Mars and Mercury in Cancer Conjunct: the Armor of God

Consider the crab: pt. 2

 

The first day of Cancer season, I saw a dead turtle on the side of the interstate and instantly had an emotional response. I’m not sure why, but seeing that turtle with its home crushed inward did something to me. Damn that turtle thought its shell could protect him from this cruel world, but nah even its strongest fortification proves not strong enough.

A few days later, I’m at my aunt’s house, and a boy from across the street named Qway told me to come outside and look at his new pet. It was a snapping turtle…. “His name is Trouble,” he grinned with two teeth missing. Trouble was feisty and had a refined appetite for earth worms. Trouble looked a little worn but still had the power to retrieve into its shell when it was unsure about new hands coming too close.

 

 

From this experience, I thought about the shellishness of Cancer. How we believe in carrying everything we need for our protection with us, but somewhere still in the back of our heads lies the piercing thought of vulnerability, a wave made of a liquid that rushes over our solidness. The ebb and flow we can’t control. Inner security is tried at times. As Mars goes through in Cancer, these are the things we are considering.

Cancer is characterized by the 4^th house in Western Astrology. The 4^th house in the natal chart is the root of our being, while the 10^th house, the house opposite of the 4^th, is our public expression, the literal blossom of that which sprouts from the root. Our root is our psychological development—the manner in which we act, think, our physical structures are a mixed-rooted combination of genetic makeup and social upbringing. The family that comes out of us is defined by Cancer energy.

Knowing our roots allows us to know our strengths. Mars in Cancer is all about strategizing the inner protection system we have set up. Mars come all up in our house and tell us what the hell we need to change and bulk up on. Astrologer Ashleigh D. Johnson says that Mars in Cancer is non-verbal. It is a psychological directive that leads with the chest. As Mars conjuncts Mercury right now in the galaxy, we are looking for an emotional language to describe our ambitions and desires. We are creating new ways of programming our internal responses to the outer word. This conjunction in Cancer brings a familiarity, an energetic nostalgia. There is air of ancestral wisdom that we can channel. Knowing our roots, our groundedness, leads us into a place of expansion (Jupiter in Libra squares this Mars/Mercury conjunction).

YouTube personality and astrologer The Peace Dealer has been preaching that Cancer season is full-on  spiritual warfare. An energetic battling, and balances of nonverbal, nonphysical things. I think of Ephesians 6:12 and 18: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness…”

That breastplate of righteousness reminds me of Cancer ruling the chest, the breasts, and the stomach. Protecting our solar plexuses and hearts, which is the center of the chest, with stronger armor. Examining our vulnerabilities, commanding our fears. Pluto in Capricorn is opposing conjuncting Mars/Mercury, and is really testing the fuck out of our emotional structures. Pluto in Capricorn is quite literally the principalities in high places that we are battling. That’s why we must protect our chests, girding ourselves by becoming aware of our inner composition. Know that the dry lands of the psyche can flourish again with the flow of emotional understanding knowledge. Our strength comes from the center.

 

For the card pull of this post, I got “Apus” in reverse.

Apus is a paradisiacal bird whose name means “no feet.”   This fire card is about performance, action, and ego. With this being reserved, it speaks to karmic repetitious patterns that the ego may be trapped in. Cancer can be known to be stuck in the past, waddled in nostalgia. With North Node of the Moon being in Leo right now, this card’s message points to the ego’s performance. It’s not about the things other people make see; it’s about how well the inner content is welded together. The bird that has no feet has no part to root itself with. Fortify the self, no matter how ugly it may be and no matter how much Trouble it may cause.

References:

Ashleigh D. Johnson: http://ashleighdjohnson.com/

The Peace Dealer: https://www.mysticilluminations88.com/