Astrology for Saturday, September 19

Things are so divisive in the United States right now, and the sky reflects symbols that reflect that lack of unity. With Mars retrograde in Aries very near the unconventional and independent Lilith AND Eris - a a dwarf planet named after the Goddess of Discord, there is a lot of anger on BOTH sides of the political aisle.

Aries is ruled by Mars, the God of War. In mythology, Eris was his sister. She delighted in the groans of the dying, and she sows discord when she doesn't have a say. Nasty stuff. Aries implies a profound focus on self. Remember, these planetary energies are not pretty, but they aren't intrinsically bad. They are stamped with an evolutionary necessity. But their darker side is edgier, and their lighter side tends to operate in ways that are not very comfortable.

Right now, we may have hit the wall in terms of Arian self focus. No man is an island, and we have to all depend on each other. That myth of a rugged American individualist is not working for us. It is a myth. If we indulge our anger and our feelings and forget to listen to one another - to share our power together, we are weaker, not stronger. And in the pandemic, we might be sicker than healthier.

With the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose Sun was conjunct the unstable moon wobble this week, we have hit a point of fear. Mars is a fight or flight response. If we focus all our anger on action, we might forget to listen to one another. If we, as a people, must walk that tight line between aggression and assertion, we need to allow our "enemy" time to speak. And we have to listen. As Nelson Mandela said, a humiliated man is a dangerous man. To ramp down the anger, we must ramp down the insults and stereotypes and listen to people one at a time.

As astrologer Steven Forrest said, we have to quit cheering for our political party like the party is a National Football League team. At the end of the day, and as the pandemic is surely showing us - not to mention climate change! - we have to work together to find the better angels of our nature.