Venus and Mars Enter Aquarius

Mars and Venus will be joining Mercury and Saturn in this sign on the 6^th of March.  I can’t remember where I learned this, but refugees and immigrants in a country where they don’t speak the language sometimes have an Aquarius stellium in their chart. Perhaps because it is opposite in nature to the ancestral lands of Capricorn. In Aquarius where freedom is paramount, it may come at the price of belonging, and may not be of one’s choosing. The detachment of Aquarius serves as displacement from one’s land. It is a human sign and a humanitarian power, welcoming all, but its contrary nature makes it difficult to express one’s identity in a powerful way (the I.D. being associated with the Sun and Leo) and this sign is ruled by Saturn, the planet of denial, struggling to give without taking away.

In Capricorn Mars and Venus had a pragmatic approach taking the initiative, obeying rules, convention, commitment, there is ambition, focus, and drive. The focus was on resources, things of material value, duty, and ancestral lands. Pluto of course, then breaks all of these, distorting them until they shatter.

In Aquarius Venus and Mars change their tack to a fixed narrative but gain the capacity to follow through, they have stamina. They become more objective and humanitarian. The rules are still important to Aquarius; rebels they may be, but if you argue with an Aquarian person you soon realise they have their own structures that must be held to, just not the conventional ones. Aquarius redefines the boundaries according to current and future needs and not according to a dogmatic historical convention. It is experimental and inventive. It is a better place for these two planets to be moving to in our current climate.

Mars and Venus coming to this sign will signal demands for strategy, for context.  Venus will vie for a humanitarian point of view, Mars will exhibit the detached nature of Aquarius, and reason his passions. Aquarius appreciates freedom, Mars will defend your right to it. In our mundane (socio-political) world we see this played out as the strain for diplomacy and compassion, vs strategic aggression. In some areas of life, we might find they work closely together, fiercely defending what we love, in other ways working against each other without efficacy. (Mars and Venus are not the main players in the war machine, but they triggered Pluto on the 3rd of March, probably with some build-up).

They leave behind them in Capricorn the strong influence of Pluto’s co-presence, and the exaltation of Mars. In the first degrees of Aquarius, Mars loses power, and Venus gains a little, granting some reprieve. But by the 18^th of March, she will be besieged by Mars and Saturn in his sign.

These two travel alongside each other, highlighting the difficulty of maintaining harmony and avoiding conflict when competing needs are inexplicably woven. There is no ideal way forward and even compromise is difficult. We may only feel it as tension within ourselves over what draws or repels us through our sense of reason. Aquarius allows them to become more detached from their respective passions and seek novel ways forward. The theme is cerebral and desiring freedom. There is a palpable change to what we are passionate about; we are liberated from some desires and pulled towards new ones. They are as divergent as earth and air. These influences will manifest in according to the house in your chart.

Look out for a follow-up post on Stelliums in Aquarius in history.

(I am struggling to write lately, with the terrible things that are happening in Ukraine, and even though I am not a mundane astrologer (one who studies world events) I cannot help but see the conflict in the chart. Appologies if this post sounds dour and overtly political. I am in a cloud of sorrow, as I am sure we all are).

^{Header image: Peraldus’ Theological Miscellany Harley MS 3244}