Make Love Not War

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This is not a good month to tolerate course or crude behavior in self or other because Mercury, Venus, and Mars, our three most personal planets in the celestial sky, are comrades in Libra highlighting our desire for beauty in word and in deed. At least this is one traditional understanding of Libra, another, is the tenacity of this air sign to seek balance in every situation and to upset, whenever possible, falsity and disingenuous sentiment. When we are under the influence of Libra we need harmony and balance in our life, and we can find ourselves profoundly disturbed when our relationships are lopsided or deformed because they are lacking honesty and sincerity.  It is true that Libra has a propensity for not telling the truth in order to maintain peace but this never lasts long because this deception ends up disrupting the very thing Libra is seeking – balance in form.

As Mercury and Mars prepare to conjoin in Libra the 1960’s mantra make love not war comes to my mind. This celestial coupling, each planet the day before having squared Jupiter in Capricorn, is giving us a golden opportunity for manifesting our ideals into lasting forms if we resist the temptation of politely excusing the excesses of those in authority.  If you want to know where in your life you can make love not war look to where Libra falls in your natal chart and that be where you can bring love and harmony to life. The heavens are promising lasting  results for those of us who avoid becoming overly rigid or autocratic in our attempts at tipping the fruits of our negotiations in our favor.

Libra is definitively the diplomat of the zodiac and amazingly adept at providing the right word at the right time, smoothing rough edges, soothing brewing storms, but we miss the critical clue to Libra’s depth of expression if we overlook the fact that Libra is a cardinal sign asserting individual will and fortitude operating much like an iron hand in a velvet glove. Grace and decorum aside, on September 24, Mercury stations retrograde in Libra giving us additional time to refine our communication skills; becoming better listeners, more thoughtful communicators, and more respectful of the opinions of others. Our greatest hurdle with Libra is learning to speak openly and honestly about what we think even when it means being disliked or unpopular. If we hide our opinions behind a veil of pleasantry, hoping to never offend, we deprive our self of the pleasure of enhancing our relationships  with others which is the life breath of Libra.