Mars conjunct Pluto

Friday advice column: Finding the willpower to make life changes

M.S. writes:

After years of attempting and giving it my best shot, I have not been able to reverse my diabetes because I cannot stick to the needed lifestyle changes. I have signed up for expensive programs and have had success but all too easily fall back into my old ways of enjoying food; sugary soft drinks, pastries, pastas, carbs.

I understand the ramifications of what I am doing to my body and I have had therapy about eating. I am not an overeater, I just eat the wrong things. Does my chart show when and if I will ever stick to a plan and heal my diabetes once and for all? I get emotionally depressed after I have stopped eating foods I enjoy.

When would be the best time to attempt changes again? Eating out is a joy of mine. I look forward to it every day and plan where I am going to eat sometimes weeks in advance.

Dear M.S.,

Eating healthily has become so difficult in our modern culture which presents highly palatable food that has been engineered by the food industry to be addictive to our taste buds. That said, we can learn enjoy delicious foods and still maintain a healthy lifestyle. While some charts do show a tendency towards overindulgence (my own, for example!), our astrological chart does not hold a magic key to a time when a change will occur. We need to find ways to work with our own psychology to accomplish our goals in a way that we won’t feel deprived.

Your Sun is in the sign of Cancer, and every Cancerian that I know loves food and sharing food with friends. So food is always going to be an important part of […]

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By |2023-06-09T10:24:07-04:00June 9th, 2023|Advice|5 Comments
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Astrological news this week: A war with no retrogrades and a Pisces New Moon

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February 28 through March 7, 2022.  Maybe the US threatening a short dictator with Scorpio rising and Pluto conjunct the Midheaven that his country would suffer untold destruction, under a Venus/Mars/Pluto conjunction, wasn’t the best idea. Especially with Pluto exactly conjunct US Pluto on February 22nd. Sometimes we wish astrology didn’t work quite so well.

Anyway. It’s difficult to predict what will happen, although plenty of people will try. So in the meantime let’s try to change the things we can and not obsess over what we can’t, doomscrolling into the night like I’ve been doing! Let’s donate to the causes that will help the people of Ukraine like the highly rated  World Central Kitchen, feeding displaced people of which there are so many.

In the astrological news this week, we still have no planets in retrograde motion. This is a fairly unusual situation in which all planets are in direct motion so there is no going back and re-doing or re-evaluating – it’s full speed all the way. Under a condition such as this, throughout March and April, we want to think carefully about what we are planning and what actions we take since we will be on a train going in only one directly.

The Pisces New Moon on Wednesday March 2nd will be extra expansive under a conjunction to Jupiter. Under the sign of Pisces we tend to let go of some of the day to day details in favor of a yearning for an experience which is more meaningful – more relaxing, more creative. Imagination is heightened, a yearning for spiritual connection is intensified. Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Pisces, and its conjunction to the New Moon deepens the Piscean […]

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By |2022-02-28T16:09:13-05:00February 28th, 2022|Planetary news this week|3 Comments
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Astrological news this week: The Venus/Mars/Pluto triple shot

art by Jen Delyth

As astrological weather goes, the weather for this week is fairly mild. But just as a quick intense thunderstorm can stir up a lot of debris, the tightening vise of Venus, Mars and Pluto could wreak some havoc in our personal relationships. On the positive side (and you know I always like to present all possibilities for you!) this triple conjunction can have the effect of squeezing superficiality out of our interactions and replacing it with truth and empowerment. Maybe I’m just a contrarian (ok, I AM a contrarian), but sometimes the easy opportunity times are the ones that trap us with their glitz and glamor and cause us to be unprepared for the storm. The challenging planetary cycles build resilience and wisdom.

Anyway, this week is relatively peaceful overall – no lunar events, no outer planet alignments to confront our sense of reality. The Sun, newly in Pisces, joins Jupiter and Neptune (co-rulers of Pisces) for a festival of divine love, compassionate hearts, and boundless creativity. And the faster moving planetary alignments are harmonious and supportive. So the only potential challenge is the tightening of Venus, Mars and Pluto.  Venus and Mars have been a team (conjunct) for the past couple of weeks, inspiring us to better integrate the yin (Venus) with the yang (Mars) principles in order to achieve greater harmony. Mercury was conjunct Pluto for weeks (it was stationary within a few degrees of Pluto as it turned direct), intensifying communication and mental focus (maybe not the best time for a US/Russia conference!).

Venus conjoined Mars on February 16th and since then hasn’t moved more than one degree from Mars, meaning the two continue to act as a team. Venus […]

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By |2022-02-21T08:13:48-05:00February 21st, 2022|Planetary news this week|0 Comments
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Bring on the fire with the Aries New Moon: March 24, 2020

We have had a dearth of the fire element for quite a few months now.  Mars, the fire planet, was in the sign of Sagittarius in mid-January, but a stellium of planets in earthy Capricorn acted as a blanket to dampen the fire energy.  In practical terms, when there is adequate representation of the fire element among the planets, it becomes easier to access the motivation and inspiration of fire.  We have instead been under the influence of earth primarily, which is practical and good for creating structures and plans, especially in Capricorn which is the sign of achievement and success.

Over the past week or so, Mars (currently in Capricorn) has been traveling through the Capricorn stellium of Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn, and under the new reality of the Coronavirus which requires greater restriction (Saturn 29 degrees Capricorn) of movement (Mars), we have seen quite a few people rebelling against (Mars/Jupiter) the call for isolation.  Some countries are using police to keep people in their homes, and in my lifetime I have not seen such a powerful example of Saturn in Capricorn.

On the day I write this (March 23), we have just passed through the portal of the Vernal Equinox, the Aries point which is ruled by Mars. Mars has just traveled by Jupiter and Pluto and the Martian energy of aggression and fiery rhetoric as well as power struggles has been intense.  We have seen this in the struggle of governments around the world to agree on measures to try to contain the virus, and perhaps in our own homes as we spend more time together than we may be used to.

Into this mix comes the New Moon in Aries.  Aries is the first sign of […]

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By |2020-03-23T09:34:04-04:00March 23rd, 2020|Moon|0 Comments
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Sunday Inspiration: Pluto and the Force of Will

"What was Given" “What was Given” by Robin Quinlavan

Over the next 10 days or so we will see Mars align with Pluto, forming an alliance that could have a strong effect in our personal lives as well as in the world at large.

Mars is often thought of as the planet of war, anger and aggression and all of these qualities are a part of the Mars archetype.  But Mars also represents the individual Will – the power that we all possess to create an intention followed by the initiation of an action.  When we have a desire to make something happen in our lives, that is our Will at work.

Pluto is usually defined as the planet of death and rebirth, or as I like to call it, the planet of destruction and regeneration.  Under the auspices of Pluto we often find that the forces of the subconscious become more powerful and relentless and that aspects of our lives are forever changed.  Pluto represents a force that acts beyond our control, and to me this force manifests as the Will of the Higher self.

When Mars and Pluto collide it can be with a deadly force of destructive rage and anger, or it can be with a conscious intention to focus the powerful energy to achieve a goal.  This after all is the force of Magick – the bending of matter in the earthly realm through the force of Will.  Under a Mars/Pluto conjunction this can only be done effectively when the individual Will (Mars) is acting in harmony with the Higher Self (Pluto).

This can be a powerful time of great reward if we utilize mindfulness and attention and infuse intention into our reactions.

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