Inspiredastrology Weblog

Mars enters Leo on Friday, May 9, 2008.

Mars, the red planet, traditionally represents energy. It’s what drives you, what takes your from an idea to an action. It’s how you feel alive and vital, animated and strong. It can help you to be assertive. Or, if Mars is imbalanced, it can help to make you passive/aggressive. In the body, it’s your muscles and adrenals.

As Mars enters Leo, the Flower Essence Report says:

“You have a robust, hearty constitution, high vitality, and strong creative forces. With your combination of firm will, positive enthusiasm, and holding steady, you are capable of achieving anything you desire. You are able to withstand a quite a bit of external pressure. You also have the urge to lead or direct things, and may flare up when things do not go your way. You tend to bowl over other people. Consider taking the flower essence TRILLIUM, to offset excessive selfish ambition, or LARKSPUR for charismatic leadership combined with joyful service (rather than for self-aggrandizement).”

To see how Mars in Leo is going to act, we look at Mars in the current horoscope (astrology chart). Mars is conjunct the Moon and quincunx (inconjunct) Pluto. These aspects give this ingress of Mars into Leo an intense emotional quality. You can see what you’re willing to DO when something is crucial, when you absolutely need something to happen. You can see this drive or force strongly now, and it can be a lesson to yourself on how much you are capable of, the next time you don’t feel like doing something.

If anger seems to be boiling up and threatening to explode, this is a signal that you need to release some of your need to control absolutely. You cannot control what others will do or think, but you can envision the results and changes you would like to see. Instead of using your energy to clamp down and tense up about a situation, take a few DEEP breaths and get yourself into a more relaxed state of mind so you can think more clearly. When all your energy is tensing, the energy does not go to your brain, it goes to your muscles so you can run. Once you start redirecting your energy, you can start thinking and getting better, more appropriate ideas.

As Mars enters Leo while conjunct the Moon and quincunx Pluto, allowing your emotions to control situations can backfire. But it’s not to embarrass you or point out your weak spots, it’s to help you to shift your emotions so they are less stressful.

Here’s what the Flower Essence Report suggests:

“Blockages or damage in the root, sacral, and solar plexus chakras (due to painful early experiences in which you were harshly dominated or abused by a more powerful individual) may need to be healed.”

And these blockages can be revealed through any strong emotional reactions.

And the Flower remedies they suggest are informative in themselves:

“these flower and gem essences can accelerate and support your healing process: FUSCHIA and SCARLET MONKEY FLOWER (which surface and help release suppressed anger), HOLLY (for releasing toxic emotions such as spite, envy, the desire for revenge, jealous suspicions), FIREWEED (for releasing and healing old angers), TIGER LILY (balances overly aggressive, competitive, excessively “yang” energy).”

And to calm and balance your emotions, they suggest spraying lavendar, patchouli, or violet, lovely in the spring. Plant some impatiens if you’re feeling impatient.

Achieving a state of relaxation is especially important as Mars enters Leo. There is potent energy, and it can be accessed if you’re in a calm and balanced state of body and mind.

This is the day! Mars is opposing Jupiter today, Thursday.

This means you can speak before you think. And escalate a bad situation into a hostile situation. And that can be damaging. Or, it can just mean you miss out, get cut off, discounted.

Why? Ego. You may enjoy learning from a wise teacher. Yet, your ego may want to remind you that you’re still better and may even know more. This is a message. Instead of getting angry at the person who seems so advanced, this is a sign that you can do something similar, that your path may be similar. Being angry and defensive won’t get you there, but it can be frustrating.

And since this is a Mars-Jupiter opposition, you can turn on someone who has been very generous, or whose philosophy you don’t like. You can also feel double-crossed by someone you gave to generously.

HOW you speak to others can determine the reaction you receive. If you are angry, you can connect with the anger-body of another person who is also angry. And if there’s a conflict, you can go at it, exhausting and hurting yourselves. And this week, that can backfire in a way that can be hurtful, or even dangerous if you don’t check yourself.

Since this opposition squares Venus, it’s easier to go off on women, or anyone who cares or tries to be diplomatic and cooperative. It’s also tough to make money. You can either undersell or overbid. Charge too little or too much.

Be cool and have yourself a fabulous day!
Lauren

One of the main astrological events of the week is the Mars-Jupiter opposition. This is JUMP-to-conclusions energy, the kind that your ego loves! The kind of energy that jumps at any chance to prove it’s right, and the other person deserves to be trounced, blasted, crushed before you’ve thought it through — immediately!

Mars is about passion. What’s so seductive about blaming someone for not doing what they “should” have done? The ego gets excited when it thinks it has a way to control people, something that cannot be argued, only followed immediately. And this presumes you know what the other person needs– better than they do. That’s a lot to take on! No wonder it often backfires, especially obvious during a strong Mars-Jupiter opposition.

Before you jump to a conclusion, check your facts. This is a JUPITER opposition, so the temptation to stretch and exaggerate the truth is strong.

This once-every-2-year event is super charged by its ties to the last New and Full Moons. Mars is not only opposing Jupiter, Mars is square Venus and trine Uranus.

This is a time to step up and do more. Being eager is exciting. Yet if you push it too far this week, you can wind up with more, or less than you expected. And you can alienate friends and allies if you’re moving too fast to be sensitive.

T-Square
When Mars and Jupiter oppose, they are both square Venus — and Pallas. Venus and Pallas are conjunct, putting both Venus AND Pallas at the center of this week’s T-Square. Venus-Pallas squares Mars and Jupiter. This explains why people who are talented, artistic, creative, are being referred to in the media as “elitist”. This is why Hillary doesn’t have a chance. Not this week, which is a crucial week in her campaign. This does not mean I am putting a judgment out or saying she doesn’t have the talent, ability, and drive to do the job. But right now people on this planet may not understand or rally to endorse an assertive woman. Or a creative man. But it can push them to try harder.

It’s important to express outrage during this Mars-Jupiter. And the way it’s done will decide whether or not we can be effective in expressing our outrage. To come across in a way that’s genuine, believable, and effective, we have to be aware of our own internal conflicts and able to maintain our cool and confidence in any situation. If you have an important message or agenda, something you need to get done, you will need to be assertive and watch any tendency to become aggressive or defensive, signs that you have not worked out your own internal conflicts and may not come across as a someone worthy of trust or capable of sincerity.

Besides from behavior, this is a week you can spend on indulgences. Something you decided was too expensive may be the thing you have to purchase this week. Even if you blow your budget or accept less than you’re worth, you can make friends and influence people with your positive energy and generosity. Holding on out of fear can help to deplete your bank account, while sincerely feeling your gratitude can start a positive trend. Quickly.

Aspects to Jupiter often indicate luck, so even if you do take it a bit too far, you’re still likely to luck out. Things can work out better than expected. Sometimes you have to push a little harder to make big things happen. Sometimes that offends people, but if the work and good feelings you’re extending are exciting and can benefit yourself and others, you can find yourself riding a wave of success now and in the near future.

good luck
Lauren
artcharts.com

ps. reality tip- in true Mars-Jupiter fashion, I have started receiving 100s of spams titled: returned mail, undeliverable mail, etc etc etc. I am deleting them and I encourage you to do the same. Always be careful opening any spam and certainly– never click on a link you do not trust!

There are a few aspects between late Friday night and early Saturday morning that can turn this “date night” into something you may not like.

As the Moon in Venus-ruled Libra opposes Venus and squares Mars, we are getting a sneak preview of this weekend’s Full Moon effect (more on that in the Newsletter!)

This is the time people may NOT see your best qualities. Why not? Because they’re angling. They’re thinking how much they can get and how little they can give back. To this goal, they may make sure you know that you’re “not all that”, in fact, you’re not worth much at all. From that position of lowered self-esteem, you’re “supposed” to accept whatever they’re willing to give, which may be far less than you are really worth. But— this assumes that you let the person manipulate you. That you accept their version of who you are instead of the true you. If you do accept their judgment, you can find yourself giving much more than you intend, and not doing the things you really do need to do for yourself. And this can leave you feeling drained and really lower the value of what you’re giving, making it seem like they were right, what you have to give it not good enough.

Accepting the judgments of others as who you are can bring you down, lower your expectations, put you back in whatever negative comfort pattern you use to feel better. You can do far more good for the world if you are yourself instead of what others suggest you are “supposed” to be– or else! Getting angry, blaming, internally or externally, will keep you frustrated. More important, what are your feelings? On this Full Moon weekend, take the time to figure out your own values, priorities, and feelings before jumping into someone else’s value judgment of yourself.

The Moon in Libra interacting with the current Venus-Mars square can make it seem like someone is being very insensitive. Yet, if you react in a way that is defensive, you can make it worse instead of better.

When you use your energy to manipulate others, when you make idle threats to keep others under your control, you are wasting your precious energy, and accruing debt. What to do? Let it go! Seriously. Breathe it out. When? How is NOW? Or you say when. Planning for the future is fine, but it’s not accomplished until it’s done, and that can only be now. Deep exhale, then breathe in.

The astrology of now is that when you offer someone way less than their true value in the attempt to “keep them in their place”, you may find that they get a better offer and your offer is off the table! Yes, you can be fabulous!

Have a great day!
Lauren
artcharts.com
laurenedmond.com

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[ArtCharts] Inspired Astrology Newsletter: New Moon in Aries

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New Moon in Aries: amplified

New Moon in Aries [Saturday, April 5 @ 11:55:11 pm edt]

[Moon and Sun at 16'44" Aries]

Venus squares Pluto [Sunday @ 11:45:11 pm edt]

Earth Grand Trines

Click here to see the New Moon chart on [ArtCharts] InspiredAstrology Weblog

The New Moon in Aries is just before midnight on Saturday, April 5.

Aries is ruled by planet Mars. To understand the influence of this New Moon, we need to look at Mars.

Mars is in Cancer. Mars is currently square the Sun-Moon and approaching an opposition to Jupiter. The Mars-Jupiter opposition square the New Moon creates a Cardinal T-Square.

Basic Theme: turn it up!

This New Moon’s theme is amplified action. Turn up the volume! Step up the pace. This New Moon gives you the “warrior spirit”. You can feel determined to be creative, to effortlessly push beyond previous limits. You have the courage of your convictions, and you’re willing to try a little harder, whether you win all or come off as the fool. You can feel energized to start things you’ve put off, yet you can also become impatient if the pace doesn’t match your passion.

Don’t trespass on me: Moon and Mars

In the New Moon chart, the Moon and Mars are square AND in mutual reception (in each other’s signs). You can easily feel that you best efforts are never enough– and/or that the efforts of others are indecisive at best. Either way can be frustrating and stress-inducing. And this can give you headaches, stomach aches, fevers, inflammations, and even cause accidents. Taking things too personally or blaming others for being too slow or passive can increase your tension. The feeling that everything is your concern can make you appear defensive or intrusive, and you may need to be careful about where you make yourself at home.

Mars, Jupiter, Sun & Moon create a t-square

As a “spirit warrior” this is the time to learn, practice, and use anger/stress management skills.

If you KNOW you are working for The Truth, Mars-Jupiter can help you work effortlessly towards greater happiness and abundance in April. You don’t have to chase success. You can attract success TO you when you balance your eagerness with trust that your wishes will be answered.

Mars is approaching an opposition to Jupiter (exact April 24).
The Sun and Mars were exactly square on March 30, and the New Moon continues the Sun-Mars influence. The Sun will square Jupiter (April 10) and Mars will oppose Jupiter in Capricorn (on April 24). This creates a pattern called a T-Square, Cardinal because it is in the Cardinal signs of Aries, Cancer, and Capricorn.

The Cardinal T-Square is a call to action. Feeling more adventurous and willing to take bigger risks, you may have the burning desire to get yourself “out there.” It’s a great time to learn assertiveness training so you can present your good ideas clearly, fairly— and with enthusiasm. Problems can arise when you give over your thinking to someone else who seems to have more confidence or authority. Is their grass really greener? If you think it is, you may be willing to drop everything and run!

Since this is fast-paced productive energy, positive encouragement can keep you moving forward. Angry words and thoughts can also be productive and reach their target with immediate impact. What causes a great deal of anger, in yourself and others, is telling people what they “should” do and not slowing down to listen. This gives the message that their values and needs should be the same as yours. This can inspire more anger and mistrust than energy and enthusiasm. And that can sabotage what could be fast progress and make you feel more alienated than successful. Extending faith and acceptance in others can add to your productive energy.

As energy builds up, you can feel more hurried, excited, sensitive, and impatient. Moving faster can make everyone more insensitive as we all push harder, reach farther, sometimes too far too fast, and seemingly small irritations can start to accumulate. So to release some of the extra tension while maintaining your momentum, you will need to stay present and not exaggerate. Success may require more awareness of your priorities. Then you can plan your time to reflect your priorities.

Venus joins in

Venus is quickly approaching a time of stronger influence as she enters (Mars-ruled) Aries and squares Pluto exactly 23 hours and 50 minutes after the New Moon is exact. Venus in Mars-ruled Aries and square Pluto, exalted in Aries and with a strong Mars connection, can make this Venus square Pluto into a serious transit. Something intended to be innocent can release emotions long thought to be over and done. It can be tempting to blame whoever inspires your passions, yet this can backfire. The square to Pluto reminds us to be especially sensitive to the deep feelings of others because flaming old wounds can be easy now. If feelings of jealousy or resentment come up, instead of going to extremes and getting dramatic, this is a good time to work on what was unconscious and is now conscious.

Grand Trines coming

People have been asking about the Grand Trine in April. It starts with a quick-moving Grand Trine in Earth including the Moon in Taurus on Sunday, April 6. There are more Grand Trines as the inner planets enter Taurus through early May.

On Sunday, the Moon in Taurus will trine Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Virgo. While the Saturn-Pluto trine is long-term, Sunday’s Grand Trine is quick-moving because the Moon moves ~ 13 degrees per day. So it will only be in effect on Sunday, April 6. As the inner planets move into Taurus, starting with Mercury on April 17, Sun April 19, and Venus in early May, they will all take their turns as part of the Earth Grand Trine.

The Earth Grand Trine with Saturn-Pluto shows the great depth of focus and concentration that is possible when you are motivated. The Moon in Taurus suggests that the motivation can start with material needs or possessions. This doesn’t have to be bling, especially since Saturn is involved. This is more about carefully choosing investments and tools that will help you earn more income, slowly and steadily building more support and thereby more wealth. During this Grand Trine, you may be able to attract money and power– and keep it with good planning and management.

More about Mercury, Sun, and Venus in the next Newsletter and on the blog.

Interesting note about Juno

Juno, the Asteroid goddess of relationships, is at 29′10″ Sagittarius, seemingly about to enter Capricorn and close to a conjunction with Pluto. However, Juno will station Retrograde April 18 (Pluto stationed Retrograde, April 2) and while they will continue to travel together, they won’t actually conjunct until they both station Direct and Juno is exactly where she is at this New Moon, 29′10″ Sagittarius on October 30. (While Juno is considered to represent committed relationships, this astrologer sees Juno more as the “other” person, someone involved from outside the committed relationship, check your charts!)

Regardless of the status of a relationship, Juno traveling with Pluto this year suggests that partnerships can be a path to both deeper, more intimate unions and personal awareness. This is the year to transform yourself through your ability to relate on a more intimate level. If tensions come up, think of it as a clue to uncover hidden problems that have come to conscious awareness to be understood, resolved, and released. This can clear the way for deeper love and admiration of someone you love.

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ArtCharts Good Timing Sale
Aries is the time to discover more about yourself. There is always more to learn, another way to look at yourself, which is why there are so many ways to look at a chart. Aries in the horoscope is represented by the Ascendant. It is how we come across, how we see the world and how our unique viewpoint influences how we experience the world. The Merlin Report is invaluable for its description of the Ascendant because it includes Ascendant midpoints, which makes the description even more personal.
And to encourage you to learn more about yourself, you’ll also get a birth chart, a Green Report and your Spring 2008 Forecast when you purchase your Merlin Report @ artcharts.com this week.

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Sunday, March 30, not only does the Sun in Mars-ruled Aries square Mars, Pallas the Asteroid Vesta is exactly conjunct the Sun and therefore also exactly square Mars.

While you may be feeling personally energized, passionate about your creativity, and eager to start new things, just getting things in motion can be a bigger challenge than anticipated. You may not be able to blast through defenses the way you imagined, and realizing that can be more empowering than denying the reality of defensive attitudes. Yet, standing strong, staying present, even things are not going your way, can either give you more integrity or be a catalyst for change.

This is the Advanced Forecast for Mars square Sun and Mars square Pallas:

Mar 30, 2008 Mars square Sun

You are inclined to be aggressive and hot-tempered now, particularly when your will is blocked. Your pushiness or competitive attitude is likely to create antagonism, hostility, and further resistance to your efforts. It is best to work alone rather than try to cooperate or coordinate your efforts with anyone at this time. Also, you are impatient and tend to behave in an impulsive, irritable way which makes you more prone to accidents during this period.

Mar 30, 2008 Pallas square Mars

Career or creative projects have difficulty getting underway. Your plans and cherished ideas do not gain the momentum you believed possible, and you have to extend great effort to achieve your ambitions. During this unsettled period, you feel you have reached a standstill in your career or inner drive and may even consider a change of direction in your ambitions. As this is only for the time being, it might be best to endure the challenges and frustration now, instead of making decisions in haste and regretting them later on.

There may be tension, anxiety or strife regarding a male member of your family or an associate.

On this Valentine’s Day 2008, Venus, planet of love, is having a tough time with Mars, planet of passion. It’s not that they’re not getting along, it’s just that they don’t have much in common right now. Being together is an uncomfortable stretch.

This is because the balance of give and take is off.

Love may not be reciprocated. The love you give may not be returned and the love you receive may not be from the source you intended. You may not trust someone who is being honest, while your desires lead you to someone who takes advantage, rips you off.

Why not?

Judgment. Gets you every time. It seems so natural in the moment. Of course you have to filter out most of the people you meet, there are just too many. Same thing with information. Too much. Yet, when you form opinions without understanding, it’s called judgment. What’s so bad about that?

Judgment creates resistance, and that creates friction and defensiveness which stifle your energy and distort your passions and desires. This makes natural self-expression more repressed, calculated, or inappropriate. Off.

Judgment creates negativity. You may not think so in the moment. In fact, you may feel elated, but it’s bloat and it starts to eat away, slowly. It creates insecurity, bad feelings, bad vibes. And that lowers your vibrations, which makes you feel less and less attractive, and less likely to attract any of the things you want and know you deserve.

On this Valentine’s Day, with Venus and Mars forming an inconjunct aspect (150 degrees), judgment can throw you off. The love you attract may NOT be the love you desire, while the love you desire may not be what you get. This can mean inappropriate come-ons and rejected offers. You can be obsessed with a desire, or you may not care about someone who feels passionately towards you. You may trust the wrong person, selling yourself short. And you may mistrust the one who really does value you. Give and take are not in balance.

To heal and re-connect to your source of LOVE, think about these questions:

What are you expecting? What are you giving? Are you willing to try to understand? Do you really care or are you obsessed with trying to get something? Are you willing to work through something, or do you want to conquer? Is it your ego or your heart?

Finding your true answers can get your vibes back into the positive love zone and help you to start connecting to love that feels good.

Happy Valentine’s Day,
Lauren

While the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction intensifies as it becomes exact, on an almost-unrelated front, good things are happening with love and money.

Venus, planet of love, money, and nice things, has been making helpful aspects, helping money and love flow. This week, Venus in Scorpio will trine Mars, currently Retrograde in Cancer. And they will both be sextile to Saturn. [Venus/Mars=Saturn]

This position of Venus suggests that despite feelings of undeniable passion, there can be resistance and inhibitions that make it difficult to attract money or affection. Instead of feeling unadorned and unloved, look into the issues you (and/or your partner) may have in relation to money and intimacy, either through tradition or dysfunction. How RECEPTIVE are you to taking love, and money? Since Venus and Mars are in WATER signs, it can be easier to feel the emotions that accompany your passions and work through any resistance. And since both Venus and Mars sextile Saturn, this is about the RESPECT you feel for the one you love. This is about looking beyond the sex symbols and into what lasts. This is about making a commitment to what you love.

in Love&Light,
Lauren

Here’s the basic scenario.

Major Aspect Time Line:
Mars sextile Saturn on October 8, 2007 (before the Mars Rx station)
Mars stationed Retrograde on November 15, 2007
Mars sextile Saturn (while Mars is Rx and Saturn is Direct) on December 8, 2007
Jupiter conjuncts Pluto on December 11, 2007
Jupiter enters Capricorn on December 18, 2007
North Node enters Aquarius on December 18, 2007
Saturn stations Retrograde on December 19, 2007
Mars enters Gemini on December 24, 2007
Mars opposes Jupiter on December , 2007
Mars opposes Pluto on January 2, 2008
Pluto enters Capricorn on January 25, 2008
Mars stations Direct on January 30, 2008

Mars is Retrograde in Cancer. During Retrograde stations, the Retrograde planet APPEARS, from the Earth, to be moving backwards. From the Sun’s perspective, all planets are always moving in one direction. But because the Earth is also in motion, the other planets appear to stop and start, depending how close or far they are from the Earth. So Mars is seeming to move backwards through Cancer. When Mars arrives at 0 degrees Cancer it will continue moving backwards and enter Gemini. But at the end of Gemini, 29 degrees 59 minutes. Mars will continue to move backwards into Gemini until it gets to 24 Gemini on January 30, 2008. Then it will appear to stand still for a few days until it starts slowly moving forward again.

The Sun doesn’t retrograde, yet the effect at the solstices is similar to a retrograde. As the Sun gets to its highest Northern declination, which is 23 degrees 26 minutes, or the Tropic of Cancer, it seems to sit there for ~ 12 days, which is the 12 days of Christmas, or the Solstice period. The same things happen at the beginning of Summer.

Mars Retrograde can be frustrating. Just when you’re SURE you can make quick progress, things slow down and may even come to a halt. Nothing is moving. But you HAVE to hurry and get there NOW!

You could “blame it on the holidays”. At this time of the year, there is more to do, more to plan, more to shop, more to clean, more to cook, more more more more more and that makes many of us NERVOUS because our minds are constantly racing to the future.

THIS holiday season features Mars Retrograde, Jupiter conjunct Pluto, both Jupiter and Pluto changing signs and moving from Sagittarius into Capricorn, Mars oppose Sun, Jupiter, and Pluto; that’s a lot of intense interaction. If you’re looking for the type-o’s or the wholes in the argument so you can refute it and be right, you may be missing the BIG picture and this is a very good time to look at the big picture.

Why?

Because the BIG picture will show you that you have a choice. And that choice can seem more vivid and clear in December.

You can let the planets rule you and react emotionally. Or– you can let Mars Retrograde teach you how to rise above your usual automatic reactions and live from your heart. The more consciously you can control you RESPONSES, the less of an effect negative emotions will have on you. The person with the worst behavior is the person in the most need. They may not let you get close enough to help them, but that’s because they are in so much pain they have disconnected from their heart.

Do you feel emotionally supported? Do you support others emotionally? When Mars is Retrograde in Cancer we may not feel the support that is all around us. And that lack can make us feel needy instead of strong.

Where do you live from? Your ego or your heart? If you live from your ego, you see YOU against THEM and respond in “kind”, which may not really be all that kind.

The people who are the most offensive and attack most readily are the ones who are the most defensive. And why is this such an issue now? Well,

If you read previous posts on Mars Retrograde, you’ll already know that this Mars Retrograde can get personal and physical.

Mars Retrograde in Moon-ruled Cancer can demonstrate how closely your thoughts are connected to your health. And this can realization give you an opportunity to detect any imbalance that exists in the energetic, or spiritual realm– BEFORE it manifests physical symptoms. The Moon and Cancer represent our physical bodies. And Mars Retrograde makes Mars, or hot, aggressive energy, more of a wild card. Actions just “come out of us” seemingly from NOWHERE, but really from our subconscious.

If you don’t know how to access your subconscious, this Mars Retrograde will provide opportunities to see it in action.

Astrologers will warn you and tell you not to do this or that during a Mars Retrograde. Which can make you want to try it out. But the point isn’t not to do what you feel you must. It’s to know how energy will be flowing so you CAN go with the flow, and not always struggle against it, which creates… more struggling. Mars Retrograde asks us to slow down.

Astronomically, Mars Retrograde means Mars is getting closer to the Earth, which makes its effects more localized as well. [Mars will be closest to the Earth when it opposes the Sun on December 24.] We FEEL Mars energy and if we react before we think, we can overreact, move too fast, and go the wrong way. Backwards.

But we all do it, so Mars Retrograde is the time to take care of your emotions. What’s your pattern of reaction? What makes you react, or overreact? Look at it, again.

Cancer is a WATER sign, so that a clue on how to use this part of Mars Retrograde for your benefit. How can you use WATER to heal? Take baths, drink more water. Do not let ourself get dehydrated or it could effect your mood and your health. Water is essential for calming and balance, even more so now.

The journey of Mars
This Mars Retrograde, like all others, starts right after Mars trines the Sun and ends right before Mars trines the Sun, again. The midpoint of the Retrograde is when Mars opposes the Sun, on December 24, 2007. At the Mars-Sun opposition, Mars is closest to the Earth.

The aspects that Mars makes, right before and during the Retrograde, help us to understand the message of this Retrograde period.

Mars, traveling backwards or Retrograde through the zodiac, will oppose the Sun on December 24 and the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction from December 26 (Mars opposes Jupiter) through January 2 (Mars opposes Pluto). 2008 promises to be a year CHARGED with TENSION. And the more we are attached to our ego’s need to be right— so we can seemingly hold onto power— the more this Retrograde period will have a negative effect on you. And if you can’t see it on an energy level, it can be physical– just so you pay attention.

Perhaps you are experiencing physical problems because you need to FEEL your body again. Do you MOVE? As you move, movement can work through energy blocks.

Instead of paying attention to our higher Self, we get caught up in the negative flow, thinking that is what we “have to” do to survive. But when we disregard our own creative power, it makes us easy victims for more negativity. The opposition of Mars to Sun-Jupiter-Pluto at this holiday season can make any underlying tension and conflict more obvious. If you need your family, friends, and neighbors to be always happy with everything you think and do, you can get caught up in chasing their approval and lose sight of your own creative power. And projecting resentment onto others is not going to make you more powerful, although it can make your creativity harder to reach. You’re not paying attention to your creativity or intuition, you keep making it harder to hear your own inner voice or guidance system.

And if you DON’T give yourself the right to STAND in your own creative power, you run the risk of manipulating others to give you the approval to own your own power. You’re asking others to let you love yourself. And they can never really do that. So you resent them and don’t do anything. Yet, doing it for yourself gives YOU your own power. It doesn’t take power away from others, although manipulating does.

And because life is a work in progress, there’s more to come….

in Love&Light,
Lauren

ps, if you benefit from the articles on this blog, please let me know by buying my absolute favorite gift - an Amazon gift certificate. My email is lauren@artcharts.com Click Here! Thanks