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Mars and Jupiter will meet at an exact conjunction on October 17 at 6:40 PM EDT. Mars joins Jupiter in the second decan of Virgo, at 14 degrees 11 minutes. Both bodies apply a trine to Pluto before Mars meets and surpasses Jupiter.
Mars Jupiter aspects are energetic and optimistic. There is a freewheeling and enterprising quality when these planets come together. Jupiter, the greater benefic, has an expansive and positive quality. When Mars joins Jupiter he adds speed, quickness, and gusto to Jupiter’s tendency to bless. This aspect is the image of the muezzin singing the prayer song at dawn for the entire town to rise and pray. That image might be a more sober take on Mars Jupiter, which can be a very haughty and impulsive aspect in a more flashy or extroverted sign like Aries or Leo. The sign of Virgo brings a modesty to this meeting.
The second face of Virgo reminds us that matter collects around energy. In the northern hemisphere, Virgo season is the time when the crops are ripe and ready to be picked. That means a process took place over time for the harvest to happen. In the spring the seed was planted, and all summer the crops were tended in just the way that they needed to be. Since the closest a great many of us come to an agrarian lifestyle is buying organic at the local grocery store, this can be translated symbolically. This time of the year and this face of Virgo are about the toil that happens before the harvest. Three quarters of the year, diligent vigilance, sweat, and effort pass before there is a finished good.
The trine that both Mars and Jupiter make to Pluto is in earth signs. This is about deep structural reform. In earth signs, this configuration speaks to the beautiful tangible transformation that is based on the labor that has come before — labor that might be invisible except to the eye that sees through the glass of mystery.
The energies of the planets can be understood to arrive into the personal energetic field through a series of vibrations. Using astrology we can look ahead (and behind) and note when a particular influx of energy will arrive. We can use the knowledge that there is toil behind the curtain of every harvest, and that matter organizes itself around energy by preparing energetic channels into and along which the energies can flow. Therefore jyotis prescribe mantras and gemstones to ease or enhance the effects of particular transits. In Western astrology there are remediation techniques which can be utilized with a significant degree of effectiveness. For example, Saturn transits often manifest as constraint, negation, and slowness. The idea behind remediation is that the energy will come into your vibrational field during a specific timeframe, and so with foreknowledge you can choose how to experience constraint. This will always be within the context of the soul lessons of the life.
As a mutable earth sign, Virgo’s energetic quality is a spiral centripetal, downward and inward force. A way to handle Virgo self-criticism, worry, or overwhelm is by reversing and/or externalizing that energetic quality. In an effort to be helpful or appropriate Virgos sometimes swallow their feelings. This type of constant suppression can then manifest as digestive issues or other physical health problems for Virgo. Bringing these thoughts and feelings up to the surface of consciousness in order to process and assimilate their meaning prevents the physical manifestations of mental worry turned on itself.
At this moment, with so much mercury in the sky, there can be a long list of things that need to be accomplished. One way to handle potential overwhelm is not to hold everything in your mind. Give the responsibility of conscious awareness to something outside of you — like a calendar. Then mono-task according to schedule. Make sure to care for your body and mind through this time of mental and physical quickening.
Take good care,
Ichrak
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