CORRESPONDENCES: MARS IN CANCER
One of my astrological obsessions is "correspondences." Every object, subject, and concept in the universe is ruled by a planet or a sign. Based on the idea of "cosmic sympathy," each of these things can be conceived as discontinuous parts of the body of their particular deity. When Mercury is retrograde computers are more likely to break, not because of some malicious intent on the part of Mercury, but because they are both part of the same body, the same unfolding process: Mercury and all things it rules are experiencing a state of retrogradation together. Because the planets are the largest scale correspondence between the deities and an object, we can watch their movement to determine how all of the things that are part of that cluster of associations will behave. As one example, since Mars is going through Cancer at the moment, maybe avoid doing surgery on your own mother. This month, I wanted to send you a weird list of things ruled by the combination of both Mars and Cancer. Maybe you can guess which part of each is Marsian and which is Cancerian:
wrestling in the bath
plagiarizing a baking recipe
erect nipples
growing stinging nettles
thorns on white roses
gladiator armpits
a bed of hot pearls
pumpkin artillery
introverted matadors
crime at a motel
drowning in the bath
real estate agents committing hari kari
an abalone jackhammer
swollen pimples
reckless milkmen
heartburn from committing perjury
NEW MOON IN ARES
The new moon is a time for planting seeds, a moment of fertility when our actions can take root in alignment with the invisible weather of the stars rather than fighting against them.
The chart you see above is the moment of the new moon for Mexico City (CST timezone), but all of the planets will be more or less the same for your location. The spring equinox has just passed, the start of the astrological new year. Interestingly, we have two Aries new moons this year (this is the second), but there is still the sense of newness: the intensity and fire of Aries energy, and the sign’s ruler Mars, is thought to be the heat that catalyzes life again after the long cold of winter. To make things more intense, this new moon is also an eclipse! There’s a lot more to say about eclipses, but briefly, you can expect reversals and surprises, hidden things coming to light, and shifts in power dynamics. Eclipses are often a good time to assassinate the king, and since Aries rules the head, this one is uniquely suited for beheadings.
The Aries moon is impulsive, action-oriented, quick to react and quick to move on. Self-expression is valued over self-control, and the things we feel will find a way to surface, perhaps with overwhelming force if we pressurize and suppress them. The Aries new moon wants to bring us independence and freedom, though it may do so by alienating or severing us from others, unless they can support us in that pursuit (and we allow them to be involved in the process).
This is particularly true with this new moon because the ruler of the moon in Aries is Mars in Cancer. Cancer is Mars’ sign of fall (read the glossary entry at the end of this newsletter if you want to know more about planets in fall). Practically, this month our drive for self-expression and self-assertion will come up against our need to nurture and to be nurtured. This is uniqeuly active on April 25th when the moon conjuncts Mars, and on the full moon in Scorpio on May 5th. There may be less ease in family dynamics, a sharp edge between ourselves and those who support us or who we support, anger at the lack of care we’re receiving, or resentment if we’re being held down or controlled by another’s desire to protect us.
With all of those in our birth or chosen family, we should ask how directness, and even conflict, can be a form of care. How can independence and interdependence co-exist and support each other? How can we change our own approach to conflict so destruction or collapse can also catalyze new growth? In what ways have toxic masculinity harmed us, and how do we prevent ourselves from reproducing it? These experiences are likely to have the most obvious impact on people with planets in the cardinal signs (ie: Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) and in the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) around the time of the full moon.
OUTER PLANET TRANSITS
Finally, we’ve recently seen two major shifts from the slower planets, Saturn and Pluto. A lot of you know that Saturn has just entered Pisces, beginning the 3 year Saturn return for anyone with Saturn in the sign. Let’s get together and uncover what your return will look like. I know it can be an intimidating transit, but I'd love to work with you to make a Saturn Return survival guide at the beginning of the process. Everyone with planets in the earlier degrees of a mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) would benefit a lot from an individual reading to find out how Saturn will affect you in the coming months.
Pluto is now at 0 degrees Aquarius, the first of many slow and intense transits it will make to this part of the chart over the next several years. If you have any planets in the first few degrees of fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius), this will be a new and transformative experience. Let’s dig into your chart and see how you might approach the god of the underworld with openness instead of fear.
Jupiter, the planet of abundance, expansiveness, and visionary ideas is at the end of Aries and will soon enter Taurus, so this is also a fabulous opportunity for later-degree fire signs & all earth signs to initiate new things that will take off like wildfire, or expand their horizons in new and inspiring ways. Jupiter is moving quickly at the moment, so timing this to your personal natal chart is especially important to amplify the opportunities here.