This week starts off with Mars about two-thirds into his trek through Libra, where he is in what astrologers call detriment or exile. A planet in detriment is in a sign where they are forced to act against their essential nature.
Mars is the planet of action and assertion. Mars likes to make things happen and get them done NOW. But when Mars is in Venus’ harmonious, equilibrium-loving sign of Libra, his natural impulse to action is weighed down in endless prevarication. Mars is forced to slow down and consider the consequences and other possibilities, to the point where he may find himself overwhelmed and unable to move. When Mars in Libra finally does move to act, it’s often because things have built to such a head that he has no choice. As a result, that action is often a day late and a dollar short, more reactive than proactive, and less potent in the end.
People with a natal Mars in Libra (ahem, yours truly) often find that they are unconsciously creating crises, provoking arguments, and manifesting chaos so they will finally be forced to do something. That’s not to say that a Mars in Libra is never Mars-like, that is, assertive or forceful, rather, that when Mars’s assertiveness does come out it is often lacking awareness or counterproductive.
The challenge of Mars in Libra is to learn to take action in conscious, proactive ways, in the service of the Libran agenda of harmony, beauty, and justice. When something in his life needs to shift or change, the buried action potential of Mars in Libra will start to boil and bubble beneath the surface, creating a sort of low-level thrum of dread and anxiety. As that impulse to action is suppressed and ignored, it becomes stronger, building a head of steam, preparing to erupt and creating panic and terror for the individual.
I speak from personal experience. But whether or not you have this natal placement, we all have times when we can identify with this Mars in Libra dynamic. You may have Mars in Aries rising and crush your goals on a daily basis, but I guarantee there is some area of your life (and chart) where you resist action. The challenge for anybody experiencing this resistance and stuckness is to learn to recognize those inner rumblings of dread and anxiety as a call to action in the areas of your life where you are resisting change.
On Tuesday, May 5, Mars squares Pluto in Capricorn. Pluto, the planet of the underworld, asks us to die so we can be reborn. Pluto asks us to revisit our trauma so it can be healed. Pluto asks us to get real about the shadowy, unloved parts of ourselves so we can reclaim and put them to good use. This work is never easy, and we tend to avoid it if we can.
Mars in Libra squaring Pluto in Capricorn might look like you unconsciously triggering a crisis that forces you to examine the foundations of all you have built. Have you ever tossed off a seemingly innocuous comment to a loved one that upon further examination was deeply passive-aggressive? Did that comment trigger a huge fight that caused you to question the stability of your relationship? Did it force you to look at some painful truths about yourself? When we get ourselves into these kinds of situations, we have an opportunity to slow down, to grow and to heal our unconscious patterns. That’s the kind of energy this transit brings.
Of course the Sun is still in Scorpio, and Mercury is still retrograde in Scorpio, so our unconscious material is being highlighted anyway. The more we learn to accept and utilize these transits as they come (rather than blaming all our misfortunes on them), the easier time we have of it.
On Friday, November 8, the Sun moves into a trine with a retrograde Neptune in Pisces. Neptune represents visions of peaceful bliss, both real and delusional. It represents the ways in which we allow our egoic boundaries to dissolve into another- whether a partner, a social group, or the divine. While this can be profoundly illuminating, bringing us into a state of nondual awareness, it can also be profoundly disempowering, siphoning off the essential life force and will we are given to accomplish our purpose in life into fantasy, illusion, and spiritual bypassing.
Trines are generally harmonious aspects, and with the awareness we have been developing this Scorpio season, we can expect a gentle and helpful illumination of our escapist tendencies. We can use this transit to release the scales from our eyes and recommit to the dreams and visions that are in alignment with our highest path and purpose.
Here are this week’s questions for reflection:
Tuesday, November 5: Mars in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn
Where do I avoid taking action in my life?
When I am avoiding something, how does it feel in my body? What emotions do I associate with these sensations? Can I use these emotions and sensations to alert me to my patterns of avoidance
What kinds of situations do I find myself experiencing over and over again that generally force me to take action? Can I see how I have a role in creating these situations?
What needs to die right now in my life? A relationship? A pattern? An identity?
Can I take one proactive step toward letting that thing go? Can I trust that I will feel better on the other side of this process?
Friday, November 8: Sun in Scorpio trine Neptune in Pisces
What dreams and fantasies do I tend to escape into when I’m feeling stressed or avoiding action?
In what way to I give my power away to others by not holding clear and conscious boundaries in my life?
What is the vision that I have for my life that these escapist and disempowering patterns keep me from achieving?
How can I recommit to this deeply important and purposeful vision?