August first is nearly upon us. Only five months until we turn over the calendar to 2020. How’s this annual calendric campaign going for you? That’s rhetorical really. That’s for you to know and the results to be seen. The planets are turning it, setting sights on 2020. Can you achieve conscious compliance?
Recently (17 July) Ceres went direct in Sagittarius. Quite simply, Ceres has an ax to grind. As far as you are concerned, Ceres wants you to be seen as thoughtful, capable of critical thought, rooted in a firm belief system and philosophically astute. Before you let Ceres get all vocal on your behalf, consider how others see you. If they do not see you as Ceres desires your collective persona to be perceived, why is that? Do you brilliantly pontificate, then turn around and engage with something silly, take on a task that cannot be completed, or engage in a war where you are out flanked, out gunned and out campaigned? If you line up somewhere between actions and beliefs, time to let everyone know what your true beliefs are and what predicates you feel you are subject to in the realm of real world activity.
In slightly more than two days Mercury turns direct in Cancer, bound for Leo ingress and subsequent roars (12 August). No longer will there any conceivable reason not to issue well-founded ideas, launch concepts, and all matters Mercury, including steering clear of pickpockets - symbolic or literal.
In twelve days, Jupiter turns direct (11 August) in Sagittarius, at which point he rushes through the second half of Sagittarius at what might seem to be light speed. Given Jupiter rules Sagittarius, it can be assumed that the opportunism of the remainder of his days in this carefully aiming sign runs significantly higher than the norm. Here are a couple truisms about the big guy. He has no tolerance for the timid, those who procrastinate, those who pontificate without merit, those who fail to stretch to reach as far as they can.
Jupiter disapproves of the axiom “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.” He knows that if you plan for the moon, your fuel supply, trajectory (very important to Sagittarian aim), resources aboard and emotional sustenance likely would not support a journey to the stars. He’s more inclined to say shoot for the stars... but then if there’s a default of landing on the moon, or a moon of a planet, he’s inclined to argue that your initial expectations were flawed. And as he’ll point out, he is correct with his argument.
A sprint from a planetary point of view can be seen as Mercury. A solid sprint, endured for longer than a burst of speed, but shorter than a marathon is a Mars thing. Energetically sprinting with well-planned activity for the remainder of the year - that’s more clearly a Mars thing.
So let’s consider Mars. On 8 August Mars trines Eris in Aries and during the following hours sextiles Haumea in Libra. Let no creative idea or inspiration be left behind.
Mars enters Virgo on 18 August. Picky and fussy, Mars will nag from the point of view that “any job worth doing is worth doing right.” He’ll add “use the right tool for the right job.” And figure he’s mandating that any plan must be executed efficiently, with an economy of energy and a maximum of planning.
During his Virgo tenure Venus comes up to conjoin him on 24 August. She reminds Mars that he needs to ask nicely for the participation of and money from others - especially where the fulfillment of budget overruns enters the picture.
The Sun meets up with Mars on the 1st of September questioning the wisdom of doing all jobs by oneself with no delegation. The Sun also reminds Mars that if others have no idea what the plan is, others inadvertently get in the way or protest action that appears to be in conflict with their own.
Notable with Mars in Virgo are his squares to the Great Attractor (9 September) and the Galactic Center (29 September). During both these times access to significant cosmic information doubles, triples, quadruples or maybe even exponentially increases. Adding new insights is the plan, not a delay to the plan. Far-reaching cosmic inspiration must be added, but with the caveat that it must be broken down to real world tasks and applications - all with the goal of greasing the gears while the tread tears down the road.
Next Mars enters Libra on 4 October. Yes, sharing the load and receiving assistance is a good thing. Collaboration can be cool. Playing nicely in the sandbox and considering the reactions of everyone on the path, or peripherally near the path you travel, benefits agendas of all.
Mars migrates into Scorpio, a sign he rules, on 19 November. Okay, the holiday season is coming. Ride the wave of celebration. Amplify passion. Promote bottom line agendas with insight and clarity. There is enthusiastic support in the air, given those who seek to align see their stake in the claim, too.
Mars enters Sagittarius on 3 January 2020. Long gone are Ceres and Jupiter from Sag. It seems to be Mars’ task to invoke, energize, activate and finish up the agendas of Ceres and in so doing, confirm and complete the lofty objectives of Jupiter.
Mars transiting a sign functions more as a theme. Actual dynamic aspects made by Mars to other planets establish distinctive energy patterns. Consider the following:
Mars in Virgo squares Ceres in Sagittarius 25 August. To fight the good fight a good fight must appear and the inevitable, calculable outcome must support the most intricate details of one’s plan.
Mars in Virgo squares Jupiter in Sagittarius 12 September. What a great time to revisit the thinking behind all plans in progress. All plans must match over all beliefs. Reality check.
Mars in Libra squares Saturn in Capricorn 27 October. This incredibly strong motivational aspect follows the Ceres-Jupiter conjunction in Sagittarius by two days. The Ceres-Jupiter alignment will be a political thing - a big political thing - and it will shine revealing ultraviolet light and x-rays upon structures in place. If one looks and sees cracks in the symbolic or real infrastructures, the motivation becomes to fix what needs to be fixed and fix it now - and make it a permanent or enduring restoration, too.
Mars in Libra squares Pluto in Capricorn 5 November. Here, the co-rulers of Scorpio flex their muscles for the benefit of the other. Both remain unimpressed. Once they get past posturing, perhaps they can agree that a full-fervor approach stands as the only dignified thing to do. Both planets in the aspect claim an “at all costs” attitude toward things that must be done. Well, says the cosmos, “The proof is in the pudding.” Do you have a passionate surge to 2020 in you? You’re going to find out. Best to rally to the entire spectrum on energy and intensity. Those who do surge go further faster and issue the statement, I didn’t come this far to be where I am. And in a blur, those folks are onto the task at hand with zero inhibition and not one iota of reserve.
Next up, about the Jupiter station on the Great Attractor...