Many people have commented ever since the eclipse about the heightened rage, anger and arguments in the air. Jill wrote asking “Is Aries in Mars or something”? Evidently the political blogosphere had heated up with diatribes and blogroll deletions, and her comment threads had turned into dogfights. I responded to her that Mercury was conjunct Chiron at that time, evoking painful discussions and hurt feelings. Then Mary wrote, “There seems to be a madness going on. I’m witnessing so many arguments… on the subway, even at my acupuncturist and personally as well. Maybe people are desperate to get their point across and the violence is one way people are doing that. After it passes I hope we can all learn how to communicate our truth in a better way.” So I took another look and noticed the inconjunct to Uranus.

Warning: geeky astrological details ahead: There are all kinds of appellations for the 30 degree and 150 degree angles between planets, but the ones that make the most sense to me are the inconjunct (30 degree) and quincunx (150 degree). Some astrologers call the 30 degree aspect the semisextile and the 150 degree angle the quincunx or inconjunct interchangeably, and some say that the 150 degree angle is only an inconjunct if it is between two fixed signs. Some say that an unaspected planet is inconjunct.

The geometric angles that planets form to each other describe the way the characteristics of those planets work together. Most commonly we talk about the harmonious aspects, where planets work together easily, or challenging aspects which promote crisis and change. In both the 30 degree and 150 degree aspects, or planetary relationships, the planets are in signs that don’t understand each other.

For example, Taurus and Gemini are 30 degrees apart. Taurus wants stability and a solid footing; Gemini wants to be able to float like a balloon through a variety of different experiences. These two signs have nothing in common and no basis for communication. Gemini and Scorpio are 150 degrees apart, and Scorpio’s intensity and drive for power also has nothing in common with Gemini. There isn’t real conflict here that can result in a resolution; there is just irritation and misunderstanding.

(Calling the 30 degree aspect a semisextile implies that it is a weak sextile or harmonious aspect, and this is clearly not the case. However, at 30 degrees the planets are wide of a conjunction and for this reason the appellation “inconjunct” means the most sense to me.)

At the time that Jill was experiencing conflict in the blogosphere, and Mary was encountering arguments, and we had five shootings in one week, not only had we just experienced an intense eclipse with the Mercury/Chiron conjunction in Aquarius, but that conjunction was also inconjunct the Aquarius ruler, Uranus, and frustration and hurt feelings exploded into confrontation with no real resolution.

This is a good lesson to me for my Skywatch articles where I typically don’t include the inconjunct or quincunx unless it’s between Mars and Uranus where it is much more visible. But the eclipse energy sometimes has a tendency to be burned into our consciousness for days or weeks afterwards, intensifying the experience for many of us.

After Mercury turns direct it will conjunct Chiron again on March 2, again inconjunct Uranus. At that time Mercury and Chiron will be exactly conjunct the degree of the February 6 eclipse which some astrologers might say will bring the return of that intense eclipse energy. I have not found this to be true in the past, so this will be an interesting experiment. Please mark your calendars and send in your reports!