Boots on the Ground

Being forceful is often seen as a negative, as it usually implies overpowering the rights of someone or something else. But in reality, when we deny our ability to be forceful, we give over our power of expression to the cultural norms of “being nice.” We’ve polarized the two extremes, and it has brought us to the point where we attribute power with abuse. And that is one of the biggest problems in our world, where people can blame and hate from behind a curtain, unwilling to take responsibility for their own part in the problem. Some people buy into political propaganda, some people self-medicate, some meditate in a park all day. None of this helps the suffering planet we live on.

While it’s true that we should guard against hurting or causing harm to anyone else, there is also a need to reclaim the idea of being forceful. And Mars is acting up this week, indicating that we may get a boost of warrior energy. The question is– can we handle that with skill and compassion, rather than just fighting to fight?

Mars represents our physical expression — the way we assert ourselves to get what we want or need, the way we show aggression or anger, and the way we use our physical presence to influence our environment. It may relate to anger (at times) but it’s much more than that. Mars symbolizes our body and what we do with it.

Mars is in its home sign Aries, and will form a conjunction with Uranus this Wednesday, activating the powerful Uranus/Pluto square that I wrote about last week. (See below.) Not only can the Mars/Uranus conjunction bring about a restless, uneasy, and strange sort of vibe, but Mars square Pluto enhances this with potential explosivity. This is where issues of forcefulness come into the picture. Can we harness the potency of these planets, as we approach the final Uranus/Pluto square early next week? Mars says “Act.” The Uranus/Pluto square says “Destroy the old, invent the new.”

Maybe our mission this week is to act with force for positive change, rather than destructive. This can be as simple as how we address a cashier who rings in a price wrong. We are all likely to be a wee bit worked up with this astrology in the backdrop. Remember that forceful doesn’t have to mean abusive. It shouldn’t. Forceful means effectively acting with strong conviction.