{"id":15527,"date":"2011-05-10T19:26:52","date_gmt":"2011-05-10T19:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sasstrology.com\/?p=24873"},"modified":"2011-05-10T19:26:52","modified_gmt":"2011-05-10T19:26:52","slug":"foreplay-and-swapping-apartments-mars-in-taurus-in-mutual-reception-with-venus-in-aries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/astrologyblogger.com\/?p=15527","title":{"rendered":"Foreplay and Swapping Apartments: Mars in Taurus in Mutual Reception With Venus in Aries"},"content":{"rendered":"

 
\nJeffrey:<\/strong> Mars<\/a>, the planet of sex and aggression, the \u201cI will do this and I will do it right now\u201d planet, is entering slow, sensuous and stable Taurus<\/a> on Wednesday, May 11. Mars is not terribly happy in Taurus. From a traditional astrology perspective, Mars is in its detriment<\/i> in Taurus. It kind of makes sense, because Taurus is slow and steady and careful and not a very risk-taking type of sign, whereas Mars is go, go, go, now, now, now, don\u2019t hold me back<\/i>. So, it can be difficult to get things started in Taurus. But once you get the momentum going, you are able to keep it.<\/p>\n

Michelle:<\/strong> Well, there\u2019s staying power in the sign of Taurus, because Taurus is a fixed and earthy sign. Now, Mars isn\u2019t necessarily known for its staying power. Mars can burn itself out. So there is something about Mars in Taurus that I think can be quite beneficial. <\/p>\n

Venus and Mars Swap Homes<\/h2>\n

This week we still have Venus in Aries, so Venus and Mars are in mutual reception. [Mars is in Venus\u2019 sign and Venus is in Mars\u2019 sign.] So it\u2019s not a bad start to Mars\u2019 journey. It\u2019s like they\u2019ve swapped apartments for awhile. When two planets do that, they strengthen each other. They communicate with each other. They can share information together, even though it\u2019s ironic because Venus isn\u2019t comfortable in Aries, and Mars isn\u2019t comfortable in Taurus. Neither of them is quite happy in the other\u2019s home, but they can support each other nevertheless — at least while Venus is in Aries. Next week she\u2019ll move into Taurus. But that\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n

Jeffrey:<\/strong> Right. So, how do you think the mutual reception aids Mars in its journey? <\/p>\n

Michelle:<\/strong> Well, I think that Venus — as the hostess of Mars — even though she\u2019s not there to greet Mars at the front door, she’s saying, \u201cHelp yourself to anything you need. You know where the food is.\u201d It\u2019s almost as if there\u2019s some alchemy involved between them. It\u2019s a way of learning from each other when they\u2019re in mutual reception. We only have this mutual reception for a few days. So I think it\u2019s almost a way of Venus saying, \u201cHey Mars, you got to my house before I did. So until I get home, help yourself. Make yourself comfortable. I\u2019ll be there when I can. I\u2019ll get there next week. In the meantime, put your feet up and I\u2019ll try not to destroy your place while I\u2019m still staying here. Please try not to take a blowtorch to my couch.\u201d <\/p>\n

Jeffrey:<\/strong> I don\u2019t think Mars wants to keep his feet up.<\/p>\n

Grounding Mars<\/h2>\n

Michelle:<\/strong> Well that\u2019s the thing… in Taurus, Mars has to find a way to ground his energy and that\u2019s how we\u2019re all going to feel the Mars in Taurus effect. Mars is the sexual instinct, it\u2019s aggression, assertion, it\u2019s that adrenalin surge that you get, it\u2019s the competitive instinct. And that energy, it needs to go somewhere. So in Taurus, you have to really ground it into work or physical endeavors that bring about stability and help promote future development and growth. Because Taurus is a sign that really focuses on financial security, abundance, material acquisition, and I don\u2019t mean that in a negative sense. Some people think there\u2019s something wrong with wanting material wealth. But let\u2019s face it, we\u2019re living in the material world. Until we enter the Star Trek<\/i> universe, we all require some kind of financial stability. So I think that Mars in Taurus can really help boost that drive to get right with all of your resources.<\/p>\n

Jeffrey:<\/strong> It\u2019s little bit like the impetus to build one\u2019s nest, to put in the work to acquire financial stability, but it\u2019s not like cash under the table easy paycheck type of work. You actually have to have the patience to know, \u201cOkay I\u2019m really going to get on my knees and dig or do whatever I need to do to create that for myself.\u201d But the returns are not going to be immediate. And I have to actually do this day in and day out consistently to reap the benefits. It\u2019s a little bit like, if you\u2019re going to garden your crops, they\u2019re not going to show up overnight. You have to wait.<\/p>\n

Michelle:<\/strong> I think that\u2019s a great illustration too because it\u2019s funny, Taurus is associated with gardening literally and Mars gives us physical stamina. This is the time of year in the Northern Hemisphere where people start to work on their gardens. So if you are a gardener, hey you\u2019ve got some extra umph. What I also like about Mars in Taurus is that even though it\u2019s said to be debilitated, there is a real match I find because Taurus is really sensuous energy. And Mars is the sex instinct. So I feel like when Mars moves into Taurus, he becomes the patient and tending lover. It\u2019s not about, \u201cLet me take care of my needs right now and it\u2019s all about me,\u201d which can kind of happen when Mars is in Aries where he\u2019s just come out of.<\/p>\n

Jeffrey:<\/strong> It\u2019s like, “Wham bam thank you Ma\u2019am.”<\/p>\n

Michelle:<\/strong> We move away from, \u201cWham bam thank you Ma\u2019am\u201d into, \u201cWhat can I do for you? Let me please you. Let me make you feel good.\u201d Foreplay becomes more sensuous and may take longer, which I think might be welcome news. You sometimes hear women complain that men forget about this thing called foreplay. When Mars is in Taurus — because Taurus\u2019 energy is so much slower than Aries\u2019 energy — there\u2019s a chance to really, really connect with your body, with each other\u2019s bodies and to just take it slow and enjoy the process. So it\u2019s not all bad news with Mars in Taurus. I think it can work just fine. I think the key thing to bear in mind is you do need to funnel that energy. You\u2019ve got to put it somewhere or you are likely to feel hooked up with nowhere to go. That energy will turn on you, so make use of it. Really physicalize and actualize it.<\/p>\n

Jeffrey:<\/strong> You can\u2019t just stay in your head.<\/p>\n

Michelle:<\/strong> Yeah. Right now, we have Sun and Mars in Taurus. So it\u2019s going to force us to really get into our bodies and out of our heads. But just enjoy reconnecting with your body. It\u2019s been a really wild, wild Aries rollercoaster ride, and there\u2019s something really refreshing about taking a moment to stand and get grounded. Look around, see where you are, and tune into what the body is telling you.<\/p>\n

Jeffrey:<\/strong> Looking at the movement from Aries to Taurus, Aries is the fire of inspiration and when you move into Taurus, it\u2019s about implementing it. It\u2019s making it real, something physical. Like even if you\u2019re a writer, you put your pen to the paper and you have something that\u2019s tangible. If you just stay in Aries, you could have a million ideas and none of them may materialize unless you actually just labor.<\/p>\n

Michelle:<\/strong> That\u2019s right. And you know what else? It\u2019s as if we\u2019ve moved Mars out of the battlefield of Aries and into the common peaceful pastures of Taurus where he gets to take a break from being that militant warrior.<\/p>\n

Mars Sextile Neptune<\/h2>\n

Jeffrey: <\/strong> We actually have a little bit of an energy that will make the warrior more peaceful and spiritual, which is that Mars is making a gentle sextile or 60 degree angle with Neptune in Pisces, Neptune being a planet of mysticism and transcendence and just sort of letting go of the ego. So whenever I look at these two planets together, Neptune does weaken to some degree the energy of Mars. It has a dissolving energy. So Mars can feel a little bit lost and not know where to go, where to put its energy. It can be a little bit like, you wake up in the morning and you just sort of forgot what your agenda is.<\/p>\n

One way to work with this particular planetary combination is to think about service. You know, compassionate action, like, “What can I do to alleviate the suffering in others?” because Neptune is very much about the suffering and the empathy we feel for other people, which can take some of the self-centeredness out of Mars and direct it towards the world at large.<\/p>\n

Michelle:<\/strong> One thing that I find a little bit odd about Mars and Neptune in this sextile is that we\u2019re blending Mars in Taurus — which really values permanence and stability (“Will this thing be here forever? Because that\u2019s what I\u2019m going for.”) — with Neptune in Pisces, which couldn\u2019t be less permanent. Pisces is all about the ephemeral moment, which is always going to pass. And as you say, Neptune dissolves and reveals to us that there really is no such thing as permanence. And it\u2019s a little bit of an odd trick to blend Mars in Taurus with Neptune in Pisces. Because we\u2019re talking about a sextile, which is a 60 degree alignment between two planets and it\u2019s fairly flowing energy, it provides us with an opportunity to fortify ourselves spiritually, and as you say Jeff, to give back, to give beyond yourself. And maybe what we find in this Mars sextile Neptune is that there can be permanence in serving other people or serving our planet, serving Mother Earth since Taurus is an earth sign. Compassion for the creatures of the planet and the creatures of the sea since Pisces is a water sign. So I think if we can take this energy and make it not about us, but about our willingness to put ourselves out there for something beyond us, we can really benefit from the sextile and find a sense of permanence that way.<\/p>\n

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