Mars-Saturn Sesquiquadrate

(Transit Mars → Natal Saturn)

Avesalom Podvodny. Aspects

Mars sesquiquadrate: Generally, relationships have formed, assuming what resulted can be called relationships and what occurred can be called addition. For this person, in the areas of the Planet, it is difficult to direct energy with flexible responsiveness to circumstances and to react subtly to external force. Foreign aggression triggers in them a counter-response, often inadequate in intensity and relevance. At the same time, they may fail to react for a long time to weak influences, then suddenly, in response to a minor irritation—the drop that overflows an entirely unrelated cup—explode with outrage: subjectively perhaps justified, but objectively unfair. This person will suffer from the brutality, energy, and aggression of the outer world directed at them; they will find it difficult to deal with these forces in a sufficiently civilized manner. Yet at the same time, their aggressive instincts in the areas of the Planet will be particularly coarse and poorly controlled, and their activity will often, unbeknownst to themselves, take on harsh forms. For example, an unprocessed Mars-Saturn sesquiquadrate brings, along with vulnerability to aggression, rigidity in demands toward others, which may escalate to intransigence; it is important for this person to understand that high demands toward others are usually subconsciously motivated by dissatisfaction with oneself, and to become aware of their own failures and shortcomings. Here, working through the aspect provides perfect tools and enables operation at high vibrational levels of energy. Saturn sesquiquadrate: If the wheel of fortune is stuck in a ditch, the cross of fate can be carried on one’s back. This aspect brings, in the areas of the Planet, obstacles resembling shackles: movement is possible, but difficult. The person, however, does not always feel them (as with a Saturn square), and sometimes develops a peculiarly awkward manner of moving—inelegant, yet mostly acceptable. If this becomes habitual, it grows highly stable, and the person tends to view others endowed with unnecessary and even harmful freedom with skepticism: a steam hammer has only one degree of freedom (up and down), yet works so effectively it is a joy to behold, flattening even a crescent-shaped pastry. Subconsciously, however, the person feels strong constraints in the areas of the Planet, forcing them onto an extremely narrow track in interaction with the outer world, and may develop strong feelings of inferiority, though striving to repress them into the subconscious. In inner life, they seek and long fail to find a path toward deep mastery of the Planet’s areas, since the initially very rigid framework allows them only along entirely predetermined coarse pathways, as if blocking subtleties. Here, proper work transforms the dog’s harsh leash into the flexible mind of a sage who perceives the course and branches of karma even in seemingly hopeless situations—but this requires overcoming inner constraints in the areas of the Planet and understanding that, in the outer world as well, tribute is far more effective than forced labor.