MARS SQUARES NEPTUNE:

On Saturday April 27^th at 9:04 A.M. EDT this square will create a challenging atmosphere that can come to any of several conclusions. If you don’t handle this properly it can be a difficult few days. On one level this is an unsettling and often exhausting aspect that can suck the wind out of many people and divert attention away from circumstances that need your focus. This isn’t the best aspect for physical activity and you may find that you are tired and don’t have the enthusiasm you were expecting, especially if this sets off your natal chart. Your muscles may feel weakened and your resolve will not be as strong as you had hoped. But this only lasts a few days and my advice is to put some things aside and revisit them once this goes out of orb. This can be a difficult time to assert yourself so don’t plan an important meeting, phone call or first date. You may not be able to project the persona you had hoped for and you could wind up feeling bad about the results. If you pay attention to this and use it carefully you should be able to sidestep any serious problems. Most difficulties happen when we ignore what’s going on around us and try to swim upstream. You’re not a salmon and while it sometimes feels as though we are struggling against the flow of life, astrology is meant to ease that stress and make it a smoother ride.

But on another level this can be a time when you rise to the occasion and bend readily to the impersonal and receptive side of your personality, thus taking the power of misdirection away and approaching situations the way an aikido master would – by using the force of your opponent to your advantage. If you deal with Neptune as if it were a normal energy you will most likely fail. There is no substance; it’s like trying to fight while standing in quicksand. And the harder you struggle the more you will sink into the muck. But if you accept that much of what you are seeing is smoke and illusion you can easily sidestep most problems. It’s just the ego that prevents you from doing so.

The confusion and misdirection this square can produce can manifest on a very personal level. Because Mars rules the ego and represents our self-confidence the influence of Neptune’s egoless force creates a tug-of-war between the need of the individual to prove something and not accepting the truth. People born with a conflict between these two planets will experience this battle throughout their lives. The more readily they are able to give into the selfless service that Neptune requires the more functional their lives are. So don’t try to win battles or prove how smart or secure you are. Just walk through the next few days as if in a dream. It is just the fear that you don’t have what you think you need to protect yourself. When this passes you will find that you have all of your strength and oomph and little damage has really been done. The real damage will happen to those who lie and create a false persona and are afraid that their mask may be revealed and others will be able to see their true face. This may be especially hard on some public figures who are trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Neptune will dissolve their façade.

One more thing – this is one of a series of aspects that will begin to show weakness in the stocks that will exacerbate in the coming weeks. We saw just a hint of that today. More to come.