As we travel on this great spaceship Earth, it is inevitable that we move through the influences that the cosmos bring to us. As light travels from distant suns and stars to you, sending their particular rays, those rays get colored and bent as they move past planetary bodies. These planetary bodies in our solar system influence the rays, and their impacts upon us can be easily recognized based on our pattens and behavior in life.
Mars
Mars, the planet of war, is also Mars, the masculine energy for taking action. With Mars moving into retrograde, which started January 23rd (and goes direct in mid April, with its full release in the latter part of June), it concentrates the energies and increases its influences in our lives. For some, you may think this will give you more energy to be active. And while this may be true for some people, many times a concentration of energy is something with which your are unfamiliar. And because of this, you are unable to harness it and use it in its full effectiveness.
Mars goes retrograde in Virgo. In a perfect world, this would bring clarity and perfection in your work, and indeed you may experience some of this in the next couple of months. However, for most people, Virgo is about perfection in your own eyes and heart. This is a nice way of saying… “I want it my way!!!!” With the extra energy to make it happen. The problem is, when you have it your way, with extra energy, it usually means someone else is not getting it their way. And guess what, they want it their way, and have extra energy too. And this is why Mars is often called the planet of war.
Early on, Venus, opposes Mars. And Venus in the watery sign of PIsces simply wants to be appreciated and nurtured. But this opposition, will often lead to conflict in a relationship, where you blame the other person in the relationship for not supporting you in the way you want it. Venus and Mars in opposition can actually create a scale of balance in a relationship when both parties can recognize the gifts and talents and honor those with true appreciation.
When Mars goes retrograde, the additional unfamiliar energy is often directed internally into your unresolved attachments and frustrations, which is why you may feel slow and sluggish. Nothing will slow you down or stop you like your emotions.The more you focus on your personal pain or “rightness,” the more the energy of Mars is internalized, depleting the fire of Mars with the watery emotions, and reducing the amount of energy you have to accomplish the things you want to have in life.
2012
So, couple all of this with the fact that its 2012 (212: kinda reminds me of a scale), bringing energies that have not been brought to the planet for 1800 years. Compelling you to bring balance and order to your life, and in essence, clear up karmic debt. AND, this is the auspicious year of the dragon, which has the raw power and compels you to get things done. Oh by the way, the year of the dragon is also a sign to eliminate karmic debt in Chinese astrology.
When you combine these few influences, you are provided with an amazing opportunity to really clean up old patterns in your life and relationships. The best way do so is to base your actions on your spiritual purpose, which helps you align yourself with perfection according to the will of goodness. Let go of your personal pet peeves and your proclamations of “this is how its supposed to be.” Connect to the higher nature of Virgo, and recognize that “he who is greatest amongst us is yet but a servant”*(the mantra for Virgo, meaning in service to your Higher Purpose). In this way, we can come together and truly plant the seeds for Shamballah.
*from “The Mystery of the Christos”