Fireball

3.5.07


As if a pair of eclipses isn't enough to spur some major movement…

This week features a grand trine—or three planets forming an equilateral triangle in the sky—in the element of fire. Fire brings forth physical energy, bravery and force… the impulse to act by instinct, fast and free and forward, rather than thinking or waiting or weeping about what's done and gone or may never happen.

Grand trines are a beautiful thing, in that they are the astrological equivalent of planetary teamwork. The planetary players involved in a grand trine work more harmonically together, coordinating their efforts in a flowing synergy, with bigger and better results than they'd reap independently of one another.

Anchoring the grand trine are Jupiter in Sagittarius and Saturn in Leo… a pair that unites (1) enthusiastic, big-view optimism with (2) a seasoned, strengthened sense of Self (capital 'S'), stripped of its egoic excesses. It's a blend that sincerely supports putting ourselves at the center of our dreams—and willing them into being.

Whenever Jupiter and Saturn are in harmonious position to one another (as they are over the next few months), it's a beneficial time to build lasting systems, structures or framework. Jupiter and Saturn are the primordial Bert and Ernie, or Felix and Oscar—virtual opposites in their contrasting drives to grow or to delimit, to expand or contract, to be venturesome and risky or responsible and conservative. When they're working well together, we can utilize the best of both their worlds.

This is an especially good arrangement now, with Jupiter at its happiest in the home-sign of Sagittarius. Jupiter spends one year out of every twelve in Sagittarius, where it inspires bolder ideas and broader vision, along with an existential wanderlust that makes us want to go new places (in the literal or metaphoric sense) we haven't been before.

Saturn in Leo helps ground Jupiter's exuberant expansiveness… reminding us to make sure our risk-taking matters in the life-spanning process of self-development. It's not enough to just run toward the most glittering mountaintop, for no other reason than it's somewhere other than here. To prevent a foolhardy waste of personal energy, we'll want to check in with ourselves: Is there a promise of self-discovery down the road we're heading? Is it an appropriate goal or destination for who we want to be? Will it connect us more deeply to our unique essence?

This week, the third point of the grand trine is Venus in Aries… a receptive hunger for relationships with people, possessions and experiences that'll fuel our sense of independence and excitement. With Venus in Aries, we're drawn to firsts, as a channel for a pioneering spirit that finds bliss in initiating advances into virgin terrain. How great, then, to have her admittedly at-times-rash-or-reckless spunk both boosted by Jupiter's wider perspective and Saturn's grounded rationality… framing a formula ideal for actually doing something big and real with our cruder desires.

As Jupiter and Saturn will remain (more or less) in their trining position through June, we'll have more opportunities to deploy this influence to our advantage. Grand fire trines will also form with (1) the Aries Sun in early April, (2) Mercury in Aries in mid-April, and (3) Mars, fiercer than ever when in Aries, in early June.

Rather than watching the skies for the fireballs, however, remember: The fireballs are us. So flick those lighters, and set yourself on fire…