#22: The fire's started and there's too much fuel.
what can we do with heat and explosions and intensity and chaos?
Upcoming Astrology:
Mars in Scorpio opposite Uranus in Taurus: On Saturday, around noon ET, Mars arrives at 21° Scorpio and stares down Uranus across the Zodiac in Taurus. It lasts about two days and is one of the more chaotic, challenging arrangements we see in the sky. Mars, amped up in his home sign Scorpio, is like an electrical fire and Uranus, in Taurus since 2018 and staying there until 2025, is like a stream of gasoline from a wrecked car streaming toward it. You have a fire and you have catalyst and you have no idea which direction the flames will spread.
The silver lining we can look to is that, as of today, Venus has finally alighted in her home of Libra, out of the restrictive sign of Virgo that she isn’t very happy in. She is responsible for what goes on in Taurus as the ruler of the fixed earth sign, so we can consider her influence as a way to direct and work with (not avoid) the Mars-Uranus explosion. The advice here that I see is to water your Venusian gardens this weekend. Nourish your relationships, your creative expression, your sense of justice, and your experience of beauty. You can’t use these to erase real and metaphoric explosions, but you can give soft structure to them to support you as you deal with the fallout.
Another consideration to have in mind is that, because of the real and metaphoric explosions, there is likely going to be some extra care and sensitivity needed to tend to those Venusian relationships. Just because Venus offers a method of working with and softening the explosion doesn’t mean that the method will itself be without friction.
Speaking for myself, relationships with some people have been harder than ever as this genocide has unfolded. People I expected to align with are going off on tangents I don’t care about, rejecting my view of justice, or pursuing actions that I don’t see as being fruitful. On the other hand, I’ve experienced unexpected solidarity in relationships where I didn’t expect it. All this complexity and it still doesn’t touch on the real issue which is that continued death is assured without major pressure and change at the highest levels of power.
All that to say: take care for your people and do so with gentleness for yourself and them. We’ll all want different forms of care right now.
As we discussed last week, a great way to exercise the complex Venusian energy right now is to support peace in Gaza. There’s only so much we can do, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. Demand a ceasefire. Make your representative calls, send your letters, and show up to demonstrations.
The ruler of your rising sign is you. (continued from last week)
Last week I started discussing the concept that your chart has a “leading planet”, the planet that rules your rising sign, steers the ship of your life, and represents you. That’s not to say that this planet is the end all be all of you. But, according to the Hellenistic tradition, it has significant bearing on your life path, your vitality, and how you interact with the curves life throws at you.
Last week I stopped at Virgo, so this week I’ll start with Libra.
Libra Rising: Like Taurus, Venus is responsible for Libra. Libra is the daytime home of Venus, a social, airy, aesthetically aware place in the chart. Venus as the ruler of Libra brings out a harmonizing sensibility, an attention to balance and, at times, a deferential tendency in an effort to keep the peace. Here, Venus is more active. She has a caretaking, cardinal energy.
Scorpio Rising: Scorpio is ruled by Mars, the nighttime counter to the daytime Aries. Where Aries brings out the direct and aggressive nature of Mars, Scorpio is protective, deep, and relatively cool. Scorpio is a more inward direction of Mars’s intensity, less erratic. Through Scorpio, Mars has a softer, quieter outlet for his directive force—though he maintains the intensity. Think espionage rather than battle.
Sagittarius Rising: Sagittarius is the daytime home sign of Jupiter. Jupiter brings his excess, his optimism and his world-seeking to Sagittarius. This is the traveler who’s seen a little bit of everything, who lives under the stars. A modern symbol of Jupiter’s Sagittarius side is Santa Claus—the generous wiseman, decked in red and a little drunk. Here, Jupiter is a seeker on a walk toward truth.
Capricorn Rising: Saturn’s nocturnal home is Capricorn, which is why Capricorn gets the reputation as a hardass, type-A sign. Saturn, especially in Capricorn, is boundaries, commitment, and the burden of the past. The slow movements and reliable 29.5 year cycle of Saturn (mirroring the faster 29.5 day cycle of Saturn’s antithesis, the Moon) reflect the sincerity of Saturn and his significations.
Aquarius Rising: In Aquarius we find Saturn’s daytime home. The same rule-orientation (with a rebel’s twist) and awareness of the burdens and commitments of existence play out in Aquarius’s Saturn, but, in Aquarius, we see them focused on the future and the theoretical. This is the Socrates needling the ruling class for their hypocrisy. Aquarius attunes Saturn to future commitments and lineage.
Pisces Rising: Jupiter’s nocturnal home is Pisces, a cool, always shifting water sign. This is the spiritual, poetic, slippery side of Jupiter, the blurry vision brought by alcohol and the blurry thinking brought by falling in love. Jupiter manifests his emotional expanse, his frothing care here. Jupiter as the ruler of Pisces suggests the rejuvenation that comes with the end of a cycle before it all starts again.
The location and relationships between the ruler of your ascendant and the rest of your chart are necessary considerations for understanding how it manifests in your life, but, regardless, you can reflect on the meanings of the planet who rules your rising sign. Think about how you do or don’t resonate with it.
My Aries rising is ruled by Mars, a planet that I have a lot of tension and discomfort with. I do not easily have access to the aggression and competition and extroversion of Mars. Discovering that my chart has this strong Martial thread was a big part of why I pursued astrological learning and has helped me fill many, many journal pages. It’s been valuable to think about how a Mars in Leo is elevated and undermined within my chart. I encourage you to reflect on your own reaction to your rising sign’s ruler and explore the complexity it represents in your life.
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