Mars-Pluto Opposition

Mars-Pluto Opposition - Frustrating Standoff

"My life is my message."

— Mahatma Gandhi

Tension builds this week, despite the fact that the Moon is waning in light. The message of the current lunar cycle, culminating with the last Full Moon in Libra (April 12th 5:21 PM PDT 23° Libra/Aries), has put our focus on sharing our insights — our individual, personal message — with others. Libra's desire for balance inspires engagement with differing viewpoints but seeks to maintain order and adherence to protocol. This week's building tensions demand a great deal of awareness in order to maintain the ordered balance that was encouraged by the last Full Moon. The Sun in Taurus stirs the building tension with squares to both Mars in Leo and Pluto in Aquarius as they head into the third of three powerful oppositions, representing a 'standoff' that was initiated back in early November of last year. The earlier oppositions were somewhat 'contained' in the Earth/Water elements of Cancer and Capricorn. This week's Mars-Pluto opposition is far more explosive in the Fire (Leo)/Air (Aquarius) elements. The Taurus Sun injects stubborn determination into the 'standoff', emphasizing the fixity — the lasting consequences — of this third opposition. The potential for frustration is extreme but the potential for creative, inspired solutions offers hope that real breakthroughs will come out of this week's challenges. Mercury's direct motion plays an important role in this week's developments. Mercury emerges from the shadow of the last retrograde period with powerful new perspectives and a message that encourages individual self-expression. Mercury's messages are delivered under the rulership of Mars as Mars opposes Pluto. An aggressive and demonstrative Mars seems to gain the upper hand in this week's environment by showing off intellectual support for individual self-expression with forceful, dramatic displays. Mars in Leo is competitive, showing the need to express our personal creativity. But Leo can also be distinctly ego driven, potentially covering up an internal sense of inadequacy. In this context, the action on the deeper, 'instinctual' or intuitive levels is extremely important, suggesting both surprising creativity as well as deep uncertainty. Venus and Saturn are both lingering over the lunar North Node late in Pisces all week, offering powerful self-discipline along with instinctive, idealistic, creative vision. However, the Piscean influences also suggest that we may be prone to wrestle with deep self-doubt and fearful deference. Next week begins with a new lunar cycle, a Taurus New Moon (12:30 PM PDT 7° Taurus) that will begin a process of following through on whatever understanding and awareness that we are able to take away from this week's challenging tension and frustration.

Sunday's atmosphere is quite 'amped up' with powerful independence and direct, personal expression. However, stubbornness may be more pronounced than individual courage, potentially keeping us stuck 'on the fence'. Obstacles are challenging on Monday, leading to a great deal of frustration. Self-discipline encourages us to 'double down' on our efforts. Tensions rise on Tuesday and frustration builds. Intuition and idealism encourages us to 'hold the line' in some way or another. We feel pulled in opposing directions by conflicting loyalties on Wednesday. The temptation is to make extraordinary sacrifices in order to come down on one side or the other. The stakes seem high on Thursday and activity is stirred to a fever pitch. In the context of high tension, we may face a great deal of self-doubt and fearful deference. We find that we have a great deal to say on Friday. Aggressive determination is supported by intellectual self-expression of new perspectives. The determination to 'deliver our message' reaches a crescendo on Saturday. Self-expression is driven by high stakes and high tensions.