Mars is approaching an exact square to Pluto on August 29, a stressful conflict between the personal will (Mars) and the will of the higher self (Pluto). Power conflicts are highlighted now. If you find yourself involved in conflicts at this time, utilize the outlet of physical activity to help to release some of the energy that builds up during the faceoff of Mars to Pluto. On the positive side though, there is a tremendous amount of power that can be activated now. Try to focus your intention now on internalizing these energies and deepening your own sense of inner power.

We are really in the deepest intensity of the opposition of Saturn (building) to Neptune (dissolving) even though the dynamic won’t be exact for another few days. Faster-moving transits of Mars often spark events that signify the slower moving cycles like Saturn/Neptune, so the next few days will set the stage for what we can expect over the next year as the Saturn/Neptune dance continues.

The Saturn/Neptune cycle is associated with economics (particularly money and oil), as well as flu epidemics and diseases which are mysterious (Neptune) and affect the social structures (Saturn).

The current Saturn/Neptune cycle began with a conjunction in Capricorn (social structures and forms) back in February 1989. The conjunction continued in tight formation until the end of 1989, ushering in the following events as there was a dissolution of the prevailing forms of government and social mores:

• The Soviets leave Kabul after nine years of military occupation.
• A military coup in Paraguay ousted the President who had held power since 1954.
• A fatwa to kill author Salman Rushdie was issued by the Ayatollah Khomenei and a $3 million bounty is placed on his head.
• The Exxon Valdez spills 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound (Neptune rules oil).
• Demonstrators protest and are massacred in Tianenmen Square in China and martial law is declared.
• The Solidarity party in Poland wins the first democratic election in post-Soviet Poland.
• The San Francisco-Oakland earthquake occurs.
• The Berlin War is torn down and citizens can freely pass between East and West Germany for the first time in decades.
• Brazil holds its first free presidential election since 1960.
• The Communist party is overthrown in Czechoslovakia.

The opening square of the current cycle which took place between Saturn in Taurus and Neptune in the first degrees of Aquarius began in June of 1998. Squares are more stressful than conjunctions, and that year witnessed the following:

• An earthquake in Afghanistan that killed 5,000 people.
• The publication by Osama bin Laden of a fatwa against all Jews and Crusaders, including Americans.
• The testing of medium range missiles by both Pakistan and India.
• A tsunami triggered by an earthquake in New Guinea.
• Saddam Hussein in Iraq suspends cooperation with the UN inspectors.
• The Monica Lewinsky scandal becomes public.
• The Russian rouble loses 70% of its value and the economy collapses.
• The US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania are bombed by Al Qaeda.
• Clinton is impeached.
• The Kosovo war intensifies to a climax in as the Saturn/Pluto square reaches its final phase of the cycle in March/April and the Nato bombing campaign begins.

The opposition is the culmination point of the waxing phase, and the issues from the waxing phase will reach a head. With Saturn in Leo, there will continue to be crises in government (Leo) as the question of who is in charge becomes even more mysterious under Neptune’s influence.