It's a very Martiany day. Cue the guys with the big eyes in the space suits.
First - and this isn't in chronological order, but just the order it is popping into my head - the waning Aries Moon inconjuncts the Virgo Sun (12 degrees).
This is a rock vs hard place aspect; a regular part of our monthly lunation cycle. We get the Full Moon, then we have to make the adjustment to the Full Moon.
The Full Moon earlier in the week brought something to light, to a culmination, to an ending and offered a new/possibly chaotic way forward. Now as the Sun (who remember opposes the Moon at the Full Moon) works his way through diligent Virgo ie dealing with our natal Virgo house theme, considering the details/facts/information, being of service, doing the work, taking care of our health/our pets - the Moon, pushy in Aries now and answering to a strong, but still Mars (in Aries) says, "OK enough information gathering or enough perfectionist procrastination - DO SOMETHING". This is an inconjunct, that win-win, that can feel like a lose-lose, if we are too heavily invested in either side.
We need to adjust. Everyone gets a seat at the table this year. Our brave, but maybe too impulsive Moon. Our practical, but maybe too critical/proscrastinating Sun.
At the same time, Mars and Venus reach the exactness of their frustrating square.
What we want won't be had by pushy/impulsive actions. What we want won't be had by just our wanting it either.
Venus is in Cancer desiring mothering, safety, a home baked apple pie. Mars, strong in home sign, but frustrated by his slow down and approaching retrograde (5 days and counting, people!) is antsy/angry. So, we show vulnerability we get slapped down or we make an impulsive/selfish move and we feel the insecurities we have wrought. Our more gentle nature vs our need to assert ourselves. This could all be happening within us or through situations with other people.
At the same time Venus and Mars are having their spat - and I don't say this to make light of it because this is actually quite an intense pressure cooker, especially for relationships and finances - we have Mercury (news, information, conversations) inconjunct Mars and sextile Venus.
So, again, like the Moon (our emotions), our thinking (Mercury) is not so compatible with our actions. Maybe we are burned out. Maybe we are overwhelmed with the details. We can't choose/decide. We can't seem to get going. Analysis paralysis. Or maybe we've made impulsive moves and now we have to figure out how to make them work.
The only smooth aspect is a sextile from logical Mercury (strong in his home sign of Virgo and at the critical and final 28th degree, so this relief probably comes after the tension) to emotional Venus. Here's our way through this. Caring and practical language. Talking about what we need without sounding needy. Compassionate facts. Thinking about our security.
Remember Venus is in Cancer and Cancer is the sign of the mother and the baby.
Let's be kind to ourselves. Let's nurture ourselves. Let's LISTEN to other people. Know that any unsteady ground (instability) or unsure decisions will be exasperated now and trigger other times/spaces we didn't feel safe/sure. The sextile to a thinking/practical Mercury in Virgo speaks of our minds and our feelings working together.
Keep in mind - reasonable language will make others feel safe/nurtured. Babying other people or looking for them to baby us will get us push back. What we see as helping, the other person can see as criticizing. We don't have to pick anything apart, especially someone else's argument. Think - compassionate language. Think about the difference between an open mind (staying curious) and a critical mind (seeing the flaws, the dragons, snapping shut and closing other people out). Both are attributes, but only one will work right now.
Yes, this is a tightrope walk and instead of those grippy shoes and an umbrella to manage the wind, we have our practical brains and our caring hearts. Our actions can trip us up, but we can't just sit on our butts either because Mars is about to go retrograde - did I say 5 days, yes, I did - and things are really going to start to SLOW DOWN.
Tomorrow will be dicey, too, then Sunday will start to open up and by Monday the Moon will be exalted in Taurus, smoothly trining all kinds of goodies.
Get through the next couple days by being gentle with yourself and other people. Soften any critical eye. Almost always good enough is good enough. Know actions will be awkward and we will probably have to make them anyway (and remake them because as I said Mars is about to go retrograde and will be retracing these steps). Speak kindly.
Keep in mind the Full Moon's best move was something different/new, maybe even radical. That is our ace in the hole. Do something NEW.
Hang in there.
xo all
(Example - Virgo/Cancer stress - can be a situation where one person is very focused on the details of something the other person sees as not contributing to security/stability. This showed up for me this morning as hubs spent 30 minutes cleaning an old cutting board to cut up peppers to freeze, irritating the hell out of me for no reason other than, because he, in my mind, should be doing something else that needs to be done - triggering all the ways his over-doing/hyper focused machinations have contributed to our instability and conveniently forgetting all the times they have contributed to our stability. I can use the astro to not be a rude jerk and shoot from the hip with my words and make a big deal out of something that isn't - because small things are not small things right now. Does this make sense?)
photo by the amazing oprisco