MARS PLUTO MARS DAY
Embodied Passion or Psychological Implosion
Back in my dance sanctuary, Lines Dance Studios, San Francisco
“I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. In each, it is the performance of a dedicated precise set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which comes shape of achievement, a sense of one’s being, a satisfaction of spirit. One becomes, in some area, an athlete of God. Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired.”
― Martha Graham
Hello from San Francisco. As I write you, I am overlooking the Grace Cathedral and can even see my old apartment building from my 10th-floor hotel room window. I am on my second cappuccino, Oolong tea (my latest obsession), and I can barely keep my eyes open. I have been awake since 5am (thank you, jet lag), and I am ready to go back to sleep. But in true Mars-Pluto fashion, I refuse to give up before writing about this very potent aspect while it’s hot! I have a Pina Bausch documentary playing in the background, ADHD style. I love reading, writing, and watching documentaries simultaneously, of course, fueled by my favorite array of multiple beverages. And ideally in a vintage-styled, classic hotel room.
She deserves her own post! … next!
Oh and I love that it’s Stevie’s birthday today! Rock on ancient Queen! She is so Mars-Pluto incarnate! She was born with Pluto merged with Saturn in Leo squaring her Taurus ascendant, so there’s the resonance!
Grace Cathedral outside of my window juxtaposed with Joseph Campbell’s Mythos series.
I was wondering how it would land. As with all major astrological configurations, it truly does depend on your own individual horoscope. No one size fits all. Look to where you have Taurus and Aquarius energies, or fixed signs around the 5-degree mark in Tropical astrology. Let’s break it down in the Western astrological system since we are discussing Pluto. Mars in Taurus is asking us to ground back into the body, and Pluto in Aquarius is the breakthrough energy we need to understand the feminine Kundalini energy coursing through the subtle body and illuminating the depths from all of the shadow pieces we’ve up until now likely outsourced, projected, repressed or failed to live full out.
I always pay attention to what my unconscious calls in or gravitates towards. These past few days, it’s been a return to Joseph Campbell’s Mythos series, and dance documentaries for days. It’s felt so amazing to be back in the studio at Lines. My old life. My old stomping grounds circa 2012-2019. Not surprisingly, I am in my Nodal Return and Sade Sati like a double push. Could this Mars Pluto square push us to realize our unlived passion? Where the body is screaming for more attention, dedication, intensity, obsession?
From “Feel the Beat” at SF Moma
I am getting very comfortable being back in the Bay. Like so comfortable I don’t want to move. Like, just stay and build a nest here again, feeling. It’s such a nourishing place, where self-care is inherent in the structure. It’s easy to go to bed early, get up early, eat healthy, and attend an endless, brilliant selection of subtle body-oriented movement classes. My personal favorite is still Gyrotonic. It’s a place that makes you want to draw and read books, like any true city of value should. But the unique thing about SF is that it’s soft and almost too pretty to be called a city. Like living in a built-in retreat, vacation, and dreamscape all in one. Of course, my Neptune rising just adores the fog. And what could be more ideal than a backdrop of sailboats and water every time you turn the corner? It’s quite surreal, and I don’t know that I appreciated it enough when I lived here. It’s never too hot or too cold. It’s an introverted city. It can feel isolating at times. I wasn’t quite ready for it right after NYC. But after India, it’s truly the perfect compliment.
And yet I have made my home in Kerala, India, Amritapuri, the home of Kali, Devi Lokah since January 2020 (Pandemic rerouting! ) So, since this move, whenever I come back to the world, and wake up in the morning, there is always this heavy, “where am I ?” feeling. Nothing compares to the bliss and “I’m home” feeling I have when I wake up at the Kali Temple, with the Kerala birdsongs 24-7 soundtrack. I really love the best of both worlds. And my horoscope and life reflect how one part of my soul delights in all the best that Venus has to offer, and then there’s that part of me that gave up all of my worldly possessions on a dime in 2020. But don’t let that fool you because the. The moment I have a chance to start collecting cute shit, I am hauling around suitcases, accused of housing dead bodies, crushing anyone’s spine who dares try to lift.
So, back to Mars squaring Pluto from an archetypal perspective. Mars is the Tower archetype. Something has to fall, and Divine Intervention will make it so. Something has become too rigid, too egotistical. too maniacal, too controlling. Pluto is the Judgment Day archetype. It’s a spiritual awakening or wake-up call. The squaring off of these two energies is for sure something fated, karmic, and explosive coming to a head. But Pluto is shadowy, deep, sometimes subtle. Often unconscious. Where are your repressed passions pushing you to make a jump? Where or how has your Mars not had the outlet for expression he needs? For me, it’s clearly the lack of movement and dance. I mean, I had this in India but not daily, and as a Mars-ruled child, I need daily, passionate, explosive movement outlets, i.e., a dance studio! For me, it’s a return to dance and my passion to not let one day go by where I am not attending to this passion.
From “Feel the Beat”…..Muse of my life, Martha Graham.
That said, if you happen to be in San Francisco or NYC, you can join me for my favorite soul expression, Active Imagination practice of them all, Authentic Movement.
AUTHENTIC MOVEMENT WORKSHOPS
SAN FRANCISCO MAY 27 and 30th
NEW YORK CITY: JUNE 20th
More details here: SYMBOLS OF THE SELF WORKSHOP
Mars Square Pluto: The Houses Being Activated by Sign (Check from your Rising Sign)
Mars in Taurus and Pluto in Aquarius are locked in a square, the aspect of friction, forced evolution, confrontation with the shadow and power complexes. Wherever Taurus and Aquarius land in your chart, that is where the pressure is building. Here is what is being asked of each rising sign.
