Saturday, July 30, 2005 Mars is square Saturn. This is an annual aspect, though it alternates, waxing phase or waning; today's aspect marks the last quarter in the Mars-Saturn cycle. The square is a turning point that can be anything from decisive to violent, but for sure, it's tangible. Because of the upcoming Mars retrograde, the square aspect will repeat three times during the current phase. The exact pass of #1 is July 31; the exact pass of #2 is Nov. 18 during the retrograde; the exact pass of #3 is Dec. 28, with Mars in direct motion. The basic landscape of 2005 (speaking in Northern Hemisphere seasons, apologies offered to the South) has been a somewhat turbulent beginning (surrounding the inauguration of Bush, moving into the early April eclipse -- remember the time around the death of the Pope), then a fairly placid spell through late spring and very early summer; then an increasingly intense summer and autumn. By intense, I mean changes, activities, the the quality of the aspects. More aspects means more activity, usually; more choices to make; more potentially complex situations to deal with early and get out of the way. At the moment, things are relatively calm, after the Aries Point spell that surrounded the London bombings and the two Capricorn Full Moons we just experienced. The growing intensity is in part due to the combination of Mars retrograde, which begins its shadow phase around Aug. 12 (the period when Mars enters the degrees within which it will be retrograde). There is also a Venus retrograde that begins late in the year, shortly after Mars has stationed direct. In between, we have a spell of eclipses in October. Retrogrades of inner planets make life interesting, and they call for skillful sailing. Surely, retrograde motion needs to be factored into decisions of timing when possible (it's not always possible), and where things look like there might be complications inherent in the landscape ahead, to reduce complications in that Quaker style of simple living to the greatest extent possible. Mostly, retrogrades of Venus, Mars and Mercury affect us emotionally and mentally. This is to say, there can and often are circumstances involved, but how we respond is a lot of what defines the experience. And there is much to be said for following one's intuition. There is a lot of confusion in our culture between emoting, thinking and feeling, which are three entirely different aspects of consciousness (but they are all consciousness, connected to the body, so they have that in common). Feeling stands in the middle of the three, and while it cannot always be attributed to a reasoning process, it doesn't necessarily contradict either. You know you're emoting when you're making NO sense whatsoever, and won't listen, no matter what anyone says. Emotions can and often do drive mental process and it's really good to know when that is happening, and take some space for yourself and actually go to a deeper level and work out the stuff underneath. It's important to know when to do less, and I'm particularly speaking to Americans and Brits, whose lives can be quite frenetic as part of the normal course of getting through the day within those cultures. We need to know not only when to relax, but merely when to relent; to get on a new wavelength; to find a different emotional sphere and hang out there for a while. As for today's Mars-Saturn square, it's really the first event in the Mars retrograde cycle, since the retrograde is responsible for two additional reiterations of the aspect. Therefore, let's pay attention to the events of these days for clues to what we can mend, amend or be aware of to keep that process a lot simpler, more productive and ultimately more creative. It is possible. The planets move no matter what. The Creative Consciousness of the universe has given us astrology so that we can be a little more aware of the landscape of time in which we live and move, at least while we have bodies. Catch you tomorrow, and see you soon with my tribute to Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. For those looking for August monthly horoscopes, our guy down in Florida, Dingle, will have those posted for you soon. And thanks to our readers for all the great cat photos, which we'll switch mid-month to get as many onto the site as we can. Hang loose, cousins. Yours & truly,     e