Mars-Neptune Square

Mars-Neptune Square - Creative Collaboration

"I'm really interested in the collaborative thing. It's what makes it scary because you never know what it's going to end up like. But you hope. '"

— Meryl Streep

Although we may feel the prospects of upcoming shifts, we don't quite get there this week. For the most part, we are seeking to stay away from making commitments — particularly emotional commitments. Mars is continuing to slow down, ahead of turning retrograde on October 30th, which will increase the tendency to be cautious or uncertain. As well, the Sun transits the last few degrees of indecisive Libra, closely followed by Venus. We have a strong desire for balance which, in this atmosphere, holds us back from choosing a definitive course or supporting the choices of others. Slowly but surely, we will find that maintaining our integrity will require that we do choose a course and fully commit to that course. Nonetheless, our ability to communicate and articulate any decisions or choices that we make is still hampered by the slow, long arc of the Mars-Neptune square (which will bring challenges to communication through the month of November). Working through the communication challenges will help us to build the kind of alliances that we will need for the long term. Although we find some help from short-term trines of Venus and the Sun to Mars, these aspects really only create an interest in keeping the conversations going but not coming to any conclusions. By the end of the week, a Mercury-Saturn trine, accented by a quincunx to Uranus, combines imagination with some tangible capacity to make plans that we can actually follow through on. We begin to feel the shifts that will become more apparent with next week's Scorpio New Moon (October 25, 3:48 AM PDT 2° Scorpio). Hopefully, this week will give us an opportunity — if we actually do manage to 'keep the conversation going' — to gain more insights into the perspectives of others. We can begin to recognize the power of cooperative effort and group action. Building alliances where we are really all 'on the same page' can produce remarkable results, especially under the potent power of next week's New Moon.

While we may be looking for somewhere to hide on Sunday, there isn't much solace in isolation. Some will seek to take advantage of the sensitivity and uncertainty of others. Our confidence gets a boost on Monday. However, confidence may also cause some 'sparks to fly' as we seek to assert ourselves. 'Stirring the pot' may produce hurt feelings. There is a welcome exchange of ideas on Tuesday. The seeds of new alliances are planted. Communication is stalled on Wednesday. We are inclined to hold back any potential support, possibly looking for loopholes that allow us to keep our options open. We show a bit of stubborn insistence in 'staying on the fence' on Thursday. However, we also begin to recognize that we can't stay there forever — we'll have to choose a course and commit to it. Flexibility and a sense of responsibility creates manageable opportunities for cooperation and collaboration. We gain some capacity for making tangible plans on Saturday. Although getting everyone on the same page may seem difficult, we can begin to see how it may be worth the work in the end.