The story we tell about anything — the meaning we give it — has a powerul impact on our emotions and our actions.
Sometimes we don’t even realize the stories we are telling, because they are stories we have internalized from others. They seem true so we don’t second-guess them.
As Mercury and Mars come together in Capricorn, they invite us to take decisive action toward our goals. This moment also invites us to examine how the stories we are telling ourselves — or hearing from others — are impacting our motivation and drive to take decisive action.
Mercury and Mars in Capricorn
Capricorn is a sign about persistence and determination in the pursuit of our goals.
Mars is the planet of action, representing our drive and determination. It is also the warrior, planet; it represents that part of us that can be assertive, aggressive, and sometimes abrasive.
This aspect of Mars is why it’s referred to as one of the “malefic” planets.
Mercury is the messenger planet, responsible for communication, ideas, and planning.
Conjunctions are when the two planets come together at the same point in the sky from our perspective on Earth. They bring an intensification of the energies of the two planets.
Energy to Act on Our Ideas …
When Mercury and Mars come together — especially in mission-oriented Capricorn — we can receive a boost of energy to act on our ideas, to finally put plans in motion, and to be persistent in our pursuit of what we desire.
Mercury conjunct Mars can help us tap into that part of ourselves that is strong-minded, decisive, straightforward, and direct. This is where ideas meet action, where plans come to fruition, where we harness our passion and drive to share our work and ideas with the world.
… But Beware of Sharp Words and Disempowering Stories
At the same time, we want to proceed with awareness about the power of words — both the words we use and the messages we take in from others.
The same energy that helps us be decisive and direct can also come across as blunt or insensitive.
A Mercury/Mars conjunction can show us the ways in which words can cut, sever, inflame, and stoke passions — to constructive or destructive ends. We might find ourselves caught up in a war of words, as an unwitting perpetrator of inflammatory comments or as a victim of messaging that shuts us down.
As Mercury links up with Mars, it can show us where the messages we are hearing from others might be triggering our doubts and keeping us from taking action toward our dreams and desires.
Where are you telling or believing a story that stokes your fears of taking action, locking you in a prison of perfectionism?
Mercury conjunct Mars supports you in creating a new story that empowers you to take the actions that will lead you to the life you desire.
These harmful stories can take many forms.
For example, perhaps you believe a story that receiving support from a coach is selfish, or that you “shouldn’t need help” because you’re “smart enough” to do it alone. So you keep yourself from receiving the support you need and as a consequence you don’t take action.
Or maybe you’re believing a story that you’re not good enough or smart enough to create the vision you have, so you scale back and aim small.
Perhaps you have a story that if you put your work into the world, you’ll be ridiculed or rejected, so you hold yourself back.
Where are you telling or believing a story that stokes your fears of taking action, locking you in a prison of perfectionism?
Mercury conjunct Mars supports you in creating a new story that empowers you to take the actions that will lead you to the life you desire.
Alignment Between Planning and Action
Mercury is the planner and Mars is the planet of drive and action. At the extremes, each is detrimental in its own way.
Too much planning can become a form of “front-end perfectionism” — a delay in getting started on taking action. We might tell ourselves a story of what we “need to have in place” before we can begin.
Maybe we think we need to develop a skill for a task, be more warmed up for a workout, or achieve a certain level of mastery in a subject.
At the other extreme, we might get caught up in a false sense of urgency or the heat of passion and act impulsively, taking action before we have a plan for where we are even going and how we want to get there.
In the moment, this might feel like forward momentum. But when the excitement dies down we might realize we made a mistake and backtrack, leading to a setback in our forward momentum.
The best way to move forward is to strike a balance through intentional, aligned action. Taking time to get clear on our values, setting goals aligned with those values, creating a plan, then taking decisive action.
As Mercury and Mars meet up in Capricorn, it brings us to this place of decisive, aligned action.
The Third Act of Mercury/Mars
This is the third act in a story that began in October. You might want to review your journals from the prior two acts, to remind yourself what you were seeding then.
We had the initial impulse of passion when Mercury and Mars met in Scorpio on October 29.
The next time they met, on December 27 in Sagittarius, Mercury was retrograde. We were reviewing some part of our ideas and plans, broadening out to see the bigger picture again. Back then, Mars was moving forward but Mercury needed to review.
At this meeting, Mercury is again direct. Both planets are moving forward, signaling to us that it’s time for decisive action in alignment with our plans.
The TL;DR
As Mercury and Mars join forces in Capricorn, they invite us to examine how the stories we tell or believe impact our motivation, drive, and ability to take action.
This conjunction is the third in a series that began in October, giving us the signal that it’s now time to exit planning mode and take decisive action.
At the same time, we want to watch our words to avoid being insensitive, and be aware of how messages we receive from others might shut us down.
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