VENUS AND MARS CONJUNCTION

On Sunday April 7, 2013, at 12:57 a.m., Venus and Mars formed a conjunction at 20° Aries. This was especially significant since it involved the two rulers of the nodes (considering Mars as the co-ruler of Scorpio). With Mars ruling the North Node, we could expect Martian (war, guns, protests,) events to manifest. With Venus ruling the South Node, there would also be some form of sacrifice, physical loss, or spiritual enlightenment in the Venusian realm (money, love, happiness, relationships). So, what type of Mars-Venus events have transpired?

            North Korea is preparing for war. As a new 29 year-old leader readies an unused nuclear site for missile deployment, additional U.N. sanctions are slapped on the impoverished country. Outside North Korea, countries in power are ‘walking back their rhetoric’, trying to defuse a building threat. In the natal chart, Jupiter is at 20 Sagittarius (natal Moon nearby at 15 Sagittarius) forming a partile trine with the conjunction, suggesting the country’s optimism they will benefit from this grandiose aggression.

            On Sunday, March 31, in an Elite Eight game of March Madness, college basketball player, Kevin Ware suffered a debilitating leg injury that left 6 inches of his femur sticking out of his leg. In his natal chart, Uranus and Neptune are conjunct at 18 Capricorn and natal Mars is at 19 Cancer, forming a t-square with the transiting conjunction. The day following the accident, there were questions over who would pay the medical bills and whether or not Ware would retain his scholarship the following year.

            Hillary Clinton was back in the news last week, appearing in public without her glasses and looking healthy and fit amidst much discussion of a presidential run in 2016. In her natal chart, Saturn is at 21 Leo and formed a trine to the transiting conjunction, and pundits appeared ready to hand her victory in the next presidential election. Also at this time, the transiting North Node at 17 Scorpio is conjunct her natal Venus at 16 Scorpio, and the love for her is gushing.

            President Obama took a pay cut. In his chart, 18 Aquarius is rising, and was sextile to the transiting conjunction. In sympathy with those that have been furloughed due to the sequester, Obama proactively repaid 5% of his salary to the treasury. Since by law, he is not allowed to take a pay cut, he was forced to write a check to the IRS.  The same week, enraging his base, he submitted a budget proposal that would cut both Social Security and Medicare.  

            The Keystone Pipeline has also been in the news. Last week there were three significant crude oil spills, with the largest in Arkansas, where twenty-two residents were evacuated after a significant leak. This has impacted the ongoing debate/protests about the Keystone Pipeline that will transport Canadian tar-sand oil to the refineries in Texas. Intended for export, the pipeline will create few sustainable jobs and provide little economic benefit to the U.S.  In the U.S. natal chart, Chiron is at 20 Aries, suggesting the most recent spill is a wound that has upset and is certain to galvanize activists.

 Meanwhile, the battle over new gun regulation in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre rages on. Two weeks ago, it seemed the battle was lost after the Senate appeared reluctant to even hold a vote against tougher regulation, despite 91% of the population desiring more restrictions. On the popular news program 60 Minutes, the parents of the murdered children spoke out about their loss and vowed that their fight was just getting started.

            Cyprus has also made headlines after that government decided to ‘tax’ bank deposits. This act of aggression sent the country into turmoil and threatened a bank run as depositors swarmed the banks seeking to withdraw their money. On April 3rd, an agreement was reached with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) that promised new austerity for the country in return for a Euro bailout.

            These are just a few headlines in the recent news. In the next few days keep an eye out for additional developments that fulfill the Venus-Mars symbolism. The current headlines illuminate those events that are likely to reappear over the next year as these two planets realign by aspect.