Mars in the Last Gasp of Aries

It's been a long six months of Mars in Aries, hasn't it? It's not going quietly into that goodnight, what with rabid, Far Beyond Right and Gone Wrong Trumpeters storming the Capitol, inflamed by the almost-gone president's stolen-election speech. These wack-jobs interrupted the last bit of officialdom needed to declare Joe Biden the winner. Shots. Gas masks. National Guard. Civil War II, anyone? I predicted it over 20 years ago in my defunct astrology blog (sponsored by the defunct Webseed startup), and most readers thought I was crazy.

Maybe I am crazy anyway. Regardless, I can't see Mars's transit of Taurus being anything but difficult. I already wrote about the Mars-Saturn and Mars-Jupiter squares of January, as well as Mars conjunct Uranus: oppression, depression, illness, war, explosions. By the time Mars makes a beneficial trine to Pluto in Capricorn on 2/24, indicating a positive flow of regenerative energy of body, bank account, and the planet Earth itself, it may feel like too little, too late.

Mars (headstrong energy) going through Taurus (ruling the ears, nose, and throat) could very well mean that the new, more contagious strain of Covid-19 will rip through the populace as the vaccine rollout is bogged down. There may not be any half measures when it comes to lock downs.

The Senate runoffs in Georgia have provided some much-needed hope. That outcome could've been far worse. Still, I stand by my predictions made last month: at least in the US, we are in for a very cold, dark winter.

Jupiter Conjunct Pluto, Round Three: The Return of the Coronavirus That Never Left

Jupiter and Pluto swimming in a sea of Covid-19; collage created by T. C. Gardstein in April 2020

The Jupiter-Pluto conjunction of 2020 has been one of those aspects that neatly dovetail with science: as I wrote back at the end of June, with number 2 of 3 such meetings between Jupiter and Pluto about to recur, this aspect has coincided with surges of Covid-19. Now, as we gaze down the barrel of the third and final conjunction, exact today (11/12) at 4:39 p.m. EST, the pandemic is spiraling out of control in many countries (with a few notable exceptions, such as the Far East and Australia, which instituted strict lockdowns). Even New York City, which had succeeded in tamping down positive cases to about 1 percent this past summer after a terrible spring during which tens of thousands of New Yorkers died, is moving in the wrong direction -- as is the rest of the state.

Unlike the first two Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions, we have a glimmer of hope in the form of a supposedly highly effective vaccine being developed by a pharmaceutical house that has refused to take any Operation Warp Speed money from the White House's current administration. I predicted earlier this year that mid- to late December would bring a welcome Christmas present (even if, like me, you do not celebrate this holiday) in the form of a scientific breakthrough, a testament to humans' humanity. It would be wonderful if a vaccine that is safe and reliable turns out to be this gift. However, as reputable news sources have already cautioned, one or more such vaccines will not end this pandemic immediately; there will be issues concerning manufacture, distribution, and a willingness of most people to take the vaccine, and in the Nothern Hemisphere, there will be a long winter of "pandemic fatigue" to get through first.

Interestingly, on the second Jupiter-Pluto conjunction, Mars entered its ruling sign Aries, which turned retrograde near the end of the sign on September 9. Traditionally, the period of Mars retrograde indicates that bullies will prevail. Mars finally stations direct on Friday the 13th, so hopefully this will put the kibosh on any coup that the current US (p)resident may be planning via some high-up Republicans finally growing a backbone and refusing to enable the Toddler in Chief any further. If this does not occur, Mars direct in Aries may well spark a new wave of protests.

Remember that Jupiter expands the nature of whatever planet it contacts as well as the sign it inhabits. Jupiter is said to be in its fall (i.e., significantly debilitated) in Capricorn, where it has been since late 2019, and Pluto in Capricorn could also be referred to as Big Brother, combining the Saturnian harsh taskmaster with the underhanded, manipulative Plutonian cruelty aimed at the collective. The Jupiter-Pluto conjunction has indeed brought mass suffering, but the maddening thing about it was that it didn't have to be so devastating. The pandemic could've and should've been brought to heel in January or February, but a perfect storm of the worst manifestations of Capricorn -- corrupt, heartless governments and leaders; the politicization of science; having "the economy," corporations, and the stock market matter more than people's lives; cruel racism; extreme nihilism and cynicism stemming from just as extreme mistrust of abusive institutions -- wound up raining illness, death, stress, depression, and destruction down on millions of people.

Even after Jupiter pulls past Pluto for good (or, more accurately, for the next 13 years) we will be feeling the effects of this conjunction very intensely for at least another week or so, as the Sun in Scorpio will sextile Jupiter and Pluto on Saturday 11/14 and the Moon in Capricorn will conjunct Jupiter and Pluto on Thursday 11/19. The sextile should bring an opportunity to work harmoniously with this odd, potentially destructive energy, while the Capricorn Moon will attempt to suppress the emotions, but any denial or stuffing down of feelings will ultimately fail. Confronting the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction is not for the faint of heart, but it must be done if there is any hope for getting through it.

If you are having a Solar Return or an anniversary today, which just so happens to be the day of the week ruled by Jupiter, the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction will certainly have a lot to say about your upcoming year as an individual or as part of a relationship. This uncompromising aspect urges you not to randomly gamble (as Jupiter frequently does to test Lady Luck) but to take extreme actions to learn, teach, travel, have out-of-body experiences, expand your roots, deep-dive into earth energies, and ultimately transform.

Jupiter Conjunct Pluto, Round Two: The Return of the Coronavirus That Never Left

Jupiter and Pluto posing in a sea of Covid-19
Collage by T. C. Gardstein

As I predicted in a post from this spring, Mars transiting Pisces unleashed a whole lot of trouble concerning action (Mars), the emotions (Pisces), and public health (the domain of the opposite sign of Virgo). Around the time that Mars entered the final sign of the zodiac in mid-May, many countries and states within the US began opening up, in many cases not meeting the US government's own guidelines. Unemployment (represented by Pisces, since the opposite sign of Virgo represents employment) continued to climb (a key factor in the premature reopening of the US). The death of George Floyd on Memorial Day brought a few weeks' worth of emotional yet largely peaceful social justice (Pisces, the sign where Jupiter is exalted) protests all over the world, peaking in early June, when Mars formed a difficult square to Venus retrograde in Gemini (itself a placement that would seem to encourage backing away from social distancing). After a spate of looting and problems with the police, NYC was placed under curfew for about a week for the first time ever, just prior to its first phase of officially emerging from the lock down. This city is now midway through the much-vaunted Phase 2, when it is possible to dine at restaurants with outdoor seating, get elective medical procedures, get your teeth cleaned, go back to the office (though many companies are moving slowly on that), and either mask up or not, depending on how and where you roll (in my neighborhood, not so much).

From my perspective as an astrologer in New York City, mid-May through June was (and still is) a perfect storm for what many are calling the second wave of Covid-19 (epidemiologists beg to differ, as the virus has not receded enough to end the first wave, but it's clear that many people have stopped listening to scientists). The storm broke shortly after Mercury turned retrograde in Cancer (6/18), with the Solar Eclipse on the heels of the 6/21 Summer Solstice (which was the Winter Solstice for the Southern Hemisphere). It is inevitable that Mercury retrograde must backpedal, creating delays and second thoughts; countries that had apparently gotten the virus under control, including Australia and Germany, were dealing with new outbreaks, while many cities of the US that had escaped the initial onslaught in March and April, such as Houston, Miami, and Los Angeles, were at risk of becoming the next New York City. As of yesterday, recently reopened bars (represented by Pisces), acknowledged to encourage the spread of the virus among relatively young, healthy people who would then infect others, closed down again in the new hot spots.

Considering that the first Jupiter-Pluto conjunction occurred on April 4, right around the peak of the horror show in NYC, it does not take an astrological genius to see that the second Jupiter-Pluto conjunction, exact on June 30, is bringing more of the same to other cities. The US is in particular trouble, however. On July 1, as borders reopen in the European Union with Saturn about to retrograde back into Capricorn, it is almost certain that the EU will put the US on its no-fly list. Just a few days later, on July 4, the US has its Solar Return, which features a Lunar Eclipse and an approaching square between Mercury retrograde in Cancer and Mars in its ruling sign of Aries (a classic aspect of arguments that can turn violent).

I will write in more detail about the US's 244nd birthday, but with transiting Saturn in the Solar Return retrograding back over the US natal Pluto this summer, it is conceivable that there will be localized (if not nationwide) lock downs and walk-backs, as well more restrictions and separations from first world countries that view the US with a mixture of pity, concern, frustration, and revulsion. Fortunately, Saturn will turn direct before it forms another conjunction with transiting Pluto (as we had on January 12 of this year -- the day that the genome of Covid-19 was made public), but we will experience a third Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in mid-November, which would seem to indicate a second wave as well as turmoil in the US concerning the presidential election.

In case reading this post is tempting you to stick your head in a toaster oven, I am still optimistic that the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at 0 degrees of Aquarius in mid-December will bring positive new developments, since it is clear to me that Saturn at 0 degrees of Aquarius (where it was in late March and early April of this year, and where it is currently) is a crucial factor for this particular pandemic. Aquarius rules groups of people, revolution, science, and technology. With Jupiter joining Saturn there at the end of this year, perhaps humanity will step up to the plate and evolve in a, well, humanitarian way instead of dying out or handing the keys over to robots whose AI tops our collective IQ.