By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. Mother of the Skye
In the wake of our annual Memorial Day madness, this week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Pisces Moon, with a number of different aspects lighting up the background. If we haven’t overdosed on nitrates and beer, let’s hope we made it to the parade and back in one piece.
For me, Memorial Day is about honoring the warriors who have died in battle. Beyond that, it is just as much about honoring the ones who went through that experience and lived to tell the tale. Sometimes I think that the warriors who survive that kind of carnage have a tougher time than the ones who die…
Mars is the Warrior God. He is the Warrior’s planet. At the moment, he happens to be retrograde at the 28th degree of Scorpio. If we take Mars to be the way the male principle expresses itself when it is in Warrior mode, in its retrograde phase, at this degree of the zodiac, according to Marc Edmund Jones, the Imagery reads Scorpio 28 degrees as the “King of the Fairies,”… “The capacity in man to recognize and to pay homage to an integrating Principle at the core of all existence.” (From “An Astrological Mandala” by Dane Rudhyar.)
In its forward motion Mars is free to express itself directly. It shows up as physical strength. It is the fire behind the force that allows us to fight for what we want. During its retrograde phase, the same energy that uses adrenaline to survive, has to turn inward. From that point of view what would ordinarily inspire outer displays of physical aggression has no outlet, no place to go; or so it would seem.
If it doesn’t wind up turning in on itself, a retrograde Mars signifies the need to refine the fire behind each and every one of our actions. Anything that is out of integrity will not fly, under this influence. Anything that calls us to undermine the strength of others will come to naught. The best way to thrive and make the most of this introverted frequency is to remember that life happens from the inside out — no matter how much power we bring to bear, in ANY situation, if the inside stuff isn’t clean as a whistle, the outer reality will fall apart.
So what does the King of the Fairies have to do with the Warrior Spirit? The two would appear to be diametrically opposed. Let me leave you with this. When it comes right down to it, it covers everything.
“What seems to be implied is that beyond both outer nature and the realm of the proud ego, a spiritual world exists to which the intuitive consciousness of man can pay allegiance. In that world, all manifested entities are seen as multiple aspects of a central Power and Consciousness.
“At this stage the presence of a spiritual unifying factor begins to be sensed by the individual perhaps weary of the outer shows of his culture. An inner allegiance begins to polarize the consciousness.”
Between now and the last day of June, it is the Spiritual Warrior in all of us, both the living and the dead, that needs to be honored — and resurrected. Give that some thought, and enjoy this week’s ‘scopes.
