I’m writing this now as Mars approaches the horizon. The great spirit of courage is rising, growing inside, getting ready to come up above and be seen. This feeling of courage is elating, but peirced with a sharp needle of determination.

Of course Mars is applying to its conjunction with Saturn and the fixed star Antares until it is exact on the 24^th of August 2016. We can see these three in the nights sky now; right at sunset they are culminating above. They look now like an isoceles triangle. Mars is shining bright red and is furthest west, Saturn is the highest of the three, and Antares is below Saturn twinkling like a madman. The first time I laid eyes on these three together, it was quite beautiful, but it was mitigated by a setting Moon/Jupiter conjunction. Moon/Jupiter speaks of all things inspiring, faithful and expansive to the soul. That crescent Moon with Jupiter was perhaps the most beautiful thing I have seen this summer, but soon they went to bed, and left me alone with Saturn and Mars. The feeling quickly turned menacing, and I honestly had trouble even being in the presence of these three. Quite a change from when Moon and Jupiter were still awake. This experience is truly a good metaphor for the month of August; we are torn between the most benefic and malefic of experiences.

The benefic experiences are brought on by a Virgo stellium of Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and the north node. Jupiter and Mercury are visible in the sky now just after sunset and Venus will join them in the next week. We can find in this the love and hope that comes from service. It is a time for organization of the spirit; to find the place that we can serve ourselves and our communities best; to give back from a place of love. The god of small things is at work here; to find hope and pleasure in every day acts of kindness… have I regressed back to middle school? Virgo is known as the virgin, symbolic of our minds before they were corrupted by the notion that the world could never be good. Of course, Mars and Saturn is here to test that. We are living in the face of danger, looking at a possible future United States under the reign of a violent authoritarian (which is literally the defintion of Saturn and Mars together). Our fears are of course very real in this; how puny do we feel in the wake of terror? This is perhaps speaking of Jupiter’s detriment and Venus’s fall in Virgo… Yet, it is Virgo that dominates Sagittarius (the sign in which Mars, Saturn and Antares fall). So when we feel confined, or overwhelmed by fear, we can turn back to the small acts of kindness. Astrologically, that is what will overcome fear at this time. Faith in our place in the world, and if your place (or your work in this world) does not soothe your fear, perhaps you are not in the right place. Mercury is in exaltation here, and that means our strength in planning is strong now. We can reorganize our lives now, and conquer fear! The mind has rulership over the elements of faith and love, meaning we consciously decide where to use these at this time.

I believe that if we do this, our personal experience of these malefics will change. Mars has now risen, and Saturn is approaching the horizon. From observation and personal experience, I have noticed an increasing lack of patience in tasks devoid of passion. Frustration abounds in things without Soul. Antares is the star at the heart of the Scorpion; located at 9 Sagitarrius. This is the heart of the shaman and the wild hunter. If our hearts are filled with fear, life may be agonizing. But it is said that fear is a mask designed to cover power. There are times in life when the celestial realm aligns in such a way that pulls our power up from our depths, and I believe this is a universal time for just this. We may or may not know what is happening or how to support the process. The more I contemplate this conjunction, the more I know that it requires us to be passionate. It requires us to go through our fear and dig deeper. Saturn is on the ascendant now. All I feel is personal knowing; that what needs to be done can be done. And it is time.

B r e a t h e.

All of this will heighten for the next ten days, and then soon after we will have a new moon eclipse at 9 degrees of Virgo on Sep 1. This is exactly square the degree of the Mars/Saturn conjunction. Eclipses are portals, openings of experience, a chance for something to be released, a seed. Again, Virgo is the sign of Service. Venus will have moved into early Libra which is her domicile; love will move from service to relationship. The benefic conjunction of Jupiter, Mercury and Venus will still be seen in the evening sky. The image I see in my mind, is an opening of cool grass, wheat ready for harvest, that is laid over the fire of fear and transformed into calm knowing. The fire goes out and we are left with ourselves… and a tiny glimmer of something else.

An image of Valhalla