Transiting Mars and Saturn Conjunct in First House Scorpio, A Personal Narrative

By Milky Way Maid

Experiencing a Mars and Saturn conjunction this year was a first-ever event for me. My ascendant is Scorpio, which is just where the conjunction was to occur. I thought maybe there was some chance of an accident, but I did not feel particularly fearful. 

First let's get some details out of the way. 

The Mars-Saturn conjunction was on August 25, 2014, at 17 degrees Scorpio. The exact time was 3:30 pm Eastern. Coincidentally, there was a New Moon that day: 2 degrees 19' of Virgo at 10:13 am. Mars and Saturn sextiled Mercury earlier in the day. Also, four days later (Aug. 29) the Sun opposed Neptune which was at 6 degrees Pisces. 

None of these points were conjunct any natal planets, but 17 degrees Scorpio closely opposes my natal Sun and applies to my natal North Node – the latter seems to be rather auspicious. The New Moon was sextile my natal Ascendant and trine natal Mars. So the outlook seemed to be on the whole pretty positive, even if I had trouble guessing what kind of event might take place. 

ALSO- 17 degrees Scorpio is exactly square my natal Chiron in Aquarius. Chiron in Aquarius has accounted for some arthritis in the knees and other ailments and injuries in that area. This time around, the square to Chiron seems to indicate a surgical intervention of some kind, but I thought some other transiting aspects referred to a series of injections to the knees that started in August. Turns out, I was in for some other surgeries besides those injections, even though they were all quite minor. Minor, yes, but for me it was very unusual to have such a cluster of medical interventions. 

Online articles on transiting Mars conjunct Saturn said things like “go on a diet,” or “much energy spent putting out annoying brush fires.” I have been trying to lose weight, but have been stuck on a plateau for several months; we will see if this transit brings any success. But the latter stuff about brush fires is true. I have had several things happen, one of the most annoying was a package that went astray and difficulty getting anyone to look into it. 

Consulting my trusty copy of “Transits In Reverse” yields many valuable nuggets, such as: “You may run into all kinds of frustrating irritations . . . and will be doubly frustrated because you'll have little chance to vent any resulting anger,” be careful of sharp tools, “not a day for risky ventures or investments,” low energy, a lack of stamina.

But nowhere did I run into mention of what actually happened that month. I had two minor surgeries which are notable because of a near-total lack of any previous surgical interventions other than assorted biopsies.

It is also interesting to note that the areas where the surgeries were performed are those ruled by Scorpio: the reproductive organs and the colon or excretory system. In both cases the items removed were negative for cancer, so that would tie in with the positive contacts to my natal chart. 

The list of Progressions also produced some hits to the 17th degree: Progressed Sun was at 14 Cancer, Progressed Mercury was at 17 Cancer, Progressed Ceres at 18 Gemini, Progressed Vesta and Progressed Part of Fortune at 15 and 16 Aries (in the sixth house of health). That is quite a list! 

Looking ahead, transiting Mars will conjunct natal Saturn in Sagittarius about the end of September or beginning of October, so I will have to keep an eye peeled for what transpires at that time. At any rate, Mars has already moved out of my Ascendant sign Scorpio, and Saturn will follow around Christmas of this year. So YAY, I will be glad of that. A second Saturn return does not come till 2016, so I will not worry about that right now. 

I would like to note once again that regarding good aspects for diets or weight loss, one of the most remarkable in my experience was a transiting Sun-Saturn conjunction for the day that I began a rather physically-demanding job. I believe I lost about 30 pounds in the first two months on that job. Of course I regained them much later, but that's how it goes.

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LATE DEGREES – see my popular article on late degrees of all the signs. Link: http://milky-way-astrology.blogspot.com/2008/08/planets-in-late-degrees-what-do-they.html
POPE FRANCIS – I finally posted a little article on the new Pope Francis and also a kind of book review on a book that accidentally talks about ancient astronomy. The article on Pope Francis is here: http://milkywayastrology.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/a-look-at-the-new-pope-franciss-astro-charts/ And the article on the best book that both is and is not about ancient astronomy is here: http://milkywayastrology.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/the-best-book-about-ancient-astronomy-that-isnt-about-astrology-per-se/
COOL WEBSITES – In no particular order of importance: Check out Astrology.com – free lessons online. Watch astronomic animations at http://shadowandsubstance.com/. Go to http://www.solarsystemscope.com/ for a view of our solar system and nearby stars. This guy called the correct winner of the 2012 election, and he puts out a monthly column: http://www.howardbeckmanvedicastrologer.com/wordpress/

Started Job on Void of Course Moon, Oh My!

By Milky Way Maid

In the course of discussing the Royal Wedding earlier this year (please see http://milkywayastrology.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/that-big-fat-royal-wedding-and-whether-william-will-ever-be-king/) I mentioned that I once started a job on a void-of-course (hereinafter referred to as VOC moon) and that it worked out all right.

I finally managed to dig up the start time for that position and here are the pertinent details:

Start of Job, May 15, 2000, 2:30 pm CDT, Milwaukee, WI.
Curiously enough, the Moon was in Libra, not a sign where a VOC moon is favored for some events. Traditionally, the Moon functions OK if the VOC occurs in the signs of the Moon or Jupiter: Cancer, Taurus, Sagittarius, and Pisces.

One major factor in this chart, folks, is that the ascendant happens to be on my natal Jupiter, 21 degrees Virgo. I had forgotten that.

Moon, as I said, is in Libra at 26 degrees and in the second house. Pluto and Chiron are in the third house at 11 and 16 degrees, respectively, of Sagittarius; Pluto is on my natal Saturn. The fifth house is pretty crowded with the South Node (26 degrees Capricorn), Vesta (29 Capricorn), Neptune (6 Aquarius), Uranus (20 Aquarius), Part of Fortune (22 Aquarius) and Juno (22 Aquarius).

The ninth house is also supercharged with Venus at 18 Taurus (very close to my Sun), Jupiter at 19 Taurus (conjunct my Sun), Saturn at 21 Taurus, Sun at 25 Taurus, Mercury strong in Gemini (3 degrees), and Mars at 8 Gemini.

North Node is alone at 26 Cancer in the eleventh house, along with Pallas Athena at 14 Leo. Transpluto, for those who use those points, is at 24 Leo in the twelfth house.

Aspects to natal planets: Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn clustered on my natal Sun, as I mentioned above. Sun near my natal Venus. The Moon is inconjunct the Sun, and therefore also inconjunct my natal Venus.

Critical degrees: North Node at 26 degrees of Cancer is on a critical degree; I think this was an example of my being in the right place at the right time when applying for this job. I had just completed a couple classes in introductory computer and in medical terminology, intending to go on for a diploma in allied health science. However, I had to wait a terribly long time for a practicum to be scheduled, about three months, and there was just no way that I could see how to survive that long without an income. So I applied for a couple jobs and this one opened up.
The Node is at the midpoint of the Ascendant in Virgo, and the Sun-Saturn conjunction in Taurus. It also opposes Vesta, and is sesquiquadrate Pluto in the third house. Pluto in the third is I think reflective of our actual work handling 'paperwork' for an insurance company.

It was extremely helpful to have Mercury in Gemini for this job, which required one to be able to ramp up your production to keep up with paper submissions. I have found thru experience that three degrees of most signs is very positive for me, due to a key natal planet and ascendant at that degree.

Needless to say the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Taurus defined a new era for many people, and with several natal planets in Taurus, it really gave me a jump-start to a materially successful period like nothing I had ever had before. The conjunction squared Uranus, where virtually ALL the work was done on computer and the submissions had been imaged into the system.
The Sun and Moon are inconjunct. Hmmm, have to think about how that was reflected in the job. Well, there were difficulties dealing with other women in the department. Uranus is square the Sun, separating; it was continually stressful for me to deal with the job in general. I just wanted to hole up with my computer and forget the rest of it. The nodes are square the Moon; again, difficult women.

The Midheaven trines both the Moon and Uranus, all in air signs. Oh, this favored the handling of numbers and data and rules about handling different kinds of submissions. We had to calculate payments, line by line, very quickly.

Pluto opposes Mars. Hmmm again. Sounds like a lot of backstabbing and office politics, and there is always that no matter where you go or what kind of business you are in. Mars trines idealistic Neptune, tho, and I like to think that I helped change the attitudes of the girls from a close-mouthed, competitive environment to one where we shared tips freely.
I cannot say that this job was without rough spots. It was hard to work with the first supervisor that we had, who was rather, shall we say, a demanding and sharp-tongued woman. Our group was later transferred to the supervision of a younger woman when our shift was changed (start of new schedule Oct. 2, 2000, 7:30 am); in other words our group was merged with the regular day crew. There was difficulty getting used to the quality control team, who were not always professional about how they pointed out errors or demanded corrections. There were many days in the early going when I thought I would be let go along with others in our training group who did not make the final cuts.

To sum up, I stayed for six years and learned a great deal about the business, about getting used to modern phone networks, emails and other interoffice communications, and about dealing with meetings and updates in procedures. I was not happy being on the day crew, however, since I really did not care for the usual office “stuff” (food days, passing around memos and birthday cards, etc). You would think that with all those planets and asteroids in the fifth house that this would a party-type job, but I cannot think how that could possibly apply to this position.
Well, that's all I can think of right now to tell you about this supposedly disastrous job. It worked out just fine for me and I only left due to personal matters that were pretty much separate from the job or company.

What Stupid Thing Did I Do During Mercury Retrograde? Shop

by Milky Way Maid

Having written about Mercury retrograde does not keep me from doing stupid stuff while Mercury is in fact moving in retrograde motion.

Witness the fact that I went shopping a bit last Friday, April 15. I knew Mercury was retrograde. I knew that if one goes shopping during a Mercury retrograde, one ought to examine the merchandise pretty carefully for damage and make sure it fits. One cannot count on being able to return the item for a cash refund, you know.
I figure used items fit well into the Mercury retrograde theme, so I go to resale shops. So far, so good, because I find three pairs of shoes at the local Salvation Army store.

And I really needed shoes so I was happy to find anything that fit my wide feet. Maybe I was a bit too happy, because I did not lift the shoes up or flip them over.
Item Number One: One pair looked like it had never been worn. These were the Earth Shoe sandals in a mahogany color. Kind of like huaraches. Very nice, I'll take them.

Item Number Two: Another was a very simple pair of basic loafers. Gotta have some loafers, right? Only $5, worth every penny if they fit. I could get my feet into them at the store, so in the cart they went.

Item Number Three: The third pair was another pair of sandals in split leather or a lookalike, with a little rosette cut out near the toe and a T-strap. They seemed quite roomy in the toes and so I said to myself, hey this is my lucky day, girl. In the cart they went.

Item Number Four: The last item was a leather-look purse or portfolio with a Kathy Lee brand logo. Pretty good shape, a bit dirty but I can clean it up a bit. Will hold a lot and looks very sturdy. At $2.99 this is the steal of the day. And I only found this after about giving up looking for purses in another section of the store. This was hanging with the backpacks and above the luggage.

Now you get three guesses which item or items were the clunkers.

ANSWERS: Over the weekend, I tried to put on the basic loafers and I could not even get my feet into them. What?!? Well, they were obviously unworn so I put them back into a plastic bag and would return them Monday while on some errands. Had to hunt a bit for the receipt, but yes here it is, in the bag it went with the shoes. One of the hallmarks of Mercury retrograde is having to do things over again: go back to the store to make a return, tear out the floor you just did and start over, redo the document that you just lost to the cyber gods, etc.

I stop at the gas station while out on my errands. I am wearing sandals, Item Number Two. I feel kinda funny while standing there pumping gas into the tank, and bend over to examine the sandals. You know what? These are REALLY ventilated. The outer seam where the uppers attach to the base is ripped out from my little toes to the heel section. Wow. When did this happen? Before they were donated to S.A., or when I wore them while doing laundry over the weekend? I will never know. I do not want to make another trip home to put on other shoes, so I could take these back with the loafers.

I decide to tough it out and just take the loafers back for now. I go into the store with the bag and receipt and explain the problem with the loafers to the clerk at the checkout.

She stated that normally they only take clothes as returns, but would take back this pair this time only. I thank her. She asks if I want a store credit or would like to shop a bit today. I tell her I will look around and if I cannot find anything today, I will take the store credit, thanks.

So I wander back to the shoe section and lo and behold, I find a nice pair of white shoes, wide in the toes and properly snug in the heel. These are the kind that are cut low in back and I normally do not look twice at that style. These catch my eye because they look nice and summery and I sure need the toe room. They fit wonderfully well and I gladly take them back to the checkout lady. They are the exact same price as the loafers and so I do not have to cough up more nickels and dimes.

OK, I got an even exchange on the loafers for a nice pair of summer shoes. When I get home, I take off the tan sandals and look at them more closely. I had in mind that maybe these could be reglued by a cobbler or something.

But these are a disaster. Not only have the uppers come apart from the base all along the outer edge, but the soles have deep cracks if you bend them. Both shoes. Made in Spain, if that means anything. The rain in Spain gets your feet wet because the shoes are falling apart.

I decide that well, I did not do too badly. In the end, I got two pairs of shoes and a sturdy purse for a total of about $24. The purse alone was worth that. One pair of shoes in a mall would have cost me at least that much. So I did not cry too much over the lost $6.99 or whatever for the Spanish sandals. Except that I am so broke right now that I cannot easily spare that amount. But mustn't cry over spilt milk. Count myself lucky to find anything at all. Yep, life can be good sometimes. Even under a Mercury retrograde.