This post was first published on Liz Hathway Astrologer on June 10th 2020: prior to that, posted on Liz Hathway Astrologer on Facebook, on May 30th 2020.
Mars is particularly highlighted this year because he will make a so called ‘long-stay’ in his home sign Aries. I first read about the ‘long stay ‘of Mars in an article written by Dane Rudhyar, published in An Astrological Anthology. It concerns a specific pattern whereby Mars completes his retrograde period within the same zodiac sign. Normally Mars will spend around six weeks in a sign, however during a long stay, he will be in the same sign for approximately six months. When retrograde, a planet outside of the earth’s orbit Rudhyar wrote, will be closer to earth and therefore able to impress itself more forcibly on our consciousness. Mars in Rudhyar’s view, represented the element of action, and of exteriorisation, ‘it brings things out’. Rudhyar advised astrologers to look at Mars in relation to the prevailing planetary picture, but I think it is also useful to consider the history of past cycles. The United States seems to resonate strongly with the long stay of Mars in Aries and so I will take the US as an example.
The previous Mars ‘long stay’ in Aries was between July 2nd 1941 and 11 January 1942.
During this period, on December 7th 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the US entered the Second World War. The long stay in Aries prior to that occurred between 5 July 1862 and 15 January 1863, at the time of the American Civil War. The Battle of Antietam, which remains the single bloodiest day in United States military history with a combined tally of 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing, was fought on September 17 1862 during this long stay period. At the time of both these historical events, Mars was positioned between 15-18 degrees of Aries.
In 2020, Mars will ingress Aries on June 28th and will first visit this degree area from mid-July to early August. On September 9th, Mars turns retrograde in 28°8 Aries and stations direct on 14 November in 15°14 Aries, four days after the US Presidential Election. Mars finally ingresses Taurus on January 6th 2021.
In the Sibly horoscope for the US, Aries is on the IC and the fourth house itself relates specifically to the land, to patriotism, opposition to government and of course, to endings. When transiting Mars reaches this 15-18 degree area of Aries it opposes US Saturn in Libra in the 10 house and we could expect to see serious challenges to those in power, or violent acts specifically directed against symbols of that power. The ruler of the fourth house is Mars, which in the Sibly chart is in Gemini in the 7th house. In mundane astrology, the 7th rules both open enemies and together with the 11th house, a country’s allies. Given the nature of the events that occurred under previous long-stays of Mars in Aries, it is possible that some major threat of an aggressive, or war-like nature, might occur specifically in the period when Mars opposes Sibly 10th house Saturn. Particularly potent periods to look out for: the days surrounding the Pluto station on October 4th 2020: 13.31 EDT, Washington, when a retrograde Mars makes his second round of squares to Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto, and the period of the Mars station direct in 15 degrees 14 Aries, on November 14th.
It is always possible that the US Presidential Election will act as a namburbi. By this I mean that given that multiple US states have postponed their primaries due to the Covid19 pandemic, the frenzied atmosphere when electioneering finally gets under way, could act as a suitable conduit for what is very clearly intensely aggressive, competitive, combative, energy. (I wrote the above in April with a view to publication in the Mountain Astrologer – however, since time of writing, the situation in the US has turned completely toxic due to the unlawful police killing by of George Floyd.) Taking the wider astrological picture into account, the potential for wide spread unrest is present. In the article submitted, I put forward the possibility of the presidential election being postponed until a more propitious date.
I would like to end by re-sharing my thoughts on the Great American Eclipse. In terms of influence, I think the 2017 eclipse is comparable to the Nostradamus – Grand Cross – Eclipse which you might recall was visible across Britain and the whole of Europe in August 1999.
In the summer of 1999 a little know politician by the name of Nigel Farage, took up his recently won seat in the European Parliament in Brussels and in his maiden speech announced that it was his aim to take Britain out of the European Community. It must be said, some eclipses throw very, very, very long shadows. On the day of the US solar return in 2020, there will be a lunar eclipse, which given the prevailing planetary picture, could be a signal of even more trouble ahead.
copyright: Liz Hathway, Master of Arts in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, DFAstrolS, Qualified Horary Craftswoman (Frawley School)