Below is the companion piece to Maria Luz’s Conscious Curiosities podcast episode 45.
Energy drivers for this week:
Mars in Cancer square the lunar nodes (exact on 9.15)
Venus trine Jupiter (exact on 9.14)
Lunar eclipse (9.17)
Neptune’s position
The theme of spirituality, as discussed over the last two weeks, continues to be emphasized by the events in the sky, and I am starting to think of Neptune sitting at the culmination of the zodiac as the prime mediator.
But first, let’s touch on Mars, not in its not so happy place, Cancer, and its position in a square aspect to the lunar nodes in Aries (which Mars rules) and Libra, where the South Node is sitting. I have previously talked about what we have been asked to work on as a collective while the nodes have been on this axis (since July 2023). A lot comes down to claiming one’s authentic identity after years of conditioning and masking, for the purpose of forming true connection and experiencing that from a place of self love rather than insecurity. It’s been a breeze, right? Haha. Not for me! I had to let go of some close relationships in doing this work for myself.
So, although Mars making this square may not be a major event, in light of Venus passing by the South Node the other week, thereby providing an opportunity to release any harmful relationship dynamics, Mars now highlighting the nodes just before the eclipses in Pisces and Libra feels like another opportunity. Mars, never one to strategize, in Cancer protects what it loves by being active, even if it doesn’t feel it has the advantage. My sense is that we need to look at where we have been blindly protective, either of the self or the group (e.g. in trauma response: fighting, escapism, or fawning) out of unexamined conditioning.
I know there are a ton of analyses out there on the eclipse, so I am not going to go into too much depth here. Also, I am going to do a deep dive in a future podcast episode on the Virgo - Pisces axis soon given the nodes are moving there.
However, as we have been inhabiting this axis while the Sun (really, Venus first) has been in Virgo these last few weeks, we have likely been pulled into doing mode. Getting back into a routine with school or work, perhaps realizing that 3/4 of the year is gone and we forgot to work on our intention of the year, or something like that, which is a good start, but there may be something we need to work on being rather than finding more tasks to pile on ourselves.
For ideas, I see Neptune sitting at the end of Pisces, exactly between Uranus and Pluto, who are both in Earth signs and in a square aspect to one another. As you can imagine, Earth is perhaps the most difficult of the elements to move. Taurus (where Uranus is) and Capricorn (Pluto) can be especially stubborn. But there is Neptune in moveable water and mutable Pisces in this liminal space, in a congenial sextile aspect to two planets which represent necessary transformation - one slow and painful (Pluto) and the other sudden and unexpected (Uranus). I have to wonder why? Given how slow these three planets move, this particular formation can’t occur more often than every several hundreds of years.
I think it has something to do with people finding a form of spirituality that resonates with them emotionally, yes, but then identifying what can be done to transform what may seem immovable. The world is more connected via high tech, yet governments and institutions are more entrenched in the status quo (Pluto in Capricorn) than ever, while the natural environment is more precarious (Uranus in Taurus) than it ever has been in history. If we stay in our Earthly way of thinking, we could remain overwhelmed alone, or alternatively, stuck in our communication silo internet echo chamber, either way ineffective and disconnected from the whole (Neptune in Pisces). So, perhaps the only way to solve these big complicated problems, as well as tap into the opportunities that connected technology allows, is to consider the role of spirituality in all of this. Not organized religion, but individual spirituality that enables connection rather than forces it.
I feel so fortunate to have experienced this and it is not like a spiritual bypass, where I can just go meditate and use that as a sort of numbing agent the way I used alcohol before I got sober. It requires me to air out the pain that comes with deconditioning work and it requires that I cultivate hope to share with others. It requires us to trust in ourselves and one another while we do scary things. And I have never felt so much love. It just wasn’t possible while I was 100% in my Earthly, goal bound, approval seeking mode.
Perhaps this is where the air sign trine of Venus in Libra to Jupiter in Gemini fits in. These two benefic planets show us an optimistic way of communicating, relating and connecting. Of finding hope in difficult times.
I love how you describe the transformation planets and how they move. That really helps me understand. Also, I’m fascinated by the concept of some planets being “benific”. I love learning about these personalities and features of the Planets.