By Barry Rosen
Mars entered Pisces on April 2 and will remain there until May 11. I normally welcome this transit. Pisces is ruled by Jupiter, a friend of Mars, and the spiritual, calming energy of the Fish tends to calm the hot-headed nature of Mars. But this year, Mars enters a room full of people and the company is intense.
Saturn is already between 12 and 14 degrees of Pisces. Mars will conjunct Saturn exactly on April 20 at about 13.5 degrees, right in the heart of Uttarabhadrapada nakshatra, which is ruled by Saturn itself. When Mars meets Saturn, the warrior meets the taskmaster. Saturn says slower. Mars says charge forward. The friction between these two creates frustration, blocked energy, and the feeling that no matter how hard you push, the world rejects you.
Then Mercury joins the party. Mercury enters Pisces on April 11, entering its sign of debilitation. Mercury in Pisces means our sharp analytical mind delves into fog, intuition, and confusion. The challenge deepens because Mars and Mercury are bitter enemies in Vedic astrology. When these two travel together, the conflict between acting and thinking becomes almost unbearable. Mercury conjunct Mars exactly around April 21st. From about April 14 to April 26, Mars, Saturn, and Mercury are within a few degrees of each other in Pisces. This is a large amount of compressed and conflictive energy in a single sign.
Meanwhile, Rahu remains stable at 13 degrees Aquarius in Shatabhishak nakshatra, weaving his usual webs of anxiety right next door. Saturn and Rahu together are always creating mental discomfort and this month you may feel it more than usual.
I’ve personally gone through periods like this, and when I talk to my friends and clients, I hear the same thing: a sense of anguish that seems greater than the circumstances warrant. People feel stuck, anxious and overwhelmed. Health challenges arise. Financial pressures seem to come out of nowhere.
This is what I want you to understand: Much of this is due to the planets doing their job. Saturn creates an emotional and psychological fog that drags us down but does not always manifest itself as physical problems. It starts in our head. Eckhart Toll on The power of now It reminds us that 99% of the fears that manifest in our minds are illusions and never really come true. We need the awareness of spiritual practice to step back and say, “There goes Saturn again, creating useless fears.”
The trick this month is to engage Mars for courage while simultaneously dismissing the noisy subconscious anxiety heard in the background. Mars in Pisces, despite challenges, carries the calming and compassionate influence of Jupiter. The constellation of Uttarabhadrapada is connected with the wise elder, the crown chakra and the culmination of spiritual knowledge. These are deep waters, but there is treasure at the bottom.
There is good news. Venus enters its own sign of Taurus around April 20 and Jupiter remains strong in Punarvasu nakshatra. If we search deeply, there is an underlying core of well-being that we must hold on to. It’s there. Jupiter and Venus are somewhere smoothing out the rough edges. We have to tap into that core and not accept the mental concerns that Saturn and Rahu keep circling.
What to do this month:
Go back and find the beauty and wonder in the small things. Flowering plants when you take a walk in nature. The innocence of little children that reminds us of simple play and joy. The love of family and friends. The mystical magic of your spiritual practice.
Meditation is your most powerful tool right now. If we don’t step back and find that lightness of being, we will get caught up in Saturn’s complaining and complaining. Exercise is essential to move Mars-Saturn frustration through your body. Yoga, walking, and any practice that connects you physically will help you tremendously.
Handle important communications and decisions in the morning, when Mercury’s weakening fog is lighter. Avoid making major purchases or signing contracts from April 17 to 23 when all three planets are within a few degrees of each other. Be patient with misunderstandings; Mercury and Mars together make it very easy to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.
What will be will be. Find those moments of love and lightness to fall back on, or you will be doomed to a mind that gnaws and complains. Find the sweetness of Venus, trust in the Divine and move towards grace.
We always have a choice. Do we get caught up in the fear that wants to send us off the cliff, or do we turn toward the Divine and focus on all the good things that are also happening? I know what choice I’m making.
Saturn rarely whispers. In my Secrets of Saturn course, we discuss exactly how to work with its energy instead of being overwhelmed by it. Currently on sale for $149: applyvedicastrology.com/product/the-secrets-of-saturn-mastering-the-energies-for-growth-and-transformation/
About the author
Barry Rosen has been practicing Vedic astrology since 1988. He has visited and studied India on four occasions and has spoken numerous times at the Sedona Vedic Astrology Conference since 1999 and also at the British Association of Vedic Astrologers in London since 2006. He has been involved in Vedic culture since 1973 and is a long-time meditation and yoga teacher and published poet.
Recently, he has pioneered research in other areas of Vedic astrology, including Vedic astrolocality, the effects your current physical location has on your chart, connecting astrology with hatha yoga for therapeutic purposes, and developing transformational healing work to traverse the karma and spiritual dimensions of Vedic astrology. He is a Neo-Vedic astrologer and uses the outer planets. He is particularly interested in Jaimini astrology and the journey of the soul through the physical world and its karma and purpose and has taken live seminars in London with Sanjay Rath.
If you have questions, please contact Barry via email at: [email protected] or call Fortucast at 800-788-2796.
