Venus in Aries is a funny one because Aries energy is “me, me, me”, yet Venus is the ruler of Libra, which is all about bringing and keeping “we, we, we” in a peaceful, fair, and equal balance.
Mars in Libra is also a funny one because Libra energy is “we, we, we”, while Mars is the ruler of Aries, which focuses on taking initiative and action in the name of “me, me, me”.
On Sunday, 11th May 2014 at 2:26a PDT, these two planets enter a transiting opposition with each other, creating a definitive mutual reception moment.
In Astrology, mutual reception is when two planets make aspect to each other while being in each other’s signs of rulership. It’s even more powerful when this dynamic occurs in opposition, which this particular occurrence does. Due to the mutual reception factor, Venus in Aries and Mars Retrograde in Libra can bring dynamic balance each other through this transit, which will be felt from 08-14 May 2014…but it’s more likely that quite a few sparks will need to fly before that balance can manifest.
There’s an old saying that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. In the case of Venus in Aries opposite Mars Retrograde in Libra under the influence of the Taurus 3 Sun, I’d say that ‘the road to peace has land mines’.
So far, this 2014 round of Mars in Libra finds many people taking various degrees of action to restore fairness, justice, and equality in matters that affect them so that they may grow and expand in their self-expression in both their personal and collective relationships. Whether on a personal level or a collective level, you can look around and see people standing up for their rights to be who they believe themselves to be. The retrograde motion of Mars has people taking action, pushing back against what they perceive is being done to them. The rise in activism and protest is in direct proportion to the degree of injustice and imbalance the activists and/or protestors believe they are dealing with. They want their disappointment and disagreement not only to be seen and heard, but felt and known. That is why people are taking to the streets, and some in an extremely aggressive if not violent way.
Venus in Aries has a similar goal, but in a more peaceful way. This is the active diplomacy route, in which Venus tries to apply logic and reason to explain (or justify) the actions already taken and/or to plan its next steps. It is striving for everyone to work things out in a tactful way, yet it also intends to get things in motion. This isn’t talk for talk’s sake – this really is “let’s talk so we can do something”.
The challenge in balancing these two entities under the Taurus 3 Sun is that Mars Retrograde in Libra is actions driven to make reason, and Venus in Aries is reason driven to make action, with both fighting for their growth and expansion in the world. The thing is, many of the conflicts that are occurring in our personal lives and around the world have one or both sides coming from the Mars Retrograde in Libra approach. In many cases, people are done listening. They know that talk has been used to pacify them rather than to truly address and solve their issues. In fact, there are some cases in which the words spoken were blatant lies told in order to get allowances for actions that would have otherwise never been agreed to. There is a devastating lack of trust present right now, and that makes the peaceful balance that this Venus-Mars opposition can bring harder to come by.
But there is a chance that some effective communication can be had! Mercury in Gemini will trine Mars Retrograde and will sextile Venus while the opposition is still within 3° orb (on 12 May, to be exact). This could give both sides of a story an opportunity to be heard and seen – to have an actual exchange of communication and information, and hopefully, they will each learn and understand more about where they are each coming from. This could be the opening for reason to prevail.
Whether or not reason will prevail in a matter may depend on how much anger and outrage is involved. When dealing with those I’ll call ‘active angry people’, sometimes there is no reason or logic that will mollify that anger. Once in tantrum mode, they may be in it for a while – there is no way to stop that fit of rage until their energy runs out. ‘Active angry people’ often won’t realize how angry they are until their anger begins to destroy themselves and their interests. When they realize that they have burned all of their bridges and they are standing alone with no one to help them out of the mess they’ve made, that is when they realize how irrational they’ve been. That is when they are finally able to apply and/or receive logic and reason. Of course, they have to build new bridges one they get there, which can be challenging but can be done.
However, there are many things in the world right now that would be well-served by a good tantrum right now. The conflicts that are occurring all over the world and in our personal lives right now represent the boiling-over of long-held pressure and anger that is finally finding its release. That pressure needs to be seen, heard, felt, and experienced for each and all of us to be able to clearly and logically figure out what next steps are in our individual and shared best interests. With the seeds of this transit being planted with the energy of the Taurus 3 Sun, there are certain to be great costs of security, stability, resources, and in some cases, life itself as these battles play out; yet these battles need to happen if the changes that are needed in our lives and in our worlds are ever going to manifest.
It is very likely that we are dealing with the circumstances we are in because we traveled upon “the road to hell paved with good intentions” to get here. Yet the effects of this mutual reception of Venus in Aries opposite Mars Retrograde in Libra could be summed up with this statement: Peace is a destination only fully appreciated once you’ve traveled through hell to get there.
Make sure you’re strapped in and hold on. It will be a bumpy ride ahead with quite a few land mines to navigate around or through, but it will be a worthwhile ride one to achieve the fair, just, peaceful, and truly balanced co-existence we all desire in our hearts.
Thanks for reading and sharing Signs and Numbers. Until next post…
~ Light, Love, and Blessings,
Grace
