Imagine you’re heading out on a road trip. You’ve got your sights set on a destination. You’re eager and excited to get there, optimistic about the possibilities that lay ahead for you.
You fill the car’s tank with gas.
You get in the car and start driving.
And then you hit bumper-to-bumper traffic.
That kind of traffic that feels like you’re in a parking lot on the highway.
Perhaps you can feel your optimism already start to wane. But you’re not ready to give up. You’re persistent. An achiever. You’ll find a way.
You get off the highway to take a different route to your destination.
You hit traffic there, too.
The back roads? More traffic.
How long can you sustain your big vision and your optimism when you keep getting caught in traffic?
How long before your optimism deflates and you start to fall into despair or defeat?
When there’s a roadblock on every route to your destination, it may seem prudent — even “realistic” — to retreat and retool.
How can you meet the moment as it is without letting go of the vision and the possibility that got you on the road in the first place?
Over the next week, the planets are mirroring to us a situation in which we might be caught in the tension of expansive desire and motivation while simultaneously bumping up against hard limits. Those limits might be internal, external, or both.
The energies at play involve the archetypal energies represented by Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The ways in which the planets are connecting can bring to light the inner tensions between these different parts of ourselves.
This coming week can show us where a big vision, strong purpose, and high motivation to succeed is bumping up against some very hard limits regarding your current capacity or about what’s possible in any given time block, day, or week.
Mars Conjunct Jupiter: Fuel For Your Drive
On August 14, Mars and Jupiter meet up in the sign of Gemini (16º40’).
When planets connect at the same point in the sky (from our perspective on Earth), it’s called a conjunction. A conjunction starts a new cycle between the planets, which means we are seeding something new here that will play out over the cycle until they meet again in approximately 2 years.
A conjunction represents a blending of the energies of the planets.
Mars is the Warrior. It’s the planet of fire: it represents our desire, drive, motivation, willpower, and action. Mars is courageous, bold, and unhesitating in its drive to take action.
Jupiter is the planet of expansion. As the largest planet, it’s known for expanding what it comes into contact with. Jupiter is the quality of air. Think of a helium balloon taking flight.
When Mars and Jupiter come together, it’s like adding oxygen to fan the flames of the fire.
On the most simple, personal, level, Mars conjunct Jupiter can bring an expansion of our desire. It can intensify our drive to take big, bold, courageous action.
Mars conjunct Jupiter is your big, bold vision; your optimism about what’s possible at your destination. This is the fuel in your tank, your eagerness to get on the road and start driving.
You’re so optimistic that maybe you just start before you even check the traffic report.
Mars Square Saturn: Road Blocks
As it’s coming together with Jupiter, Mars is also forming a square to Saturn in Pisces, which will be exact on August 16 (1:37 AM ET).
A square puts planets at a right angle to each other, which is a relationship of friction.
Think of being at a 4-way stop sign with a car to your left or right, where nobody quite knows who has the right of way, so nobody moves.
Mars and Saturn had their own conjunction earlier this year. This square marks the quarter-way mark in their cycle. It represents a tension, or an obstacle, that is arising on the way to our destination.
Squares are the hardest relationship between planets: it brings the energies of the two planets into a conflict. And with Mars and Saturn, there’s a lot of conflict.
Where Mars has the energy of “go,” Saturn says “stop.”
Mars brings the heat of fire, while Saturn is cold.
Mars is impulsive; Saturn is restrained and constrained.
Mars wants to charge forward; Saturn imposes limits.
Mars and Saturn in a “hard aspect” like a square is like doing a deadlift where you’re pulling the bar into the safety pegs on a squat rack. It can be jarring in stopping the momentum.
In the metaphor of our road trip, Mars/Jupiter got you fired up and in the car. You’re flooring the gas pedal on the open road. And suddenly, heavy traffic forces you to slam on the brakes.
Now you’re driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic, with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake.
How do you react when you’ve got a big vision and high desire but you keep hitting limits?
Saturn and Mars in a square can be a test of frustration tolerance.
Jupiter Square Saturn: Optimism Meets Despair
Jupiter is also forming this same square to Saturn. Although it won’t meet it in an exact square until August 19, it’s very much in the mix this week.
Jupiter in square to Saturn brings a friction or conflict in those energies within us:
Jupiter brings expansion; Saturn brings contraction.
Jupiter inflates; Saturn deflates.
Jupiter is light; Saturn is heavy.
Jupiter brings optimism; Saturn brings despair.
Jupiter in Gemini is like a helium balloon taking flight: we can ride it up and see a vision of the world and all its possibilities.
Saturn in Pisces is like trying to swim across the ocean with a weighted vest: we get dragged down to the depths, struggling to take in air.
When they form an aspect of friction, we might feel like we are see-sawing between hope and despair, between optimism and defeatism, between this will be epic and why even bother?
5 Tips to Stay the Course When You Hit Road Blocks
While we will move on soon enough from Mars/Jupiter and Mars/Saturn, the Jupiter/Saturn square is the opening chapter in a three-part story that will play out over the next several months.
How can you stay the course and avoid being weighed down by the reality of your current limitations?
When we know what is happening, we are empowered to work with it in a more conscious way.
I often say that the difference between navigating traffic and being “stuck” in traffic” is one of perspective. When you anticipate the traffic in advance and plan appropriately for it, you can reduce a lot of the frustration.
If you know you’re going to hit traffic, you can plan for the longer trip.
Here are some suggestions — both literal and metaphorical:
(1) Create more space in your schedule.
Allow for the extra time it’s going to take to get to your destination. There’s no need to rush. Take your time, go at your own pace, and remember that moving even small distances at a time will eventually get you there.
(2) Prepare for the journey.
Bring extra snacks. make sure to nourish and hydrate to keep your energy up.
(3) Plan extra rest stops into your trip.
Take time as necessary to refuel and recharge the “vehicle” of your body as well as the “driver” of your mind.
(4) Communicate your big, bold vision and desires.
Mercury, the Messenger and the ruler of Gemini, is in charge of the big Mars/Jupiter conjunction.
It’s currently retrograde, and moving back into Leo, the sign of boldness and courage. This encourages both a review of our reasons, and boldness in our communication.
As you have your big, bold vision, use the energy of Mercury in Leo to write it out and speak about it with other people.
Review your journals, your emails, and social media posts. Collect the pieces that will remind you of the reason why you have your big, bold desire
(5) Stay connected to your desire.
When the traffic piles up, take those moments to pull over and review the materials you collected that remind you of why you got on this road in the first place.
When you feel the inner tug-of-war between expansion and contraction, remember that small steps forward will eventually get you to your destination.
Even the smallest steps, taken consistently, can eventually lead to a big outcome.
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