The Mars/Uranus Conjunction, July 15, 2024
We’ve all got our eye on the Mars-Uranus conjunction taking place on Monday at 26 Taurus. It has been in orb since the beginning of July and will essentially last through the month. And here we are, heading into the exact conjunction. It’s a time when we might want to apply rationality and conscious awareness to our actions, whilst also acknowledging that something needs to be dealt with because it has come to a head (pun intended – read on). Perhaps a situation has become stuck or outlived its usefulness and only a bolt of electricity will shift things. And perhaps frustration is reaching a peak – so we are more inclined to precipitous action, just to relieve the tension. If you have anything around 26 degrees Taurus, it will be of particular interest.
The conjunction also occurs on the fixed star Algol, associated with the dramatic symbolism of the Medusa’s ‘death stare’ and violent decapitation in Greek myth. The star itself has a difficult reputation: the Arabs knew it as Ra’s al Ghul (the Demon’s Head), the Chinese as Tseih She (Piled-up Corpses).
Like most myths though, Medusa’s story is complex and multi-layered. She has origins as a beautiful African serpent goddess, whose priestesses wore terrifying masks designed to reflect her divine power and protect her shrine, until her cult was devastated by Greek invasion. Psychologically, it leaves us with a complexity of images that ask us to consider themes beyond the more lurid keywords for Algol: themes such as conscious cultivation of feminine power, facing and embracing our most primal impulses and most petrifying fears, the interplay between rational consciousness and the primal unconscious, and the right use of power.
William Lilly considered Algol to denote, amongst other things, ‘danger to the head’ and I’m going to take that symbolically. We can, for instance, use this time to think about leadership and conscious decision making in our individual situations. One example may also be in front of us: Kamala Harris has Jupiter close to Algol and opposite Joe Biden’s Scorpio Sun. With Mars-Uranus in the mix, I wonder how this might play out.
- Carole Taylor
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