Mars Retrograde- Long Way Home

NA_Biketour_2009_208 by Jole Kiraly, CCL

Effective date: April 17th - June 29th (Shadow period from June 29th through August 23rd)

“If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.” - David Livingstone

Helios Says: BRRAAAAAP!! BRAAAAAAP!! Hear that? That's the alarm ringing, early as shit and you were out partying the house down last night. That is how we're starting this one, all right!

Oh, and you're late.

Mars is making a strategic retreat out of Sagittarius, stuffing his suitcases as best he can, trying to get out of Vegas before casino security makes it up to his penthouse suite to collect on his severe debt, the size of several Balkan states' worth of GDP (I'm good for it you guys, I swear!!). Unfortunately, with his back against the wall, 40 stories up, he only has one place to go- back into Scorpio. Yes, everyone's favorite, blood-curdling torture den, the stagnant underworld he once called home.

This is the best news you will have all week. You see, apart from being where all the good stuff is (sex, passion, other peoples money, and not to mention all the riches of the earth [apart from oil, which Pisces gets for some reason. Go figure]), Scorpio gives one wonderful, uncomfortable and usually unwanted, yet still completely vital gift: The Truth; the Scorpio truth is one that hides nothing- it is the naked truth. Scorpio will expose the falsehoods, allowing you to take action.

Yes, you read that right; this is not going to be a sit-on-your-ass retrograde, oh no! You will need to make moves, and you will need to make them now, at the least opportune moment. You see, you are already feeling this. You are seeing the truth right NOW, seeing that there is a great deal that is just NOT working in your life. You are not the same person that you were 6 months ago, and the strategies developed then will not serve you now. Currently, you are being overwhelmed by the enormity of how much dysfunction you are facing, and you are frozen in place. You fear losing ground, so you refuse to work with the change that has already occurred. If you do this you will waste valuable time trying to defend a beachhead that you have already lost, and you will make far less headway towards your new goals than you would have otherwise.

There is another option- give up the high ground. The marginal, quantified success that you have made at great cost to you over this last year has been hard fought, I know- But its not the way. It has come at such a cost because you were fighting the way to get here, and you thought you were overcoming the odds. You thought it was what you wanted, you thought it was for the best- You were wrong. If you can face that, and you can accept it, you can change and move forward in the right way.

You faced the call last year to throw your middle fingers up and walk the path alone, daring you yo  plunge into the unknown with no guarantees. It understandably terrified you, and you returned to safety, not knowing that you were running full-bore into a slow death, losing that precious progress that you had made. You went against your own best interest and acted against your own self-love. Of course, you didnt know this at the time- Now you do. The dysfunction you face is because of this, and it is also the solution to your problem: The areas in your life highlighted by the dysfunction you must correct by acting in your own best interest- By loving yourself first, and making the best choices accordingly, you will succeed. This will not be easy, and it will seem like you are surrendering. That is the fear mentality talking- Your fear of failure must be overcome here and now, because there is just no other way. Embrace what seems to be a failure, and fuck what everyone else thinks. Act in your own best interest, because you're going to die anyway- might as well be the one in the driver's seat!


Artemis Says: 

"You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger."  -Buddha

Talk about being on edge...  We are being told two contradictory things from this planet.  On one hand, we have the Saggo aspect urging us to move forward and start a new phase of our lives.  It is the turning of the seasons in many ways for us right now.  And then, on the other hand, Mars going into retrograde is telling us to HALT.  It's feels like we are pressing the gas and pressing the brakes at the same time.  It doesn't feel very pleasant, does it?

When Mars starts moving backwards in the sky (retrograde), we lose our vitality.  We are in the shadow period for Mars retrograde as I write this.  A looming silence is on the horizon, and it threatens to thwart all of our plans.  It is a pretty well known thing that anything initiated during Mars in retrograde will likely fizzle out.  Financial plans, new projects, romances, etc.  Mars rules sex and industry, so expect setbacks in both of these areas.  With Venus in sexfest Aries, this will bring very conflicting feelings.

Arguments are easy to come by during Mars retrograde.  Everyone is constantly a hair away from losing their shit, and the smallest things seem to annoy us.  Sounds aggravating, doesn't it?  This aspect is not only rough for your personal life, but it can create major rage fests in the political sphere as well.  With our current political climate, that doesn't sound very good.

We are going to want to change - be dying for it in fact.  But Mars is going to tell us NO.  Taurus season is coming, and we are going to need to slow the hot Aries energy.  The 4 of Swords tells us that people will withdraw and obsess (which will get even worse once the sun moves into uber obsessive Taurus).  We have a very hard full moon coming our way, and with Mars in this aspect, we are going to need to get as much healing done as possible.  This is a time to rest - both mentally and physically.  Be very delicate around those you love because the smallest annoyances can lead to giant flare ups.  Be kind to each other.  We are a long way from home and we are all we've got in this strange land.  

Cards:  The Wheel and 4 of Swords

Neptune Direct: Drawing Lines In The Sand

Deer Lord (Praise Cernunnos), this is where I feel I need to slink off to right about now. This Mercury Retrograde would be hell enough on anyone, but to throw it in with Saturn in Scorp, the Uranus-Pluto drama, Mars-Jupiter shenanigans, AND a superpowered eclipse? Holy Hell, Hellraisers- This time Neptune might be the one thing that sees us through. 

Lets hope we can trust him.


Anyway, yes Neptune is now officially direct. Pay attention, Hellraisers- This is where the fun starts. Dreams get cosmic, and carry potent messages on swift wings. Omens abound, and black cats start crossing your path in droves. The trick is figuring out the message while you can. Quite often you can only put it together after its much too late to make a difference. But that's the way these thing go, I'm afraid.

In other ways, this can feel like waking back up after a long nap in the Sun. The important thing is realizing you were, in fact, dreaming- and now its time to get back to reality. Done incorrectly however, this is more akin to an insomniac who is working 60+ hours a week and getting nowhere. If this is you FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TAKE YOURSELF OUT OF THE GAME! Rest up, you're going to need it. This is Eclipse season, and there will be no prisoners taken.

As always with Neptune, I caution you not to overdo it with the boozing or drugs- especially with Jupiter Retrograde. This time however, im giving you an out. Anything used for actual, real self-work and discovery and not for escapism is super potent right now*. But use caution. Its much better to dry out with Saturn in Scorp, trust me.

Speaking of, you know that niggling voice in the back of your head that is keeping you up at night? Well there's only one cure- Put the changes its suggesting into action. Trust me, you'll be so glad you did. Also, you know that pain you're feeling right now? Yes, right now as you read this line. Oh, dont give me that shit- you cant hide it from me. Anyway its going to be with you for a while. Work on it, drag it out from the shadows and face it- work on healing it. Accept what you cant change and start changing what you can. Planning only though- no action till after Mercury goes direct again.

Oh, one last thing: You're going to want to give up. Don't.

Hellraisers, we're in for a hell of a ride. Hang on, and slam on the gas pedal.

-The AstroGeek

 
*(AG Skywatch Legal Note- For the love of... Not this bullshit again! sigh AstroGeek's Skywatch does not endorse, reccomend, or condone recreational drug use or any other form of substance abuse. All indications to the contrary and statements issued are merely intended to entertain, albeit poorly. Somebody get us out of here, we havent showered in weeks and the food is absolute shit. We do get good dental, though, but that hardly covers it. Anyway, dont sue us- We dont have any clean suits, the bastards too cheap to pay for dry cleaning.)   

Mars in Sagittarius: Dangerous Liasons

Whew! We made it guys! Now we can all put our feet up and relax for a bit and drink some coffee out on the verranda. Yay us!

Whats that you say; Im missing one last planet? Which one?

Oh tits, its Mars.

Hahahaha well wasnt that a fun respite guys? Whew, I feel SO refreshed! And its a good thing too, because now I have the sudden pressing desire to go skydiving. Like right this second. And then after, I might try my hand at motocross. You know, just to pass the time.

Mars in Saggo. God help us everyone else.

So wherever you have Sagittarius in your chart is about to get SWOLE. Your key with this is to 1.) Set a goal- Dream BIG BIG BIG here. Trust me. The more radical and crazy awesome, the better. 2.) Know the territory- Learn everything you can about this, get your head around this goal. Immerse yourself in it. Live, Eat, Breathe it. Want it. 3) Get amped!! This is something YOU want, so YOU go and get it! 4) Train your ass off. This goes hand in hand with #2. If you want to see results, you are going to need to put up the work, and you are not going to want to mess around. Capitalize on your gains, and keep up your momentum. 5.) Triumph- Follow the first 4 steps and this is assured, barring outside influence.

Now- Warnings: Saggo has a major failing- Its the tendency to TALK about what you would/want to do rather that actually doing it. This is Low Performance Saggo, avoid this at all costs. Luckily, Saturn in Scorp should help you there. Just stay committed. You will also be tempted to put in less of an effort due to time constraints and other issues. Venus in Virgo helps here; If you dont have one, invest in a scheduler. It will save you. Plot out your time, track EVERYTHING YOU DO. Its amazing where you can find time if you actively look at how your spending it. Also, Mars' trip through Virgo should still be fresh in your mind. Dont forget what you learned from that.

Again, look at where Sagittarius falls in your chart. The house that has it on the cusp will tell you where to aim and how high to shoot. For instance, this one will take place in my Twelfth so... Well, lets not go into that one, the twelfth is a silly place. Say Saggo is on the cusp of your Tenth house, It would be an awesome time for you to work some radical new career mojo. This doesnt mean spam your resume everywhere, it means defining what you want in a career, finding what fits your ideal, and targeting that specific career. 

Above all else though, do it big!

-The AstroGeek

And allow me to introduce you to my new favorite thing ever: Electro-Swing!