Mars in Pisces conjuncts Neptune: Zen in Action.

Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship

My senses have been stripped, 

My hands can't feel to grip

My toes too numb to step.

~Bob Dylan, Mr. Tambourine Man [1965]

Photo by Vasilis Linidis

This year is just about to end and one of the important planetary aspects happens in "zen waters." Mars, the planet of desire and will towards action, sets up his camp in the sign of Pisces, where Neptune the planet of transcendent freedom has been reigning strong in his kingdom for the last five years. This may sound as a challenging conjunction considering that Mars already in Pisces seems to be like "a fish out of water." On the other hand, Neptune is in the sign he rules where he attunes perfectly with the urges and needs that the planet has been traditionally associated with: merging with whole and escaping limitations of self-boundaries. 

This seemingly odd union between Mars and Neptune in Pisces is symbolically described in one comic dialogue written by the first-century CE Greek writer and satirist Lucian of Samosata. In this dialogue the god of seas and rivers, Poseidon (the Greek name for Neptune) is talking to his legendary son Polyphemus the Cyclops who has just been blinded by Odysseus. The words of the Cyclops fit very nicely to the key concepts related to Mars in the sign of Pisces. As I will discuss below Mars in this sign is like the blinded Cyclops where his physical energy and drive seem to lack direction upon touching water. However, the dialogue/conjunction between Mars/Cyclops and Poseidon/Neptune in this Piscean campaign, provides many insights about this planetary transit. So, let's see in some detail how these energies debated the journey of the fiery Martian essence through Neptune's kingdom.

"Oh help me, Father!"

The dialogue starts with Cyclops complaining to his father: "Only look, father, what that cursed stranger has been doing to me! He made me drunk, and set upon me whilst I was asleep, and blinded me.[...] He called himself 'Noman' at first: but when he had got safely out of range, he said his name was Odysseus. [...] The villain! that name of his was just a trick! And what I minded most was the way in which he made game of my misfortune: `Not even Papa can put this right,' he said."

Cyclops' words describe some of the attributes related to Mars in the sign of Pisces. Even though restless, Mars here is also passive and withdrawn as the Cyclops who has lost his sight yet he wants to take action for what has happened to him. He is outside of his cave seeking the one who deceived him with alcohol and then blinded him, seeking the one who is no one with no name. He is trying to be assertive taking control over his life, but is confused as if he has been literally blinded. Mars in Pisces as Cyclops in Lucian's dialogue feels short in directing his aggression: he sits outside his cave letting his pasture out, while the one who blinded him is slipping away (Odysseus) under a ram's belly. We can also see here the subtle difference of Mars in Pisces/Cyclops and Mars in Aries/Odysseus who is all about outward action and always one step ahead. 

"Go with the Flow, Son!"

So what piece of advice does Poseidon offer to his son? In few words he advises to take a short break from action or follow zen in taking action: "Never mind, my boy; I will be even with him. I may not be able to cure blindness, but he shall know that I have something to say to mariners. He is not home yet." Poseidon's words is another way to make sense of this unusual union of Mars and Neptune in Pisces. To harmonize these energies (fire and water) Neptune directs Mars to slow his pace and surrender his tempo to a tranquil flow. This is not a time of pioneering action, rather it is a period for one to reflect upon a personal Martian quest but in spiritual colors. Impatience needs to be tamed to sustain the fiery Martian energies, otherwise water will eventually evaporate. 

Poseidon/Neptune admits to Cyclops/Mars that he cannot give him back his sight. Swimming in Neptunian waters is all about surrender and experience a oneness with life itself; that is water where life emerged in the first place. Poseidon tells his son, that it is not yet the time to find and punish who did this to him. Therefore, during this irregular planetary conjunction of Mars and Neptune in the sign of Pisces, the words of Poseidon to the Cyclops provide the best of advice: be patient and go with the flow. Poseidon will take care of business punishing the one with no name who did this to his son. But, only when Mars enters his Arian home. Now is not the time. Besides, in Neptune's words ... Mars "is not home yet!".

Sources:

• Lucian's Dialogue: "Cyclops and Poseidon" in http://www.theoi.com/Text/LucianDialoguesGods2.html#2
• Arroyo S., Astrology, Psychology, and the Four Elements. An Energy approach to Astrology and Its Use in the Counseling Arts. [1975]