Tag Archives: Mars

Living the Aries Point at the Airport (and Weekend Astrology)

By Amanda Painter

It always fascinates me when a personal event reflects not only the astrology, but also something about the cultural zeitgeist. I had one of those experiences early Monday evening, just a few hours before the Aries Full Moon peaked.

Heathrow airport in May; photo by Amanda Painter.

I was going through the security line to board a flight, and opted out of the scanning machine, requesting a pat-down instead.

This has been my policy for a number of years now: it’s kind of a solo, silent protest against the machines and their original privacy issues, and against the massive, barely questioned undermining of civil liberties swept in by the Patriot Act following the Sept. 11 disaster.

I realize a silent protest is not going to effect change, but I do it more for myself: as a way of claiming my limited power of choice in the situation, knowing that I am perfectly within my rights not to offer any explanation. Perhaps someone more hell-bent on making a point to ‘the authorities’ would make a statement, but what can I say? I am a practical Taurus; I want to get to my destination without missing my flight and having to pay for another one.

For me, it is enough to know that I am taking my space in a situation where there’s a lot of pressure — psychological and temporal — to just keep everything moving smoothly and not stand out. I know that as I stand there getting my pat-down, some people are probably wondering if I got flagged by security as a risk. So I guess there’s an element of wanting to be an example to others that it’s possible to go through this procedure without feeling like a victim: I am choosing this, and my reasons are my own.

Continue reading →

From Neptune to the New Moon

3 Replies

By Amanda Painter

Are you looking around this week wondering if you can believe what you’re seeing? I know, I know: for many, this has become the expectation, not the surprise. Yet as we wind down toward the Virgo New Moon on Sunday, your perception of the environment — and how that influences your direct interactions and immediate relationships — could use some attention and discretion.

Ridges on a caterpillar’s back mimicking the edges of the leaves it’s feeding on, making it hard to discern; photo by Amanda Painter.

I say that because one of the most important aspects between now and the weekend (and even beyond) is the Sun in Virgo making its yearly opposition to Neptune (which itself is taking a leisurely stroll through Pisces).

This is an aspect of slippery perception: one that warns us to be wary of deception, both intentional and the accidental kind that comes with being distracted by surface impressions and glamour.

This week’s social media brouhaha over Nike’s choice to feature Colin Kaepernick as the face of its latest “Just Do It” ad campaign is one example. Kaepernick, you may recall, is the NFL quarterback who began the trend in 2016 of kneeling during the national anthem as a silent racial justice protest.

Continue reading →

Back to School with a Handful of Aspects

Sun in Virgo, Pisces Full Moon, Mars Direct: Let’s Get On with It

4 Replies

By Amanda Painter

Today the Sun enters Virgo, the last sign of the season, at 12:08 am EDT (4:08:27 UTC). It does so as we approach a Full Moon in Pisces (on Sunday) and Mars stationing direct in Capricorn (on Monday). If you’re feeling a little bit in flux, or like you’re not quite sure if you’re coming or going, or like your impulses keep switching, these combined events might describe that.

Unexpected action: a seagull photobombs the 2015 Pisces Full Moon over Casco Bay, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Think about it: right now we have a combination of energy loosening (the season winding down), energy peaking (the Full Moon), and energy that’s waiting in potential, like a charged battery (Mars stationary).

I am writing this with the Sun in the last degree of Leo, and must confess that the storied ‘edginess’ of the last degree of signs is feeling very real to me. The frustration and stuck-ness of stationary Mars is feeling all-too-real to me today (hello, writer’s block — really, more like ‘writer’s rebellion’: I just don’t wanna!). And while the Virgo-Pisces axis about to be lit up by this weekend’s Full Moon is a very creative axis of manifestation, I’m not feeling tapped into it yet.

I usually try to keep this column less personal and just about the astrology, but damn: this whole summer of retrogrades and eclipses and whatnot has been an interesting trip. I’m still processing and plotting and questioning and dreaming and scheming and trying not to back away from the possibilities that are being pointed to by what I’m discovering. Some days, like this one as I write, it’s taken a lot of effort to get my head out of my own navel and do my job. So I hope you’ll bear with me — even more, I hope that if you’ve had any moments like what I’m describing, you can take heart in knowing that you’re not alone.

Continue reading →

Integration and a Mercury Station

2 Replies

By Amanda Painter

Although the astrology has been relatively quiet this first week following the eclipse season, I’ve definitely noticed a sense of things still feeling unsettled. Some of that may relate to Mercury and Mars still retrograde but nearing their respective direct stations. Some of it could be due to the fact that no matter how pivotal events like eclipses can be, we still have to figure out how to integrate them into the unbroken continuum of our daily lives — and of social contexts with much longer arcs.

Babbling brook at Camp Timber Trails, Tolland, MA. Photo by Amanda Painter.

For its part, Mercury will station direct in Leo this Sunday, Aug. 19, at 12:25 am EDT (4:24:38 UTC). Mars, which is now in late Capricorn, will station direct eight days later, on Monday, Aug. 27.

Both planets are slow right now, which according to astrological tradition, means they’re more powerful. This does not mean that they ‘make you do things’, but more that their significance is heightened. Slow, powerful, stormy Mercury may churn something up so that it comes more clearly to your attention; determined-but-frustrated stormy Mars could be asking you to understand your motivation and desires with absolute clarity before you charge ahead with them.

Inner planets stationing direct — along with events like eclipses — are often key times to notice themes in world events. Even if you’re not sure there’s a strong thematic link, it can be worthwhile to notice what grabs your attention and the headlines. I must confess, last week I just could not bring myself to deal with the news, despite that kind of contextualization being a hallmark of Planet Waves astrology writing. But as this week has progressed, a few particular stories have caught my eye.

Given how much news coverage is about disasters, it’s no surprise that many of the items I noticed are not uplifting — though there are a couple. Take, for example, reports on Wednesday that the last of Puerto Rico’s homes have had electricity restored.

Continue reading →

From There to Here, and Onward: Leo New Moon Eclipse

22 Replies

By Amanda Painter

On Saturday, Aug. 11, we’ll experience a partial solar eclipse with the Leo New Moon. This is the third and final eclipse of the current series. In modern Western astrology, eclipses are associated with the path forward into purpose — though a sense of purpose can be hard to come by with so much distraction and difficulty in the world, and at our fingertips.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

I say that eclipses are associated with purpose because when the Sun and Moon make their conjunction at 5:58 am EDT (9:58 UTC) on Saturday, they’ll be roughly conjunct the lunar North Node.

The Nodes are continually moving invisible points that represent the intersection between the path the Sun appears to make around the Earth from our perspective, and the Moon’s actual orbit.

When a Full or New Moon occurs near these points, we get an eclipse. In astrology, the South Node is associated with ‘karma’ — which you can also think of as overdeveloped character traits or comfortable habits that impede your growth, if you’re not into the idea of past lives. We associate the North Node with underdeveloped qualities or the life lessons necessary for growth — things that can also be thought of as your ‘soul’s path forward’ or ‘dharma’.

Dharma can also be translated as “acting as if to hold the world together” — or, as Eric wrote recently, “acting as if to hold the world.” No single person can actually, literally accomplish the feat of holding the world together. Yet what each of us can do is to be as conscientious as we can about always living our values and ethics; to behave with empathy, generosity and responsibility; to make choices that cause ourselves and others the least possible harm and greatest good; and being willing to move continually closer to what feels like a life lived with clear purpose.

Continue reading →

Between Eclipses, and Finding the Unknown

Remembering How to Care on the Cancer Solstice

1 Reply

By Amanda Painter

Today is the Cancer solstice: the day when the Sun ingresses Cancer. It’s the longest day of the year, kicking off summer in the Northern Hemisphere (in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the shortest day and winter begins). And this year, two of the strongest themes of Cancer certainly are at the forefront of U.S. consciousness: taking care (or not), and emotions/sensitivity.

Excerpt from "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus; photo of a mural in Phoenix, Arizona.

Excerpt from “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, 1883, on the Statue of Liberty; photo of a mural in Phoenix, Arizona.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent a decent amount of time this week making calls to various political officials and departments, signing petitions, and getting pulled into heated social media exchanges — all regarding the continuing separation and detention of young children from their parents at the U.S. border. As I write this on Wednesday, news is breaking that Pres. Trump has signed an executive order to reverse this policy — one that was implemented by his Administration.

While that strikes some as good news on the surface, it does not undo the trauma caused to thousands of children (most appallingly), to their parents, and even to the Immigration employees tasked with carrying out the separation and commanded not to comfort the crying, terrified kids. Additionally, the executive order appears to set up an even more complicated situation. (Addendum: it looks like crossing the border without permission could become a felony rather than a misdemeanor; and, there appears to be no plan to reunite children with their parents or to track them. I’m also seeing reports of a history of giving separated kids psychiatric drugs to keep them subdued. Please see today’s Democracy Now! post for more information on the deepening mess.)

Continue reading →