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What the…

by April September 24, 2006 Eclipses , Mars , Transits

Maybe it’s a byproduct of all that Virgopalooza/eclipse action from Friday – an eclipse within shouting distance of my natal Mars if you use a six-degree orb (which I wouldn’t, normally, although I’m rethinking that) – but the Aprilian Rage is very close to the surface these past few days. Ugly, black, noxious rage, easily ignited if subtly expressed.

By way of New Moon ritual I hurled myself on the altar of nonstop work, and by yesterday afternoon I was amazingly caught up. The hastily-scrawled post-it note reminders had been consigned to the trash bin. The heap of file folders on my desk was reduced to a mere few. Under the surface, I was working through some hurts and meanness and disappointment, too… and by yesterday afternoon my black mood had miraculously lifted. I enjoyed a glass of wine on the porch with my husband and some neighbors. All was well.

But this morning, innocently investigating a blogroll, I stumbled across a post so virulent and bigoted that I thought at first it must be a joke. When I realized it wasn’t, it literally turned my stomach. And I realized just how carefully I pick and choose the web circles I choose to run in – just as carefully as I choose the ones where I spend time in the real world, to as much as possible screen out people whose views I find abhorant.

I know some people thrive on Mars energy. They actually seem to enjoy arguing with people. They relish viewing, reading, or listening to views with which they vehemently disagree, and then railing about them. I am not one of those people. Frankly, that is just too much aggravation before breakfast.

Ugh – Mars. Transiting Mars is in Libra now, and maybe that’s one of its lesson: encounters with The Other. Confrontations with your opposite. And maybe, if you’re not careful, letting others carry and play out your rage for you. Maybe what I thought was a healthy way of working through some anger issues – work – was really a copout. Maybe there were some people I should have cleared the air with. And along comes a poisonous blog post to show you just how ugly Mars can look if you don’t deal with it properly. When you refuse to get behind the wheel of your own Mars, you can’t very well complain about the way other people drive theirs.

How are you doing with the Eclipse fallout? Tell us in comments – and include your natal house and planets impacted by the eclipse, if you know what they are!

13 comments to " What the… "

  • Nancy
    September 25, 2006 AT 6:22AM

    Moving rooms around my house and making a new office space for myself. I have been cleaning and organizing for days!

    Did you see the clip of Clinton on a FOX sunday talk show? It is always interesting to see him fight back….

    It hit my 4th house where the Sun, Uranus, Pluto and Venus live. Mercury is just over the line in Libra in the 5th. My Sun is 24 Virgo. I have had a big month: New Moons, Full Moons, Birthdays, Equinox, Eclipses…. Jeez…no wonder I am a little tired today! 😉

    You can check me out if you are curious: 9/17/66 10:36 PM Burlington, VT

    (…and bloghopping can get SCARY!)

  • Lorrie
    September 25, 2006 AT 4:26PM

    Oh, these ecplipses were ripe with opoprtunities for growth and change, huh? I have Virgo rising at 6 and change, mars at 10 Virgo, Uranis at 11 Virgo, and Pluto at 14 Virgo. Yup, a 60s baby…The eclipse on the 7th hit hard, conjunct natal saturn in Pisces and opposed natal pluto. Exposed is the best way to describe how events left me feeling.

    The events around Friday’s eclipse, on the other hand, have left me feeling a little overwhelmed by the blessing that sometimes spontaneously arise. My father-in-law bought me a round trip ticket to visit my new college freshman in Portland, OR (I’m in Maryland)! My best friend of decades had coffee with me and he is doing so fabulously well these days– I was touched. While there is STRESS, I am mostly moved by the beauty waiting in the quieter places.

    April, you have a great style. Very accessible. thanks.

    lorrie
    april 27, 1965; 2:48pm; baltimore

  • Michele
    September 25, 2006 AT 4:31PM

    This eclipse is in my 10th house opposite my Pisces Sun in 4th house. Next new moon is directly on my 12th house Neptune in Libra at 29 degrees. Before I go into the dark, I am letting go or trying my best to muddle through it…this eclipse energy is manifesting in home and work. I am not seeing clients for a year and getting ready to move. I am also finishing up my Chiron return. It’s a good thing even with those who are disappointed with my choices.

    Glad to hear I have company in the decluttering process…all of sudden I manifested the energy to sort through five months of junk mail. Really, it was stacked everywhere and that’s not ‘normal’ for me, four trash bags later it was just amazing. I know what you are writing about.

    And yes, it’s so fascinating how people get addicted to power through their own writings. Every once in a while I get a real wacko writing me an e-mail that is just off the wall. Dear… hello I am the shaman of the world, and what you are doing is wrong.

    Opening them is like getting slimed. Sounds like that’s what happened to you reading that blog… I love reading your blog, because you speak your truth in a healing way even when you are Marsy. Anger is just fear turned inward that spews. Healing one’s anger and sharing that transformation is just so profound. It’s the best. Thanks!!

  • Carla
    September 25, 2006 AT 5:42PM

    Can’t help but feel that most of your posts deal with anger and ways and means to overcome it. I appreciate that, but there are moments in life where other people try to destroy you through no fault of your own, and I can’t help but get angry when total strangers are wishing me ill. How would you overcome that without getting angry?

  • April
    September 25, 2006 AT 9:17PM

    Now, Carla – most? Sorry, but no. Though it’s true that those seem to be posts that leave an impression on people.

    But since you bring it up, let me clarify my position. The way I look at it, there is Good Angry and there is Bad Angry. Good Angry protects you, as you suggest, when others are trying to destroy you – or, at a lesser level, actively try to do you harm. I have never claimed that Good Angry – Good Mars – does not have a vital role to play in the grand scheme of things.

    What I object to in the world, and what I struggle with in myself, is Bad Angry. Useless Angry. Angry that is all out of proportion to the actual threat. Angry that separates you from other people. Angry for its own sake, or to prove a point – like how powerful you are, how ruthless, how expendable you find the feelings, lives, or property of others. How “untouchable” and invincible. What a “bad-ass.” I live in a culture that fetishizes Bad Angry, and it’s destroying us.

    That said, I consider myself blessed beyond measure to live a day-to-day existence in which my need for Good Angry is very, very limited. It’s not like I live in Iraq, Afganistan, Northern Ireland, or the South Bronx – I hang in the suburbs of Southern California. I can count on two fingers the times I have felt authentically, physically, personally threatened in the past ten years – and no worries, my Mars rose to the occasion. And I’m frankly not important, famous, or interesting enough to attract the attention of those who would target me with evil plots or psychic harm. I’ve had to smack down a couple of plagiarists, but nothing much beyond that – knock wood.

    And yet, I have this very, very strong Mars in my birthchart – a warrior that has enormous strength and vitality that craves expression. My life doesn’t require the sort of armed, ruthless protection that my Mars would love to provide. So, I content myself – gratefully – with the small-scale problems of controlling my temper and mastering my Bad Angry so it isn’t the master of me.

    Hence, the process of self-examination that finds expression in my writing and elsewhere. Michele charitably describes it as “speaking my truth” – and honestly, what else can I do? I can’t speak someone else’s, right? But I certainly don’t consider it my job to tell other people how to live their lives or deal with their emotions; I respect that we all have to find our own way. If people look to someone like me to tell them how to handle their anger, they’ve come to the wrong place.

    I can appreciate that some might not find much to recommend my approach to anger management, the topics I choose to write about, or life in general. It’s fortunate for all of us that alternative views and voices abound.

  • April
    September 25, 2006 AT 9:31PM

    Oh, what the heck… let’s make this the longest comments page ever! 🙂

    Good heavens, Nancy – looks like you’ve been gearing up for these eclipses for awhile; didn’t you just move recently? I missed the Big Dog on the chat shows… I’m still on about 80% media blackout. But it’s good to hear there’s still someone in the political arena who can string a decent sentence together; it’s balm for the writer’s soul!

    Enjoy your trip to Portland, Lorrie. Beautiful city! And speaking of cities, I’ve been fascinated by Baltimore for years; guess it’s reading all those Anne Tyler books. I agree that there’s been a strong positive side to this most recent eclipse, too; it’s been a real rollercoaster ride for most everyone I’ve spoken with!

    Michele, it’s so nice to hear from you and I’ve so enjoyed following your renovation saga (folks: follow the link at Michele’s comment to visit her wonderful journal). Great to hear the move is coming together – it certainly seems to be something you’ve been longing for. Hurray!

  • Carla
    September 26, 2006 AT 1:47AM

    Thanks for your reply April- sometimes there is miscommunication and I guess that’s where my post was coming from. Hindsight is a great teacher, and humbling to boot. My apologies, hope you don’t think any less of my post but I have been going through a rather stressful period, being made redundant and all. I know what you’re thinking, it doesn’t excuse ignorance, which I believe lies at most anger related episodes, well mine anyway, and I do agree with you. I really wish I could take back some of the things I’ve said or done, as I mentioned in hindsight, but unfortunately I will have to live with what’s happened in the past. Sometimes I think certain things only happened in my dreams when I wake up, but I know that’s not the case:-(
    Anyways, I love reading your articles and keeping up with your blog, once again my apologies if I rubbed you the wrong way
    🙂
    Take care
    Carla

  • Nancy
    September 26, 2006 AT 7:06AM

    Nope, I did not physically move. Emotionally, Spiritually HUGE shifts! Just amazing. Life is GOOD!

    You do speak your truth. And, we can tell your authentic. What I got from this post is that it made you reflect and confirm how you want to deal w. others and who you let into your life. And, how amazing it is when you run across posts that horrify you. It is so interesting to read a hate filled post and feel like they are talking directly to you, when they don’t even know you…DETATCHMENT is the word that comes to mind.

    I give you huge amounts of credit for not sharing the blog or the the subject matter of the post. Of course, I am so curious, I want to know. Well, not really, but ya know LOL! Another great lesson in not giving your power away.

    BTW I think you are SUPER IMPORTANT! I feel like I find people in the blogging world who are lost members of my tribe. People I resonate so strongly with I can’t believe I have not met them in real life. I feel that way about you.

  • April
    September 26, 2006 AT 7:11AM

    Carla, I’m so sorry you’ve been going through such a difficult and stressful time. It’s not for nothing that losing a job is always near the top of those lists of the most stressful life transitions! I’m sure that in your place I’d be feeling as though I were in a bit of a life-of-death struggle, and be ready to advocate for Good Angry at a moment’s notice. 🙂

    It’s one of the worst feelings in the world to have said things you wish you could take back, or done things you regret. It’s a nasty consequence of Bad Angry that’s gotten loose and gotten run of the place, and there’s no one who hasn’t felt that way. I wasn’t completely happy with the way I responded to your post, either. So let’s let ourselves off the hook, okay?

    Best wishes for smoother seas ahead – A.

  • Ellen
    September 26, 2006 AT 10:59AM

    I was comforted to see that others had experienced something similar to the overwhelming events I lived through following the New Moon. A friend and I were in California to support another friend whose cyclist son (an only child) had been killed the week before by a drunk/drugged driver–on September 8, the day after the Full Moon.

    There were many Virgo DETAILS and lose ends to tie up during the trip: placing his residence in California on the market, processing legal documents, interstate moving vans, disposal of goods/cars, etc. And a memorial bike ride in his honor that 400 cyclists attended on the Sunday, September 25, following the New Moon. All the planning went well, however, around the 23rd a dark undercurrent of anger and rage was brewing within my friend–and as the distraction of visitors and “must do’s” ended, her rage and self distructiveness rose.

    Sunday night my friend and I had to wrangle the car keys from her so she did not drive off in an irrational state of mind threatening suicide. We had to call her husband who was out of state and the police when she walked off, ready, she said, to throw herself in front of a car (possibly harming others). She returned unharmed thank god.

    She is coming back home now. I think her anger is what is actually keeping alive and motivated at this point, and I consider that a good thing. But, this eclipse has given me much to contemplate about myself and the events that transpired and the meaning of it all including the astrological implications.

  • Jennifer
    September 26, 2006 AT 1:09PM

    Well, I got a new shrink that I really love on Eclipse Day. The day before, my dad got moved out of the hospital into a nursing home, something nobody has been all that happy about happening, but I gather so far that is going okay. My mom also got a new shrink, but I think she hated hers. That’s it for drama so far around me. No planets that are getting affected in my natal eleventh house, just have a transiting stellium hanging around it right now. Mars is conjunct the natal north node, whatever that means.

  • Carla
    September 26, 2006 AT 2:33PM

    Well it’s confirmed..this has to be the longest comments page!!Thanks for all of your support, by the way I am feeling better, some days better than others obviously!Trying to keep myself busy doing nondescript things, sometimes it works. I didn’t know a lot of these things before the event but now that I do, don’t feel AS bad, but not enough to be over the moon. Take care y’all.

  • April
    October 9, 2006 AT 8:21AM

    Just catching up today on a few comments that I read at the time but never responded to before crumpling into Post-Eclipse Fatigue Syndrome.

    Ellen, I’ve thought of your friend so often since reading your comment and wondered how she’s doing. You sound like such a wonderful friend.

    Jennifer… yay on the new shrinkage! This last eclipse had the New Moon point square Pluto, which sounds like a great and appropriate time to hook up with an effective guide to your psyche. Good luck.

    Carla, how’s it going?