Astrology’s feel for the weekend coming up is subtle, but significant. The Sun is now well into the last week of its annual tour in Capricorn. The Moon is waning in Leo, and on its way to enter Virgo as Saturday segues into Sunday. Mercury (in direct motion again since last weekend) is gathering speed while retracing the steps of its recent retrograde.

It would appear on the surface as if the cosmos were taking a breather, and consolidating itself. Yet, somewhat below the surface is a fiery theme. It’s almost as if something was baking away unseen in a celestial oven, patiently (if not intently) marking time.

Jupiter (ruler of fiery Sagittarius) is practically standing still. From its nearly stationary position in Libra, Jupiter is holding a long and amplifying (if not confrontational) opposition to Uranus and Eris in fiery Aries. In addition, Jupiter is essentially bolstering Saturn’s defining (if not confining) presence precisely sixty degrees away in Sagittarius.

As aforementioned, the Moon is currently drying out in fiery Leo so soon after having swollen to fullness in watery Cancer. And then there is red, red Mars: currently steaming things up in Pisces while on its way to merge with Chiron as Monday rolls over into Tuesday.

When it comes to either the upside (energy) or downside (inflammation) of fire’s symbolism, astrologers tend to look at Mars first. Mars rules Aries. That’s another way of saying that Aries is where Mars makes its home. In order to understand the analogy, think about your own residence.

When you are away from home, many of your possessions remain there. The variety and distribution of your stuff reflects who you uniquely are, and your DNA is all over the place. The same principles apply to how astrology correlates the signs with planets. No matter where Mars the planet actually is, part of it is always home.

Mars is also what astrologers call “exalted” in Capricorn. Think of a planet’s sign of exaltation as being its time-share vacation condominium, and you have a serviceable handle on that concept, too. Finally, wherever there is either emblematic fire (such as Leo and Sagittarius) or an implication of steam (Scorpio) on the zodiac, you can depend on Mars having something to do with it as well.

When you look at how Uranus and Eris in Aries are providing the big-picture background for our current era of astrology, you also know that picture is hanging where Mars lives. When you contemplate the Sun, Pluto and Mercury combining to do a little earth-shaking in Capricorn, it’s understood that Mars is at least co-hosting the party (along with Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn).

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When you consider how much energy Mars brings with it, you can’t consider its current company in Pisces (Venus, Neptune, Chiron and Pallas — to name just a handful) without conceding it is Mars that is warming up the pool.

It would be fair to say that Mars has its figurative fingerprints all over the celestial scene right now. Nearly everywhere on the zodiac, Mars is (directly or indirectly) in the process of provoking irritation, stimulating action or just plain cooking.

Hence a reason to keep an eye out for Mars in your life this weekend. When and where you feel the energy, seek to apply it creatively and constructively for best results. In any cases of either literal or symbolic inflammation, don’t neglect to be a cooling and soothing influence in order to balance things out. Finally, wherever and whenever you see smoke or smell cooking, don’t forget that there’s a fire where that came from.

There’s an old saying that fire is a very good servant, but a very bad master. The same applies to how the astrological Mars manifests on Earth. If you can remember that this weekend, the chances of your being a creative and skillful (if metaphorical) cook will be greatly enhanced.

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