Mars laid down his victor’s wreath as he departed from glorious Leo to arrive in the humble and service oriented sign of Virgo on July 10th. Moving from fixed fire to mutable earth, Mars concerns himself now with practicality and efficiency while cleaning up a bit of the overindulgence he may have gotten into the past seven weeks in Leo. While self-assured in Leo, now Mars might have to consider (and slow down) his course of action by pouring over the details and doing a cost-benefit analysis of some of the grand goals he had while touring Leo.
How do we put this to practical use? Mars speaks to how we go after what we desire and assert ourselves. In Virgo, it’s by optimizing. By making the thing better. By creating order out of chaos. By having a plan that is reasonable, actionable and practical.
I think of Mars in Virgo as the editor’s red pen. We’ve written the memoir, pouring our hearts out candidly onto the page in Leo. Now Mars in Virgo says “how do we make this legible?” Confidence is not inherent to Virgo. It’s hard earned through the committed development of skill over time. And although humble and not a fan of fawning or the limelight, Mars in Virgo needs to be recognized for its talent because it often believes it’s not ready for prime time. Acknowledgment of skill can often be the push needed to get the ball rolling.
Opposition to Saturn
With Saturn retrograding at 6° Pisces, it won’t take long for Mars to form an opposition to the planet of boundaries, reality checks and limitations. The Mars—Saturn opposition perfects July 20th. Many of us will be feeling “hurry up and wait” tensions rise sooner than this as these two planets work towards their face-off.
On one hand, for those of us involved in a herculean effort, Mars approaching Saturn can help with finding your pace. For instance, any marathoner knows you can’t run 26.2 miles at a 5k race pace. In order to make your goal, you have to run strategically. This means fueling yourself appropriately during the race, holding yourself back in the beginning, and pushing at the end. When used consciously, a Mars-Saturn aspect can help us find just the right gear to do a very big job: whether that be a marathon, a tough conversation, a major task, or a demanding deadline.
The problem is when we overdo. For instance, the runner (Mars) that starts off too fast and then pays the price when she hits The Wall (Saturn). Saturn often indicates limitation, restraints and delays (what are body can do, in this example) whereas Mars wants immediate gratification (an impressive finish time). Saturn knows you can’t bypass the process. Mars—Saturn aspects will bring the stark realization of what is and what isn’t possible.
Putt Mars in Virgo to good use
Mars will be in Virgo for the next seven weeks until he ingresses into Libra on August 27th. Embrace the optimizing energy of Mars in Virgo by striving for practicality and efficiency in pursuing your goals. Get out that red pen and see where your edits will create a stronger body of work. Focus on improvements that create order. Remember that recognition of your skills can provide the necessary motivation to move forward; and perhaps you can use this time to motivate others by generously saluting their efforts and work. Finally, at least until the 20th, find the right balance between pushing yourself and respecting the process. Patience and strategic action is the pace you want to slip into.
Images: The Coffee Grower made by me in Midjourney. Here we have a martial drink, coffee, being taken to its highest expression by a coffee farmer. Ask any Virgo: perfection is in the details!