Planet Waves Weekly for August 29, 2003

Full On

Dear Galactic Voyager:

It's interesting what happens when we feel the effects of our own strength. While Mars retrograde may seem to be playing havoc with some of our lives -- giving with one hand and taking with the other -- there is another effect in motion. Mars is slow and powerful and right now it's fully charging up Pisces, a place where many people lack resolve and clarity in their charts. But there is nothing irresolute about this transit. To the contrary, it seems to be emphasizing distinctions and compelling clarity. Mars and Sun are at full expression, exact opposition; that is an energy structure that's helping us see our true needs for expression.

Combined with the significant effects of Uranus in Pisces, which will carry through the next seven years, you may be in one of the most vivid and meaningful visioning processes of many years, despite any fuss or commotion.

We live in a masochistic culture where we are so often bound and gagged and call it freedom. We're often willing to support or at least tolerate killing in the name of our nonfreedom and quite often fear taking tangible steps out of our restrictions, concerned about the impact or consequences on the people to whom we are indentured. That's not going to work very well now. Mars in Pisces is a compelling message to remember something about the past, and to clear up some old circumstances and, more than anything, to clear the emotional waters for the experience of real desire. I imagine it's reminding many people of their long-forgotten tropism toward passion and creative fire, and calling on us to reconsider all the lies we believed about ourselves.

You know, we don't start by being liars; we start by believing what we're told, usually because we have no choice in the matter. It's not a matter of credibility; it's a matter of who holds power over us when we are little. If we stop taking that on, as might be happening now, suddenly there's real power in our hands, and power calls for decisions and decisions call for action.

Mars for Peace

A rare conjunction of clear skies in Seattle and my friend leaving her kids' telescope at my place as she left for vacation last week put me face-to-face with Mars last night. Most of my stargazing is on paper, I realized while looking right at the planet that usually shows up on my desk as the symbol on the men's room door. The real Mars is a lot more interesting.

Here's what I noticed. First, working the telescope wasn't that easy at first. This one doesn't have a computer; you can't simply turn it on, wait for a GPS reading and look at something. So I had to figure it out, which was complicated slightly because the sighting device wasn't really calibrated to the larger scope so well. The range of a telescope's view can be fairly narrow, this one seemed to be about half a degree. Looking at the sky, the first thing that becomes apparent is that it's moving fast. This is to say that if you focus on the sky and look out, the stars are moving. This is the "As the World Turns" effect; the world is doing the (noticeable) moving, spinning on its axis in the midst of the greater metropolitan cosmos.

When people ask "does my birth time matter?" the answer is yes, because The World Turns. You need to tune into your personal soap opera at the right time, if possible. (Lack of a birth time can be worked around effectively, but only after it's been thoroughly researched and decided to be unrecoverable.)

Okay, so, finally after my independent study project in working a telescope, I got Mars in my sights, and then learned how to use the narrow-focus lens (there are two with this setup, wide-angle and narrow). I then theorized that it would look better from outside under the sky, rather than through the double-glass window of my living room, so I carted the chair and the telescope out to my back yard, and then after a little more aiming and focusing and fussing and independent study, there, behold, hark, lo, whoa, voila, viola: good old Mars.

My little scope was not big enough to see the face, the pyramids, the enormous canyon, that great big mountain and all the busy UFO bases. But it was quite adequate to be able to observe, after my eyes adjusted and my brain put the whole thing together, that this is another planet, right there, just like that. After following it across the sky for a while (it was moving so fast that I needed to re-aim about every two minutes), and imagining millions of other telescopes all trained on the same scene and everyone taking in all that energy straight from Mars to their eyes, it was very clear that I was looking at a perfect sphere rather than a dot: full Mars, that is, Mars at exact opposition to the Earth reflecting the maximum light of the sun, which is one reason why it's so bright and clear and red.

I kept looking out at the sky and back through the telescope and instructing my brain to put the two images together. And I watched, for perhaps an hour, soaking in those Mars in Pisces rays, switching eyes to catch both sides of my personality.

I then came back in to express some of that Mars as creative process and, in true Mercury about to go retrograde fashion, my computer was hung up and after an hour I had only solved two-thirds of the problem, and there was nobody I could call in the middle of the night to solve the rest. Going outside to fetch the telescope, I had to take one last long look.

Mars in Pisces; some say it's debauched, demented, irresponsible, pleasure-seeking, indulgent, and knows no sensibilities and even less about boundaries; but of course. But to me it just looked like a fine planet. But if it means anything special in Pisces, I also say this is Mars for Peace, retrograde (retrograde = reflective on the past, not in attack mode, inwardly directed rather than outer), in what is by far the mellowest sign. Pisces is the sign of "seen it all, but I'm still sticking around, so might as well have some fun." If there was ever astrology that said Make Love, Not War, this is it. Or peaceful warrior or spiritual warrior. Or passionate person or emotional adventurer. When Mars in Pisces boldly says "bring 'em on," it's talking about the banquet, the hookah and the harem.

War is dumb and boring and people get hurt and frightened, and if one finds it pleasant, interesting and entertaining, that's really not such a good sign. When one emphasizes the violence and death aspect of Mars, it's almost always at the expense of the passion and creativity aspect. When the two are blended, the result can be a crazy jumble of emotional psychology wherein desire, conflict, fulfillment and pain are all mixed together into one chaotic blend.

With Mars, we really have two issues that keep popping up from ancient and modern mythology. From ancient times, we have the whole God of War business. I recognize that this is culture-specific; the Vaslomki people of Dodo Island on the Blue Inner Sea of New Guinea (they were Viking-Poles who shipwrecked there thousands of years ago) are sure that what we call Mars is really Mata, the Supreme Goddess of Peace and Understanding. But we Greco-Roman types take him as symbolizing war, aggression and violence. (Astrologers at least add the concepts vitality and passion but that's why they're astrologers.) The second is the "Life on Mars" issue of the modern mythology called science fiction. Martian people are almost always portrayed as being aggressive; they come here to kick our ass, sometimes even starting in New Jersey (according to Orson Welles). The notable exception is Valentine Michael Smith, the Martian in Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, who showed up and taught everyone how to kiss properly.

When we look at Mars and fear its warriors coming to get us, are we projecting a little? Hmm?

The Life on Mars issue and the God of War issue can be merged into one concept without much fuss. We know that Mars is very likely to have once supported life. Our own scientists tell us this; we have seen evidence of bacterial life in Martian rock samples. We see polar caps and evidence of the movement of water on the planet's surface. There are different artifacts that certainly fuel the imagination -- what looks like a pyramid complex, for example.

Here is the life-war connection: If there was life on Mars, what happened to it?

Let's say for laughs that many proud and powerful civilizations once thrived there, and thought themselves the crown of creation. Imagine that there were communities and cities, and all the usual planetary things like libraries, universities, research facilities, vast oceans, rivers, canals, supermarkets, bars, churches and theme parks. There were sentient beings, who didn't necessarily get along so well. Now, we sit in our back yards looking up at our nearest planetary neighbor, a dry, hot, dusty and apparently lifeless planet, wondering if once upon a time, long ago, something maybe went on there.++

Planet Waves by Eric Francis
http://www.PlanetWaves.net/

Birthdays This Week
So much is going right for you, and so many positive changes are within sight if not within actual grasp. But the astrology of these days presents a complex picture of self-development and relationship development that would benefit from a little sorting out. Since you're a Virgo I'm sure you won't mind if I delve into the technicalities a little because the picture itself is worth seeing. I'll probably post the chart, too.

The planets are arranged right now in a polarity across Virgo and Pisces. Most of the energy is in your sign, coming in the form of the Sun and the recent new Moon, Venus, Mercury (retrograde) and Jupiter -- all but Mercury being brand new arrivals. This is giving you a lot to consider in the way of options, and the feeling of suddenly seeing what you've been missing. One of the banes of Virgo is feeling small; Jupiter is here to remedy that, and for the next year. Venus is not only going to help your wealth; in Virgo (as in most other signs) intelligence is her primary gift. We know how this turns you on.

But relationships are certainly a significant question. Astrologers look for information about relationships in your opposite sign (or in the case of a proper horoscope chart, the 7th house). For our purposes that is Pisces, which is the scene of the Mars retrograde, Uranus having begun a seven-year journey across your house of relationships. Either of these factors is a lot to handle. You are suddenly confronted by people with a drive for independence, even if they are not meeting your critical definition of true resolve. But whether it's "freedom for freedom's sake" or what you perceive as a true calling, you're being confronted by people who are exercising their will.

So on the inside, this leaves you confronted by rather unusual potential, intelligence, insight and growing resources. On the outside, you are confronted by people who may have little concern for your assessment of them or of anything; they just want to live their life their way. And, as you know, to get anything to happen in this world, the cooperation of others is required. Please trust me when I say that while they may seem quite willing to do it without you, they are just as willing to do it with you -- no matter how it may appear now.

Learning to cooperate and get cooperation in this environment is going to be the equivalent of getting a Ph.D. in applied psychology, which means that theory has very little to do with anything. You will need to notice how others behave, ask them what they want and learn to use a power called directness that may make you squirm a little -- and it may not always work. Another approach would be allowing everyone in your life to teach you to be free, and learning to relate outside of formal commitments in relationships that are no less compelling, effective or satisfying. To the contrary, you are likely to conclude that your adult relationship life of dealing with others as your equals begins this year.

That would not be nearly as much fun if you didn't have so much going for you. You are no longer in second place, relegated to helper or a mere member of the committee. This is, as the old saying goes, your life.

Aries (March 20-April 19)
What is the true nature of healing? Apparently it doesn't require much in the way of physical intervention, since many physical conditions vanish when the emotional conditions of our lives are consciously addressed. Notice how effectively you've been dealing with your fear of the unknown, which must come as a great relief. Those who need everything to be certain, assured and under control tend to be the most miserable among us. Those who are open to change and accept that there are times when we must stand alone are the ones whose faith moves mountains and crosses oceans. Or in your case is enabling you to bring your life into balance and sanity.

Taurus (April 19-May 20)
I suggest you lay aside any concerns about social standing, popularity and why you don't know more people who share your values. You're presently being offered an awesome opportunity to explore your drive for self-expression and experimental creativity. This is less 'art for art's sake' and more about experiencing yourself as a whole person, and feeling your power to create as being an expression of the life force working through you. For far too long you've resisted taking the risks that are necessary to really feel alive. Or maybe it was just long enough. Now that you're ready, you can really appreciate the gift of freedom, and once you feel that, sharing it with others will be very natural.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
Your problems are temporary and the benefits that are developing are, by any functional measure, permanent. You may feel like certain complex and tangled situations at home and several noteworthy delays or reversals of fortune are more compelling, and from your perspective it certainly would appear to be the case. Yet if you look closely, you'll notice that several key factors are turning up as persistently positive and stable, while everything else is in fast motion. Instability is, oddly enough, an asset right now. Work with what you have, make your plans quietly and resist any temptation to evaluate your life for about five or six weeks.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Set some clear definitions about what is your business and what is not. The presence of Saturn in your birth sign, so powerfully aspected right now, is suggesting that you are the master of your business to a greater extent than ever before. The ordinary guidelines are not in effect right now, the ones that say you're actually responsible for everyone else but nobody is responsible for you. Watch whatever more-than-interesting events unfold with a sense of detachment and they won't touch you. Meantime, you may need to be more forthcoming than usual about certain private matters, though what you gain in a sense of integrity and the feeling of having nothing to hide will more than compensate for any risk you take in revealing yourself.

Leo (July 22-Aug 23)
I have been suggesting lately that success, as you define it, has a lot to do with your awareness of both your resources and those of partners. Presently, you're running under your own steam, though the present astrological pattern gives you a number of opportunities to reconsider and revise commitments and joint arrangements. In the past, they were more along the lines of what others could do for you. Current conditions are more inclined to favor mutual arrangements and "back to the egg" type proposals. This is a very, very good time for planning your future and expanding your dreams without the annoying interference of fear. Love has far greater ambitions for you.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
You can depend on whatever information emerges from the cosmic vaults, yet this week's revelation will pale in comparison to your inner observations that dawn over the next couple of weeks. This is no ordinary time in your life, but what sets it apart from so many others is the sense that nothing is out of your reach, no achievement too difficult to attain and no problem too difficult to solve. Most of all, you're feeling like you're finally on the same scale as all those big people. You likely have no idea how effective, aware and even daunting you seem to others right now, in part because you've done so much to transcend your fears.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
Important and necessary developments may be taking far longer than you expected to manifest, but under the current stellar setup there is no point pushing anything, particularly your health. You have no need to fear if certain physical symptoms are being stirred up lately, and you will respond well to healing solutions that are emotional, energetic or involve water. Drink the stuff, soak in it and better still, become it. This is an excellent time for you to recognize how sensitive to your environment you are, though the relationship may be inverse: a wholesome struggle to maintain your balance will serve you well in the long run.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
If people only knew what fears you face every day, and how much strength it takes you to rise to the level of your faith. Yet you actually hold faith as a true standard; in other words, it's more than just a word for you, and it comes with a special challenge and a true reward. Particularly these days, nobody can accuse you of living unconsciously. And while your past mistakes may be weighing a little more heavily than usual on you, the pressure to scrutinize yourself is strictly an internal phenomenon. People are far more forgiving of you than you are of yourself. I suggest you take their example; there are great rewards.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
Recent shifts of circumstances, while welcome, have likely arrived with stresses, surprises and complications. There seems to be a canyon as wide as Mariner Valley on Mars (2,000 miles long and up to five miles deep, dwarfing the Grand Canyon) between what you feel called to do and your state of emotional preparation. Since you so often feel like you're not exactly from our planet, I just want to remind you that emotions are always shaky. Often the sense that you're ready is precisely that churning in your gut and the frightful notion that it's now or never. Time is not nearly so pressing, though. It's more like now or ever.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
It's good to have choices, particularly choices in relationship, and I maintain that it's healthy to exercise options rather than to feel trapped or ensnared. What's slowly dawning on your mind is the spiritual connection aspect of relationship, which is another way of saying that how we orient with another person has a lot to do with the definition of ourselves that we're carrying at the time. You are confronted by a variety of people all of whom seem to cause you to feel quite differently about yourself. Watch the differences closely and get a feeling for any common ground. Opposites may attract, but bonding is based on common interests.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
Once the issue of 'self esteem' surfaces, we can be sure there's a problem. How one feels about oneself is rarely a question for those who feel good or who are not presented with reasons for the kind of top-to-bottom re-evaluation you're going through. The bulk of the current lesson is that how others feel about you actually matters far more than we are supposed to admit. Let's get real. Nobody in this world is self-sufficient, and logic only goes so far. Everyone needs reassurance, and everyone needs help. I strongly encourage you to take what's offered to you in the coming days.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
"Fortes fortuna adjuvat," said Virgil, probably quoting a common expression of his era -- fortune favors the bold -- though the book of Proverbs tells us that "The meek shall inherit the Earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Is it possible to be both bold and meek? If you live with a sense of vision and thrive on cooperation, it certainly is. Your presence and your example are direct forms of leadership. People are noticing you and, though so much else in the world appears to be shrouded in fog, smog and mystery, it's clear that you're offering reassurance, a ray of light and some new ideas. Count on that, because it's about to take you as far as you want to go.