Mars in Taurus

Mars in Taurus — Bulldozer Power

"Salvation lies not in the faithfulness to forms, but in the liberation from them."

— Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago

Last Saturday's Taurus New Moon (1:00 PM PDT 25° Taurus) offered a surge of new energy and stabilizing growth initiatives. However, disruptions begin to surface almost immediately. The Moon quickly arrives in Gemini, just after the New Moon, to conjunct Uranus and trine Pluto. Mercury follows the Moon into Gemini, also conjuncting Uranus at the beginning of this week. The new surge of energy quickly becomes 'electric' and, for some, quite overwhelming. Unchannelled nervous energy isn't easy to tame, even though Mars moves into Taurus by Monday afternoon. New tensions begin to surface as Mars in Taurus takes aim at a square to Pluto. Although that square will take a week to complete, there are undercurrents of tension that surface almost immediately. Venus also shifts signs on Monday, moving from Gemini to Cancer. A quick Venus-Mars sextile seems to signal a pleasant glow, especially when the Moon joins Venus in Cancer and also sextiles Mars. However, the Moon's follow-up square to Neptune, later in the evening, quickly 'breaks the spell'. Venus will make a disillusioning square to Neptune by Friday. Essentially, finding the stability in this new lunar cycle is fraught with nervousness, distractions, and intellectual unpredictability. The Sun leaves Taurus on Wednesday and arrives in Gemini, marking one more shift in this week's challenging series of shifts. Perhaps the biggest challenge is to maintain 'ultimate flexibility'. The undercurrents of stabilizing growth remains an important part of the current lunar cycle even though this week's twists and turns keep us from fully grasping where it is all leading. We need at least enough detachment to avoid 'taking the bait' when others seem to try to take advantage of the disruptive series of shifts. The disruption reaches a crescendo on Friday under the Sun-Uranus conjunction. By the end of the week, Mars moves to within two degrees of the square to Pluto and we can feel the tensions building even further. Nonetheless, by the time we reach the Sagittarius Full Moon (May 31, 1:44 PM PDT 9° Sagittarius/Gemini) — which is making a trine to Saturn — we are likely to begin to recognize how the current lunar cycle is actually fostering a reorganization that is leading to the beginnings of an entirely new structural order. Despite this week's shifts and disruptions, as well as the significant, building tension of the upcoming Mars-Pluto square, we will eventually begin to see at least some 'method in the madness' that seems quite overwhelming this week.It is also notable that Mercury makes a square to the lunar nodes this week, foreshadowing a square to the nodes from Uranus on June 11th. These aspects are offering significant, revolutionary shifts through quick, insightful communication that helps us to find a new way forward.

Miscommunication and delays are likely on Sunday. Nonetheless, there is an enthusiastic surge of energy and growth offered by the new lunar cycle. There is a significant amount of unchanneled nervous energy in Monday's environment. While the evening's glow is quite tantalizing, it isn't likely to last for very long. The are some significant 'ego concerns' to contend with on Tuesday. Many of us are prone to simply withdraw from the fray — either to protect a vulnerable ego or to avoid defensiveness and escape conflict. Emotions are unsettled on Wednesday but there is a tendency to maintain some kind of detachment — something like "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil". For the most part, we'll do better to try to stay on the sidelines. While there may be some 'valiant' attempts at clear communication offered on Thursday, honest communication seems to be shutdown. Attempts to exhibit idealism seem to come off as somewhat self-serving and broadly ineffective. Friday's atmosphere is rife with undercurrents of mistrust and defiance — we just aren't likely to see much outward expression of the building intensity. In essence, we continue to be better served by maintaining balance and, essentially, 'keeping our powder dry. There is essentially a reorganization underway on Saturday that is beginning to reveal new ways — broadly — of seeing our situations and circumstances. To some extent, this may be quite disorienting.