My friend Alice called me late last Friday afternoon. “I thought you’d be on your way to Happy Hour,” I said; it was her usual Friday post-work ritual to go for drinks with her co-workers. “Nah,” she said. “Ramona will be there.” Alice and Ramona had once been close friends, but the relationship soured when they became rivals for a coveted sales position in their company. In a twist that proved fortuitous for Ramona, Alice had been reprimanded (falsely, she insisted) for making a costly mistake. The sales position went to Ramona. Alice strongly suspected her rival had undermined her, but eventually decided to let bygones be bygones.
“I thought you’d sorted all that out,” I said.
“I thought I had, too. But lately, every time I look at her, all I can think is, ‘I hate her!’” Alice chuckled. “Hey, it’s bad enough that I have to work with her everyday, I’m not gonna drink with her, too.”
The January 23, 2012 New Moon falls in Aquarius, a sign that represents casual friendships and group affiliations based on shared interests. We shake Aquarius’ convivial hand when we head off for Friday night drinks with co-workers, serve on the board of our local astrological organization, or bake cookies for a fundraiser. Some of us are “group” people – Aquarian by nature – and some of us are less so. But few of us can escape the web of sociability altogether.
At each New Moon in Aquarius, in the dark and cold of midwinter, our fraternity of friends and associates normally provides a source of joy and sustenance. This is typically the time of year when we celebrate the simple, friendly connections that knit us into the fabric of society. But Mars, the planet of competition, war, and aggression, has been slowing down in recent weeks, getting ready to station and turn retrograde, which it will finally do soon after the New Moon. So during this Aquarius season, in order to keep our Aquarian connections vibrant and satisfying, we’ll have to pay alms to Mars as well.
Group conflict
When fighting Mars collides with fraternal Aquarius, groups speak with a warlike voice. Perhaps you’ve found yourself embroiled in some nasty Facebook disputes, had testy interchanges with co-workers or customers, or – like Alice – found some old anger hidden deep in a dark corner of your psychic sock drawer. The embers of old disputes are often rekindled during Mars’ retrograde times, and the resulting conflagrations tend to emit noxious fumes. Mars may lately have taken hold of some group to which you belong, stirring a bubbling cauldron of harsh language and bitter rivalry; even if you manage to rise above the fray, trying to call a halt to the nastiness, you can find yourself in hot water.
But in-group fighting doesn’t have to mean the end of valuable alliances. From time to time, all groups need to clear the air. Tensions build up; misunderstandings are swept under the rug; resentments fester. Just because traditionally “Aquarian” relationships tend to be optional ones doesn’t mean that they’re not important, or not worth the effort of working through the occasional rough patch. Mars’ retrograde periods (this one will last until April 13) reopen old business, offering opportunities to settle some scores and to close the books on enmity once and for all. But to do this well requires that we harness Mars’ best qualities – courage, and commitment to a fair fight.
Social movements poised to intensify
With a series of square aspects kicking off between two slow-moving planets, radical Uranus and paradigm-shifting Pluto, social movements have been emerging and gaining strength throughout the past year. Now, Mars’ slowing reflects a feeling of enormous pressure, like a boiler getting ready to blow. This New Moon, with the Sun and Moon in a sextile (opportunity) aspect with Uranus, offers fertile ground for collective action. Some of these actions will be relatively peaceful, like the recent online “blackout” protests against internet censorship and the resurgence of the Occupy movement, back in the headlines with a protest and arrests in San Francisco. But with Mars retrograde lighting a fuse, group actions characterized by fury and even violence are very likely in the weeks ahead.
At this New Moon in Aquarius, we celebrate, as always, ties with our like-minded compatriots. But it’s won’t be an easy, uncomplicated Happy Hour, or a sunny and congenial Saturday morning bake sale. To get to a place of goodwill, productivity, and happy times, Mars demands that we first clean out the dark corners of these relationships, to address any conflicts that keep us from working together as a strong, cohesive group. When a group is stronger on the inside, it can achieve broader goals on the outside – so be brave, clear the air, and fight fair.
© 2012 April Elliott Kent
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