In all probability, only the perspective of posterity will allow a full appreciation of the busy astrology during the week just past. Appropriately, it all got off to a start with the Sun and Moon sharing the same degree of Sagittarius with the core of our galaxy on Dec. 18. As New Moons go, it was above and beyond. Yet, it was also only a beginning.
Little more than a day after a Sagittarius New Moon for the ages, Saturn came home to Capricorn for the first time in nearly three decades. The very next day, the Sun followed Saturn into Capricorn to precipitate an unprecedented solstice.
The new season had barely gotten underway when the last Mercury retrograde of 2017 ended on Dec. 22 (or Dec. 23, depending on what side of the Atlantic you reside). Last, but not least, Venus joined the Sun, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn for Christmas.
Any one of the astrological events during the last week could easily have been the highlight of many a month. Indeed, you would be well advised to keep an eye on any earthlings born during that time. Even so (and all along) there has been a subtle, yet very pervasive undercurrent represented by Mars in Scorpio moving into this Thursday’s water trine aspect with Neptune in Pisces.
With the passage of time, it could very well be Mars trine Neptune that astrologers refer to when making sense of this year’s final days. With something more than a cursory look at the zodiac for today and tomorrow, you can see it now.
Earlier today, for example, the Aries Moon reached 90 degrees of separation from the Capricorn Sun for the monthly aspect known as the lunar first quarter. Not incidentally, Aries is one of two signs (along with Scorpio) where Mars has dominion. What’s more, Capricorn is where Mars is exalted.
In other words, both luminaries (the Sun and Moon) are shining forth from a background in which Mars is a substantial theme. The same can be said for Venus, Saturn and Pluto (all now clustered in Capricorn). Ditto for Jupiter (also in Scorpio with Mars), and Uranus (hanging out at the end of Aries).
Since the ruler of Sagittarius is Jupiter (and because Sagittarius is, after all, a fire sign) it would not be too much of a stretch to say Mercury is also expressing itself through a good bit of Martian influence.
Basically, for all but one of the sign-ruling planets (Neptune, in its own Pisces dominion), Mars is the boss right now. That’s what makes this approaching water trine aspect from Mars to Neptune so important.
The astrology of Neptune is a bit murky, to say the least. After all, Neptune has made only a little more than one orbit of the Sun (and one complete circuit of the 12 zodiac signs) since it was first identified while moving through late Aquarius in 1846. That’s not much experience to draw upon. As a result, any given astrologer’s interpretation of Neptune tends to say more about the person than the planet.
By comparison, Mars is as familiar as the back of your hand. Whenever the word “I” is used, Mars is there. Wherever the self asserts in response to its environment, Mars is there too. Whether struggle is faced or initiated, Mars has always been and will always be present. For good or ill, Mars either pushes or pushes back.
Were it not for Neptune, Mars might be all we have right now. And that’s how the undercurrent of Mars 120 degrees away from Neptune could very well make this final week of 2017 more than any other factor.
Because astrology is not only about what happens. More than anything, astrology has to do with awareness, choice and (above all) learning more than anybody who has gone before about both yourself and that which is not you.
For the handful of days ahead of us, try pushing yourself to learn something new that is not about you. By doing so, you will be honoring the inherent initiative of Mars, but in a way that is anything but familiar. If you can do simply that, you will be honoring Neptune as well. You will also very possibly be taking both your life and the world somewhere besides where it has too often gone before — and need not go again.
Offered In Service
The Art of Becoming, the 2018 Planet Waves Annual by Eric Francis, will be your best guide to the major astrological shifts ahead. If you pre-order now, you’ll not only get all 12 signs of the written reading for $99, but we’ll include three extra videos covering the forthcoming sign changes of Saturn, Chiron and Uranus.
Fire and water- seeking balance. Thank you for the overview, and the undercurrent.
Always to be found in your astrology (Mr. Len) are the deep insights of its artistry. What came into my awareness were the rebroadcasts on npr: ‘Fresh Air’ and ‘the1A.org’. On ‘Fresh Air’ with Terry Gross was Lin-Manuel Miranda from the Broadway Play “Hamilton”. On ‘the 1A’ was the producer Jeffrey Seller of the play ‘Hamilton’. Tickets to see the show range from $400-600 dollars, but seems or are worth the price of admission after so many awards. I relate to this through some young people who are growing up hearing rap on the radio, but there’s hearing mostly the dark side of rap. Eric mentioned about this: “Its like keeping the ocean out with a spoon”.