Sometimes, boldness is more important than accurate intelligence.

Austin Coppock, on The Astrology Podcast

A Leap That Changed My Life

In March 2003, on vacation at Club Med in Turks and Caicos, I tried flying trapeze for the first time. A work friend who had recently been to the same resort had advised me to try it. I didn’t really know much about flying trapeze, but it sounded fun. On the second day of the trip, I walked over to the trapeze rig, not really knowing what to expect.

Nobody gave me any pre-talk about what to expect, or instruction about what to do, on the ground.

It wasn’t until I had climbed to the top of the ladder that I realized I really didn’t know what to do. I was reminded that I had a slight fear of unenclosed heights. As a person who typically struggled with coordination and isn’t particularly flexible or athletic, I started to wonder how this was going to work.

A little to late to think about that now.

Fortunately, the instructor on the board gave me clear guidance. He set me up on the platform, held my belt as I reached out to grab the bar, and pointed to the woman on the ground who was holding the rope that was attached to my safety lines. He told me to listen to her.

Then he sent me off into the air, holding nothing other than a moving bar. I listened to the woman on the ground as she called out the commands for a knee-hang. Within a minute I was landing in the net. As I rolled out of the net and landed back on solid ground I was still flying high, my body coursing with adrenaline.

In that moment, my life changed.

I’ve had a love affair with flying trapeze ever since.

Like most love affairs, trapeze and I have had our ups and downs, but overall it’s been a remarkable journey. Flying trapeze has been a vehicle through which I’ve been able to develop better connection to my body and appreciate the ways my body can move.

It’s also proven itself time and again as one of the best teachers of personal development, especially when it comes to navigating fear, pushing the edge of my comfort zone, and “taking leaps” in life.

Sometimes the biggest and most important moments of our life come when we boldly walk into something because we don’t know how big it is, or what the scope of it is. Those are the things that can end up changing us and propelling us forward. And, in retrospect, had we known how big it was, we might have walked away from it.

The Advantages and Pitfalls of Advanced Planning

Advanced planning has its advantages. Knowing what’s involved in a project gives us the ability to plan how we will allocate your resources to it. It gives us certainty about what’s ahead, what we need, and the timeline for what’s going to happen.

It also can keep us stuck.

If I had paused to consider all the aspects of flying trapeze, if I had received detailed instructions on the ground, I might have talked myself out of climbing the ladder and taking the leap. It would have felt too scary, too much outside the realm of my capacity.

Sometimes, it’s better to climb the ladder first and then ask questions.

Of course, this can be context-dependent. There are times when it pays to ask questions first. You don’t dive into a lake without knowing how deep the water is.

Mars Square Jupiter: Big Bold Moves

This dynamic is front and center as Mars in Aquarius comes into a square aspect with Jupiter in Taurus.

Mars is the archetype of the Warrior. It represents our courage, our impulse to action, and our drive to push through. Jupiter is the planet of expansion, wisdom, and peace. In a square, the planets are at a right angle to each other; it’s an aspect of friction.

A Mars/Jupiter square can be a signature that supports risk-taking and impulsive action. This can show up as an increased energy and enthusiasm for taking risks or venturing outside our comfort zone.

It can support us in taking bold action toward a big, ambitious goal.

Sometimes, leaping before we look too closely is exactly what we need to get past the resistance and take action on something big and meaningful. Otherwise, we can run the risk of complacency and stagnation.

On the other extreme, this signature can lead to overconfidence, reckless impulsivity, and biting off more than we can chew.

My first flying trapeze experience would have been a lot different without the instructors there to ensure my safety.

Take the Leap, But Know How to Land

As the Warrior, Mars is on the front lines. This planet is the initiator: it cuts a path that others follow. As Austin Coppock noted on The Astrology Podcast, being on the front line of conflict is not necessarily the best thing. But being the intrepid explorer can yield many benefits.

The key for Mars/Jupiter is to have a good awareness of whether you are venturing into armed conflict or being an intrepid explorer.

Sometimes the biggest and most important moments of our life come when we boldly walk into something because we don’t know how big it is, or what the scope of it is. Those are the things that can end up changing us and propelling us forward. And, in retrospect, had we known how big it was, we might have walked away from it.

Many of the biggest moments of my life have unfolded only because I was willing to leap without all the advanced planning. Sometimes we just have to put ourselves in the mix and figure it out as we go.

As Mars squares Jupiter, take the leap, but make sure you’re in safety lines — or that you know how to land in the net.