Now, there have been some downright oppressive, fiery, violent stories in the news lately! (Right, when is that not the case?) I like to recognize the results of such aggression and hubris— the uncomfortable or even morbid parts of life— not only as appreciable aesthetics, but as settings, textures, character traits in a sort of grand play.
In this archetypal panorama, we are not just moving toward oneness, perfection, or some end result which no matter how affirming and visionary can still be wielded like some static objective goal; we are simply loosening attachments to end results, seeing oneness in the many, singularity in multiplicity, unity in separation, gods in the particular.
If in the past weeks you haven’t experienced as much of the balance or peaceful diplomacy associated with the current sun sign of Libra, consider this… an aspect called the grand fire trine reached its nearest exactitude around October 6th, with the surrounding weeks also carrying its energy. In this case, the fire involves Uranus in Aries, Jupiter in Leo, and Mars, who entered Sagittarius on September 13th, approaching to perfect the trine. Adventurousness, impulsivity, rash decisions, pridefulness, idealism, philosophical oomph and talk of burning away that which does not serve us… all of these qualities can be found throughout the psychic airwaves. And people accidentally dropping shit. You might see more of that.
Uranus has been called ‘the Breaker’, with archetypal energies long described as shocking and liberating. It loves to tear down stale structures, those which once served and supported but remain where change and adaptation need front seat. Its roughly seven-year transit through Aries, a cardinal sign of headstrong instigation, is connected to the last four-plus years of global protests and riots. These organized efforts show an increasing quickness and vigor of assimilation across the world; some find this hopeful, others threatening… all of it exciting. Total Uranus in Aries vibe. Jupiter’s year-long passage through Leo commenced on July 16th, bringing a trine to Uranus in recent weeks. This might lend some quick and swelling results in avoiding or embodying the wanton aggression and impulsive inner will suggested by the current placements of Uranus and Mars.
Toward the unpredictable, revolutionary qualities of Uranus’ explosive movement through Aries, I would like to focus on recent aspects made to it— specifically by Mars in Sagittarius. Mars is the planet of assertion, anger, conflict, harm, violence, forceful physical energy, war, and is the root of the word ‘martial.’ It is probably no coincidence that ‘arms’ and ‘rams’ are anagrams of Mars. In Sagittarius, two major qualities of Mars are fierce philosophical thinking and a sort of restless need for travel (corresponding to ‘religious belief’ and ‘long journeys’ with the 9th house). How strange yet unsurprising, to hear of the reasons Brian Howard set fire to an FAA radar facility in Aurora on September 26th, forcing Chicago’s airports O’Hare and Midway to cancel 2,000 flights! Howard’s employers had prior told him of a transfer to Hawaii that his job was apparently contingent upon. His distress culminated in an attempt to slit his own throat, and he was discovered upon following a trail of blood.
These images of fire, travel, clashing will and blades are only more violent and unsettling in context of the slashing and beheading Alton Nolen wrought upon his former workplace Vaughan Foods in Oklahoma City one day earlier on the 25th. And in the wake of the ISIS beheadings, no less. The themes of Islam and Nolen’s ostensive conversion in relatively recent times also speak to the religiosity and temper of Mars in Sagittarius. Nolen even made a list of ‘America’s sins’ in a Facebook comment that read additional words into a scripture saying “she (the statue of liberty) is going into flames, she and anybody who’s with her.” This is obvious Uranus (the planet of liberty) in Aries fare, trined by Mars in Sagittarius. The drama of Jupiter in Leo saturates every event described.
Does this make Sagittarius an inherently bad sign for Mars to be in? Are any of the celestial bodies or their current placements menacing? Not really. Different shapes and circumstances pose their own glimmers and shadows to integrate. Sagittarius is a quick and freedom-loving Mars sign, impulsive and immediate, often brilliant and consumed by the suchness of inner vision. This position is intuitive and philosophical by nature, but also with a fiery temper— quick to get angry, quick to get back to having fun. It is skilled at vocal improvisation, and can speak pleasant volumes without seeming to ‘think’ about it.
Humans with Mars in Sagittarius known well across popular culture range from the legendary Erykah Badu, to less interesting musical acts like Jennifer Lopez and Rihanna. The Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung unmistakably wore this Mars sign’s fiery tendency to be ‘possessed’ of the imago dei. Jack Nicholson’s ‘Here’s Johnny!’ is another shining example of such energy, while the porn star James Deen and serial killer Ted Bundy also share this charismatic placement. Interestingly Deen, who is somewhat of an internet celebrity, has in the past professed Ted Bundy to be his favorite serial killer (he has a web series in which he eats people’s last meals), and on September 28th wrote on his blog about how he “kinda looks like him” and “promises he is not a serial killer.” I wonder if he knew that Mars was sitting just days between his and Bundy’s natal Mars degrees. Probably not. As you might see, with a Scorpio ascendant I leave no stone unturned!
I have often cautioned people to drive safely when the moon is in Aries or Sagittarius. When the moon recently conjoined Mars, an astrologer friend and teacher of mine gave his partner similar advice. They pulled into a rest stop at which a ‘50s style car gang was hanging out, who ended up darting off at over 100mph in a rather sagittarian manner, weaving around other drivers. The same day, a friend of mine totaled his car, going thankfully uninjured. Another friend got in a fender bender! This is not the first time I’ve received such news with close planets in the sign of the archer. Marathoner Reza Baluchi’s attempt to run 3,500 miles around the Bermuda Triangle in an inflatable bubble before the Coast Guard rescued him on October 4th, exhausted and seventy miles from the Florida coast, is also a hilarious example of Mars in the sign of long journeys and a sagittarian sort of hyper-optimism.
As for me, I was born with Mars at 7° Sagittarius. Jung said something about how the more aware one is of an archetype, the more equipped one is to transcend its negative effects. The British occultist Aleister Crowley said “forewarned is forearmed.” Nonetheless, as Mars passed over my natal degree the last week of September, I threw myself impulsively into more than a good time, doing things I don’t often do— namely drinking whiskey and smoking American Spirits— with a truly amazing group of friends… for about five days. Needless to say, I was in recovery for another few, as amazed at myself as I was disappointed (being one normally without any needed rebound period). I even willingly visited a hospital on a saturday night to get a chest x-ray for my heart’s sake (not the first time) and make sure my lung hadn’t leaked air (or smoke) like it did when I was 16. My skin was for days flushed a fiery red from a type of liquor I’ve always considered myself allergic to, my mind consumed with letting go of things that don’t serve me in the excess I’m prone to. Irresponsible much?
Life is strange. I feel like the finger of God rests somewhere near my scorpionic heart, ready to pluck me from this existence at any time. Until then, I enjoy watching the gods speak through everyone and everything. Are we being danced like marionettes? Are we just surfing all this patterned chaos?
Speaking of needed water to balance the flames in the air… perhaps we could use some receptive belief to buttress all our zeal and idealistic fervor. In the same way that truth is both abstract in representation and concrete in its objective seeming, belief is not only active but also receptive. When your cup is emptied, the truth of every such thing you can behold or imagine will reveal itself to you, endlessly.
Image by NASA/ESA/G. Bacon (STScI), courtesy of Creative Commons license.