Squeaky Hinge ~ 25 July 2007


Is that a squeaky hinging creaking all day and night, demanding oil? Or is it the forthcoming square of Mars to Saturn? Not a whole lot of difference really.


In preparation for this pending pattern, Mars recently passed Sedna (during the past two days), and yesterday squared Neptune. Since Sedna demands conscious choices, as she interacted with Mars, she pushed folks to make conscious decisions about life choices. Can that be accomplished, given that Mars approached inspiring and diffusing Neptune? There’s always a delightful system of checks and balances. To substantiate this point, within the past several days, the centaur Asbolus, entered Taurus.


Asbolus was an auger. Intuitive and just, he offered clear insights to those facing important life crossroads. However, when Pholus unceremoniously uncorked the ceremonial wine, Asbolus succumbed to the wine’s intoxicating scent and led the charge of centaurs to get their fair share of grape from Hercules. During the ensuing debacle, Chiron received his fateful wound. Now Asbolus knew better than to take on such a charge, but substance his normally impeccable judgment. Taking a note from Asbolus, now is the time for grounded decisions free of impairment from mind-altering substances. There’s no judgment implied, mind you; it’s just that with Asbolus in Taurus the likely fake Rolex watch on e-Bay that you slapped a $1700 bid upon while sipping wine, might not have been the best financial decision.


As well, Asbolus provides the urge for applying snap, impulse decisions. Sometimes life demands an immediate response. Here’s where Asbolus helps you out. He asks you to trust your primal instincts and physical senses. Since centaurs possess an amazing sense of smell, how does it sniff out? When confronted with a demand for immediate response, take a deep breath. How does the air around you smell? Did you have a pleasant reaction or a tense quiver? What about chill bumps? Got any of those? These body cues fall in the realm of tools offered by Asbolus. Heeding works. Life cues also apply in the domain of Asbolus. Power outages that prevent buying an airline ticket online or from getting gas for an impulsive excursion should be noted under the influence of Asbolus.


All that said, consider the irritations of life around you. Distracted from witnessing a brilliant sunset by a rusted gate swinging back and forth in the wind, you will set down the mint julep, get off the porch, find the oil and silence that squeaky, annoying gate. The upcoming Mars-Saturn pattern starts with foreshadowing annoyances. Those things under your skin prompt you to respond with timely, thorough attention. Saturn, ruler of time, quality and competence, demands nothing less. Surely sometimes it’s hard to rally. But once the initial inertia is overcome, the results or the anticipation of the results inspire continuing effort. This transit urges folks to overcome frustration and the sensation that the world’s got you down. The square of these planetary pals conspires to motivate and drive a person to new heights. New heights arise by following the course of action set into motion. Sometimes writing a company to suggest an improvement turns into the creation of a person’s own company. Had not the irritating itch been scratched, the next wave of effort in life may not be realized, at least in a timely, instinctively responsive manner.


Mars-Saturn is like Derek Jeter’s cologne, “Driven.” Jeter is a famous, skillful baseball player for the New York Yankees for those non-baseball aficionados, though his persona drive comes from Sun-Saturn-Mercury conjunct in Cancer, square Pluto in Libra. That’ll work. Drive takes energy. Energy requires that a person fuel the body with quality food, sufficient rest with active REM, and fun. Yep, with Saturn-Mars, the “I’m too busy for fun,” or “Life isn’t working, I’m going to go eat worms,” mind sets get in the way of enjoyment and the quality of life. One of Sedna’s (and Eris, too) driving transformational elements stresses quality of life. A lack of quality of life is not much good for invigorating body or spirit. Truly, the times are ridden with challenges. Most folks endure a surreal set of mundane challenges - or growth opportunities as Sagittarians pretending Pluto is not in their sign call them - that rivals the sensibilities. There’s a theory going around that those people enjoying life as they go make clearer decisions, get further faster and manage to sustain their vitality. Work hard, play hard. As the baseball manger said following an amazing win by his team, “They worked hard at their game... and they played a good game.”


Oil that dang squeaky aspect pattern, would ya?