Mars

Tooth String – Day 962

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Mouth Guard – Photo: L. Weikel

Tooth String

Technically this post is not about the floss I got stuck between my molars last night. Can I tell you, though, how maddening it’s been to have my tongue relentlessly trying to dislodge this errant piece of tooth string? All day. Ugh.

Every once in a while I manage to snag with my fingers a shred of the material – and I literally mean a shred – that’s stuck between my teeth.

But the kicker is the pressure I feel between my teeth. You know – that weird achy pressure that’s hard to describe, but might best be understood by anyone who’s had braces on their teeth. I’m reminded of when my braces would get tightened and I would feel my teeth moving at a glacial pace. I feel the soreness of the floss trying to force a space between my teeth.

Weird Coincidence

In my post last night I mentioned a weird coincidence that I’d not even realized was occurring until I searched for the post I wrote about my broken tooth earlier this year. Honestly, I’d even forgot it happened in January, much less right around the insurrection.

What I realized, and find fascinating, is that I was clenching my teeth so hard at that time in January that I broke off a cracked chunk of tooth and filling in a molar. And believe it or not, there’s an astrological connection.

Don’t roll your eyes. Right now – tomorrow, in fact, at 9:08 a.m. EDT – Mars will be exactly opposite Saturn. Mars is a planet associated with aggressive action, war, forcefulness, willful pushiness, etc. Saturn is associated with structure, foundation, tradition, limitations (teeth/skeleton). Obviously, when Mars is opposing Saturn, there’s a push/pull, clash, confrontation of these two archetypes. Some might describe it as powerful aggression meeting an unmovable object.

Physical/Political

A physical manifestation of when Mars and Saturn meet in challenging aspects such as either an opposition or a square could be an impact such as when one grinds their teeth – to the unhealthy degree that a tooth (Saturn) actually cracks, breaks, or explodes from the unrelenting pressure (Mars). This could happen with either an opposition (when the planets are 180 degrees apart) or a square (when the planets are 90 apart).

A political or outer world manifestation obviously played out most recently in the January 6th insurrection. Aggressive, unrestrained movement rendered an assault on the bastion of our democracy – the body of our country.

What I find interesting, and didn’t realize until last night, was that my tooth issue in January coincided with the insurrection, and both occurred within a few days of Mars squaring Saturn.

There are other aspects happening within the next few days that are distinctly tied in with last January as well. I’ll write about them later; maybe tomorrow.

In the meantime, I’m making another mouth guard for myself. I think I’m going to need it as events unfold over the next several days. Hopefully I’ll get an appointment with the dentist, too. They were closed today, which was a bummer!

(T-149)

A Single Photograph – Day 860

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Delaware River (Lenape Sipu) – Photo: L. Weikel

Due to a confluence of circumstances and opportunities, Karl and I had to forego a walk today. Since neither a walk-around nor a walkabout was had, as a result, I’m relegated to a single photograph upon which to build a post. It’s an unenviable foundation, but workable. We’re going to make this happen.

One bright spot: I pulled to the side of the road early this evening to attempt to capture the precious abundance of water filling the banks of our beloved Delaware River (aka Lenape Sipu in the language of those who lived here first, the Lenape). Not only was the river running full, wide, and fast, at the moment I took this photo, the rays of the setting sun were still managing to illuminate the tops of the trees lining the river on the New Jersey side.

It was a lovely moment and if I’d been more patient, I might have been graced with a sighting of epic proportions. (Only because I tend to be lucky – as you all know.) But patience and my occasional sense that “I have all the time in the world” (which enables me to linger those extra moments or minutes that sometimes make all the difference) were not fully activated this afternoon.

Nevertheless, I did what I could.

Raptors Keep Showing Up

Although I wasn’t in a position to memorialize my sightings, we encountered at least four hawks again today as we drove a short distance from our home. The abundance of snow cover this winter probably caused a lot of rodents to snuggle up and linger in their homes longer than usual. And while they may be a little lean after a long, snowy winter, I bet the hawks don’t care if they taste a little crunchy.

Funny how hunger can make slim pickin’s for meals taste utterly delectable. Something tells me the raptors are not being culinary snobs at this stage of the game. They’re on the hunt; fertilizing eggs and ensuring the survival of their species is hungry business.

One Thing I Noticed

The skies are supposed to remain clear tomorrow and into tomorrow night. For the past two nights, I’ve had a chance to be standing outside in the dark. The moon will be in the western sky and looking like a perfect ‘half moon,’ which is actually the moon in ‘square’ to the sun. That means that it’s halfway between conjunct – or in the same spot – as the sun (when it’s a new moon) and opposite the sun (when it’s a full moon).

So if you go outside tomorrow night and look for the moon, you’ll be rewarded with a midnight blue sky, brilliant stars, a half moon (exactly at 10:40 p.m.), and a twinkling, surprisingly bright red Mars very close (to the right and just below) the moon.

The last few evenings were exquisite. Try not to miss the beauty just outside your door.

Happy Equinox!

(T-251)

Planetary Clarity – Day 703

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Saturn & Jupiter (l-r) – Photo: L. Weikel

Planetary Clarity

As Karl and I neared the final leg of our evening jaunt both last night and tonight, we were treated to some breathtaking planetary clarity. Saturn and Jupiter shone brilliantly and obviously in the southwestern sky, while Mars blazed like a distant, illuminated pumpkin, reddish-orange and glowing as it rose in the east.

I don’t ever remember being so aware of the planets than I have been over the past year or so. And while the Sky Guide app I approvingly muse about so often is wonderful in the way it confirms for me just what I’m looking at, I think the initial awareness and subsequent desire to seek them out is also spurred by the astrological podcasts I listen to while mowing our lawn.

Yes, I realize that’s a rather specific time to pinpoint (while mowing lawn), but that’s actually when I get my most consistent listening accomplished.

Mars – 10/14/20 – Photo: L. Weikel

Mercury Retrograde

Just to add some fun to all the disinformation and misinformation and outright propaganda floating around in our ethers at the moment, Mercury stationed yesterday and is now appearing to move backwards from our perspective here on Earth, or move retrograde, from today until – get this – the morning of November 3rd. Yes. Election Day here in the United States.

So from now until Election Day, we’ll be operating under the influence of Mercury retrograde. When you consider that Mercury Retrograde is often associated with glitches in electronics and miscommunications, it’s easy to see that we just might have some serious shenanigans taking place over the next three weeks.

Mars Retrograde

Adding to the frustrations that may start piling up with Mercury going retrograde, we also are continuing to contend with Mars retrograding in its home sign – Aries – until November 14th. Even a cursory recollection of Greek and Roman mythology will tip us off to the fact that Mars, the God of War, is not exactly an easy going energy. And when moving retrograde? I believe a simmering pot with the lid on it, might be a good analogy.

There are a few interesting articles I want to link to in order to provide you with information and insight on the transits that and will be impacting all of us as we navigate these wild times. One of them is this monthly forecast for October by Rick Levine.

From the sound of a lot of different analyses, it would appear that the greatest planetary clarity we’re going to experience in the next couple months is going to be the type we see when we look up and peer directly into the night sky. Nevertheless, it pays to remain aware and awake to the possibilities, because forewarned is forearmed.

Mars – 10/14/2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-408)

Doozy of a Day – Day 691

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Mars and the Full Harvest Moon – Photo: L. Weikel

Doozy of a Day

I’ll bet none of us expected today to unfold the way it did. Which is not to say any of us who’ve been paying even half attention to the way the Coronavirus is being handled by the Administration are surprised. While that may be true, even by the standards of this chaotic presidency, today was a doozy of a day.

I discovered that the President and Melania had tested positive just after I published my post last night. Which makes the rapidity with which events seemed to degrade today all the more stunning. And the casualties keep mounting as I sat here this evening. Yet another Senator tested positive this evening (Sen. Thom Tillis) and then – just after 10:00 p.m. – Kellyanne Conway.

Knocked Out

And I will admit it: I fell asleep. Literally. In the midst of all of this, I just conked out. And I just woke up, almost by chance, with but a few minutes left to crank out a post.

I did manage to take a wild photo earlier this evening of the full moon, which is still essentially full as it casts a brilliant light in the night sky, and Mars burning brightly beside it.

Celestial Display

It surprised me that the moon seemed not to be minimizing Mars’s dazzling light in the least, which of course was because Mars is a planet – quite close by – as opposed to a star millions of miles away. A full moon often detracts from our enjoyment of meteor showers and the like because she drowns everything else out. Not Mars. Not tonight, anyway.

Mars may be small compared to stars, but it’s feisty. And it doesn’t seem to want to play second fiddle to anybody – least of all a mere satellite to the Earth.

I hesitate to guess what the third day of October will bring to us. It almost feels like October is a bizarre form of Advent Calendar – with a surprise behind every door.

Stay safe out there. Wear your masks and wash your hands. But mostly, try to stay home. It’s not worth it.

Mars & Full Moon (close up) – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-420)

Jinxed? – Day 642

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Fresh picked owl flowers – Photo: L. Weikel; Flowers: T. Dollar

Jinxed?

Last night I gave it yet another shot, making one more post 1:00 a.m. ‘Perseid run.’ Far exceeding the previous evenings, my view was vast and so expansive that it made me feel like I was reclined at the base of a star globe. But as bombarded with bazillions of stars and planets and satellites as I was, I wondered if perhaps this year I was jinxed.

Quite honestly, I think this is the first year I’ve ever experienced not seeing a single meteor during the Perseids meteor showers. Of course, I’m not counting the times I didn’t actually go outside to look. (That may seem obvious, but I don’t want it to sound like hyperbole when I say this is my first time without a single sighting. It’s actually pretty rare not to see at least one ‘shooting star’ in a summertime night sky. So…yeah. I’m feeling a little deprived.

Once again, though, I cannot rave enough about the overwhelming sense of tranquility I felt when I reclined on my blanket and pillow. Yes, I allowed myself that indulgence last night. The heck with it. You all know the…let’s call it ‘pensive’ mood I was in after writing my post for the evening. So I parked my car on the grass just off the side of the country road near my home where I go to sky gaze (the farmland that provides me with an extreme, unfettered view of the sky) and just allowed my eyes and soul to drink it all in.

Crystal Clarity

It was a really cool scenario, though, as I drove through the ‘tree tunnel’ toward my meteor-gazing destination. As my car emerged from the protection of a canopy of trees overarching the road, a layer of fog about four feet tall suddenly blanketed the land all around me. Regardless, I pulled my car over and spread out my blanket. I might not be able to see any deer or foxes or coyotes or other fauna that might be sharing the evening with me, but the view UP was crystal clear.

Curiously, especially since this was where Karl and I heard our pack of coyotes yipping away when we sought a glimpse of the Comet Neowise a couple weeks ago (another viewing fail), this night there was a blanket of silence accompanying that blanket of fog. Nary a cricket, nor a katydid – not even a single trill of a screech owl broke the silence.

The peace was glorious.

Mars

As I lay there allowing my vision to expand and grow soft so as to drink in as much of the cosmic real estate that I could, my attention kept being drawn to a noticeable (for its size)  orangey-red celestial being. Pretty sure it was Mars, I nevertheless whipped out my Sky Guide app and verified that yes, indeed, it was Mars.

I then followed the ecliptic as it arced across the sky and very clearly identified Jupiter and Saturn once again as well.

I’m sure I should be able to take much better photos of the night sky than I’m managing at the moment, but here is my photo of Mars from last night:

Mars – 13 August 2020; Photo: L. Weikel

As I take the time to reflect upon my last few forays into meteor-spotting, I guess I really shouldn’t consider myself jinxed – even if I didn’t see a single meteor this year. Maybe it was better for me not to feel like I’m jumping into hyperspace at the moment. (Although wouldn’t that be the coolest experience?!) Maybe the tranquility was the point. Maybe the silence was essential to helping me re-set.

One word to the wise should you choose to embrace this experience: spritz yourself with bug spray before you go. The high pitched eeeeeeeeeee of a mosquito’s voice as it seeks to plunge its needle-like proboscis into your tender flesh is a most unsavory interruption to your reverie.

(T-469)