the Dr. Drew Celebrity Rehab shows that were on that day. Well, sure enough that was the very day that Venus aligned with Neptune. So why did this show pique her interest? Because Pisces/Neptune rules both drug addiction and the possible rehab/recovery process. But let’s go deeper. Sure, it tests us in intense ways, but it also takes us into a place where we must learn to have compassion for both ourselves and others. I know several people who participate in 12-step programs and do not have specific addictions. For them it is a way of participating in a spiritual process with others who must move towards being able to reach into one’s very bottom of despair, hopelessness and fear and come out the other side as a transformed person. It also represents ‘every-persons’ connection with one’s own human vulnerability, imperfection and even sorrow…. It is sometimes a specific sorrow that pertains to something that has happened to us, but often it is more of an existential sorrow that does not connect to anything we can clearly identify. And it can connect us with whatever we consider to be God, the Divine, or Life itself.

Archetypally, Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac and this itself is quite helpful to us as we attempt to understand this mysterious sign. We can think of life as a building up process that moves us from Aries to the next to last sign, Aquarius. As we grow in concern from oneself, to one’s family, to our relationships with others, and then to society in general, we must finally arrive at Pisces, the symbolic end of the cycle. Because it represents the ending, its aspects must include surrender, letting go and a sense that only we, as individuals can regard the entire cycle as meaningful or not. Sometimes, we see that Pisces can be morose, negative, hopeless and even depressed. It can do all it can to escape the harshness of life and even the sense that it is all meaningless since we all die anyway. But this is exactly where Pisces can ennoble us and take us to new territory. What we are really needing to surrender is our ego attachments to a dying cycle. In doing this we may discover that it is not ‘we’ who are dying, but our identifications that are coming to their inevitable end. Thus, it is Pisces wherein we may encounter our own immortality, but not without a crisis first. That crisis is the result of our having to meet our own mortality and surrender to its inevitability. As we surrender our identifications and even identities, we find that what we are really doing is letting go of all the things we are NOT. It is only then, that we are able to witness what is left when all that we are NOT has dissolved.

One of the ways this can happen to us is through an encounter with the harsh aspects of life. What do people face when they are either in some sort of recovery or in close connection with someone who is? They face BOTH sides of the life cycle. First there is the fear, disgust, desire to flee that always comes with an encounter with people who are at ‘bottom.’ But then, at least for some, there may come the other side, where unconditional love is felt and experienced. It is where we let go of our judgments of self and others and arrive at a deep and profound acceptance of all that is Life. It’s amazing highs and gut-wrenching lows. It is in Pisces where every part of human life is validated, confirmed, and then appreciated and seen as necessary. Not only do we realize that there cannot be highs with lows, but more significantly we see that life without ‘everything-in-it, could not exist. This is the mystical experience of total immersion into all of Life and how we are transformed by this degree of Divine Love and Total Acceptance.

Now that Jupiter has entered Pisces and will soon be followed by Venus, we are going to each of us have a chance to experience this level of love and compassion. But it is also likely that we will also experience the other side as well. In Pisces, ALL of life emerges from the unconscious and while we face the harsh side of life, we can simultaneously also see, sense and experience the deep compassionate side as well. Venus and Jupiter are identified as the higher and lesser benefics, so when they come together, it is generally considered to be a very fortunate time. And they indeed are likely to be. But perhaps it is best if we do not forget that this period could easily take us into an aspect of life that asks us to surrender our judgments and ego-attachments and just BE. Just BE with oneself, with others and with Life. Relationships may indeed form now, but they may take on a tone that is less personal than Venus alone. Venus can be motivated by physical attraction and personal desire. It can express itself as love and beauty in a positive sense, but it is also the Evil Queen who spoke those memorable words – “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all.” The coming Venus-Jupiter transit is going to have a concern for others that can go way beyond ego- gratification and exemplify the best of what Love can be.

Mundane World - It is likely that although most Republicans are wanting the health care bill to die, under the transits that are going in the next weeks, what is more likely is that the bill will be ‘resurrected’ in a new form. The Mars retrograde has brought about large changes but will probably not end the process completely. The next step will be to find some sort of compromise that at least can be embraced by a larger majority than before. It may be much smaller in scope than it was originally, but some sort of compassionate response will be more wanted now than ever. Also, I suspect there will be an increased willingness to take some actions that will relieve the sorrows of those of us who are the least able to take care of themselves.

As always, I hope many of you will tell us how you are experiencing the upcoming transits. We will all appreciate it.

Thanks,

Jim Sher

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!

A Very Telling Week Ahead

The job of an astrologer becomes very interesting whenever three transits occur at the same time. But when those same transits are also unusually significant in themselves, one can assume that we are in for a very important week. By important I mean that the events and shifts of that week are likely to signal the kind of things that will affect us for many months or even years to come.

We have just completed our recent series of eclipses and the Mercury retrograde. And no doubt these have created situations that we are now having to pay close attention to and work with in a focused way. But in my view, the last month has in actuality been leading us to what will be emerging this coming week. Here’s what’s happening:

1. There will be a Full Moon on January 29 which is closely connected to the Solar Eclipse we had on the Jan 15.
2. On the very same day, Mars retrograde will oppose the Sun of the Full Moon. This marks the mid-point of the10-week retrograde period. This is the time when we can begin to see what the underlying meaning of the entire Mars retrograde cycle. Also, because of the nature of Mars and the Sun, it is likely to feel very intense and to therefore cause us to react strongly to whatever is being felt.
3. Finally and most important, this is the second occurrence of the Saturn square to Pluto which began on November 15, 2009. It is this difficult and sometimes even depressing transit that is setting the tone for what is happening now. It can be depressing because it is forcing those of us who are affected most, to face certain realities that challenge us and demand both fortitude and courage. Our structures, either physical or psychological, are going through a transformation and while they are necessary (Saturn), they often evoke a great deal of resistance to those very changes that must be made. Yet, at this time, reality must be faced. There is no choice. In fact, any denial that has occurred since the first time these planets were in square, will come back much more strongly this time, so that it can no longer be avoided.

Politics - The surprise election of Scott Brown, a Republican, over Martha Coakley for the Massachusetts Senate has revealed a far higher level of dissatisfaction with Pres. Obama and the Democratic Congress than was believed. I’m not sure why so many people were surprised, as I sure wasn’t, but that’s another story. So, within a few days, Obama announced a major shift in his approach to the economic problems and is asking for a variety of new reforms that he has avoided until now. He has proposed new, stricter regulations, especially on the super-huge banks and is listening to a different set of economic advisors as well. (By the way, did you know that the four biggest banks now control approximately 40% of our nation’s wealth?) The confirmation of Ben Bernanke to a second term as the head of the Fed is now in question, although the Obama administration is fighting to keep him in his position. An astrological look at how the present transits affect the chart of the Federal Reserve reveals a very high likelihood that big changes are coming to that organization, so it is very possible that Bernanke will have to be replaced by someone who appears to be far more sympathetic to ‘Main Street’ than in the past. Perhaps he may actually be sympathetic, though there have been no signs of it so far. Also, the entire health care bill is up in the air which had been the cornerstone of Obama’s first year in office. This is a huge political defeat for Pres. Obama. He invested an enormous amount of political capital on this bill, so that its defeat could be devastating to his ability to influence what is happening in the next year. By the way, Obama is extremely affected by the Mars retrograde in Leo, going over his Sun and affecting his Ascendant and Jupiter. He is really being hit hard by all that is coming forward this week. What people seem to be the most upset about is the gap between what he said during the campaign which elicited great hope for many people and what has actually happened during his first year in office. Whenever there is gap in expectations, the people (ruled by the Moon) can become very unhappy and vote in even more erratic ways.

Economics- The stock market has been dropping all week. Many reasons are being given, but perhaps one of the most important is that China has announced that it is going to slow down the growth of its economy, which has been booming. The effects of its tremendous growth is that it has been buoying up the rest of the world’s major economies, which has mitigated some of the worst effects of the U.S. and international economic slowdown. Other factors include the questioning of the reasons why the market has risen so much since last March and the lack of any reforms or regulations that would deal with the causes of the original problems themselves. Here is an article for those interested that goes into some of these issues:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/23/7-things-about-the-econom_n_433688.html

The Intent of the Mars Retrograde

The basic effect of this cycle is that it demands that we change our strategy of how we assert ourselves. Its effects while we are in the midst of the period is that we can have health problems, injuries, accidents and other Mars-related problems. That depends on how the retrograde affects our personal chart. It’s very much like a forced pull-back. No wonder many members of Congress are pulling back on the health care bill so as to re-evaluate how to move forward. One even suggested that Congress wait until mid-march before revisiting it. He probably didn’t know that Mars will go direct on March 10, right in line with his timing. Another possible effect is that we must move to a new location or at least set into motion actions that will lead to that later in the spring or early summer. It has to do with looking at our goals and adjusting them to the actual realities we are facing. This is a great time for the realists of the zodiac, because they’re looking pretty good right now.

Our Strategy

So what is the best strategy in dealing with possible changes and obstacles? I know this article is not as hopeful as many of my readers would like. It’s certainly not as fun writing as most of my newsletters. But I hope it is helpful in that if we can understand and accept the underlying tone of the times and know that whatever is occurring is temporary, it can assist us to handle things in a more functional and positive way. It won’t last forever. And if there are things we must do, the sooner we do them the better it will be for us. Specifically, Mars goes direct on March 10, 2010 and this summer things change quite radically as Jupiter and Uranus enter Aries and mark a very significant shift in our ability to move forward.

And finally, whenever we’re dealing with Saturn, the one thing I’ve noticed above all is that we always feel better when we handle the necessary issues with which we are confronted. When we do not, we feel worse, more pressure and more pessimistic. The pressure lifts when we accept what we must do. There is the famous quote of Dr. Carl Jung that applies here so I will end the article on that note. “The only freedom I have is to gladly do what I must do.”

As always, as the week moves forward, I would love it if you would write on our blog. The good and the bad.

Wishing you the best.

Jim Sher

The Coming Mars Retrograde

On December 21, 2009, Mars will go retrograde at 19 degrees of Leo and will remain retrograde for about 10 weeks when it will return to its normal direct motion on March 10, 2010 at 0 degrees of Leo. If you have the Sun, Moon or Ascendant in Leo or Aquarius in that range, it is likely you will be doing a lot of fundamental review of your life. However, as many of my readers may know, my view of retrograde planets is that the cycle actually starts much earlier. The moment Mars touched 0 degrees of Leo, the Mars retrograde cycle actually began. That was on October 17, 2009. Let’s go into this more deeply.

Mars rules the principle of self-assertion, how we act in the world and go after what we want. It rules strategy, such as the process of deciding how to take on the enemy and win a war. Obama has been going through a painful, slow process of deciding how to handle the Afghanistan problem and his Sun is 13 Leo, so this Mars retrograde affects him enormously. His Afghan strategy is likely to go through a further re-evaluation in the next several months that is likely to result in very significant changes in his war strategy. As in all retrograde cycles, this is an opportunity to examine things that could never be looked at while Mars is going forward. This is why it is so important. Mars only goes retrograde every two years, so when it does, the significance of this cycle is much greater, due to the infrequency of its occurrence. Also, it remains retrograde for what often seems like forever, so it can feel very frustrating.

TIME – one of the most interesting things about Mars retrograde is how slow things feel at this time. You may already be feeling it as Mars is barely moving now, even though it is 16 days before it will go retrograde. If you think about it, one of the primary ways we experience time is through our activity. When we are busy solving problems, talking to people, doing errands, etc., we hardly pay attention to time. It goes by very quickly. But if we are quiet, nothing is going on, or worse we feel frustrated by something in our lives that we aren’t able to affect, we feel that time is lasting forever. Perhaps the worst case is if you are depressed about something that has happened, you know you cannot do anything about it and simply feel totally stuck. In that state, we feel that time has literally stopped. Every breath can be counted, almost. Well, that is what Mars retrograde can feel like unless we understand what its intention actually is. Although we may be busy handling life problems, the Mars retrograde is about reviewing a fundamental strategy or approach we have in our life. This is what this cycle is for. And the timing of this review is not under our control. That alone can be more than a little frustrating. So, often we are forced to wait for more information or revelation. We want to move forward, but feel blocked and that is what is creating the frustration. Were we to expect nothing, and simply take what comes and do what we must in every situation that arises, we would not feel frustrated at all. The ‘review’ process will take care of itself, for we will be forced to examine something whether we like or not.

REVIEW – so what will be reviewing? The key date to pay attention to is back in October when Mars went into the ‘shadow’ of its retrograde cycle. The date, as I said, was October 17th. Whatever has been going on since then is exactly what areas on one’s life that will be re-examined. You won’t be able to cheat on this. We often believe that we have looked at everything we need to look at, that there is nothing more to see, and then Mars goes retrograde and everything changes and we see that something important isn’t working the way it should or needs to, so we are forced to look again at our strategy. Well, in a sense, we weren’t wrong to believe that that we were done. From the events back in October, November and December, everything we could know, is what we knew. We can’t prepare for something that has not yet been revealed. I know this is obvious, but astrologers often debate about how we can ‘prepare’ for a coming transit, and the good ones, at least in my opinion, know full well that one cannot cheat a transit. We try to figure out what will happen, but we know from experience that we can’t, yet we continue to try anyway. So, it is good to remember what our limits are. That’s our way of warning oneself and others about ‘hubris’, which from an astrologer’s view means believing one knows more than the gods. We are not set up to know more than what is given to us to know. So, what does this all mean for us? That we can relax and live in a calm state knowing that we cannot know more at this moment that what we do. We can’t do better than what we are doing. That can be a hard one, eh?

EXAMPLE – I used to be an athlete when I was younger and although my interest in sports has decreased enormously, there is one sport I follow and in particular one team. I follow basketball and specifically the Portland Trail Blazers. They are always teaching me something about astrology and frankly they really do need my help, but that’s another story. Hope Paul Allen is listening, though somehow I doubt it. Unfortunately for my little team, the leader and coach of the team have their Sun in Leo and have been suffering from this Mars retrograde cycle even though this little devil of a planet hasn’t even gone retrograde yet. Right from the start of season, the leader of the team, Brandon Roy, has been off his game. He’s been confused, saying things he would never say in the past about being frustrated, and so not only has he been playing poorly, but as a result the team has been losing. No one seems to know what to do, least of all Brandon. But that’s not enough. The coach, Nate McMillan, also a Sun in Leo, has never been as criticized and blamed as he is now. He doesn’t seem to know what’s wrong, everything he tries ends up failing, and the chemistry of the team has completely been off. Also injuries (ruled by Mars) on the team have piled up which upsets team chemistry and creates a lot of confusion. Even the owner and one of the coaches have been diagnosed with cancer. This is a team that appears to be snake bit. But that isn’t the end of it at all. To make matters worse, yesterday in practice, because there weren’t enough players on the floor, the coach steps in to help for a few plays and tears his Achilles heel and will need surgery. He will have to miss at least a few games, something he never does, and the team will have to go along without him. Sometimes I do think the gods must be laughing at us humans down here trying to make a go of it.

Now, Mars hasn’t even gone retrograde yet, but the set up occurs now. That’s my message to you. What occurs during the retrograde has been created ever since last October, so if there are surprises, it will be because we’ve not yet been able to see something that needs to be seen in order to know what to do OR we have seen it and do not know what to do about it OR we’ve seen it and know what to do about it, but haven’t figured out how to make it happen. All this will become clearer in the next few months and when March rolls around, we’ll know what to do and why. We will probably have already begun to institute the changes needed. So, although patience can be difficult when it comes to Martian energy, it is the best approach if you want to avoid frustration.

As you can guess it is the Sun in Leo’s who are apt to feel this the most. In fact, all the fixed signs (Aquarius, Scorpio and Taurus) will feel it too.

I’ll be writing much more on this topic as the retrograde cycle begins. Also, the next newsletter will introduce “Jack” in my “Jack & Jill” series and should be out soon.

If you want to learn more about how you are specifically affected by the Mars retrograde, I’d like to encourage you to contact me for an appointment.