the martian chronicles

the july 2003 forecast

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go to past forecasts.

chiron, uranus, neptune, and pluto are retrograde.

jupiter trines pluto	18°02' leo/sagittarius	july 1
venus enters cancer	0°00' cancer	july 4
venus conjoins saturn	4°27' cancer	july 8
venus trines mars	8°01' cancer/pisces	july 11
mercury enters leo	0°00' leo	july 13
full moon	20°59' cancer/capricorn	july 13
mercury opposes neptune	12°12' leo/aquarius	july 19
sun enters leo	0°00' leo	july 22
mercury conjoins jupiter	23°05' leo	july 25
venus enters leo	0°00' leo	july 28
new moon	5°46' leo	july 28
mars turns retrograde	10°08' pisces	july 29
mercury enters virgo	0°00' virgo	july 30
mercury opposes uranus	1°45' virgo/pisces	july 31

all dates are based on pacific time.

mars is on our mind in july, or it will be by the end of the month. by becoming conscious of it now, we may be able to shift the way we use its energy and head off potential difficulties. every two years, the “normal” flow of mars’s straightforwardness shifts as the red planet retrogrades for nearly three months. as it does so, it advances through the signs so that the last mars retrograde was in sagittarius (2001), this one in pisces, and the next in taurus (2005).

when mars turns retrograde, we may notice behavior extremes in all directions: instead of the ability to move in a straight line toward a goal with the expectation of reaching it, our motion may be thwarted or slowed in some way. we will each react in our own unique way. some will push harder; others will move around the obstacle; some will change their direction, and some will give up. we may notice frustration within and around us. some initiatives will die, often because fatal or horrifying flaws in the action may be revealed. the good news is that some issues will be resolved, perhaps it an unpalatable, even savage, way, that we did not want to invoke on our own. sometimes we may be able to head off the challenges that arise during a mars retrograde, but often they are simply there. we may see them coming and know we can’t stop them, like a train heading down the track toward its destination. other times they come as a surprise, but we can see the seeds in previous experiences that we did not detect (and probably were not particularly ominous).

mars retrograde is more difficult than other retrogrades because it is least frequent and so arises unexpectedly, but also because we do not handle assertiveness, aggression, even action, well in the modern world. some cultures have come to better terms with it, but not ours at this time.

mars retrograde in pisces

mars turns retrograde on the 29^th of july at 10° pisces and turns back around to direct motion on september 27^th at 0° pisces. this mars retrograde promises to be challenging, because it is making contact with uranus, newly in pisces this year. mars and uranus is a volatile combination. if you can imagine combining lightning and fire, you have an idea of what these planets can do when they come together. certainly they represent the potential for sudden and unexpected violence. however, they do not have to, even on a world scale, but especially in our own nature, over which we have control. often, within individuals, this can represent an awakening. (this can happen on a cultural or societal level as well.)

in pisces, we encounter the spiritual reality of our connectedness to all things and beings. we can, if we are aware, develop our attunement to this inner realm and its impact on our lives (which is profound though undetected by most). this is what uranus in pisces is waking us up to, and mars is going to lend its hand. pisces also teaches us to appreciate the value of pure spirituality without religious dogma attached to it, and we can hope to see signs of this awakening in the darkness of our modern dilemmas. peace, tranquility, and honor for all beings are the path to balance during the time that uranus is in pisces. uranus only corrects our direction to the true path, whatever that is for us individually. if we are on the true path, we will need no correction.

mars will add its vigorous push toward that road, especially at the end of august, when mars and uranus conjoin while the sun, jupiter, and venus in virgo oppose them. it could very much take on the role of “good versus evil”, or violence against innocents. this is quite likely to affect israel, since this state has an emphasis that is triggered by these placements. august 28^th is the peak day for the planetary affects, but events may occur before or after that time.

what can we do?

we can be alert during this time, especially after mars enters pisces and its “shadow” (the zone of the zodiac over which it later retrogrades). this it has already done, on june 16^th. even if we cannot prevent a messy collision of events, we can prepare for them. and we may just be able to head them off.

we may be able to do just that, because we have two especially auspicious planetary events occurring this month that bring good news for those who wish to start new projects and endeavors. from the 13^th through the 25^th, we have 8 hours every day (in 2-hour chunks, some at night) when we can start projects that will be likely to succeed. this is the time when mercury is moving toward its conjunction to jupiter in leo. even after that time, a good astrologer can find good “start times”, although they are less frequent. (these times must be chosen carefully to ensure success.) the other is from july 4^th through the 11^th, when venus is moving toward its trine to mars. these energies will be highlighted for 4-hour chunks of time twice a day, again to be chosen carefully by an astrologer. projects started with these planets ruling them come with a qualifier – they will go through a delay or substantial change while mars is retrograde, but what emerges out the other side is likely to succeed.

remember that, no matter what comes, we can draw on the power of our inner helpers and ask for support in resolving the issues that arise. this support can come in surprising ways if we are open to it. may we all be attuned to our inner purpose and find positive alignment with mars during this time!