Right on the solstice and hours before the Full Moon, the U.S. federal government was shut down over whether $5 billion should go to “the wall” along the southern border. Just wondering — do we really need that much money for a wall, right now? This very minute, such that it’s worth closing dozens of departments and putting hundreds of thousands of people out of work?
Chart for the shutdown of parts of the federal government, at midnight Saturday morning, with the Sun a quarter of a degree into Capricorn, and the Full Moon about 16 hours behind.
Here is something interesting that I’ve just about always found to be true, as in dependably so. Full Moons tend to release an impasse. In this case, however, that didn’t seem to work — the problem being that even Republicans in the Senate were not interested in funding “the wall.” One week ago I wrote a caution about unusual developments in government, and how they could open up a kind of cascade effect.
The shutdown occurred in advance of the Full Moon, so the spring had not yet sprung — and has yet to do so. What we’re hearing as an excuse for this action is unrelated to the actual issue; that is something deeper. We could say that the problem is government by tantrum, which is not government at all. We are not seeing a shutdown but rather a meltdown.
The question is why we tolerate this kind of behavior, particularly in conducting the affairs of state — which this past week also included several spontaneous military decisions made without consulting high command. This resulted in the resignation of the secretary of defense, for whom this was just too much.
Looking forward, the news this week is that after making a conjunction to let-off-the-brakes Pholus, the Sun will be making a conjunction to apply-the-brakes Saturn. That’s still more than a week out, though we’ll be feeling it as a more sober attitude.
Mars Conjunct Chiron
The standout aspect this week is Mars conjunct Chiron in Pisces. This is the last of five Mars-Chiron conjunctions in the approximately eight years that Chiron has been in Pisces. Mars-Chiron aspects are about addressing maleness in a holistic way. They are a reminder of the essential humanity of men, and the injuries that men face and must grow from.
Chiron and Achilles, ca. 1873, by Doukas Ioannis (1841-1916); National Gallery (Athens).
The Mars-Chiron conjunction in Pisces is the essence of the spiritual warrior. It’s about the conscious use of volition, of intention, of desire and of motivation. We have a lot of Mars issues in our society, and they are not limited to men. We could say a lot about the whole matter of intention and honesty of the choices that we make.
Mars and Chiron can work well together, though this takes some real mindfulness. Both posses warrior spirits, though Chiron serves as a teacher of ethics, of medicine, and of surgery — as part of his warrior training. Borrowing a bit from Chogyam Trungpa (the most elegant writer on the topic, in The Sacred Path of the Warrior), there are two approaches to this, that of the setting Sun and that of the Great Eastern Sun.
The Great Eastern Sun approach to Mars-Chiron is that we have the seeds of healing right in the problem we are facing. There is nothing to escape from, only to connect with, using our own wisdom and awareness. It is about finding meaning under ordinary circumstances, and under adverse ones, as well as “exalted” ones.
In my rendition of astrology, Mars is about claiming the power of decision, which is a combination of knowing what you want, and wanting the greatest good for all concerned. Mars is about asserting what you want, and standing up for yourself when you have to. Mars is about having an honest relationship with your desire nature.
In contact with Chiron, Mars will render many issues of this particular variety transparent and open to the light.
Several times I’ve seen that when a slow-moving planet makes its last exit from a sign it’s been in for a while, Mars will sweep by and make a conjunction; this is a kind of sendoff.
The aspect takes place at 12:41 am Eastern on Saturday, Dec. 29. It’s a relevant one for those who are interested in growth and in healing some of the deepest injuries we face, whatever side of maleness or Mars you may be on.