Who Do You Love
Grand Water Trine, Mars, Venus, Saturn
One of the things I love about astrology is how it presents us with opportunities to closely examine particular areas of our lives. Whether you believe, for example, that the apparent movement of Mercury has any influence on the way we communicate, it is probably a net good to be reminded, several times a year, to carefully consider how we listen and speak to the world. The Mercury Retrograde provides us this opportunity. Astrology is filled with such “prompts”. The waxing and waning of The Moon that makes us think of advance and decline, the solstices and equinoxes that remind us to think of our unfolding lives in terms of “seasons”. The lights in the sky have lessons to teach us if we can learn the language in which they speak.
The chart above shows a “Grand Water Trine” between Mars in Cancer, Venus in Scorpio and Saturn in Pisces. Planets “communicate” with one another (or do not) based on their geometric relationships or (aspects) within the circle of the Zodiac. This particular Grand Trine will not last long (just a few days centered on October 4,2024), but will make itself felt, in the “Watery” parts of our charts and our lives in a powerful way. If you have important placements in any of the water signs you should take note but even if you don’t this transit could be a wild ride emotionally.
Starting with Mars in Cancer, which I addressed at some length HERE, we see a situation where some aggressive or even violent passions must be checked and channeled into protection and nurture. Cancer is the place of Mars’s “depression”, where he might find weakness and frustration. As a Cardinal Sign, Cancer has to do with the onset of things. As a Water Sign, we are dealing with that which “fills us” (or does not). The Water Signs relate to our feelings in a manner similar to the Cups in Tarot. Mars likes to initiate things but more in a “Firey” way. The caution demanded in Cancer might incline him to outbursts that could frighten and alienate the very people who he is charged with protecting. Further, since Cancer is a Moon ruled sign that has a lot to do with family relations and karma, Mars might find himself dealing with a lot of old emotional entanglements which further frustrate his natural tendency toward aggressive, decisive action.
Venus is Scorpio is another tense placement. Scorpio is known as a sign of passion and depth. As the Fixed Water Sign it represents our deepest and darkest places emotionally. Our most hidden desires and fears (sometimes mixed into bizarre cocktails) can be activated when Venus enters these Waters. Scorpio, being a Mars ruled sign, will have an impact on how Venus signals her presence back to Mars in Cancer. He can “see her in his house” and would probably rather be where she is. Our deepest desires are being activated by Venus in the weird carnival atmosphere of Scorpio while we might feel confined within the quiet domestic sphere of Cancer. There is bound to be a good deal of tension here between what we would like to do and what we know we should do. Nor is this tension eased by the understanding that following strong desires often leads us into the webs of obligation which seem to frustrate the same desires. After the ecstasy comes the laundry.
Turning to Saturn in Pisces we encounter yet another tense and unstable placement. Saturn loves toil and discipline, patience and maturity, respect for limitation and tradition. Pisces is not a place that lends itself to such virtues. In the Mutable Waters of Pisces, boundaries dissolve and things bleed into one another. The environment wavers between mystic union and drunken befuddlement. Further, it isn’t always easy to tell the difference between the two. Imagine trying to separate the ocean from the mist with a scapple in the dark.
It might be a good idea to say a few things about the role of aspects in astrology. As has been said, the aspects are geometrical arrangements of the planets and other important points in the chart around the circle of The Zodiac. In traditional astrology five aspects are considered. A sextile occurs when two bodies are 60° apart. A line drawn between two such bodies form one side of a hexagon. A square is formed by two bodies separated by 90° forming one side of a square. A trine is formed when two bodies are 120° forming one side of a triangle. In addition to these, a conjunction happens when two or more bodies occupy the same degree of Zodiacal circle and an opposition occurs when two or more bodies occupy degrees 180° apart. All of these aspects with the exception of the conjunction are associated with a planet. The square and opposition being “challenging” aspects are associated with the “malefic” planets – Mars with the square, Saturn with the opposition. Sextiles and trines are associated with the “benefic” planets, Venus and Jupiter respectively. Jupiter, being the “Greater benefic” lends the trine the distinction of being the most fortunate of all the aspects. What makes the trine we are considering here a “grand” trine is the fact that the arrangement of the three planets involved form the full image of a triangle rather than the mere suggestion of one. All of this is important because even though the planets involved in this trine are not well placed, they are favorably configured to one another and might, thereby, be able to assist one another.
Returning now to Saturn in Pisces, what would help him is some kind of polarity from which he could construct a useful boundary. Fortunately, since we are looking at a grand trine, AND since Jupiter rules the sign of Pisces, he is with us in spirit if not in body. Jupiter is about great, unifying legalistic, philosophical and religious ideas. He can help Saturn in this nebulous watery space by providing him with some theory about the relationship between Venus and Mars.
According to the ancient myths, Venus loves Mars more than any of her lovers. But why? It is because it is ultimately love that we fight and strive for. The degree of our love is in large part measurable in terms of the hardship and even danger we are willing to risk for it. The impulse to fight and strive is both motivated by and aimed toward love. With this idea in mind, Saturn is asking us to consider what we are willing to fight for, to undergo hardship and danger for.
Mars benefits from the discipline of Saturn which turns him from a hot-headed bar room brawler into an organized, disciplined and principled warrior. He does this by reminding Mars that there are limits to what can be obtained by even the most powerful and well-equipped warrior.
Mars would be wise to accept this council from Saturn. The fragile nest of Cancer is no place for a berserker. Saturn asks Mars to consider, in the light of the limitations that make ANYTHING possible, what exactly he desires. Let him look to Venus Scorpio, which represents his most deeply held desire, only this will be worth the delicacy of effort required in this moment, a delicacy which will, nevertheless, require every bit as much determination as the fiercest of battles.
This is the moment to ask ourselves what we REALLY want. We will be able to distinguish it from what momentarily entertains or infatuates us by an honest assessment of what we are willing to risk on its’ behalf. Saturn will help us make that distinction if we are brave enough (Mars) to enter into our most hidden places (Scorpio) to find our most beloved (Venus). If we can do this we will be able to operate with both the determination and precision to cultivate this love and make it a part of tomorrow’s past.