Although this aspect didn’t culminate until yesterday, it’s been in effect for some time as part of the Grand Cross so it hasn’t received the attention from me that it deserved. Mars square Saturn is often described as “driving with the brakes on” – Mars wants to go, to take action, and Saturn is the brakes that doesn’t allow motion to happen. Mars often represents willful behavior, arrogance, aggrssion, and Saturn is the paternal scolding voice. We can see this at play in the escalation of tension in Iraq, in the increased outrage over the National Security Agency spying scandal, the pending Tube strike in London and the standoff between Russia and the Ukraine over gas supplies.

The Mars/Saturn combination can offer a productive flow of energy if properly utilized: Saturn requires hard work and discipline, and if the energy of Mars can be harnessed and put to work great things can happen even in the challenging aspects between these planets.

As discussed in other posts below, the tension of the Grand Cross builds until there is a release of energy that is a catalyst for change. Although all four planets are no longer in tight formation, they continue to dance around each other and we are likely to see a continuation of this tension over the next two weeks as Mars moves towards a stressful aspect with Jupiter and the ideological (Jupiter) battles (Mars) become louder and more strident, with Neptune entering the picture to mystify and confuse the issues. Neptune rules martyrdom and self-sacrifice, and we may see an increased number of suicide bombings in mid-month when Mars, Jupiter and Neptune are in tight formation.

The Sun is approaching a conjunction with Venus in Capricorn over the next few days, usually a beneficial time (Sun/Venus) for getting things done (Capricorn). Hopefully the negotiation (Venus/Capricorn) possibilities of this time will help us to see the more positive results of the Mars/Saturn square!