Every now and again, astrological transits demonstrate themselves in such an obvious and straightforward way, they leave me smiling to myself in disbelief. I used to make a note of these events in my personal diary, but have decided to share them with you for entertainment value and hopefully to enrich your understanding of astrology, too.

We currently have transiting Mars at 16° Sagittarius placing him very close to my descendant. My descendant also happens to be my Sun–Moon midpoint as well as the Uranus–Neptune midpoint in my natal chart. The following is a little story about how Mars on my descendant in Sagittarius manifested for me today.

It was a particularly cold morning and I had the joyus task of de-icing the car. I can’t help but blow smoke rings with my cold breath, reliving my days as a smoker. ‘Blur: The Best Of’ (a particular favourite of mine) played through the closed doors of the car as the engine’s warm hum melted the frost from the bonnet. (For the record, being ‘The Best Of’ anything is a very Mars mindset, and cars are a symbol of Mars as well). So far, so good.

Through the muffled music and scraper cracking through ice on the windscreen, I heard a strange noise which to my recollection was not part of the track – or was it? Screwing my face up and straining to hear where the sound was coming from, the other early-birds on my street were also looking around. They must be able to hear the noise too?

Preaching to the Convertible

It took a while, but eventually I realised it was a woman shouting; about what I couldn’t be sure. As she turned the corner onto my street it became clear. I was dealing with a pyjama wearing preacher! She decided that the morning of the 22nd of February with the Sun in the early degrees of Pisces, would be the perfect time to spend the word of her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. At the top of her lungs, no less!

Now I wouldn’t normally let this bother me too much, but at 6:55am I felt it was a tad inconsiderate. Not only to my neighbours with very young children but also my poorly bedridden boyfriend, marooned at home with Gastroenteritis and Tonsillitis.

Ice-scraper in hand, I decided to assert myself into the situation. I politely asked preachy-lady to keep the noise down and consider the other people who live on the road who were trying to sleep – especially my sick and delirious Sagittarius boyfriend (represented by my descendant) suffering with a very high temperature and horrible fever (the passing transit of Mars). The preacher woman proceeded to tell me that “God likes it when we use our voices loudly”. She then motioned rudely by inserting her right index finger into the ‘O’ shape she created with her index finger and thumb of her left hand, asking me whether my boyfriend and I have a sexual (Mars) relationship (descendant/7H cusp). “It is not allowed” she said. “It is a sin” (the dogmatic approach that Sagittarius can adopt).

The Man Behind The Mars

Unfortunately by that point she had my back up a bit. She raised her voice again and started stomping down the street, continuing on her mission. A man who I assume was her partner came angrily storming down the street to drag her away. This is Mars, but instead of being the passionate and provocative preacher, her partner embodied the speedy and aggressive aspect of Mars.

A lot of my neighbours were on their doorsteps or leaning out their windows at this point and by the time the preacher had left, we were all raising our eyebrows and smiling at each other over our shared experience of quirky irritation – a little bonding experience for the street. Interestingly, Mars in my natal chart rules my 11^th house of shared experience and common purpose, and I also have Mars in quirky Aquarius natally – this part of the proceedings was such an 11^th house/Aquarian experience and through the community focussed lens of my Gemini Ascendant.

Love Thy Neighbour

I can only assume as this woman went on her mission through the streets, spreading her religious message in the hope of inspiring people (mutable fire) to believe in God, but in doing so made people angry, by aggressively and inconsiderately imposing her own beliefs and judgement on people. Most people would be tolerable of this type of behaviour (it’s an everyday occurrence in my hometown) but as it was 6:55am in a residential area, tolerance levels were low!

As I hopped in my car and drove off, all I could think of was the astrological symbolism being so spot on! It’s those little moments when you have to acknowledge astrology permeating everything. Once you train your brain to recognise the symbolism, you can read it in every moment that passes.

Looking back at the Chart of the moment, transiting Mars (and my natal descendant) were culminating on the Midheaven (the highest and most exposed point of the chart).

My natal Mars (not seen in the picture) is rising on the Ascendant, or the 9 ‘o’ clock position if viewing like a clock. The Pisces stellium in the first house and Jupiter in Scorpio in the 9th house gives this chart, a particularly pious bent. Interesting that this lady was wearing her pyjamas – dark brown with light pink flowers – The Moon in Taurus opposite Jupiter in Scorpio would opt for comfort over style when venturing out to spread her religious beliefs and judgements of local folk engaging in pre-marital sex. Interestingly, The Moon–Jupiter opposition from the 3rd house of local area and neighbours to the 9th house of religion, philosophy and law, forms a highly energetic T-Square with the ascendant and my natal mars as the apex. As a result, a religious confrontation occurred whilst de-icing my car. The ruler of the Ascendant, Uranus in Aries is in the 3rd house, making this a particularly headstrong chart, and allowing the magic of this strange and special moment to be viewed by all and sundry… Yes, it was silly.

Another nice touch is that I am teaching Mars: Make Love Not War at the London School of Astrology on Saturday. Just another nice little synchronicity and a good way to immerse myself in the meaning of that planet in order to teach a room full of astrology students; another expression of Mars in Sagittarius on my descendant, ruling my 11^th house of common purpose.

If you enjoyed this post or know someone else who will, please share it!

There are so many other aspects of this chart that I’ve not included in my post. I’d love you to share your insights, so please comment below.

For deeper insight on how any of the transits mentioned could affect you on a personal level, consider booking a reading with me.