Mars-Pluto Trine

Mars-Pluto Trine — The Lid Comes Off!

"He who does not trust enough, Will not be trusted."

— Lao Tzu

Even though the Moon wanes in light, there is still plenty of intensity to process this week, beginning with a Mars-Pluto trine. Mars makes the final connection — the trine to Pluto — with the 'Big 3' (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) on Sunday. But when the Moon arrives in Aries the following day, on Monday, we're likely to actually see the 'lid coming off', as the journey of Mars through Gemini assumes a powerful 'direct action', communication platform. Intellect is stirred in dramatic fashion — the retrograde Mercury notwithstanding. There is extraordinary courage to challenge whatever seems to be blocking our path, powerfully assisted by the responsibility that is demanded by the Sun's square to Saturn. The energy truly seems 'unstoppable'. Neptune, which has been slowing down for some time now, finally stations retrograde on Tuesday, lending emphasis to the building demands that we ground our inspiration with tangible action. We're still in the process of finding ways to integrate the the swirls of powerful intellect with intense emotional factors. The challenge presented under the retrograding Mercury brings up the reexamination of our dependence on others which must be balanced with our need for independence and 'freedom of thought'. For some, the challenges of dependency may be leading to a great deal of emotional turmoil. We are being offered an opportunity to reexamine our situation and begin to make new commitments that will — hopefully — lead to a more equitable balance between freedom and security. Venus arrives in Virgo by Thursday, adding further challenges to our dependence on the input of others — "Who can we really trust?" Venus also begins to 'see' the challenges of next week's square to Uranus and the followup square to Mars coming on July 29th, which will continue to increase our discomfort surrounding our dependence on the input that we receive from others. Venus, Mars, and Uranus are all in signs that are ruled by the retrograding Mercury. We may be easily lured into a belief that it is the 'bad advice' from others that is contributing to our disappointments. The lessons of personal accountability involving our individual initiatives will become increasingly challenging following Mercury's inferior conjunction with the Sun next Monday, as well as at the beginning of the next lunar cycle at the Cancer New Moon (2:34 AM PDT, 21° Cancer). We may begin to drift towards isolation and try to avoid commitments of any kind if we feel that we are losing our independence. However, our need for others won't be going away any time soon — which is the ultimate lesson that we begin to run into this week.

Intellect and intuition are surprisingly in sync on Sunday. We reach an intense culmination of incredibly insightful opportunities for profound breakthroughs. There is extraordinary courage to challenge whatever seems to be blocking our path on Monday. The 'lid comes off' of some powerful energies and, for better or worse, the energy seems quite unstoppable. Tuesday brings something of a 'gut check' — suggesting some degree of 'questioning' that presents challenges to our interactions with others, bringing a bit more circumspection. There is plenty of support for quickly correcting our mistakes or at least recognizing a clear path to make future adjustments with hope that we haven't completely lost our chance for redemption. On Wednesday, the challenge of depending on others while maintaining our freedom begins to draw increasing focus. For some, the challenges of dependency may be leading to a great deal of emotional turmoil. It is especially difficult to trust the broad generosity and optimism suggested by Thursday's environment. We're beginning to suspect that there are hidden price tags on just about everything. There are few 'hiding places' in Friday's environment. The challenge is feeling comfortable enough to share our nervousness or vulnerability with others in order to gain enough support to establish a firm footing. We are in somewhat of a holding pattern on Saturday. There is a strong tendency towards isolation and continued difficulty in establishing trust.