March 24th ~ 31st
“Recherche de l’Absolut” by Rene Magritte
Mars enters Cancer March 25th
Slow and steady wins the race. ~ Aesop
The planet Mars first entered Gemini way back on August 20, 2022. And because of its retrograde phase which lasted from October 30th thru January 12th, it is only now finally leaving Gemini and entering Cancer on March 25th. That’s an extraordinarily long time for the pent up warrior to be agitating any particular sign. It usually only takes two months for Mars to raise the appropriate amount of mayhem before moving on to the next sign. I’m sure there are quite a few Gemini Sun, Moon, Ascendant and Midheaven people dusting themselves off and happily showing Mars the door.
Perhaps one of the things that made the Mars transit through Gemini that much more exasperating, were the extended squares to Neptune that permeated the general atmosphere with a distasteful fog for weeks on end. The last of these was only a few weeks ago. Mars was also out of bounds for much of the time it has been in Gemini, inciting it to wreak that much more havoc. So it is with a certain amount of relief that no sooner does Mars enter Cancer this weekend that it also makes a stabilizing trine to reality-centered Saturn.
For those who have been feeling somewhat scattered, and like they’ve been running on a hamster wheel going nowhere fast, this is a much less frenetic type of energy where we are more inclined to put up our feet for a bit. Mars can still carry its own sort of unexpressed resentment here, but with the trine to Saturn, it should turn the energy down a notch. We do tend to circle the wagons when Mars is in Cancer, defending our own: our turf, our family, our loved ones, our home, and the things that we rely on to support and carry us. It’s especially good for activities on or near the water, with family, and for women’s rights or causes. Cancer stuff. But it is the trine to Saturn that will win the day this week. Not by running. But by a slow and methodical patience, that covers all the bases, and takes care of the details.
What this week is good for:
Activities that require patience, planning and discipline. Things that we normally put off, but now have the discipline to follow through with.
Good time to set goals for yourself, both long and short term. Just by sheer persistence you will make progress, even if it doesn’t feel like you are doing so at the time.
In order to do something well, we need to make sure we understand the basics. Mars/Saturn ensures that we will. Everything depends on the foundation.
Activities that require persistence, and increase strength and fortitude: hiking in the woods, long distance running, mountain climbing. Things that require Mars/Saturn endurance.
Pluto in Aquarius March 23rd
It’s only after you’ve stepped outside of your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow and transform. ~ Roy T. Bennett
Pluto made its first dip into Aquarius on Thursday, March 23rd. It will still only be in the first degree of Aquarius when it stations for its retrograde phase on May 1st, eventually returning to Capricorn on June 11th. Just a brief preview in Pluto terms. Pluto moves so very slowly from its far reaches in the outer belt of our solar system. It can be equally as glacial in its effects. So we might not see anything all that miraculous as it first enters Aquarius, but by the time it reaches the last degree of Aquarius 20 years from now, we probably won’t even recognize ourselves, our lives, and the world that we are living in. Know that whatever changes Pluto brings to whatever department of our life it is moving through, are bound to be profound, and often life-changing as well.
However, now that Pluto is in Aquarius, it is functioning through a different lens and value system. And with this initial short stint in Aquarius, it is just getting us acclimated to what those values are, and may be going forward. In the long term there will be grand social changes, which will impact everyone. But we will also be redefining our own relationship to wherever we have the sign of Aquarius in our own natal charts.
Inspired by philosophers of the enlightenment era, both the Declaration of Independence in the United States and the early ideals of the French Revolution in 1789 began to change the way we do government, and served as an inspiration to other nations as well. Although the French Revolution devolved into a reign of bloody terror, and ultimately ended up replacing a monarchy with an Emperor, it did inspire the Haitian war of Independence and furthered radical political ideals based on the fundamental principle that the people have power.
Lacking their own representation, a strong and emerging middle class rose up in France, carrying the banner for such idealistic notions as Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood. All Aquarian ideals. It can be argued that as a result of the revolution of 1789 the people were able to put an end to the feudal system, take down the monarchy, and establish laws fairer laws that would further representation of all the people. The sort of things that we associate with democracy.
What might we anticipate with the upcoming Pluto in Aquarius? Much depends on humanity as a whole. But here are some areas where we might expect to see some gradual but perhaps revolutionary changes over the next 20 years that Pluto will be in Aquarius:
Power to the People: Aquarius is a sign that is inclined to focus on what is best for the greater good, not just one isolated group or individual. Under Pluto in Capricorn there can be a tendency to want to isolate and limit power, concentrating the control, power and wealth at the top. In Aquarius, the power comes from below, from the people, and smashes caste systems, financial inequality, monopolies and authoritarian regimes.
The Greater Good: It is understood within the Aquarian paradigm that when we collaborate, rather than compete against one another, we can make the most use of all of our talent, ingenuity and skill within the community, and use it to our greater advantage.
Technological Advances: The last time Pluto was in Aquarius, the Industrial Revolution was spawned reorganizing and redefining the concentration of wealth in society as a result. With Pluto in Aquarius for the next 20 years we are likely to see technological advances beyond our wildest imaginings. The sorts of advances that can literally change our lives.
Freedom, Brotherhood and Equality: At its most ideal expression, the sign of Aquarius has a very large tent, where all people are welcome to live with equal representation, acceptance, and personal freedom. However, these can only be accomplished through systemic and endemic change. A slow, evolutionary process that can eventually change society from the inside out.
Challenges we are likely to have to work through:
The Mob Mentality: When the power of the people devolves into tribalism, or an ‘us against them’ mentality, our individual motives and ideals can get twisted and lost in zealotry and extreme views. People tend to do things within the excitement of a group that they would never think of doing on their own. This can lead to riots, and collective fear, that can ultimately lead to people ‘losing their heads’. When we lose sight of the ideals of Aquarius, we lose everything.
Authoritarianism: It doesn’t help to eradicate one set of authoritarianism, only to replace it with another authoritarian regime, just as oppressive and extreme in its ideology. Same stuff in different bottles. Governing without equal representation of all the people without discrimination, misses the whole Aquarian point.
Scapegoating: Pluto brings out the extreme expressions of the signs. So even as we are being asked to promote equality and freedom for all, there will be those who will be blaming, isolating and scapegoating certain individuals or groups. Hence within the Aquarius paradigm we can see the extremes of alienation and scapegoating vs. universal brotherhood.
The Impact of Technology and Energy on the Environment: As a result of the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700’s we saw some of the worst forms of pollution we had ever previously witnessed. Industrial cities lacked clean water, decent sewage systems, and forced people into filthy living conditions, with air so thick with coal dust by the early 1800’s that people suffered from every sort of disease imaginable. So what started as something that was seen to improve economic growth and opportunity turned into a living nightmare for many. By the time that Dickens was born in 1812 it was a mess. All this requires is a little forethought and ingenuity. In fact instead of further destroying the environment, how about using technology and science to heal the planet? That too can be a shining example of the Pluto in Aquarius era.
For Pluto in Aquarius for each sign and/or house, click below: