Should we be afraid of the Mars-Uranus conjunction in Taurus, perfecting tomorrow and lasting roughly through the 23rd? No, of course not–these energies are your friends, one fueling the engine of accomplishment and action, the other connecting us to Higher Mind, spontaneity, invention, and an appreciation for the unique. True, when they come together we may find a crackling electricity in the air, an inclination to impulsivity driven by ego, rather than reason–but the key to not succumbing to a chaotic, Self-aggrandizing thrust of the I AM out into the world is to give both these energies a say in expression, but not allow either to drive it, dominate it, or use Self-expression as a channel for anger, spite, or the urge to spoil things for the group. If we give in to their baser forms, we run the risk of havng them attack each other, making the outer expression match a battle within (likely between expressing anger and maintaining control–because we literally can’t show genuine anger without showing passion–and everyone knows, passion does not color within the lines.

We must acknowledge ourselves, our Will, and the need to feel respected and heard (Oh! does Aries need to be heard–the ears and mouth are, after all, located on the head, which Aries energy describes and Mars rules). Each of us deserves validation as a unique and inventive individual, vis a vis the group, which can swallow identity in favor of tribal labels; when Mars and Uranus meet we need to find and act on our individuality, our absolute distinctness, even as we refuse to go to war with the wider world–for that, too, is a Martian impulse, and Uranus’ leanings to chaos-as-expression can seem quite appropriate, until we see that using our energy to foster discord and disorder, while it may temporarily blow off steam, serves nothing and no one, as eventually we find we still need to do something about ‘it’, and also need to clean up the mess we’ve made, as well.

Much has been made of this conjunction’s place on fixed star Algol. One thing we need to remember about the Fixed Stars is that their meanings stem from a time when the only people who had their horoscopes drawn were Kings, and at the time, the King was effectively representative of the country; his fate was the nation’s. Algol is shown as a severed head, the name derived from the Arabic ‘Al Ghoul’, demon or evil entity (from the same root as ‘alcohol’, apparently), and the general meaning has been one of indicating circumstances under which one may ‘lose one’s head’–so the impulsivity and Self-serving nature of giving in to one’s ego or to chaos as a means of expression that is suggested by Mars-Uranus could find specific meaning here–that is, if one indulges in Mars-Uranus blindly, one may indeed lose one’s head, meaning going massively, destructively, overboard.

Algol’s inclusion in the conjunction is fortuitous, I think, as it calls our attention to how dangerous indulging in anger, vengeance, and erratic behavior really can be; losing one’s head doesn’t just mean losing control, but losing reason, perspective, and even dignity. It doesn’t help that this conjunction occurs sextile 29 degree Neptune, suggesting great difficulty seeing matters that enrage or cause chaos clearly. In a week we have a Full Moon at 29 tense degrees of Capricorn, trine the still, at that point, extant contact. The implication is that we’ll try mightily to put something ‘to bed’, under wraps, secured with Capricornian boundaries and limits–and that it probably won’t work.

So what should we be afraid of? Our own desire to lash out, for vengeance, to indulge any thought that cloaks itself in righteous indignation or in revolutionary garb–for though the revolution won’t be televised, it won’t bring anything good if the only impulse is one that’s out for blood, rather than to enact true, Higher Mind ideals.