It has seemed for a while, that there is too much anger flying around. Too much of the wrong kind of Mars. Mars is in Leo from May 20 to July 10, 2023, and as it entered the sign it opposed Pluto in Aquarius. Oppositions either raise the stakes or raise consciousness. The agreement on the debt ceiling in the US may be a good sign, signaling a willingness to put aside the need to win at any cost. We stepped away from a high stakes confrontation, no doubt helped by Jupiter in Taurus, which encourages stability, general well being and steadiness.
Anger feeds on itself. Once it has risen, it stokes more fires. Back in 2015 when Paris was shocked by the first terror attacks at a satirical magazine called Charlie Hebdo, millions of us walked in the streets in silence. We were determined to uphold our humanity, our civilized values of freedom of expression and openness. The experience of solidarity, strong commitment to shared values was immensely powerful. That’s a long way from a recent attack on Brigitte Macron’s great nephew in front of the family chocolate shop, in Amiens, a shop that has nothing to do with her husband, the President of France. Or the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi last fall. Rather than awakening sympathy, the attack became a right wing meme of innuendo.
Where is our kindness, our care, our empathy? How did Mars get so unbounded and wake up so much anger? Mars is a malefic in traditional astrology, along with Saturn. Some say that all anger is a product of fear, a state of alert in response to danger. And it is Saturn that constellates fear. In 2020 we were all stopped in our tracks, separated and sometimes cut-off from each other. Mars was part of an intense four planet conjunction. At first many of us were disciplined and careful, and the fear was contained, Saturn was in charge, Many fears emerged from this time. For some it is fear of contact and contagion, for others it is fear of control and manipulation, of being lied to. Our old life was taken away. And many of us want to blame that on someone. But we are not agreed at who is at fault, so the rage circles round through the political spectrum and turns neighbor against neighbor.
Finding the right relationship with Mars is crucial, for harmony in our relationships with others, but also for our own inner balance. It will become even more important as the Nodes move backwards into Aries and Libra in mid July 2023. As the ruler of the North node in Aries, Mars will become an important guide for the following 18 months.
Warmly,
Lynn