The Great Saga Continues . . .

A vulnerable and faint red planet emerged from the Sun’s glare on the morning of September 11^th, ushering in a new phase in the ongoing dance of Mars and Venus.  The brightest planet in the night sky, Venus, welcomed the red planet, the symbol of the masculine to the pre-dawn sky.

In most places, Mars was not seen very well but was technically visible under more ideal weather conditions.  By late September, Mars moves over 20 degrees beyond the glare of the Sun and Venus races to meet Mars on the morning of October 5^th.  This conjunction will be one of the closer conjunctions in years and is worth waking up early to witness.

The dance of Venus and Mars revolves every 6 ½ years and there are three distinct kinds of dances between the symbols of the feminine and the masculine.  The specific kind of dance that is happening now is known in Shamanic Astrology circles as “The Great Saga”, coined by Daniel Giamario.  This Saga is known for having long evening meetings of Mars and Venus and short morning meetings of the two inner planets.

The other two Sagas or dances of Venus and Mars involve long morning meetings and short evening meetings called the “Dumuzi/Rapunzel Saga” with the last Saga called the “Underworld Saga” involves Mars and Venus meeting on the other side of the Sun, hidden in the corona and general glare that prevents us from seeing them.

The Patterning

This rotation of Sagas or cycles by Mars and Venus are planetary clocks and one among many humans have known about for many thousands of years.  But these organic clocks, shift over long periods of time and this Great Saga is slowly shifting into a different expression.  What this expression will become is yet to be seen, but we know there are 5 versions of the Great Saga, which are defined by 32-year cycles.  So, the next time this same pattern repeats in the same astrological signs during the same (or near-same) calendar months is in 2049.

Getting back to the pattern we are seeing in September and October of 2017, we have an opportunity to touch the magic of the celestial cycles with more than simple observations.  We can open up our hearts to what the masculine and feminine mean in our own lives while seeing those forces interact in the greater world.  The duality of this polarity between the masculine and feminine is fracturing before our eyes.  There has been and continues to be an upset and overturn of this duality.  Our social constructs as a society, which for a long time, felt or seemed “secure” in the knowledge that we understood masculine, feminine, gender and sex here in the Western World, is not secure at all.  That lack of security (or insecurity) can bring up fear and responses we see around us that want to hold onto views that no longer work or are toxic.

Mars and Venus will come together in the sign of Virgo, within speaking distance of the autumnal equinox point (Sept Equinox) tapping into the sacredness that exists between the polarity of the masculine and feminine.  Knowing the essence of this sacredness is having some respect and honor for the other, it can lead to further understanding of the complexities that exist in in our souls that go well beyond the simple limited male-female projections.  We have roles to play that have yet to truly be explored and many variations thereof.  We can become ministers in our own sacredness and that can project out to those around us.

It is more than interesting that this Mars-Venus conjunction continues through Virgo and into Libra later in October.  When we see Mars and Venus, we are seeing where the Sun was nearing, then striking the September Equinox, which is about the balance of light and shadow and how each serve to assist in our soul’s growth.  There is also the magic of the twilight with the Sun below the horizon and the slowly deepening night (or brightening in the morning) and a zone of time which Mars rises in the eastern sky with Venus.  If we open up to that magic of twilight, we can connect with the sacredness of the planetary dance this whole month.

As Venus and Mars both move into the sign of Libra later this month, the balancing act turns more into understanding the state of conscious, equal and non-heirarchical relationships and what that means in our approach to cooperation, partnerships and knowing the needs of others.  What does that mean in our own lives?  How can we put ourselves into the path of others to understand their perceptions and actions and why they are taking those actions.  In doing so, we create bridges between the divisions which at the same time not having to become what the other is, but more of a deepening of the wisdom instead of becoming more entrenched in our own beliefs.

Virgo and Libra both can assist us and most certainly provide the gift to Aries and Sagittarius in having some thoughts to what actions we take before we take them.  Especially in Virgo’s case, being more proactive rather than reactive.  Being able to see and recognize the complexities of all of us feeling our way through in being human.

Sacredness

As mentioned before, Virgo brings us sacredness.  What does it mean to be “sacred” or hold something as “sacred”?  Is it a devotion to something or someone?  Is it a kind of passion for something?  Is it related to “love”?  The goddess Vesta (and Hestia in ancient Greece) from ancient Rome symbolized that word, “sacred”. She held communities and homes together around the fire and devoted herself to keeping the flame alive in perpetuity.  The fire in the homes and temples were sacred and it became a temple onto itself.  It was warmth, focus of attention, cherished, love, magic, spiritual mystery and reverence all wrapped up into one.

What has been sacred in this world typically pertains to religious and/or spiritual traditions across the world.  Its origin is from the latin words sacere(s) and sacer meaning “to make sacred, consecrate, hold sacred, immortalize, dedicated, hold apart and to sanctify.  From there spawned several words related to sacred like sacrifice, sacrilege, sacrilegious, sanctum, sacrosanct and sacristy.  This word has a similar vibe to the word, “Holy”, but holy typically refers more to people and relationships whereas sacred is used for events, objects and places (natural or otherwise) or something with divine power.  However, holy and sacred are occasionally used interchangeably.  The word sacred in the modern context is to something we hold true to ourselves, our communities, an inner fire (of varying qualities) that is intended to be held in reverence within even as we expressed it outward.  But just as the word “holy”, sacred can easily be applied to relationships of all kinds.

As we see the conjunction in the morning sky, we can see the sacredness in that pattern, that dance between the planets.  But this pattern applies to our lives as well.  We see the symbolic patterning of the planetary orbits and when they come together, then separate, then see each other from afar, coming together again at a different time, sometimes more than once in a cycle or series.  The patterns repeat, also showing the familiarity in our own lives, especially in relationships romantic or otherwise.

When we become aware of those patterns and see what doesn’t work we can choose to make changes.  As we make those changes, we can have a new perception of what the patterns mean, further benefiting our lives and understanding how we better our lives and be in harmony with our soul’s intent.  It sounds simple enough, but it can take decades to process and adjust for most of us.  We’re creating a new story and new myth for ourselves.  This can help us create a new way of living for our communities and culture, perhaps even forming new cultures, ones that have never existed on this planet.

Whatever is happening, we can see the changes shifting many of us and creating opportunities for internal and external movements to something that is more in line with the authenticity of humanity in its fullest expression.  Mars and Venus play a role in helping us understand that.  We all have a little in what is sacred to us and relationships are an important part of that.

– Erik Roth