Power vs. Force: Pluto in Aquarius opposite Mars in Leo
Happy New Moon in Sagittarius!
Sagittarius constellation
Sagittarius, the sign of wisdom, enlightenment, and experience-seeking, is also known just as much for its tendency to go overboard, to be loquacious, grandstanding, self-righteous, irresponsible, impulsive, and reckless. Such is the nature of the higher and lower expression of signs and planets in astrology. This New Moon (exact December 1, 2024, at 1:20am EST) is conjunct fixed star Antares, the Watcher of the West, associated with Archangel Uriel and the qualities of transformation, letting go, and spiritual leveling up; its qualities are a planetary combination of Jupiter and Mars and can be deeply healing or destructive. The moon will remain in Sagittarius until December 2, 2024, at around 4:00pm, so the New Moon energies continue to be in effect until then. It’s an excellent time to clean, set your intentions for the next lunar cycle, meditate, read, and expand your consciousness in whatever way speaks to you. What we begin now can have ripple effects down the road, like planting a seed.
As of this writing, Mars is slowing to a crawl as it nears its station to turn retrograde five days from now on December 6, 2024, at 6°10’ Leo. Currently, Pluto – newly in Aquarius – is opposing Mars, challenging it, and us, to ramp up our desire for change. The North Node is trining (supportive) Mars at 3° Aries, and this New Moon is trining it as well. A Grand Fire trine with Pluto as the Kite! Pluto acts as the catalyst for this, sort of a simmering nuclear reactor to a flame, if you will. We are being called collectively to utilize and activate our divine will, and are supported to do so, if we can utilize our willpower to evolve our consciousness. How we treat and use this energy is important and key to how the seeds we plant now will grow – or not – into a tree that will be useful to us down the road when Mars turns direct and is in more of a mood to take action.
Mars with stars
I am currently reading (listening to) a book called “Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior” by David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. and it deals with the nature of consciousness and how we, as humans, utilize our will – defined as “a constantly repeated act of choice” – to choose our behavior and actions – a very Martian theme – and describes in great detail the differences between Power and Force.
He defines Power as “that which creates life, enlivens, furthers evolution, and makes things work; power is associated with positive emotions like love, peace, courage, and reverence. Power arises from meaning, motive, and principle; it is effortless, noble, attractive, selfless, and can only be recognized through inner awareness.” These themes are associated with the higher energetic expression of Pluto.
In contrast, he says Force “temporarily gets one’s way through coercion or violence, but in the long run leads to negative consequences.” This is associated with the lower energetic expression of Mars, but of Pluto, at its worst, too.
During this period, while we are all being squeezed through a kind of birth canal, the universe is illustrating to us the difference between Power vs. Force, with newly birthed Pluto in Aquarius about to step up and show us how to embody the higher expression of Power, and Mars stationing retrograde about to illustrate, through people acting out their frustrations, the detriments of Force.
It will be tempting, no doubt, for those who do not understand the difference between true Power and Force to attempt to force their way into power during Mars Retrograde (December 6, 2024 - February 23, 2025) because Pluto will be triggering Mars into blind reactivity and aggressive vindictiveness, and thus will be triggering the collective unconscious in this way as well. Unconscious actions and initiations taken during this time, especially ones taken with the energy of Force, are bound to backfire.
Mars Retrograde is a time to withdraw from the fray, from pushing our intentions out into the world and from driving forward to manifest our goals. It is a time to “sharpen our weapons, not go to war.” We are best off focusing on personal healing, strengthening, preparing, planning, and releasing distractions from what should be our focus right now – getting ready to take off again in forward motion and bring our dreams to reality once Mars turns direct on February 23, 2025. Getting in shape, going to the gym, taking a class that will enable us to progress in our career or personal growth, meditation, journaling, refining our goals and dreams are all things we can be working on during this period. Because withdrawn, retrograde Mars energy will cause things to backfire, you’ll want to avoid the following:
Initiating or launching new projects, relationships (or taking one to the next level), endeavors, governmental or military efforts, or businesses
Moving house (or moving a business to a new location)
Initiating a lawsuit, divorce, or grievance with an authority figure or anyone who “has the goods on you”
Planning any kind of “attack” (starting a fight or a war – literally or figuratively) or acts of revenge
Having surgery
Buying mechanical things
Taking risks
(Since Mars is further away from the Sun than Mercury or Venus, its retrograde lasts longer than those planets’ – Mercury is about 21 days, and Venus spends 40 days in retrograde – Mars’ retrograde cycle lasts about 80 days.)
As Mars is typically associated with masculine qualities, it is said that Mars retrograde affects men more intensely than women, though women also plan, attack, have goals, and are driven as well. We each are made up of masculine and feminine qualities, so take that “traditional wisdom” with a grain of salt and use the information as it pertains to your own life.
Those with any planets or points (like Ascendant, Midheaven, or Vertex) between 0-12° Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius (the Fixed signs) and between 12-29° Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn (the Cardinal signs) will feel this Mars retrograde the most. As that covers a lot of territory, I can infer that this will affect the majority of us. If your Mars, Sun, Moon, or Ascendant falls in one of those categories, this will be amplified for you.
Mars Retrograde should be spent - ideally - in introspection, gathering and building strength, studying, and preparing for taking Right Action (a Buddhist term that means acting in a way that does not harm oneself or others), which is what Power is, once Mars has completed its time in retrograde. Allow Pluto’s energy to push you toward an evolution of your personal consciousness, so that you can help raise the collective consciousness.
Pluto
Here are Dr. Hawkins’ delineations of Power and Force for us all to ponder as we meditate on how to utilize our WILL and our POWER during this time, and moving forward as we settle into the age of Pluto in Aquarius (collective consciousness; power) as it squares off with Mars in Leo (self-aggrandizing; force) over the next six months:
“Simply having read over this list, you are no longer the same person; merely to become acquainted with the differences between these poles begins to increase one’s inner power. With these distinctions in mind, we will start to notice things we never observed before. Such revelations occur because, as the reader will discover, the universe favors power.”
(Power vs. Force, Chapter IX, Power Patterns in Human Attitudes, pgs. 119-122, David R. Hawkins.)
May we all choose to plant the seeds of conscious power during this transit.