by Robert Wilkinson
In case you didn’t notice, Mars has been in late Capricorn or early Aquarius a LONG time! The retrograde period since late June has been a time of decreased momentum, deconstruction of some ways of doing things, and a time of preparing, training, taking care of things as prelude to future constructions, and on the whole a slow-mo time. That changes now!
After 62 days retrograde, Mars is finally going stationary direct at 29 Capricorn at 7:05 am PDT, 10:05 am EDT 3:05 pm BST August 27. This marks a point where Mars accelerates its pace relative to the Sun, where what we thought we began in May and June 2018 resumes its development.
It is a platform from which many new activities and projects leap forward after these months of waiting, preparing, and planning. We will finally begin to move forward in very definitive ways, now that we've undone or redone something, or had to wait for something else to be done before we could pick up on whatever we've had to postpone since Mars began to slow down radically in June.
So all things Capricorn and Aquarius have now begun to move forward anew. We began to move into this energy last May, and hit a threshold in late June at 10 Aquarius. Since then, during the retrograde period, we've been withdrawing from old projections, finding we don’t like many things we used to, and been able to see internal processes that are getting in the way of us putting our full effort into something. We have become more aware that we need to do some things a different way, or at a different pace.
So before we take a look forward, let’s take a look back at what has been a HUGE influence since late June! From the article I gave you when Mars went stationary retrograde at Aquarius,
The Sabian Symbol for 10 Aquarius is “A popularity that proves ephemeral.” In the Marc Jones class notes from The Astrology of Personality, Rudhyar states this degree is one of “ability to rise above vicissitudes of passing fortune,” “faithfulness to self,” dependence upon native endowment,” and “projection.”In his Astrological Mandala, we are told that this degree is one of “the need to deal with human beings as persons rather than as screens upon which one projects one’s dream and ideal.” He goes on to state this degree contrasts the ideal and the reality, the person and the archetype they seem to represent. He states “the star’s popularity fades away, the person remains.”
He continues that this symbol is about “person versus archetype. This can mean a critical need to self-evaluation.” He offers that this is in the Span of Defensiveness, and is the culminating degree on the emotional-cultural level of the Scene of Contribution in the Act of Capitalization.
Dr. Marc Jones says this symbol is one of “the eternal challenge which comes to an individual at every point of climax in (their) experience, and of the swing of the pendulum between an endorsement and a repudiation of (our) efforts by (our) social group.” He offers that we must “accept the applause as encouragement in (our) self-strengthening” even as we search for “continued sustainment from (our) own ability of being.”
He continues that “a courageous self-confidence and an unflagging faith are worthy of recognition, but only in their moment of significance.” He offers us the keyword APPROBATION, and says when this degree is working positively, it’s one of “a gift for bringing the issues of life to a dramatic consummation at a time of crisis.”
Keep In Mind…
Mars retrograde usually indicates there will be some things that must occur before other things can be done. Get clear about the priority of things, pay attention to the rhythm of unfolding events, and see much of what's come down the past few weeks as prelude to undoing, redoing, or reworking some things in late June, July and August before picking the pace back up in late August. All of this relates to the life areas (houses) where we have Aries, Scorpio, Capricorn and Aquarius.
Remember that sometimes a delay is the best thing that could happen as other things develop on their own, since I've found life is sometimes like a Charles Dickens novel. There are many chapters, many players, and some things cannot be known and/or acted upon until the plot develops.
But rest assured, that at the end of the play, all will be seen in proper perspective, the unknowns between the players become clear, and things have developed so that "the hero's journey" is perfectly completed. So during this Mars retrograde, do what you must, work and/or adapt the plan, don't fret at the apparent delays or slowness, and fit things into a long range perspective with an eye to the radical quickening to come in September.
Think about these words, since everyone has been going through experiences related to this symbol for almost 9 weeks. This has now shown us a new way to express Mars, and many are not so hassled by old ways as they were before this period. We’ve all found a new perspective on late Capricorn and early Aquarius affairs in the house(s) in our chart where Mars has been retrograde, and are now ready to new experiences, new things and people to like and appreciate, and new ways of doing whatever we have to do.
We now stand on the threshold of a new life chapter wherever we have late Capricorn and early Aquarius, and now have a technique for personal effectiveness in some social or group work context. Many will seek to establish a connection to the invisible realm, looking for signs and signals that could help them or others. Use your intuition to evaluate your direct experiences to realize a pure potential.
In part 2, we’ll go into what this stationary direct degree is about, and what we can reasonably expect as Mars now moves forward. From here it gets faster and faster for many months, so things will again seem to be moving quickly, if not very quickly. Feel the sense of relief, get focused, get ready, and see how you are living a transfigured reality in some way since June. We’ve all withdrawn from something as prelude to a new expression of effective and organized power!
Copyright © 2018 Robert Wilkinson
Sweet words indeed...
Mars the bully the last to evolve
Held to account by his own starved soul...
Posted by: sue | August 28, 2018 at 07:36 AM