Liz Hathway Astrologer: The Sun/Mars conjunction in Leo, a build up to the August 21 Solar Eclipse ?

The Sun/Mars conjunction in Leo, a build up to the August 21 Solar Eclipse ?

The conjunction of the Sun and Mars this week in 4 degrees 12 minutes Leo – signals the start of a new, roughly two year cycle, of the planets. A conjunction is a seed moment – and the testosterone bounces from this particularly firey coupling. The Sun in Leo has authority, radiance and strength and, as a fixed sign, Leo also has endurance, staying power. Mars in Leo makes me think military leader, a general, who offers his sword in support of the King. This could be a strong alliance, a righteous and noble crusade of sorts. Sun and Mars are both masculine planets and together they have the potential to set the balls rolling. (Relevant Charts Below)

Flashback
The previous cycle began on June 14th 2015 in 23 Gemini – and it was accompanied by violence. The Kobani Massacre in Syria, for example, carried out by ISIS which left over 200 dead. It was followed by beach attack of British tourists in Tunisia, the bombing of mosques in Kuwait, a beheading in France, the Battle of Leego. Though the Sun and Mars were both in early Cancer when these attacks took place, all between 25-29 June, the call to violence had come sooner. An audio message was released three days earlier – on June 23rd by ISIS senior leader, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, encouraging militants everywhere to attack the stated enemies of ISIS during the month of Ramadan. Gemini is verbal – did we ever doubt that words have the power to move ?

The previous conjunction was on 18 April 2013 in the last degree of Aries. Aries can be bold, brash, and combustible. It can be rash, chosing to act rather than to think. This conjunction occurred just three days before the Boston Marathon bombing – when the two Tsarnaev brothers killed three marathon runners and injured 170. Clearly, Sun/Mars has the potential to stir things up and to see violence as a legitimate means to an end.

I hesitate to mention the Great American Eclipse – because it is ‘the’ topic of the moment and enough is being said about it – however, I think this week’s conjunction will play a role in the lead up to August 21st. So – what might it add to the steamy cocktail? For my Dutch language vlog this morning, I looked at the horoscope of Israel (14 May, 1948, 16.37 Tel Aviv. This chart has the Moon at exactly 4 degrees 43 Leo – very close indeed to the Sun/Mars conjunction. An image of the ‘Lion of Judah’ sprang to mind. At the time of posting, tensions are running very high in Jerusalem. Anyone who has visited the city, will know how densely populated and despite its walls, how fragile the city really is. I visited in February 2017. Palestinians are protesting against Israel’s placement of metal detectors at the entrance to the Temple Mount, a Muslim holy site. This follows a deadly attack on July 14th in which three Israeli Arab gunmen killed two Israeli police officers before they were shot and killed at the entrance to the site. At the moment, Israeli border police stand guard as Palestinians take part in evening prayers outside the Lion’s Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City. Given the planetary picture, this is a situation that could very easily erupt and escalate into further and more widespread violence. A lot depends on wise leadership from religious and political leaders. However, with Jupiter now moving towards its final square with Pluto – exact on August 4th – we get a sense of a rock and a hard place. While Jupiter in Libra might like to negotiate, Pluto in Capricorn is a difficult partner. We see this square (in effect since 24 November 2016) hampering the Brexit talks, halting the Dutch government’s attempts to form a coalition, preventing Donald Trump’s from doing anything beyond tweeting, and in general, making it excruciatingly difficult to get solid results.

So now the eclipse… 
I wrote the text that follows is in part my reply to Janet Farnquist’s post asking for comments on what is affectionately referred to as the Great American Eclipse. Set for August 21, 14.30 Washington. The eclipse falls in the ninth house. This is a house that highlights foreign, legal and religious affairs. A crisis overseas (possibly religious)- that results in hidden diplomatic efforts, perhaps resulting in the collapse of a relationship. Eclipse Venus – is conjunct US Mercury in the 8th house – in Cancer – and opposite US Pluto in Capricorn. A forceful approach to diplomacy that could backfire: Leo is a fixed sign. Uranus is clearly in the picture, trine the eclipse – which could mean a system failure of some sort – possibly a fresh hack or leak of sensitive information coming from overseas. The death of an important diplomat or foreign leader. Religious outrage. The line the eclipse follows – could be seen as a dividing line – symbolizing a divided nation. A flare up. That loose grand trine (if Saturn and the Node and Mars are taken into account) – could easily serve to speed up events. The Moon is in the Sun’s sign – is Sun ruled – so this eclipse is also a powerful new moon in its own right.

One thing is clear. Navigating this storm will present leaders everywhere, not only in politics, but in business too, with challenges. The first of these is – despite the disputes and disagreements – to keep the dialogue alive.
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Liz Hathway, MA Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, DFAstrolS (Amsterdam, 24 July 2017)