April 17, 2016 — Mars stands still today, beginning his retrograde period until June 30. Both figuratively and literally, this has already created volcanic energies. In fact, a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake tragically erupted in Ecuador yesterday, killing more than 200 people. Many astrologers predicted that a volcano would erupt during this retrograde period, along with potential explosions of governments, institutions, and the like.
While we could choose to fear these powerful energies, on a personal level we could also learn to work with them. We may attempt to skillfully hold our bursting chi and relax with it, remaining still as it washes over us without causing harm or giving rise to personal eruptions. New projects may be thwarted now, but at the same time, this is a good period to finish what we started. Perhaps we will revisit an old fling and unexpectedly begin a relationship, or lay groundwork for a current business to expand later in the summer when Mars goes direct.
As Mars journeys backwards into Scorpio, this is also a good moment to take a closer look at our deep work over the past few months, to see what dark corners we may still be holding onto. Thus we are allowed one more chance to surrender some secret part of ourselves—an obsession, clinging to some habit, fear of letting something (or someone) go that is no longer serving us. The Universe is granting us the possibility to release and learn the deep lesson in store for us before we are liberated back into the realm of Sagittarius.
Once Mars goes direct in late June, we can begin our new adventures with open channels and clearer karma. In this way, we might look to this retrograde period less as something to fear and more as a personal opportunity to continue our purification—to make room for blessings as we face our fears and sorrows while continuing our journey of collective awakening.
Sending so much love to the victims of Ecuador and their friends and families—and to everyone.