Astrology of 1/18-1/24: A Martian To Be Or Not To Be

(Image: Open the Floodgates by James Springall)

Mars in Pisces square Saturn in Sagittarius is a deeply philosophical storyline for the week, bringing up the question of how to direct the will responsibly, according to our authentic sense of truth. It’s basically as a transit, the To Be Or Not To Be speech in Hamlet. I find Mars in Pisces here to be dealing with the question of how to outwardly exist when one has transcended the world somehow or is disillusioned by what we collectively call Reality… varying from if one should just fade away into the background and not make a single splash, or if one should go all out and change the world and maybe get famous in the process. Or you know, something inspired.

January 19

Mars in Pisces square Saturn in Sagittarius: 1:15 AM PST

Mars has freshly made a conjunction with Chiron in Pisces and this transit also highlights the Saturn-Chiron square which is building, that I haven’t yet gotten to talk about – stay tuned because I will soon!

Mars likes to be impulsive, but the configuration with Saturn here asks that Mars check itself and act according to a code or harvest of conditioning (Saturn) that empowers Mars’ impulse to be in integrity. Think of areas in your life which your first impulse is pretty radiant, and you just so totally trust yourself. Then think of areas in your life where your first impulse shoots you in the foot. The first is where Mars gets to access a positive Saturnian harvest. The second, is asking for some more intention, accuracy and forethought before drawing the arrow back and shooting. Luckily, Mars positioned in this way with Saturn can do something like make us quick and time slow….way….down. (Think slow-motion bullet scenes in the matrix….)

• Situations with history or historic implications crop up – you have been here before. Mars in Pisces is at a first quarter square to Saturn, which means “crisis in action”. A medicine of this transit is not to act on impulse or reactiveness, but to make a different choice than one has made in the past when a similar trigger arose. There is often actually granted spaciousness, in terms of time, to facilitate this.
• We stay in samsara and create karma when we react to situations in a way that is out of alignment with truth. Mars in Pisces doesn’t ask for non-action or non-reaction, but it does ask for inspired action. When there is no inspired choice, Mars in Pisces meditates and seeks answers from Source. Mars in Pisces speaks to inspired action as much as it speaks to ineffectual action. The difference comes through really listening to what is being asked.
• The possibility for some actions to be blocked for reasons we do not yet understand, which end up being compassionate or benevolent.
• There is support at this time to deliberate or consider before making choices. The first impulse for action may be revealing (we have something to learn from it), but continuing to evolve the impulse into something we can love the consequence of is where the magic is.
• Saturn in Sagittarius: with knowledge comes responsibility. Mars in Pisces is a vibration that varies in its extreme forms from not doing anything with its magical awareness and dwindling away, to being messianic. Inspired action that comes from Mars in Pisces can be like a ripple in the pond that changes the whole world. And yet, taking action on the Piscean layer of reality can also feel like throwing a boulder in a pond. It’s a weird feel, to influence reality. The courage of this transit has something to do with being willing to affect reality. Pisces can be gentle, but powerful.
• When people willfully enter into combat with each other such as in a dojo, both parties love the other and are learning from the other. Saturn in Sagittarius square Mars in Pisces makes Reality itself the dojo. Imagine if our reality structures (Saturn), on a philosophical and then experiential level, let every single aspect of this life be as meaningful, vital and sacred as an exchange in a dojo.
• When people possess strength, they often become suited with the responsibility to wield that strength with justice. Meaning, they don’t impose it over others but actually help others up. Situations that highlight this may arise.
• Part of the responsibility of the structure (Saturn) is to create a reality in which it is easier and easier to thrive.
• When we might actually “have it together” (Saturn) or in the specific arena that we do, some Mars in Pisces options arise: a) for our structures to be influenced by the Tao, to not become overly rigid in that authority and b) to extend love and encouragement toward others.
• There is a violence in the concept of “right” and “wrong”, and we do this violence to ourselves and others. It creates conditional love, judgement, victimization and persecution, and everyone suffers for it. “Love” and “not love” might be a suitable replacement for this mental construct though it is not a direct translation.
• In general, impulses that arise from this transit on the Martian level are springing forth from Saturn in Sagittarius… Saturn in Sagittarius can be total bullshit, or it can be an authority of truth. Mars in Pisces will relate to that by being delusional, or self-undoing (according to Saturn’s total bullshit), or illuminated and inspired, profoundly healing (according to Saturn’s radiant authority of truth). There is of course, a spectrum.
• Intuitive action that is sourced from magical or shamanic practices you trust can resonate with the vibe of this transit… i.e. feeling assisted by ancestors or a particular lineage.
• Importantly, Mars in Pisces signifies co-creation. You can’t control the outcome, but you can set the intention and draw the arrow, do your part.

Sun enters Aquarius: 1:24 PM PST

We start Aquarius season now! Rather than get into what this means, I just want to invite you to hold in your mind that Aquarius season has begun. It will be the energy of the Sun, what the Sun is radiating, for this time. Collecting observations of Solar seasons over time is a special way to bond wth the archetypes. It’s also the time that we celebrate the birthdays of people in our lives who are born in these zodiac seasons, so if you start to feel what energies your solar returning friends have in common, you might uncover some personal insights about Aquarius as well as how you relate to Aquarius as an archetype.

Last Quarter Moon in Scorpio: 2:13 PM PST

• This Last Quarter Moon happens with the Sun in 0 degrees Aquarius and Moon in 0 degrees Scorpio. When the signs are at 0 degrees, they are full of potential: the sense is that they can really go anywhere, as though they are in a car with a full tank of fuel, a map, and an open road. Though it would be more Aquarian to replace that car with an interdimmensional, time traveling space disk.
• “Freedom is not free” came to mind for this one. Liberation as an experience in life (Aquarius) is intrinsically connected to Scorpio’s process of sex-death-rebirth cycles. The deeper we penetrate into our own interior mysteries; the more that comes up for us to deal with and process. Yet each space that we free up in that process becomes a place where we have a laser-like power of free will, where before we were bound by subconscious drives and psychic hooks. If there is something in your life you wish you were “free of”, this might be a time to consider where, on the inside, you are psychically connected to that experience and why.
• The opposite process of the one above, would be to consider something that electrifies and excites you, and consider how you can connect with that frequency. Scorpio is all about moving away or moving toward, repulsion and attraction. Which one you choose (attracting or repelling) in any given scenario is up to you, and can be the medicine you need.

(Image: Daniel Barret0)

• Scorpio Moons bring the emotional temperature to intense. If you have the ability to plan ahead for this one or like to do that kind of thing, think about what nourishes your nervous system and give yourself that. Scorpio Moons create a deep lens of reality, so it can kind of dramatize the experience it’s touching. It makes the ordinary suddenly soulful. A friend once emphatically told me, “It’s ALWAYS important to know when the Moon is in Scorpio,” and I’d agree! It’s easier to feel paranoid or feel betrayed, for example, when the Moon is here. For some reason, knowing it’s lunar helps it pass through instead of becoming something we fixate on. Scorpio itself, rules fixation, and we fixate on things unconsciously (compulsively) and we can also consciously focus on whatever it is we wish to. This is what the Moon’ll be up to – so – think of how you might want to harness that intensity.

January 20

Venus in Pisces sextile Mercury in Capricorn: 5:53 AM PST

• This adds a dreamy, mystical quality to communications (whether social or internal, journalling or making art, etc.). When something escapes our articulation, that basically means its magical! It’s beyond the communicative, linguistic, or expressive structures we have already put in place, and so it symbolizes a new frontier. The phrase “words could never explain” has always bothered me because it is using the very tool (language) it says will not suffice to communicate a concept. The borders and rules of our given toolset of communication are capable of being flexible, especially if we will watch how we are either governed or liberated (or both?) by logical structures. This sextile aspect speaks to the potential to delve deeper into the mystery and defining that mystery by choice, or to otherwise leave something (mysterious) as is.
• Expression can take on imagistic, or metaphoric qualities. We may need to use other means to evoke feelings or sensations.
• Misunderstandings, or something not functioning as planned, can become magical gateways – they show where clarity can be elevated. If it were meant for you to love the entirety of creation (Venus in Pisces, on an ethical level, would certainly say so), little rough spots can easily be loved up or ignored right now. The magic is in loving them up.

January 23

Mercury in Capricorn sextile Neptune in Pisces: 1:29 PM PST

• Very similar vibe to the Venus-Mercury transit. One difference is that Neptune is a higher octave of Venus. While Venus has a possessive side to it in terms of being possessive of people or material possessions, Neptune not so much – Neptune will however, hold steadfast to illusions until they get washed away. While Venus can be where we experience heartbreak, Neptune is where we experience disillusionment. Likewise, Venus is where we experience pleasure and heart-opening, and Neptune is where we experience enhanced connectivity to all things; a sense of being totally at one with everything and at peace (unconditionally).
• Thinking of Mercury with Neptune, an image comes to mind of mental constructs (Mercury in Capricorn) being the tracks through which the waters of actual infinity (Neptune) can flow. We might be prepared to receive that which…. we are prepared to receive. If you are wanting more magic in your life, consider what your mental constructs are setting you up for. Life might not always be what we judge to be good circumstances, yet everything can be glittering with magic if there is some way that we mentally connect to reality in a way that inspires us. Sometimes as a culture we are so lost in logical structures that make up our reality that we forget these structures are ours to create and play with in the first place – that they are just the map mapping reality, and not reality. Without even knowing some transcendent truth of which you want to construct logic around, the imagination/meditation may loosen things up and get you there pretty quick.
• Functionality meets magic and vice versa.

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I’m having a great week – I’ve been doing tons of readings and getting to chat with many of you over Skype. Thank you for putting me to work and I look forward to doing more. If you are new here and would like to receive the forecasts to your email every week, sign up for my mailing list here.

With love,

Sabrina Monarch

Sabrina Monarch is a soul-centered Evolutionary Astrologer who publishes weekly astrological forecasts. She has been collecting astrological experience for over a decade. She also enjoys yoga, hiking and creative writing. You can subscribe to receive her weekly forecasts by email here.

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