Tag Archives: Mars

What’s New with You?

By Amanda Painter

As we emerge from yesterday’s Gemini New Moon and whatever you experienced with it, the theme of “new” appears to be carrying forward. Questions you might ask yourself include “Where in my life do I need something new?” and “What am I willing and able to do to seek, cause or attract it?”

Crescent Moon two days after last month's Taurus New Moon, viewed from the Kristin Linklater Voice Center in Orkney, Scotland. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Crescent Moon two days after last month’s Taurus New Moon (and Uranus ingressing Taurus), viewed from the Kristin Linklater Voice Center in Orkney, Scotland. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Note that since this astrology is happening as Mars prepares to station retrograde in Aquarius on June 26, those questions could have a background quality of feeling like you’re standing in contrast to everyone around you. You may want to track that over the next few weeks.

Since the Gemini New Moon made contact with a variety of objects around the zodiac, notice whether you feel like you had to juggle or synthesize several very different encounters, influences or perspectives. How is that process going for you? Do you feel closer to clarity on a particular issue or further from it?

With Mercury — the planet of the mind — in Cancer as of Tuesday, and Venus — the planet of receptivity and relationships — in Leo as of yesterday evening, you might be noticing a slight shift in how you’re perceiving and responding to those around you. Mercury in Cancer could be enhancing sensitivity (both empathetic and reactive); Venus in Leo tends to be compassionate, but with an inclination toward drama and a little more willfulness than is usually associated with Venus. Both of these planets are involved in aspects today and tomorrow that will likely emphasize these shifts in mental and emotional tone — as well as how you’re thinking and feeling about what kind of newness you need.

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Tilling the Ground

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By Amanda Painter

We’re in a week marked by movement and an impulse toward something new: on Tuesday, we had the Taurus New Moon, and Uranus entered Taurus; yesterday Mars entered Aquarius, and formed a square to Uranus. Between the adjustment phase that comes with planets in new signs and the fact that we’re going to get an echo of this energy later in the year, these recent movements are worth a closer look.

Post-pussywillows; photo by Amanda Painter.

First, think for a moment about the idea of tilling the ground when gardening. “Tilling” does not refer to harvesting the fruits of your labors; it’s not tending the plants during the growing season; and it’s not the actual seed planting that seems to start things off, either.

Tilling is what comes before all of that. It’s the preparation of the ground: preparation in the form of disrupting what had become settled, compacted, and dormant. Whether you use a horse-drawn plow, a small rototiller, an industrial-size agricultural tiller, or just a shovel and rake, this step is crucial for the planting and growth to come. Space must be made in the soil for best results in the months to come — the stabilizing roots can then reach further and draw more nutrients, allowing the rest of the plant to flourish.

Seasons of change work the same for human beings, though the process is often less ritualized and can happen any time of year. We fall into habits and routines; we get comfortable and stale; we allow limits to restrict us and lose sight that we can challenge them and push back. As a result, we often need to go through a conscious phase of disruption to make the space in which our next phase of growth can emerge and develop. You can think of it less as chaos and more like introducing a little room to reach your roots further, allowing you to branch out into the unknown.

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Opening the Parachute for Uranus in Taurus

Small, Meaningful Moves

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By Amanda Painter

We’re moving into the last half of Mercury’s current retrograde in Aries — and the contacts Mercury is making this week seem to be stirring things up for many people. If you’ve been feeling a sense of pressure lately, this astrology could be why.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

A combined square between Mercury in Aries and Mars and Saturn in Capricorn continues to be in effect today. Mercury square Mars was exact on Wednesday, and Mercury square Saturn is exact today — though they are really one event.

This aspect pattern is an image of tension — especially with Mercury in a hot, fiery, action-oriented sign, and its retrograde motion describing an inward direction (for at least some of that energy). If you’re feeling frustrated, you might notice how much of that energy is directed at yourself, versus how much of it you’re projecting (or unleashing) onto others.

Lots of people fall into negative thought loops when they have trouble expressing their anger and annoyance; that said, it’s also becoming more common for people to seek an outlet on social media. If that tends to be your go-to, you might notice whether people’s comments in response actually help you to transmute your frustration, or whether it serves to amplify it. There are reasons why social media is often referred to as an ‘echo chamber’ — though sometimes we do truly just need to say what we have to say and know that we’ve been heard and empathized with.

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Working and Communicating with the Libra Full Moon

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By Amanda Painter

Are you feeling both determined and frustrated this week? The sky is not only building to a Full Moon in Libra on Saturday, there’s some additional astrology that may be testing the balance between what you desire, what you feel obligated to do, and what’s actually reasonable to try to accomplish.

Tropical flora on Grand Cayman; photo by Amanda Painter.

The good thing about this kind of setup is that when there is friction or opposition from others, it can actually help you get clear on your priorities.

When everything is easy and everyone is mellow, it can be harder to get focused or fired up for what needs to happen. That said, even if you think you know what you want, current aspects suggest it’s wise to try on different perspectives, to listen closely to what others are expressing (including reading between the lines), and to move ahead with a measured pace.

The chart for this week’s Full Moon speaks to all of these factors, in multiple ways. Exact at 8:37 am EDT on March 31 (12:37 UTC), it has the Moon in early-mid Libra opposite the Sun and retrograde Mercury in Aries.

Straight away, Mercury both retrograde and so close to the Sun (they form a conjunction on Sunday, marking the midpoint of the retrograde), signals that checking one’s perspective is wise. Particularly in Aries, are you sure you are seeing beyond yourself and what you want?

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Chiron and the Pisces New Moon: What Have You Learned?

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By Amanda Painter

Saturday is the Pisces New Moon; it happens at 9:12 am EDT (13:12 UTC), conjunct the centaur Chiron and also square the Galactic Core in Sagittarius. This will be the last Pisces New Moon with Chiron also in Pisces; as such, it calls for a deeper or more focused level of review and introspection as you prepare yourself for a new phase of growth.

Students in the Granada Hills area of Los Angeles spelled out a message to lawmakers during a Wednesday walkout in response to gun violence, lying silently in the formation of “ENOUGH,” with 17 chairs lined up representing the 17 students killed in Parkland, FL, one month ago. Photo by NBC Los Angeles.

With Chiron having to do with raising awareness to facilitate healing, and Pisces relating strongly to the emotional-spiritual-creative nexus, and the Galactic Core often described as our ‘cosmic homing signal’, this configuration seems to pose some questions.

For example, what have you learned and how have you grown since 2010 (when Chiron entered Pisces)? You could also think in terms of your position within society and ask: Are we any closer to spirit/source/god/soul?

You might find that your answers to those two angles of questioning seem different. That is, you might feel like you have covered tremendous ground along your path of personal growth, and have worked hard to heal persistent emotional and psychological hang-ups and patterns; but then, when you look around you at the national and global news, it seems like the same chaos and pain is emanating from the same sources as usual. Maybe some (or many) situations feel even worse off than they did several years ago.

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Mars in Sagittarius — and a Few Other Adjustments

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By Amanda Painter

You know that feeling when you’ve been incredibly busy, or very focused on a project, and then those activities wind down but you feel momentarily adrift, or not sure where to channel your energy next? But then, almost as soon as you’ve thought that, the next thing comes along to keep your energy level up and engaged?

Photo by Amanda Painter.

That might be one way to think of Mars entering Sagittarius tomorrow, just six days after centaur planet Pholus left that sign. Mars leaves Scorpio, a sign it rules, and brings its fiery energy to fiery Sagittarius at 7:56 am EST on Friday (12:56 UTC).

The influence of Pholus in Sagg was something we kind of got used to for many years. In terms of the ‘runaway reaction’ Pholus signifies, we’ve witnessed it in the way the world seems to be spinning out of control. Long before Trump as president, before Uranus made its signature aspects to Pluto and Eris, we had Pholus adding some rocket fuel to life — in a segment of the zodiac that can already feel a little ‘out there’.

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A Penetrating Mind, and Mars Changes Sign