Mars crossed my Ascendant yesterday. Like many folks with planets in Virgo, I’ve been enrolled in a long Mars-in-Virgo seminar (since November 2011, to be exact, when he entered this sign). Twice already Mars has marched across my Ascendant. Each time I found myself in multiple week-long battles that made me want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head. My Mars transits were unnerving–but illuminating too. Virgo has a way of slowing things down, even misery and terror. Using its careful analytical style, I was able to measure my fears, my social awkwardness, my impatience, my tendency to obsess or shut down. I had to get better at Mars things, at both standing up for myself and giving in. Mars designed quite a learning academy.
Later this month I will enter a Mars Dasa, a seven-year period ruled by this archetypal Warrior. So it was with great respect, a little fear, and plenty of curiosity that I waited to see what turbulence Mars might bring for his last visit to my Ascendant. Perhaps he would give me one final test. The day passed without much difficulty. Emails were friendly. My clients were sweet. While I was running errands, traffic worked in my favor. Lines at the bank and post office were short. Everywhere people smiled. When I got home at the end of the day, I half-wondered if Mars had forgotten me! Then I saw the tamale lady drive past my house. I’d been craving her tamales and I ran out to stop her. This caused a sudden small traffic jam on my usually empty residential street. An man in a big white truck began honking his horn. He kept honking for the full ninety seconds it took the tamale lady to maneuver back my way. When the white truck finally drove by, the man turned to me, shook his fist, and shouted. “The street is not for parking!”
Here was my visit from Mars! A drive-by from an angry stranger. Something similar had happened weeks earlier and I’d been so unbalanced I found myself yelling back at the homeless woman who’d been shouting obscenties at me. But this time I was unfazed. In fact, the tamale lady and another driver and I all exchanged equanimous glances that said, “That man seems to be having a bad day. But I’m having a good one. I hope you are too.” It was so much nicer than Mars’ two previous visits. I hope that means he thinks I learned a thing or two, but we’ll see!
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