10 October: Mars square Venus Rx
The second major energetic signature of Venus’ retrograde instigates us to initiate the actions we need to take to feel better instead of remaining fixed to the comfort of dysregulated habits.
The square aspect brings an energy of challenge between signs of the same modality, but different elements. This square between Mars in Leo (fixed fire) and Venus Rx in Scorpio (fixed water) pits the two passionately emotive elements against each other in the modality that is typically perceived as the most stubborn, bringing a strong potential for standoff.
The standoff we experience during square between fixed signs is not between Self and Other as many astrologers lead the public to believe. This standoff will not come into your life from the outside world; nobody is going to try and fight you. Instead, the standoff we are likely to experience today will happen between the Self and the Not-Self. The Self wants to make progress and grow. Meanwhile the Not-Self, the immature aspect of our nature, tends to be reluctant to make lifestyle changes even when change is obviously beneficial. It is attached to the comforts of the familiar, even when what is most familiar is uncomfortable dysregulation.
This particular square gives us a strong potential to overcome this fatal flaw. Square is Mars’ favorite aspect; as the God of Action he does very well when positioned as a challenger. Challenge is his core strength. His role in astrology is to instigate us into taking whatever action will benefit us most and lead us to personal growth and success.
It is a mistake to view Mars as the God of War, although that was surely his immature nature when he was first born from Hera’s rage thousands of years ago. The Gods, like us, change and grow over time. These days Mars more often takes the role of an athletic coach, helping us overcome obstacles and deal with hard things. He cheers us on when we need encouragement, and he gives us tough love when what we need most is someone who believes in us more than we believe in ourselves.
On the other side of the square we have Venus, who is open-hearted and receptive to feedback during the problem-revealing stage of her retrograde. Because Scorpio is Mars’ ruling sign, his input is particularly influential in this transit.
But Venus’ receptivity is not enough to bring out the full productive potential of even the most collaborative fixed square. To see the benefits, we too need to be receptive. We need to open our hearts to the idea of taking action to invoke change – even in the face of our stubborn and intransigent Not-Self’s desire to maintain the comfort of stasis.
Venus rules our ethics, the personal values we use to determine what is beautiful and what is intolerable. In the perfect world, everyone makes important decisions based on what is right for them individually, rather than choosing based on social norms or values picked up secondhand from family, school, religion, politics, or even values imposed by friends, partners, or anyone else who holds power and influence over us.
Venus’ core lesson is that alignment is not found between the Self and the Other – it can only be truly found between our choices and our values. It takes a strong personality to individuate from secondhand values in the first place, and unfortunately not everyone gets there. Venus retrograde is always hardest on people who choose to remain enmeshed with the systems they were born into, parroting what they were taught instead of thinking for themselves.
The pre-retrograde shadow began on 31 August and ended on 3 October. If, during that time, we diverged from our own alignment – that is, prioritized other values over our own – then Venus will reveal how and where we went wrong while she is in retrograde. Then, during the post-retrograde shadow between 14 November and 15 December, Venus will pressure us to make corrections by re-aligning with our personal ethics.
Not everyone will listen to the divine call to re-align with the self. It is only those who resist that will suffer harsh consequences. But it’s important to understand that those harsh consequences are not enforced by Venus – instead they are enforced by the Not-Self’s decision to swim against the stream.
In this transit, Venus is the protagonist and Mars is the support. Mars’ worldview and his focus on where we need to be more proactive will apply toward helping Venus uncover where we have diverged from our own divine path, with the goal of helping us get back on track where possible.
In retrograde Venus’ work is currently editorial, but Mars is moving direct, so his work is currently expository. After their conversation during the transit, the two Gods will move apart and each will continue their own process, informed by what they have learned from the other.
Venus will continue bringing us revelations, but Mars will challenge us to move forward with the revelations we have already received. His worldview is one of proactivity. One week into the retrograde we should already have at least some revelations. It’s not necessary to wait until Venus stations direct to take action on what we already know.
The best way to work with the astrology is to go where the flow wants to take you instead of fighting it. Fighting the flow is just fighting your Higher Self. Usually we feel the Gods’ influence through our intuition. If you feel a spark of motivation from your subconscious mind today, or even a desire that comes to you through your body, it’s a good idea to act on it – or at least do some journaling to explore where your inner guidance is trying to lead you.
In my next post I’ll journal on where the flow is taking me, in the hope that you can learn something about your own process from reading about my experience.