MARS MOVEMENTS•••
Mars in Aries Square Saturn in Capricorn at 26°—Part 2

Mars in Aries will square Saturn in Capricorn on August 24th at 26°19′, for the first of three squares—upon a degree which associates itself to, as Rudhyar puts it, “obsession by potentiality… and revision of attitude and inner revaluation…” which is to be taken as both “a warning” and as a resolve of “undaunted faith”.

❝To work with undaunted energy! What fear! Who is powerful enough to thwart you…❞
——Swami Vivekananda

In other words, Rudhyar elaborates, “the mind which finds itself confronted with a totally unfamiliar and as yet unexperienced type of potency finds it difficult at first to adjust to its new world of perception and possibilities of action… [one] may rush ahead excitedly and lose [one’s] bearings—one should try to reach a state of calm watchfulness, and to learn that at this level too there are limits and restrictions, i.e. laws expressing this new type of “order”… [one] has to move carefully in this new realm, for [one’s] consciousness is not yet fully able to operate in it, except with closely defined limits—it is a symbol of warning—a warning against undertaking more than it is as yet safe and sound to attempt.”¹

Thoughts are everything… as my Muse muses, one’s perception to anything is absolutely everything.

Another perspective upon this point and degree, is that “we need to realize that sometimes we can’t have and hold everything to ourselves… there may be too much to possess, we may need to let go of something in order to make space for new things in our lives—having many great ideas and ambitions is wonderful, but it can keep us from really achieving anything; life can become unfocused or distracted by too many possibilities…”²

Further, “the aim is to appreciate those things you can do or achieve now and not feel badly about the things you can’t… even if you don’t get exactly what you want, you will probably feel an incredible sense of relief…”²

By degree, through the actuality of Mars forwardly marching in Aries, through the demands of adjustment and potentiality of obstacle—we are upon a new point within our Now as we forwardly march toward our Not Yet, and we should be so inclined to prepare for necessary adjustments en route to these bluer than blue horizons, and for obstacles to occur between here and our ideals… these both in an effort of serving to prepare us for more potential than we can, at this point, fathom—if we’re up for it.

Furthermore, Rudhyar explains this degree as that it “makes it clear that the mind that has become over-stimulated and obsessed by all it appears to be able to accomplish in some new realm of experience may easily fail… [there is] a challenge to the emergence of a new capacity; generally speaking, this capacity is what one calls “creative imagination”… the mind must first “imagine” that which one will then be able sooner or later to actually experience—at this stage it may be difficult to distinguish success from failure.”¹

❝Never do things others can do and will do, if there are things others cannot do or will not do.❞
——Amelia Earhart

Mars will square Saturn again, when retrograded, on September 29th through the twenty-fifth degree, and again, a third and final time, on January 13th, 2021 through the third degree of Taurus, at which time Saturn will once again be moving through Aquarius, picking up the issues that emerged earlier this year from March 25th through July 2nd, when Saturn tipped its toe into the archetypal energies of the Waterbearer.

First things first, however, I will prepare you now, from September 6-9th Mars will station retrograde upon the twenty-eighth degree of Aries, a degree which upholds responsibility in a most crucial way… this degree represents ‘a large audience confronting the performer who is disappointing its expectations’, and this could either be combatively exposing a single individual—you yourself or an/Other within your reality—associating itself with the “necessity for mature preparation and self-criticism…” or within the collective at large—again, a single individual within the collective or a collective.

❝Competition is natural to the ignorant; cooperation is natural to the wise.❞
——Manly P Hall

In other words, simply put—great hopes and excited expectations cannot be sustained… unless major upheaval occurs or adjustments are activated.

You may feel as though you’re letting yourself or others down, or you may feel defeated, exhausted, or powerless.

Either you, yourself, or an/Other is being “made fully aware of having promised—to the many elements of [one’s] own personality as well as perhaps to other human beings—more than [one] was able to deliver… the issue is how to handle this situation… in one form or another, it is an often recurring situation in the life of an individual person—the manner in which it is met determines the individual’s future possibilities of development and achievement.

Further, and perhaps most importantly, “the individual is not alone concerned, for in a sense «mankind as a whole will be affected» …what is required, therefore, is an objective inclusiveness of the whole environment; thus a sense of responsibility for what one’s actions will produce in people who have been made to expect significant results.”

To prepare for this—avoid promising more than you can realistically deliver, and actually deliver upon what you say you will… also, it wouldn’t hurt to altogether avoid tooting your own horn through these transitions—others will, or should, hold you to your tune, and when you miss a note, it will be pointed out.

Where is the lesson in observing reactions, and what can you learn from expectations?—your own or an/Others.

❝Another way to be prepared is to think negatively. Yes, I’m a great optimist—but, when trying to make a decision, I often think of the worst case scenario. I call it ‘the eaten by wolves factor.’ If I do something, what’s the most terrible thing that could happen? Would I be eaten by wolves? One thing that makes it possible to be an optimist, is if you have a contingency plan for when all hell breaks loose. There are a lot of things I don’t worry about, because I have a plan in place if they do.❞
——Randy Pausch

In late September, through retrograde, the twenty-fifth degree will introduce “revelations of new potentialities…” but only under the unspoken celestial agreements of openness, and adjustment thereof—Rudhyar explains, through this degree, to “be open… be able and willing to shape your translucent mind in the form revealing spiritual fulfillment, and you will be able to experience life and power on inner as well as outer planes”…implied [is a] message of faith… man can only truly experience what he deeply believes he can experience.”¹

Further, this degree “announces the possibility of a new step in evolution, but it is still only a possibility…”¹

Further, “it may seem as though there are so many possibilities coming that could change your life on many levels, but promises are often more complicated than we initially think… is this a situation with integrity or is it laced with duplicity?”²

As astrologer Robert Wilkinson advises, “while Mars direct helps us get a lot done, Mars retrograde requires us to slow down and undo, re-do, or re-plan our lives with an eye to making things more efficient during the direct motion periods… how we attack the problems in our lives, how we take the initiative in action…” and Mars will be retrograde from September 10th until November 18th.

There is an indicated suggestion here, within these degrees, that “a choice that arises between the heart and doing what you want to do and social obligation and knowing what’s right… there is much to be realized and learned from the situation…”²

This is not a time to be ambivalent.

I do not intentionally aspire to sound like a political ad, I assure you.

Still.

This is a time to act, astrologically speaking, even if your actions are stumped, stymied, or scattered… continue to move forward, learning your lessons through how you do, act, and become—the overcoming of any crisis is through compassion and inherited wisdom, toward whatever end it demands or requires—with the possibility of eventual festivity and happiness.

More to come—Part 3—in January…

❝The moment one definitely commits oneself, providence moves too. All sorts of things then begin to occur that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamed would come this way. Whatever you can do or dream, you can begin. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.❞
——Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

¹Rudhyar, D. “An Astrological Mandala.” Vintage Books; ©1973.
²Hill, L. “360 Degrees of Wisdom.” A Plume Book; ©2004.

Image credit— @itspeteski on Instagram