Ralfee Finn's Weekly Astrological Report for Jan 18-24, 2012

Weekly Frequency

January 18-24, 2012

The Retro-Zone: Part 1

We’re entering the Retro-Zone this week (and if this column came with sound effects, you’d hear the theme from The Twilight Zone or the sci-fi ringtone on the iPhone as you read along). On January 23, Mars begins a review that is the first in a series of planetary retrogrades that will last for nearly eight months. (I heard that “ouch.”) As each of the inner planets — Mars, Mercury, and Venus — makes a retrospective journey, it won’t even be a stretch to think of the coming months as an excursion into alternate dimensions of “sound, sight, and mind,” as The Twilight Zone puts it. And because Mars, Mercury, and Venus drive the mechanics of regular routines, when their backward motion overlaps (as it does this year), daily life resembles a “land of shadow and substance,” where the edges of “things and ideas” meet in the vast terrain of the imagination.

Frustration is the most obvious danger in the Retro-Zone, and even though we are only on the threshold, for the next several days, as Mars starts to slow down in preparation for its “turn-around,” moods are apt to reflect the change of pace. Pay attention: For most of the next eight months, nothing is going to move forward smoothly, a condition that will easily fuel meltdowns at all levels of emotional and psychic intensity. Mars signifies self-assertion, and because anger and rage can be found on the negative side of the assertive spectrum, plenty of people are going to be steaming about a plethora of delays and detours. Patience is the obvious antidote, but finding patience and holding on to it will take extra effort.

Another likely dimension of Mars Retrograde is an exasperating focus on minutiae. Mars goes retrograde in Virgo, the Sign commonly known for its obsession with detail. And certainly during this retrograde we will all be looking at every little feature of every little thing (until we can’t stand to look any longer). Please remember to be kind as you sweat the small stuff; most of us make mistakes, and what transforms those errors into lessons is the ability to groan and then to grow.

But don’t discount Virgo as merely the Sign of the Fussbudgets. Virgo’s deepest current is the recognition of an abiding interconnectedness. Pisces, Virgo’s opposite and complementary Sign, always gets the kudos for its mystical urges, but Virgo is no less mystically inclined. Virgo is the Sign where we recognize the sacred in its particulars; it’s the birthplace of ecology, where the interrelatedness of all forms of life is recognized and honored through service to all living beings. As part of its retrospective, Mars invites each of us to look at how we are connected. For some, that inquiry could translate into the need to establish new, stronger bonds. For others, old ties that no longer serve are likely to be severed.

At the core of Virgo lies the idea of an organic connection that unites all living beings, and as Mars lingers in Virgo for the next five and a half months, many hearts might be moved toward greater awareness of what unites us, as well as an increased desire to be of service to our fellow travelers.