Before you know it, Mercury returns to direct motion in Aquarius on the last day of this month. After all, a fortnight is but a blink of the eye in the long term life objective time line. It’s time to line up lingering confusion from Mercury’s recent, quick dip into Pisces. Mind blur needs to be shaken off with a reset of major life priorities. Forget silly fears, frets and distractions. Think outside the box... not so much in terms of weird quirky thinking that is hard for consensus reality to grasp, but more in the way of getting beyond the mental strictures you set for yourself. When parameters become perimeters, it’s time to stomp boxes in the mind into a recycle-able heap.
The image for the Mercury reset is a huge, shaggy dog emerging from the River Styx, just in time to enter the new mutt trick category at the Westminster Dog Show. He runs up to the judges and shakes off the water from his dunking all over the judges who must find his antics endearing and worthy of an award. Alternatively, and more on a Mercury mind-meld cogence level, in the Winter Olympics, who comes out on top? Is it the country with the most gold medal wins, or the country with the most medals overall... or the country with the fewest athletes getting locked in bathrooms? Pesky questions for the trickster to answer while pivoting within the abstraction-rich boundlessness of Aquarius.
That done, Mars is fixing to go retrograde the very next day. And the day after that, Mars in Libra squares off with Venus in Capricorn. Sure there’s an edge going within this pattern. There’s what you want and what you must do to get what you want. Given the transits of the last weeks, some report feeling a “why bother?” and/or an “is it worth it?”general malaise. The big question here: “Can you kick the funk right square in the ass and get moving?”
There’s added support arriving the same day (March 2nd). Vesta, the keeper of the hearth and the one who ensures the fire within stays lit, retrogrades in Libra, virtually conjunct Mars. Remarkably, Vesta retros at 29 degrees 59 minutes of Libra. Talk about stacking up pressure on the critical balance of life scenario pivot points. What is good measure? How much push is too much? Is overly ripe confidence alienating? How insecure are boastful people really?
Oh yeah, the moon’s north node is in there, too. Can one ignore the reason for their incarnation? Can a person successfully and tranquilly deny their God-given talents and refuse to apply them in life?
On the other side of Vesta, saunters Ceres in Scorpio, also retrograde.
Is there a choice as to the proper response to these planetary twists and turns? Here we have the Flashdance (the movie from the 80's) syndrome: if the dream dies, you’re no longer living. Says Ceres from her position, “No. Make your case for yourself and your goods and play nicely in the sandbox.” Mars whispers, “If you’re feeling entitled, go out there and do what it takes to receive the awards/rewards you believe you deserve.” Says Vesta, “I’m going to chat up Mercury and see if I can remember where I put my flint just in case my flame flickers.”
Also on the 2nd, Saturn retrogrades in Scorpio. When Saturn works through the zodiac in a prograde motion, life’s requirements are quite clear. “It’s a put one foot in front of another, keep pushing forward, count your completed objectives, heap up small things to amount to the large goal” kind of time. When Saturn reverses, efforts meet with what is often construed to be a setback, denial, rejection or unsavory assessment of ventures pursued. It’s more complicated than that...
But before giving the Saturn retrograde era it’s due, let’s skip ahead four days. Jupiter goes direct on March 6th, giving the gears of the year the first shot of perceivable grease. Some of the squeakiness of life recedes. The wheels turning can be watched without the fear they will fall off the wagon, or jump the track, whichever image better serves diminishment of doubtful speculation.
Jupiter turning back direct restores the urge to push and pitch, often without preparation and propitiation. In the four days or so between Saturn turning retrograde and Jupiter resuming prograde motion, anchor your action intention with your belief system. Wrap around the idea that you’ll do whatever it takes, and allow “whatever” to take as long as it might, to get there from here. This can be emotionally stressful and requires a huge investment of energy and fortified psychic willpower before there’s a hint of life response in what might be perceived a worthwhile return on investment.
Many heartily bitch and moan while enduring one of these intervals. But those with long vision, take a few days to emotionally adjust, wrap around the big picture, remember the original intention behind the swamp draining, and locate the proverbial bootstraps.
Now back to the showstopper, Saturn. It is important to remember that Saturn is on your side. He wants you do have all ducks in a row, i’s dotted, t’s crossed and logic intact in anything you present to the world for acceptance. There’s something else... Saturn is subjective... and there’s one more thing... Saturn works from subconscious straits.
I’ve learned heaps about Saturn from my pitching of screenplays and pounding on the doors of the entertainment industry. Here are some of those things:
Despite your most brilliant work and effort, the reaction of people determines your success. There’s the person who must first review and assess your work. Their view is subjective. A “pass” does not imply an intrinsic lack of merit. It’s just their opinion and they may not like your work.
It’s important to realize that those at the first gate of project assessment have their ass on the line. If they greenlight a weak project, their ass is grass, and next week they may be pitching their own talents to potential patrons, benefactors, employers, investors.
This combined Saturn effect adds an unconscious attitude on the part of project gatekeepers... of needing to reject projects and look for flaws, instead of enjoying something that is truly mind-boggling. If they like something and a higher up hates it... wooie! There’s hell to pay. Oh yeah, the higher up works within the realm of their subjectivity too, which is derived from their sense of economic satisfaction, political leaning, attachment to or detachment from theology, and their sense of what fits in the big picture.
When meeting subjective gatekeepers on your path who find your effort repugnant, ridiculous, regressive or what have you, say “thank you,” and quickly move along before their opinion sticks in your aura.
At this point there is a question to ask: Is your presentation/work/pitch/concept as good as it can be?
Saturn says there is never a perfect screenplay. By strict denotation that is true. Still, scripts get made into films and extract dollars from the pockets of those who sit in theater seats watching. How about The Lego Movie? Will it win an Oscar? Not likely. Will its $69 M USD in its premiere weekend mean anything? Yeah, baby.
There is no perfect script. You can never assume the latest revision is “there.” Screenwriting is a task of endless writing and rewriting. It never stops. Never.
It’s not like a book where one submits a manuscript, which is edited, changes are made, proofing occurs and there’s publication. Script writing is a matter of perpetual editing and the quest for constant enhancement.
Perpetual editing and constant refinements, no matter what the effort, are forms of propitiation to Saturn.
Every month your computer receives updates on its software, usually without your knowledge. Does that mean you bought crappy software in the first place? No. It means that as new things are learned, groovy, more advanced features can be added. Security can always be strengthened to combat those with afflicted Saturns - like hackers and credit card rip off schemers who believe making grief for others is a merit badge.
But just think... propitiating Saturn means you’ll never be bored. Every single day you can look forward to making more progress. Every single day your purpose in life perfects as your renderings improve.
Here’s the mantra (or something like this): “Editors are my friends, critics are a means of finding perfection, Saturn strengthens my substrate.”
The mantra applies all the time; as does the realization of wide spread subjectivity filters reaction to the best you have to offer.
So, Saturn turns retrograde with Mars. Internalize. Review, redo, revise, reconstruct. It is what the time demands. Those who comply will get there first. That’s exactly what Mars desires. And Saturn wants you to have a leg to stand upon once you get there.