Mars Conjuncts Jupiter

Mars Conjuncts Jupiter - Ideas and Optimism

"All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take."

— Mahatma Gandhi

There are an extraordinary number of unfolding developments this week which are all leading up to next week's highly unpredictable Aquarius Full Moon (11:25 AM PDT 27° Aquarius/Leo). Early in the week, Venus makes a helpful trine to Ceres, which encourages us to consider the need to conserve resources and develop a steady foundation. Mars conjuncts Jupiter on Wednesday bringing enthusiasm and energy to a peak. But both Mars and Jupiter are also approaching a square to Saturn. The Mars-Jupiter conjunction is optimistic and brimming with ideas but, ruled by the retrograding Mercury, could leave us prone to unrealistically high expectations. Mars completes a square to Saturn on Thursday and Jupiter will complete the first of three 'passes' of the powerfully impactful Jupiter-Saturn square early next week. The intensity of the energetic optimism is unmistakable but is slowly tempered by Saturn's involvement. We may have an intuitive understanding that we need to conserve our resources — 'keep our powder dry' — but the excitement is overwhelming. Mercury moves back into Leo mid-week, which activates the second of three rounds of an 'out-of-sign' YOD configuration with Neptune and Pluto. This aspect funnels intense energy into Mercury's desire for clear communication, super-charging the give-and-take of insights and new perspectives. The YOD feeds even more intensity into the Mars-Jupiter conjunction. Mercury will move back into a square to Uranus before the week is over, further stoking the Mars-Jupiter 'idea machine'. However, with too much expansive enthusiasm, an open, honest 'give-and-take' of ideas and information may not fully develop. We may find ourselves tempted, by our enthusiasm, to manipulate or control others in order to get a 'buy in' to our ideas instead of fully engaging in a true exchange of perspectives. What is most important this week is to embrace some 'effective operating principles' which allows an authentic, honest give-and-take of ideas and perspectives. We will have far more success in productively navigating through whatever surprises that we encounter further down the road if we aren't too invested. By the end of the week, we are likely to feel at least a bit of an 'optimism hangover' as Jupiter nears the square to Saturn. Mercury will retrograde back into the 'inferior conjunction' with the Sun early next week and that conjunction will be joined by the asteroid Vesta. Vesta's will ask us for some sacrifices as well as remind us of the need to conserve our resources. Balance and moderation is far more important than we may realize this week. Under a retrograde Mercury, our intellect is channeled through intuitive insight. In this environment, our intuition can help us to recognize the need to pare away unhelpful layers of pretense in order to express ourselves more authentically. This can greatly improve the necessary 'give and take' of ideas and insights that unfold this week.

Sunday offers a great deal of helpful intuitive insight, encouraging us to pare away unhelpful layers of pretense. We will need to guard against overly optimistic expectations that blind us to the need to pay attentions to 'the facts on the ground'. We may find opportunities to blend intellect with intuition on Monday. We will need to remember not to give up on our own ideas in the exciting exchange of insights. The enthusiasm may seem overwhelming on Tuesday — to the point of aggressiveness. We may be tempted to push our ideas onto others rather than participating in a free and open exchange. Something like a portal opens on Wednesday that provides an opening towards making the the most of the swirl of energy and excitement. Attempts to control, manipulate, or dominate others will fail in extremely devastating ways. A power dynamic emerges on Thursday that may encourage force or manipulation. We aren't likely to get as much 'buy in' as we might hope. Some helpful grounding is offered on Friday. We can more easily open up to the perspectives of others. We may feel some hints of an 'optimism hangover' on Saturday. Some may not be willing to let go of ideas that show serious flaws or weak spots.