by Robert Wilkinson
We’re now approaching Sun conjunct Mars! It began when the Sun entered Scorpio, and has gotten stronger since then, with Mars bringing initial energy followed by the Sun’s illuminating vitality. Once they conjunct on November 17-18 at 26 Scorpio, we’ll be in a new Sun/Mars cycle affecting wherever it falls in our charts.
When the Sun and Mars join up in one of our sectors, some powerful events can happen! This now finishes the old Sun-Mars cycle which began in 2021 with Sun and Mars at 16 Libra, showing the past two years have been focused on some form of “repair and/or reconstruction,” with a need to be joyous as we did needed “construction work” to fix something which had previously been “wrecked by storms.” We hit the midpoint of that cycle in December 2022 when the Sun opposed Mars at 17 Sagittarius to 17 Gemini. We’ve now finished the old cycle and prepare for a new one!
Because both the Sun and Mars provide power to move things forward at a brisk pace, be a little cautious in your use of power these next few weeks. As the Sun represents vitality and illumination and Mars represents energy and blunt force, find a measure of self-restraint as you consider other angles of approach with an eye to efficient adaptation and “being at home” in any circumstance.
This conjunction is important in yet another way, since after they conjunct, Mars will be the planet “leading the Light,” showing it’s the entryway to finding the illumination in any experience. Then in late December, after the Inferior conjunction, Mercury will be the planet leading the Sun until the retrograde conjunction of Mercury with Mars, after which Mars again leads the Sun. This will last until the final conjunction of Mercury and Mars in late January, after which Mercury will again lead the Sun through the Superior conjunction in late February, when Venus will be the planet leading the Light.
By November 24 when the Sun is in Sagittarius, even though they’re still very close the conjunction will no longer be exact, and rather than Mars leading our Solar experience, we’ll begin a time when the Sun illuminates the way for Mars’ direct action after the Sun vitalizes whatever it is shining on. As the conjunction accompanies a trine to Neptune and a sextile to Pluto, the next 2 year cycles will be very favorable form a spiritual angle.
By studying the cycles of the Sun with Mars, we come to understand an entirely different “pulse” of action/non-action in our charts, where the focus will be during the months that cycle is in effect, and where the critical turning points in those cycles will be encountered. By looking at where the Sun conjuncts Mars, and when they’re in opposition due to the Mars retrograde effect, we can see where our points of focus are, where we’ll be slowing down for a few weeks to re-trace our steps, and where our points of new initiative can be seen.
So today, we take a look at past, present, and future in terms of when the Sun conjunct Mars sets a new 2 year period into motion, as well as when Mars retrograde killed the momentum and forced us all to re-work, re-do, un-do, or slow something down for a while before picking it back up again with renewed focus. Perhaps by seeing where the various Sun conjunct Mars degrees fell in your chart, you’ll understand how various areas of your life were shown new initiatives, new ways of pushing forward in life, or new things that had to be done in order to move some karma forward in those houses.
What follows are the Sun-Mars cycles for the past 20+ years. See where the conjunctions fell in your chart, see where the Mars retrogrades and oppositions to the Sun fell, and you may understand how your Light and Initiatives intersected to push you in new directions, or at least, where you had to un-do some things, or put them on hold, in order to move forward later on. And of course, all of this must be considered in the light of other planetary transits over these zones, as well as how other planets’ stationary points aspected the critical Sun-Mars cyclic points.
Sun conjunct Mars July 2000 11 Cancer; Mars SRX May 2001 30 Sagittarius;
Sun opposition Mars June 2001 23 Gemini/Sag; Mars SD July 2001 16 Sagittarius.
Sun conjunct Mars August 2002 19 Leo; Mars SRX Jul 2003 11 Pisces;
Sun opposition Mars August 2003 6 Virgo/Pisces; Mars SD Sept 2003 1 Pisces.
Sun conjunct Mars Sept 2004 24 Virgo; Mars SRX Oct 2005 24 Taurus;
Sun opposition Mars Nov 2005 15 Scorpio/Taurus; Mars SD Dec 2005 9 Taurus.
Sun conjunct Mars October 2006 30 Libra; Mars SRX Nov 2007 13 Cancer;
Sun opposition Mars Dec 2007 3 Capricorn/Cancer; Mars SD Jan 2008 25 Gemini.
Sun conjunct Mars Dec 2008 15 Sagittarius; Mars SRX Dec 2009 20 Leo;
Sun opposition Mars Jan 2010 10 Aquarius/Leo; Mars SD Mar 2010 1 Leo.
Sun conjunct Mars Feb 2011 15 Aquarius; Mars SRX Jan 2012 24 Virgo;
Sun opposition Mars March 2012 14 Pisces/Virgo; Mars SD Apr 2012 4 Virgo.
Sun conjunct Mars Apr 2013 29 Aries; Mars SRX March 2014 28 Libra;
Sun opposition Mars Apr 2014 19 Aries/Libra; Mars SD May 2014 10 Libra.
Sun conjunct Mars June 2015 24 Gemini; Mars SRX Apr 2016 9 Sagittarius;
Sun opposition Mars May 2016 2 Gemini/Sag; Mars SD June 2016 24 Scorpio.
Sun conjunct Mars July 2017 5 Leo; Mars SRX June 2018 10 Aquarius;
Sun opposition Mars July 2018 5 Leo/Aquarius; Mars SD August 2018 29 Capricorn.
Sun conjunct Mars Sept 2019 10 Virgo; Mars SRX Sept 2020 29 Aries;
Sun opposition Mars Oct 2020 22 Libra/Aries; Mars SD Nov 2020 16 Aries.
Sun conjunct Mars Oct 2021 16 Libra; Mars SRX 26 Gemini Oct 2022;
Sun opposition Mars Dec 2022 17 Sag/Gemini; Mars SD Jan 2023 7 Gemini.
Sun conjunct Mars Nov 2023 26 Scorpio; Mars SRX Dec 2024 7 Leo
Sun opposition Mars Jan 2025 27 Capricorn/Cancer; Mars SD Feb 2025 18 Cancer.
Sun conjunct Mars Jan 2026 20 Capricorn; Mars SRX Jan 2027 11 Virgo
Sun opposition Mars Feb 2027 1 Pisces; Mars SD Apr 2027 21 Leo.
Of course, when Mars conjuncts our Sun, it begins a new two year cycle of Light/Life for us, just as when Mars conjuncts our Mars, we begin a new two year cycle of how we apply our Mars function in the world. And often we’ll see a jump in activity of the second of these after the first has been conjuncted.
In other words, if Mars conjuncts our Sun first, then we’ll see an uptick in activity when Mars conjuncts our Mars. If Mars conjuncts our Mars first, then we’ll see an uptick in activity when Mars conjuncts our Sun. And if you have a Sun opposed Mars in your natal chart, then when either the Sun or Mars conjuncts either of the poles of the opposition, it’s course correction and/or reset time!
So as we move through this time of quickened activity, see the broader field and focus, and be efficient in eliminating all which you no longer need to carry emotionally or spiritually. This is a good time to look at what turns us on, what quickens us, and what bogs us down with an eye to shedding all which hinders our forward movement. Take a new look at what you want, why you want it, and anything inside you that is preventing you from getting what you want. Do you need a new plan, or a new method?
We will soon begin to feel an increased intensity, so watch out for people who have a response which is out of proportion to what’s actually going on. It may be that many will be triggered by old memories, ancient “fight or flight” responses encoded in their subconscious mind, or just a bit more prickly than usual. At least soon after the conjunction both Sun and Mars enter Sagittarius which should bring more lightness and inspiration after the intensity of Scorpio.
For now, get closure in the old Libra areas of life which have been the focus these past 2 years, and get ready to move forward from here wherever Mars is transiting in your chart. See you Wednesday with more about the coming Sun conjunct Mars at 26 Scorpio!
© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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