otterspaceastrology

Back again, dear Friends and readers…let’s continue with transiting Mars through the houses.  If you have GEMINI rising, then Mars is moving through your 11th house of Friends and Groups, and hopes and wishes for the future.  Mars in this house would mean a lot of activity with people, maybe small, socially distant groups of people these days, but maybe lots of people through using zoom, all the new technology, etc.

Mars squaring your Cap transits in the 8th house is kind of a warning to dot every i and cross every t regarding finances, taxes, insurance, government paperwork of all kinds.  Since the 8th is a financial house, this would be the worst period for you to intertwine friends and money. Don’t loan and don’t borrow.  That could apply to important possessions as well as money.  A small gift to someone desperate, like a $20 or a gift card from the market, is better than a loan.  Don’t give unless you can do it without attachment.  I also have to wonder if these transits mean that some kind of group you are involved in online wants money — it could be dues, or charity, or classes.  Be careful with that kind of thing — there are a lot of scammers out there.  Please pay attention to your feelings and trust your instincts — if a connection to a group doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t.  Stand your ground.

My impression is your friends will look to you for leadership, or for the inspiration of new ideas and plans. That is fine, just don’t get in over your head!  I saw a neat thing on the King Arthur Flour website the other day — each socially distant employee made a quilt square with a baking theme. Then one person put them all together into a beautiful quilt.  It IS possible to have fun with your friends and even meet new ones, in spite of the virus!  Maybe you and a small group of friends will plan a vacation outdoors — camping, a picnic, renting separate bungalows for a weekend on the water, etc. If so, do it soon before the weather turns and before Mercury goes retro on 10-13-2020…

If you have CANCER rising then Mars is most likely in your career house, the 10th,  and the Cap transits would be in your 7th house of partners.  Anything on the Cardinal Angles like these are means it’s going to be a very intense period for you.  Hopefully, your Sun is in a sign that takes some of the pressure off — Mars is square your Ascendant and square to Jupiter/Saturn/Pluto in the 7th.  This forms a T-Square that makes your 4th house of home and family act like a vacuum to suck all the energy.  Remember that 4th for you is Libra — patience, diplomacy, compromise, and good manners!!  So much stress between work and home, or trying to work at home, or work and kids school at home.  Maybe your partner’s parents or older relatives are having a rough time.  It’s all coming down on you at once — MAJOR stress!!  So…what are you going to do about it?

First of all, you and your partner need to work TOGETHER, cooperate and schedule things so that each of you gets a breather if possible. Second, take vitamins — like Focus Factor, or at least a good quality multiple.  The kids need their gummies, too.  Third, make the meals as nutritious as possible without a lot of work.  Even if you just have a pizza, include a salad or tiny raw carrots/celery/etc for the kiddos.  Roasted vegetables are quick and easy and you can make enough for a couple days.  We eat a lot of homemade tacos, with garlic and peppers and onions cut tiny and sautéed with the meat. We cook beans in bulk and have them in the freezer. I like grated cheese, too; not everybody does.  I cut little cherry tomatoes in 1/4’s to put on top of the meat, then garnish with lettuce. One or both of you might be quite worried about your jobs — where I live, people who work for local government or the state have already had mandatory furloughs one day a week amounting to a 20% cut.  Be kind to one another and try to get enough rest. Fourth, clear communication and leaving notes and messages to remind the family about stuff will help. If you can put up a BIG calendar on the wall of your kitchen, that’s even better than notes.

All you can do is take things one day at a time, reminding yourself you will get through this period, and state out loud what you are grateful for, even if it’s something very simple like being healthy and being able to see, hear, walk, etc. This difficult period in your lives will moderate in mid-December when both Saturn and Jupiter change signs.  Pluto will still be in Cap, though, and if you have planets in late Cancer, or if your rising is a later degree, there will still be some pressure but not as intense. TG!!  There’s free counseling on phone lines if you need it.  Even a friend to vent to can be helpful.  If you or your partner need a different job, try using the new technology and see if you can find something online.  I looked the other day and there’s a lot of delivery jobs. I know a young girl who delivers lunches, mostly sandwiches and the tips were better than when she was working in a food business.  She has an electric car that gets great mileage, though.

If you have LEO rising, then Mars in Aries is moving through your 9th (a trine) and the Capricorn planets are in your 6th (an inconjunct). The 9th is higher education, licensing and certification, metaphysics and philosophy, and all long distance travel and contacts, including foreign contacts.  The 6th is health work and service — who you hire and who hires you, and all the Virgo stuff — organization, cleanliness, diet, nutrition, daily chores, etc.  Paying attention to the details at work is going to be important. Don’t let that Leo pride get in the way of asking questions to understand your job better. Use the trine from Mars to further your education, whether it’s your job or hobbies or other interests you have.

Mars in the 9th is not a good time for long-distance travel,  and information coming from a distance may get garbled when Mars is retrograde (9/9 to 11/13/2020).  Or you may have people you care about who are at a distance and they are going through tough times.  Try your best to be kind and emotionally supportive. Stay off of airplanes, please, but shorter trips, regional travel by car, are ok.  If you need a little break, try exploring interesting places close to home.  One of my daughters has Leo rising and I think she’s seen every outdoor park in 3 counties this year.  It became her family’s favorite kind of recreation because so many indoor places have been closed down. Mars in Aries is a fire sign — outdoor activity is very helpful for you with that trine to your Ascendant.  Take advantage of the remaining good weather.  I know parents who have taken their kids camping, or to the beach. Pretty soon you can take them to corn mazes and pumpkin patches, or to pick apples or berries.  The simpler outdoor pleasures can bring a family together and build happy memories.  Leo is children. Try letting the child in yourself come out to play.  The sunshine kills the virus and it’s relatively safe to be outdoors.

Transiting Mars inconjunct to the Cap planets could mean that you need to implement new health care routines after school begins.  Not all schools are online.  If I were a parent of school age kids, I would be worried about the lack of clear communication from the local school district.  Some parents are tutoring kids in small pods. This only works if the families of the other kids in the pods are not in jobs that increase risk.  If they are, then it’s like letting the fox into the hen house. You are  going to have to decide what level of risk you can be relatively comfortable about. I feel so sorry for all the parents who need daycare.  It’s a nightmare to me. I think children all over the world are suffering from a certain amount of depression — their world as they knew it has been taken away.  They miss their school, their teachers, their friends, their extra-curricular activities — sports, music, birthday parties…

I don’t have any answers for this. All you can do is the best you can do.  If you are an adult who has lost their job, then consider going to school online — Mars in your 9th is a great time for that.  And they say the best place to be in a recession is in school. If you are a parent, then be as protective of your kids as possible.  If you have an illness that makes you high-risk, then school your kids from home. You have legal grounds to protect yourself.   Eventually, there will be remedies and vaccines available that will lessen the danger to us all.. December looks like a turning point to me…

Meanwhile, I hope you stay safe and I will be back with more Mars through the houses tomorrow…Jenae