Hello hello,

Mars, the fiery god of war, moved into expansive Sagittarius at the beginning of August. Mars has to do with willpower, chanelling the will outward to meet challenges and face foes. It’s glyph is the male symbol, and it’s the masculine or directive energy. We’ll have a great deal of energy and drive where Mars is in our chart. Mars shows us our physical strength and stamina, where energy is directed, what motivates you. I think of it as “fight, flight, or f#<!.” Mars feels great in the mutable fire sign of Sag, especially after all these months spent in deep, dark, repressive, watery Scorpio. Sag has to do with freedom and following your higher truth, philosophies and ideals, what is outside our borders, and the lifelong search for knowledge. Sag always wants the most life had to offer, and doesn’t like being fenced in. This works out great for Mars, who just mostly does what he wants anyway.

This energy is a lot of fun! We’ll feel great as the month is starting, like we’re finally gaining some momentum. Things that are novel and adventurous will have a fresh pull on our attention, and we’ll go after our freedom with enthusiasm and excitement. This fire might have us feeling full of energy, we might seek different kinds of physical and mental challenges, and even be a bit more competitive. Our optimism might have a lot of ideas flying around, like we can do ANYTHING. The follow thru might be harder to come by because we might keep being swept away by all the fun we’re having. However, this Mars fire also ignites Sag’s heightened principles, and we might be unwavering if something crosses our sense of ethics. This is awesome, and it is needed. I think the idea is to honor that others are also seeking their higher truth, and maybe use the mutable quality of Sag to reach understanding when dealing with conflicts at this time.

We will feel a need for freedom while Mars passes through Sag, whether it’s a vacation or just needing to set our own schedules. We’ll want to see what’s out there, and won’t feel pleased to be overly obligated. Our creative drives will be strong, and we’ll want to DO more than TALK (Mercury Retrograde at the beginning of Sep will test this a LOT). We might be travelling or somehow in new environments, being introduced to new ways of thinking. A lot of ideas might be flying around at this time, and this is the energy to explore them.

So. The crazy stuff now. The official end of the Mars Retrograde period will be when he hits 8° Sag on 8/21. A lot of the issues we’ve been dealing with since he entered the shadow zone in February will be resolved or coming to a close. Good news, right! Well…

Saturn will be at 9° Sag at that time, and will conjunct, or merge, with Mars through the 26th. Saturn is the karmic debt overlord. He is always around to make sure we’ve learned our lessons and developed the structures we need to build in our lives. When we learn Saturn lessons, it pays off for us. When we don’t, we hate it. Saturn was considered a malefic in classical astrology. We know he’s there to help us now, but no one doesn’t think he’s a hard ass. He’s been in Sag since last year, testing our ideas about foreign countries and the way we approach justice and truth philosophically (sound familiar?). The blending of these two forces, right as Mars is exiting the shadow zone, will test us in a dramatic way on all the lessons we’ve been learning since February. Does that way of thinking really work for me? Are these steps I’m taking toward my own higher truth and independence really working for my life? Are the ways I’m exerting my energy toward and thinking about the world at large in line with the Universe (Saturn square Neptune influence-is this Idea I have in line with the Spirit?)?

It’ll feel pretty jarring after how easily the beginning of the month flows. Suddenly there’s a quiz on what we thought we were wrapping up! It won’t be fun. The pressure will be on, and we’ll want to fly off to get away from it all. But Saturn will keep restricting our will, we will have to face our choices and what we’ve been working through.

Because Sagittarius has to deal with foreign countries, I’m honestly worried about the conjunction of these planets here because I feel like the propensity for violence is great during this time. Be very careful, bring peace with you wherever you are. Tensions will be high.

However! Two shorter periods during this time will be a help to us. Mars will be trine the moon on August 30, right as Mercury Rx starts, so I think we’ll be feeling good and able to help others feel the warmth right as the wackiness begins. The other beneficial moon day is September 10, when it conjuncts Mars in Sag. We’ll really feel in tune that day, able to see from an elevated perspective.

Also, from 9/15-9/20, Mars trines Uranus in Mars’ home sign of Aries. We’ll be zapped with inspiration during this time. We’ll have sudden insights and coming out of Mercury Rx, we’ll feel a drive to make constructive changes. Especially after the Saturn conjunction, this energy will be very welcome. As Mars moves out of the sign of Sag we’ll look back on this year and realize all the stuff that’s happened and all the things we’ve been thinking about. We should be in higher alignment and having a clearer vision of how to shape the future.

Hope this time treats you well! Use that warrior spirit wisely:)

Cheers,

Will

 

P.s. Used LLEWELLYN’S… by Riske again.

Used my same ephemeris.

Painted the image with the Buddha Board we have at Golden Braid Books. It’s everything.

Goldenbraidbooks.com

Buddhaboards.com