The Great Venus/Mars 'Liberate Me!' Conspiracy of '09

2.1.09


The week ahead promises a noticeable shift in attitude, continuing to emphasize that flipping-of-chapters feeling already brought on by the Jan 25-26 solar eclipse in Aquarius.

Mercury is now in direct motion again. The Saturn-Uranus opposition forms its second exact peak on Thursday (Feb 5). And as if that weren't enough, both Venus and Mars will enter new signs over these coming days.

In short, while we may find ourselves still confronting those same familiar life-defining challenges, we should presently expect a different flavor of response. Better yet, we should insist upon it. Though we cannot foresee final results, we sense the bigness of what's likely to unfold… and all we have to do is step out, taking actions into unknown territory with bravery and trust that our fellow human beings will appear, at any such necessary juncture, to catch us if we stumble or fall.

Saturn and Uranus, pitted in tense 180-degree opposition to one another, provide the ongoing backdrop to this current era. This week, their oppositional exactitude reminds us it's an era of discord… challenging us to incorporate enough nerve-rattling chaos and unpredictability to breathe the desperately-hungered-for fresh life into the dregs of outdated culture, but not so much that it topples the very touchstones we rely upon to get us through the chaos sanely and with sufficient stability to sustain ourselves. Even when a moment's passing events carry us away from an immediate confrontation with this underlying historical fact, its discord persists. The first exact peak was only a few months back, in Nov 08, on the US's Election Day; obviously, we're still discovering what this synchronicity signifies.

Venus enters Aries, a sign of its detriment (a more debilitating sign/planet match), this Monday (Feb 2)… bringing with her a viral spreading of self-satisfying impulsivity, spurred by ultra-tempting offers to zoom off at the spur of the moment, leaving cares (and maybe a few preexisting interpersonal commitments) hanging in the dust of your zippy departure. Venus is thought to be poorly placed in Aries because Venus typically joins us together with others in compromise and coordination, while Aries is an energy of active self-possession, moved to independently pursue whatever draws it at that given minute, compelled more by the perpetual dynamism of the latest goings-on than by the need to slow down and ask anybody else's permission to proceed.

Yes, Venus in Aries increases the likelihood of spontaneous flirtations with individuals or experiences that, were we to calmly and rationally think about before slipping into, we might not choose to indulge in. We might recklessly seek out a moment's thrill without worrying about the outcome, frivolously spend our precious resources on something we'll later regret, or otherwise rush into uncharted territory. Of course we don't want to stop and consider it all more thoroughly—the thrills go hand-in-hand with that whole 'acting before thinking' thing.

This wouldn't ordinarily be such a major astro-influence, 'twere not for Venus's upcoming retrograde (Mar 6-Apr 17) making sure she'll pretty much remain in Aries through early June, instead of the usual three-to-four weeks. Without going too deeply into it right now, this essentially means you should probably forget about attaining clarity or stability in Venus-specific areas of life—namely, love and money—until the latter part of May. (For more about Venus retrograde in general, read my article from its last occurrence in Jul 07.) The theme of this hyperactive, first-this-way-and-then-that period of Venusian limbo? Bringing out the self-serving in all of us, in order to determine which relationships or financial agreements best nourish what our independent streaks crave… as well as to reveal instances where we're bending too agreeably over to pander to their needs, at the expense of following our own instincts.

For this first segment of Venus's protracted journey through Aries, she's disposited by a Mars in Aquarius, where he arrives on Wednesday (Feb 4) to stay through mid-March. This will only further the appeal of the contrary and the controversial, those acts intended to disrupt the status quo by somehow making a statement on behalf of progressive ideals or 'the greater good'. Mars in Aquarius fights for liberty and equality above all else—valiant goals in the abstract, though, in practice, a battle that often comes at great emotional cost. When we speak about a certain high-mindedness as 'terribly evolved', with a knowing touch of snide sarcasm, we are talking about just such intellectually justified iciness: using all the right concepts, in defense of taking actions that may 'liberate' one's self while simultaneously hurting someone else.

With Mars now in Aquarius, so close on the heels of an Aquarian eclipse and only adding further fuel to Jupiter's presence there as well, there's no question these next six weeks will provide many examples of status-quo-busting, apple-cart-upsetting, normalcy-thrown-out-the-window innovations and advancements presenting themselves to our awareness… shocking enough, perhaps, to elicit rather unexpected and unusual reactions on our part. That is: In response, we may profoundly surprise ourselves.

Playing to that experimental vibe in the air, many of us may test out behaviors without fully considering how we'll necessarily impact those in relationship with us, romantically, professionally or otherwise. Mars in Aquarius, after all, is the quintessential scientist on a hunt for knowledge who, in emotionally detaching from the lab-rat subjects of his investigation, is able to further his experiential understanding while conveniently ignoring the pain he causes other beings in the process. Hopefully, hearing the cries of those caught in the unforeseen crossfire of our impulsive quest for new experiences will be sufficient to startle us into acknowledging their suffering, an inadvertent result of our thoughtlessness, and make any necessary adjustments.

Still, over the coming weeks, we must rightly heed that which uniquely calls us, mustn't we?… knowing, with this fair astrological warning, the choice to listen to our personal written-just-for-me-and-nobody-else Truth may carry us away from certain familiarities, as well as toward certain curiosities that some of our longtime pals or confidantes just won't 'get'… that we may cause some drama (and/or pretend not to know that, of course, doing something so 'out there' is bound to cause some drama)… that we might change our minds a couple times (or more) about who to believe or discount, embrace or reject, make peace with or refuse to talk to… but, in the end, will probably preserve those interpersonal bonds that encourage us at our most primal individuality, will likely encourage others to do the same, and should plan on waiting a few months to see how it all shakes out.