Dr. Evil (Saturn) and Mini-me (Mars) will be up to no good in airy Aquarius from 6 March until 17 April. But, by “up to no good,” we really mean that the two planets intend wholesale destruction. See, Mars and Saturn are the two Malefics of the Zodiac. Both are bad enough on their own, but together they bring out the worst in each other, like Sid and Nancy, Kurt and Courtney, Bonnie and Clyde, Slash and Axl Rose, or other such toxic duos.
Let’s rewind a bit, just to get a sense of the astro-dynamics of this transit. Pyromaniac Mars (war, drive, rage) moves in two year cycles through signs. It will light a fire for about six weeks in, say, Pisces, then abscond like a fugitive. After time away, Mars will return to the scene of the crime/sign and conclude its work there before moving on to Aries, Taurus, etc.
On March 30 2020, Mars started its two year cycle in Aquarius, where, much to our collective chagrin, its partner in crime, grim Saturn, was also camping out. And what happened when those two bad seeds got together? Oh, right. Pandemic, worldwide panic, Covid restrictions, social distancing, lockdown, financial crash, hospitals overflowing.
This is the kind of mayhem to expect when Mars and Saturn join forces. Notice, as well, that the sign they are in influences their brand of mischief. Their dark designs in Aquarius (2020) are particularly elucidating in this regard. The Waterbearer is fixed-air and so much of the past two years has been about restrictions (Saturn) around air-related themes (travel, respiratory illness, etc.), as we battle (Mars) this airborne virus. Since the Mars/Saturn incursion in fixed-air Aquarius, we have been, in effect, trying to fix the air.
Now, on 6 March, the Warmonger Planet returns to the Waterbearer for another round of malice, as Saturn waits there, too, brooding. Here’s the thing about these two year Mars cycles; they tend to finish what they started, while also introducing a new malevolent twist to our human condition. One prediction of this Mars/Saturn/Aquarius transit, accordingly, is that Covid issues (masks, social distancing, remote everything) could start to wane, just as the Malefics stoke tensions elsewhere.
Of course, we are already seeing this shift in cosmic emphasis, as the threat of protracted war between Russia and Ukraine has begun to usurp the media’s Covid obsession. As Mars moves closer to Saturn in the Waterbearer, these Russian aggressions could very well intensify, with Putin acting more and more like a deranged Crusader, mad for blood, booty, and battle. That’s the Mars cycle (with accomplice Saturn) for you: we started it with a war on the virus and we end it with a war between nations, nuclear threats raised.
While we should expect tensions on the macro-level to up-tick, we should also prepare for a world of micro-aggressions, confrontations, tempers flaring, and harsh words between friends, family, colleagues, too. Mars is the Red Planet with two moons, Phobos and Panus (Fright and Panic). It is this kind of dark energy spreading through the Aquarian air until mid-April. One small bit of advice to help with this Martian heat: try to stay away from spicy foods. Admittedly this may sound overly quaint or old-timey, given the magnitude of this transit, but with all this aggression in the Stars, keeping your dietary cool could actually help you stay somewhat balanced in your own reactions to others. Every little bit helps.
Be aware, too, that Mars-in-Aquarius could lead to mental unease, anxiety, and fixation on personal issues. Aquarius is a cerebral air sign, it is “in-its-head” by nature. With caffeinated Mars transiting the Waterbearer, we could very well find ourselves ruminating late into the evening on problems both real and imagined. In air signs, Mars gets more flammable, there’s too much oxygen around, so to speak. Water and earth signs can ground or neutralise Mars, but Aquarius can’t as much.
If there is any silver lining in this Mars red sky, it is that Planet War provides, on some level, drive and lust for life. It’s a kind of cosmic triple espresso shot that we might need to finish a project, memo, or home renovation. Mars also provides courage, ambition, and zeal for things you believe in. You may be more prone to stand your ground during this transit–or fight for friends, family, and/or causes you believe in. Protesting and making your voice heard are positive valences of Mars, especially during this moment of geopolitical injustice in Ukraine.
If there is another silver lining here, it is that this particularly nefarious alignment of Mars and Saturn in Aquarius won’t occur for another three decades (30 April 2050 to be exact). That bad news is that the fires they start now might take a long time to extinguish.
Want to know what else is in store for the month ahead? Read your March horoscopes now.
