Award-Winning Astrologer
Donna Cunningham
NeptuneCafe presents
Below: What will the 2009 series of eclipses mean?
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Mars Quotes
What's Mars good for? What trouble does he bring?
About the Author: Donna Cunningham, MSW, is internationally-respected for her many books, articles, and columns on astrology, flower essences, and other metaphysical topics. She teaches writing by teleseminar and correspondence course, as well as a correspondence course and seminars on astrology. Order her books at moonmavenpublications and visit her award-winning blog at skywriter
Below are some quotes that bring out the issues and concerns of the planet Mars.
I’ll start by quoting myself, if I may, so that newcomers to astrology understand Mars well enough to appreciate the quotes.
“Mars is the planet of energy and action. When we go through periods of continuous anger–days and nights when the same rageful thoughts churn over and over in our minds–this is a signal from the Higher Self that we need to take action. We need to DO SOMETHING about the condition that is making us uncomfortable. Anger is the body-mind’s way of mobilizing against a threatening, frustrating, or adverse situation. It motivates us to change something in our lives. Often, the needed change involves the quality of our key relationships.
“Anger is not unhealthy in itself, but our reactions to it often are. Some of us redirect anger to safer, seemingly weaker targets and wreak havoc in our relationships. All too many of us turn it in on ourselves, creating depression and self-hate. Do you suppress and subvert your own anger?
“At those times when anger looks like it has moved in to stay, ask yourself what action you’re avoiding. Rageful thoughts that repeat like a broken record are the Higher Self’s way of needling us about something that needs to be done. The first step is to bless the part of yourself that is using this signal to get your attention. Rather than judging it or pushing it down, let it help you identify what needs to be changed. Ask yourself, “What part of my life is my anger trying to mobilize me to change?” Affirmations you could say are, “I accept my anger as a healthy, motivating force,” and “I allow my anger to lead me to the truth.”
“ Anger can be a great spur to creative problem solving. Maybe you already know what needs to be changed. The things that make you angry are all too glaringly clear, and the conditions that needs to be changed stares you in the face every day but you just don’t know where to begin. Think about the variety of ways to approach the situation. Use your creativity to go beyond the obvious. Mayhem is not the answer, but neither is withdrawal from people and situations that evoke anger. (From Outer Planet Aspects to Venus and Mars, volume 2 of the Outer Planets and Inner Life., available at Moon Maven Publications.)
Quotes that Pertain to Mars
Speak when you are angry–and you will make the best speech you’ll ever regret. – Laurence J. Peter
Usually when people are sad, they don’t do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change. Malcolm X
The size of a man is measured by the size of the thing that makes him angry. Author Unknown
When a man is wrong and won’t admit is, he always gets angry. Thomas C. Haliburton
Competition is a painful thing, but it produces great results. Jerry Flint
Good coaches teach respect for the opposition, love of competition, the value of trying your best, and how to win and lose graciously. Brooks Clark
Players win games, teams win championships. Bill Taylor
Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary. Mahatma Gandhi
You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an inner exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world. Sheila Graham
What a mistake to suppose that the passions are strongest in youth! The passions are not stronger, but the control over them is weaker! They are more easily excited, they are more violent and apparent; but they have less energy, less durability, less intense and concentrated power than in mature life. Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Energy and persistence conquer all things. Benjamin Franklin
The sole cause of anger is unmet expectations. Jane Roberts, channeling, most likely in Seth Speaks. (My favorite insight into Mars.)
Furious activity is no substitute for understanding. – H. H. Williams
Here’s one I just found, by following the links to articles WordPress said might be related to this one: Anger is made of two components: one is an idea that there’s something wrong, two is that someone else is to blame. (See the review of Michael Currie’s Doing Anger Differently)
One last thing to read about Mars: You know that email that circulates every summer about Mars being closer now than in about 60,000 years? Well, it just ain’t so–read It’s Baaaaaack–The Mars Hoax!
aspects between the Sun and Moon and a transiting outer planet, or they may set off a major pattern in the birth chart. Seldom have I seen lunar meltdown at an eclipse unless important outer planet transits have already acting on the same area for a while.
Joanne Wickenburg also points out that the Moon’s nodes are necessarily involved in eclipses. She feels that an eclipse at the north node is going to be different – more productive, generally – than one at the south node, which involves more necessity to let go of things. (The Sun and Moon can be some distance away from the exact aspect to the nodes, for they are only exact at a total eclipse.)
What can you expect if an eclipse triggers off one of your natal planets? For at least six months afterwards, it highlights the house involved, but especially the matters concerned with any planets it aspects. These are periods of special tension between the solar and lunar hemispheres. They are particularly powerful windows for healing work or flower remedies, for a great clearing can occur. When an eclipse affects you in a major way, you may experience conflict in the houses involved. For six months or longer, you will need to concentrate on balance in those areas. Sometimes the eclipse six months later will be in the same house, so there is a repeated emphasis.
An eclipse that aspects a natal planet can trigger an upheaval in the functions of that planet. If so, it’s not the Moon’s fault. Over time you have allowed those matters to deteriorate or to build up a backlog of tension that must be discharged. Suppose a solar eclipse conjuncts your natal Saturn in the eleventh. Perhaps you’ve been carrying too much responsibility for a friend for far too long–or allowing a friend to assume too much responsibility for you. The eclipse hits, and the friendship is in jeopardy. Don’t curse the Moon–you set this up, and now you have to clean it up.
If an upcoming eclipse is going to fall in an area where you feel vulnerable, use this knowledge preventatively. Begin to take stock of the issues, examine what your true feelings are, and then work to improve the situation. When the eclipse happens, you will already have let off some of the tension and resolved some of the problems. It won’t be as hard on you as it would be if you’d hid your head in the sand.
When an eclipse occurs at the full Moon, the Sun is traveling through a particular sign and house while the Moon occupies the opposite sign and house, so both signs and houses are emphasized. There is tension between these areas, each demanding your attention. The key is to learn how to deal with both in a balanced way, without neglecting either.
For instance, an eclipse that falls across the axis of the sixth and twelfth houses shows tension between the demands of the work life and the inner life. A full Moon across the first/seventh axis would show conflict between your own interests and those of your partner, demanding to integrate the two. The affairs of each house pair can conflict unless there is cooperation, but they can also lend mutual support and wholeness when they are integrated.
Many fine astrology blog posts have been written about this summer’s series of three eclipses and what they mean for individuals. Briefly, the two that have passed were a Lunar Eclipse at 15 Capricorn-15 Cancer on July 7th and a Solar Eclipse on July 22 at 29 Cancer. We soon will experience the third, a Lunar Eclipse, on August 6th at 13 Aquarius-13 Leo. If you have natal planets at or near any of those degrees, you’re likely to have felt the effects—and may go through a process of integrating those energies for close to a year.
Throughout history, we’ve been awed by eclipses, and ancient astrologers made their reputations by being able to predict when they would occur. Now we all know when they are happening, and we’re able to watch them on television, direct from wherever the totality occurs. Eclipse buffs will even fly halfway around the world to see them in person. In the olden days, eclipses were so mysterious that they were considered powerful and often unfortunate omens.
Today, most astrologers would agree that they aren’t necessarily destructive. They are an indication of a heightened focus of energy, so most astrologers do track the chart areas where they occur.
Solar eclipses occur at the new Moon and block out the sun, while lunar eclipses occur at the full Moon and block out the Moon. The transiting nodes, which determine where eclipses fall, travel backward at the rate of one sign a year. A complete nodal cycle will impact all twelve signs and houses of your chart in turn.
If you have followed the effect of eclipses, you may have noticed that some are intense and others are mild. The more intense ones often involve
Solar Eclipse:
26 Jan 2009
06Aqu29
Lunar Eclipse:
9 Feb 2009
20Leo59
Lunar Eclipse:
7 Jul 2009
15Cap24
Solar Eclipse:
22 Jul 2009
29Can26
Lunar Eclipse:
6 Aug 2009
13Aqu43
Lunar Eclipse:
31 Dec 2009
10Can14
