As mentioned in my previous post on the subject here
the new moon of June 18 2023 is only 24 hours away, occurring at 04h20 GMT or thereabouts. It happens to be at the cusp of the two constellations of Taurus and Gemini. My previous post goes into more detail about the event. In this post I want to talk about another celestial event occurring throughout the rest of the coming fortnight, namely the wide conjunction between Venus and Mars in the night sky currently under way.
A contemplative moment at a full reservoir of potential (photo my own)
I call it a wide conjunction because the two planets never actually reach exact alignment at this time. They are currently five degrees apart, and have been coming closer and closer together over the past few days. And Venus will slowly come closer still to Mars as they both move forward through the heavens. By the end of this month, they will be at their closest, only three degrees apart. However, due to Venus then slowing down on its way to going stationary before its retrograde, the gap between them will then start to widen as Mars continues onward without Venus catching up.
By 23 July, after another three weeks, Venus comes to a stop in the night sky, from earth’s point of view, and begins her retrograde phaze. As a result the Venus-Mars conjunction only comes to within three degrees of each other around the end of this month, in two weeks time. Nevertheless, at present, and for the entire month ahead, we could say that Venus and Mars are in a wide conjunction which peaks in two weeks when they come to within three degrees of each other and then it slowly widens again as Venus slows down and Mars continues onward.
So what can we expect from this alignment or conjunction of Venus and Mars together in the night sky over the next month? As you may know from Greek and Roman mythology, Venus symbolizes women and love, romance, art, etc. Mars symbolizes masculinity, drive, desire and the ability to go for what you desire. These are the traditional archetypal male and female concepts where Venus or femininity is able to passively attract, while Mars or the masculine archetype concerns actively pursuing your desires.
An interesting recurring theme that I see here is that of the union of opposites. It occurs tomorrow as the new moon arrives. Masculine sun is met by feminine moon in the monthly conjunction of the two. And similarly masculine Mars is about to be met by feminine Venus, as they dally intimately for the next month in close proximity. They come to within three degrees of each other and then drift apart, so throughout this extended period, we have a much longer union of the two planets than usual, even though they never fully meet.
Now the them of the union of the opposite genders is mentioned in my previous post on the new moon, link above, which can occur within oneself. It can also naturally occur externally as the meeting up of a man and a woman in the classical and romantic fashion. This alignment of the two planets is the traditional symbol marking a time of potential love affairs, meeting of a desired partner and an awakening of the more sensual side of the conquest, so to speak.
Mars is the raw primal energy of desire and Venus softens that, allowing it to be channelled into improved social interaction. This is potentially a good time for social get-togethers or parties, where one can meet a significant other. It also favors relationships between the genders in general. And it also favors artistic creations of any sort, though particularly those which combine the physical and the emotional aspects of the creative process, like dance for example.
Art, curiously enough is our way of expressing our creative urge. That same urge is what also produces children in the creative process of union between man and woman, as nature intended, in a technique to keep the species going. On a more subtle level, artists also channel that creative urge into producing works of art as products of their creative output.
Now is the opportunity to fuel your artistic inclinations with passion. The aesthetic ability of Venus in us all, is met by the passion and drive of Mars, which feed it like fuel to a fire. The result can be increased or improved creative output for the aspiring artist. It can also fuel our social affairs, whether of the heart or merely of the more casual type. So don your smocks or your dancing shoes as the artist in you becomes inspired to create or simply to celebrate life, love, happiness and expression.
It may well be the summer of love in the north as a result of this alignment of Venus with Mars, though the exact alignment only happens in February 2024, while at present we only get a shadow effect, so to speak. Still, it may be enough for you to capture a moment of creative or social inspiration so feel inspired to bring out your artistic or romantic side and make art while the sun shines, or while the planets align, more specifically. I certainly will.