Mars in the news: The Opposition and Blood Moon

Astrological Mars is retrograde right now and moving much more slowly than it normally does (from our perspective on earth).  Consequently, its impact is more intense with a heightened feeling of aggression and inspiration towards action.  Mercury entered Mars’s own sign of Aries yesterday which adds additional fire to the mix and adding excitement and perhaps a few arguments to interpersonal communication everywhere.

Mars of course is instrumental in the upcoming Grand Cross of planets in the cardinal signs of Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn, so this barrage of intensity will not be letting up any time soon.

So it’s an interesting coincidence that Mars will be opposite the Sun in the sky Tuesday evening – an event that happens only once every two years or so.  A week later, on April 14th, Mars will at its closest point to Earth, making both of these evenings an ideal time to observe Mars in the sky.

The color of Mars is red, and when Mars is near the earth it appears as a red ball in the sky.  At the same time that Mars will be at perihelion, it’s closest proximity to earth, the Moon will be approaching fullness (the Full Moon actually occurs on April 15th but will be nearing fullness on the 14th).  This Full Moon is likely to appear red as it is eclipsed by the Sun, prompting it to be called a Blood Moon, and Mars will appear adjacent to the Moon as a second fiery red body in the sky.

All of this occurring at the time of the Cardinal Grand Cross has lots of people fearing the worst, and the idea of the Blood Moon has sparked the imaginations of fundamentalist bible readers across the globe.  I’ll be writing more about that tomorrow.

Personally, I am a big fan of Mars.  Without Mars we would lack inspiration, drive and motivation.  It’s Mars that encourages us to wake up every morning and create something in our day.  When Mars is weak or ineffective – that’s when we start having problems.  Here are a few steps to take to help you to navigate this very Marsy energy over the next week or two:

• Make sure you get plenty of exercise – do something active every day to the best of your ability.
• Practice expressing yourself to those around you.  If you don’t want to do something, say no. Mars teaches us to set boundaries, but it often requires practice.
• Pay attention to your feelings.  Breathe through them rather than avoid or submerge them.
• Make plans for changing situations in your life that create stress and rage.

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