Dear Friend and Client:

As mentioned, the horoscope and full-length article will return next week. After many weeks of high-intensity coverage of Mars retrograde, the grand cross and the eclipses, I needed a moment to cool down and catch up.

Photo by Eric Francis.

I plan to be back this coming Friday, May 16, with full coverage of Mars stationing direct, which happens Sunday, May 19.

That is soon. Mars stations direct one week from Sunday. Mars is already in the degree where it turns around and begins apparent forward motion; that would be 9+ Libra. Mars will move just two-thirds of a degree over the next nine days — movement comparable to Saturn. That is an invitation to really reflect on what this Mars retrograde has been about.

This process has stirred up some profound questions for many people and has ushered in what seems like a time of total transformation. Much of this involves the nuances of the inner relationship — a person’s sense of contact with himself or herself. This in turn has extended into relational dynamics between people, in the form of long overdue questions coming into focus.

One factor in all of this involves the nuances of sexual nature, something so rarely spoken of that words barely exist to describe it. Put simply, regarding intimacy, many are now discovering what they want, or that they don’t have what they want.

As a society, what we’re experiencing is the result of the commodification of desire and intimacy. Then there is desire, mingled with guilt. Then there is receiving, mingled with resentment.

Much of what we’re experiencing is having our own desire sold back to us — not as satisfaction but as hunger. Porno is just one example of this. Victoria’s Secret is another. Much of what passes for entertainment is yet another. How these commodities have taken over consciousness is the real issue. I cover the results of this in one of the best-ever editions of Planet Waves FM, called The Walk of Shame.

I would propose that Mars, in retrograde in Libra, is currently in revolt, and is demanding authentic contact. That’s described in two aspects this weekend.

Venus Opposite Mars; Mercury Square Neptune

Two aspects happen nearly simultaneously Sunday. Venus and Mars reach full polarity in an opposition from Aries to Libra. The two are placed in one another’s signs, with Mars retrograde.

One of our blog participants, Barbara Koehler, is an astute astrologer, and she described this aspect as “part of a stretching process; testing the elasticity of our souls as well as our bodies. It most certainly is associated with all the recent cardinal cross and eclipse stuff. We need to be as pliable as possible for the ensuing energy and the activity it will manifest as. Mutable signs facilitate that and so do oppositions. Call it growth.” This is discussed in a post called Planetary Yoga and the Quest for Integrity.

Photo by Eric Francis.

I give more detail in this short post on the concept of an opposition.

The second aspect to be aware of this weekend is Mercury in Gemini square Neptune in Pisces. There is a strong need for integrity, discernment and correct speech under this aspect, which I describe in this short post about evaluating what you hear and what you say.

These are from our new shorter-format daily, which will now post five nights a week and be available several hours earlier than before, for the benefit of those in Australia and New Zealand. Here are all posts so far in that category. They post to our main website Sunday through Thursday at about 8 pm EDT.

Note: Direct email of the new format daily post will soon be available to our subscribers only. We will be sending an opt-in next week.

One other thing — as Mars retrograde draws to a close, I suggest you review my most complete coverage of the grand cross we all experienced. That came out March 21 — ages ago. The article is called Cardinal Grand Cross: A Matter of Trust.

We will see you next with the Tuesday morning letter.

Lovingly,

Planet Waves (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday and Friday morning in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Annual subscription rate: $88/year. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves is produced by a team consisting of Hillary Ghee, Elizabeth Michaud, Amanda Painter, Amy Silver, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick and Chad Woodward. Special thanks to the Fact Checkers List, which goes over each edition on Thursday night — and to our main astrology fact-checker Alex Miller, and Amanda, who goes over all their suggestions. Our editions are also proofread and fact-checked by Jessica Keet.