Rewind: Mars Rx Trine Neptune – Sacred Missions, Martyrs, and Sacrifice

Hey, everyone. This is Adam Elenbaas from Nightlight Astrology. Happy Friday, everybody.

Today, we are going to take a look at Mars in Cancer. This is Mars Retrograde in the sign of Cancer, trining Neptune in the sign of Pisces. In order to do that, I'm going to show you an episode that I did in late October of 2024, just a couple of months ago, where we looked at this exact same aspect, but we looked at it from the standpoint of Mars being direct.

The reason that we can do this is because the sequence of events is basically the same. We were looking at Mars trining Neptune coming into an opposition with Pluto. Now we're looking at Mars retrograding out of the opposition from Pluto and back into the trine with Neptune. So this is a good rewind episode, because it can also take you back to late October and make some comparisons, or draw some comparisons between right now and then.

When we have a retrograde transit, often there will be overlap in terms of the first direct pass, the second retrograde pass, and then again, the third direct pass.

I'm also doing this because, as you know, this week, we're a little bit off our production schedule as we are rolling out rewards from the Kickstarter campaign. We did a great job this year again. Thanks to everybody.

One last little announcement before we start our content for the day: we have delivered all of our rewards right now, except for a few year-ahead mini readings. If you're still waiting on those, I have about 20 left to record, and so by the end of next week, those will all be done. But otherwise, all other rewards have been delivered.

So if you missed anything, be sure to email us at info@NightlightAstrology.com or check your spam folder, and also emails that came through from Kickstarter, because they will be the ones that explain to you how to retrieve your reward if you haven't yet.

On that note, again, a big thanks to everybody. Thank you for your patience. This week, as I've been doing some rewind episodes, it's been really useful for me to rewind some episodes as we are getting our shit together. So thank you for your patience. Thank you for your support.

We’ll be back to the regular production schedule starting on Monday, and I hope you guys have a great weekend that you’ll enjoy.

Today's content is looking at Mars Retrograde in Cancer, trining Neptune. Remember, what you're about to see is me looking at the same aspect in late October. Pay attention to the archetypal themes I talk about especially, but note the timeline and comparisons between now and then as well.

All right, enjoy.

Hey everyone. This is Adam Elenbaas from Nightlight Astrology.

Today we're going to take a look at Mars's upcoming trine to Neptune in the sign of Pisces. This is occurring just before Mars makes its opposition to Pluto.

We've spent some time already this week looking at Mars opposite Pluto. Honestly, we'll probably look at it again because it is one of the more significant transits of the year. It's happening right before the election, probably signifying some of those October surprises we see in the news around this time of year. In an election year, it's pretty common to have a little bit of drama right before the election.

I've been saying this for a while, but I suspect that this is probably one of the more dynamic and intense transits of 2024. One of the really interesting parts about this development of Mars opposite Pluto is that right before it happens, Mars in Cancer will trine Neptune in Pisces.

So I want to look at this combination today because it's coming through over the weekend, just prior to the upcoming opposition. I'll show you the timeline and talk to you today about some of the themes that are common for the combination of Mars and Neptune. So that will be our agenda for today.

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Here we are now. We can see right here, this is Sunday, October 27. We're seeing Mars moving into the trine with Neptune. This is Mars in Cancer, culminating in those final degrees of Cancer, moving into the opposition with Pluto shortly. You can see that opposition forming just within about two degrees as Mars makes the trine with Neptune.

So, I am going to talk today about Mars-Neptune themes. I'll also say a few things about how I believe they may be connected to Mars-Pluto themes. But one thing to notice is that the Mars-Pluto opposition, coming off the trine to Neptune, will occur here. This is November 3, so it's just about a week later after the trine that we get the opposition.

So they’re connected, and I’ll say a few things about how I think they might be connected. But let's talk about Mars-Neptune as an archetypal combination. There are five themes. You know I like my list of five.

Number one: When Mars and Neptune get together, you can expect that there will be sacred missions that arrive in your life somehow. By "sacred mission," I usually mean that there is a sense of larger emotional, and sometimes political, religious, or philosophical motivation behind the need or desire to take action, to advocate for something, to stand up for something, to do something courageous on behalf of something bigger.

That sense of something bigger and transcendental, whatever it may be, whatever kind of cause or mission or vision it may be, is typically Neptunian. And the urge to fight, act, protect, advocate, or do something on behalf of it is Mars-like.

Now, when the two come into a trine with one another, it’s nice because these energies can work together a little more harmoniously. You'll often see some natural, flowing, harmonious way in which things are connecting.

Mars-Neptune connecting in this way may be a little less like beating the war drum. It doesn’t have to be as polarized or as polarizing. I don’t see warriors with blood-soaked faces running into the battlefield necessarily with a Mars trine to Neptune. But we do have Mars opposite Pluto in the mix of this, which makes it a little complicated.

In which case, we do have some interesting ways in which a sacred mission could take on a much more violent, eruptive, cathartic, and polarizing effect. That’s what makes it a little tricky.

Mars trine Neptune I would often see with someone taking up a mission or a purpose that feels sacred to them, but that has a fluid and harmonious quality behind it. It’s not as agitated and polarized as, say, a Mars-Neptune opposition might be. But add the Mars-Pluto opposition in, and you get the idea of people whose political or religious zeal or some kind of emotional fanaticism could drive them to do very violent or destructive things, because we also have that Mars opposing Pluto.

That’s when it gets a little problematic. Now, personally, I think we have to be careful of letting our feelings, and a kind of emotional intensity and reactivity, lead us into power struggles that are not healthy or actions or choices or reactions that are very explosive, dramatic, and maybe severe. Those are the things to be careful of.

It also isn’t a bad thing if you are feeling the need to take some strong actions based on some strong emotional convictions. That’s okay under this transit. I would say just be careful that you're not burning bridges or harming yourself or doing something that you can’t live with later.

Number two are martyrs. Now, there’s obviously the word "Mars" and the word "martyr" sharing roots etymologically, if I’m not mistaken. And so the willingness to die on behalf of something is very Mars. Neptune, Mars in its fall opposing Pluto trining Neptune could lead to some very intense acts of martyrdom—the willingness to die for something.

Now, let’s just say that you know the most extreme cases could be literal. But for most of us, that will be figurative or metaphorical, which means that we will be compelled to fall on the sword metaphorically for something or someone.

There could also be ways in which we think about martyrdom as an unhealthy complex, like a martyr complex. We use that phrase to describe someone who is maybe overly self-sacrificing or overly self-sacrificial.

So we probably want to avoid becoming a martyr in the negative sense, and we want to pay attention to the things and people that we feel the urge to sacrifice for or on behalf of.

So, what kinds of causes are we willing to sacrifice something on behalf of? These could be very strong motivations, and potentially problematic or engaging us in conflicts or power struggles, or very intense life-and-death, critical scenarios, energetic intensity, and healing crises.

These would be common for us to see or experience ourselves or see in someone else. And then some choice or some act of sacrifice, compassionate and charitable intervention, or something like that could come about in the midst of it. That’s kind of combining that Mars trine Neptune with Mars opposite Pluto.

Number three: Delusional violence. This is basically saying that with Mars opposite Pluto trining Neptune, you could see people having fantasies, delusions of grandeur, or intoxicated and unclear states of consciousness, or even unbalanced or unwell states.

Just delusional thinking—very fluidly connected, which is the problem of a trine. Not everything fluidly connected is necessarily good.

For example, I’ve heard a trine described in the context of a tumor. If a tumor experiences a trine with something symbolizing growth, right? It’s smooth and easy progress for something unhealthy. Similarly, a Mars trine Neptune could lead to a smooth and easy inflation of delusional thinking and violent, agitated emotional reactions. Then the opposition to Pluto can lead to something like delusional acts of violence.

Let’s take that down a notch and say delusional acts of bullying, willpower, or dramatic conflicts that are unnecessary, being fueled by emotional fanaticism within our relationships. Do you see what I mean?

You can take that down a notch and just watch for the tendency to get swept up in emotions and engage in conflicts that are very dramatic and explosive. You want to be careful of that, honestly. Some conflicts are worth having. You may have to.

There's certain conflicts that are a part of our growth, that we have to face things, and that's a Mars-Pluto thing too—facing your fear. With Neptune behind us, it might be that we have some emotional conviction that's helping us to face the fear. That would be a really nice expression.

I mentioned this through the second note on my list, which was martyrs. And I said there could be some theme of sacrifice. Sacrificial acts are slightly different in that we may be compelled to put money into something, and it’s sacrificial because we know it’s an investment. We know that it’s going to stretch us a little bit. A lot of the times, and that’s just an example, but a lot of the time when we know something is worth it, we know something is worth effort, sacrifice, and determination. We’ll sort of cut a little skin in the game. We’ll cut a little skin off of ourselves. Metaphorically, the universe, through so many ancient traditions, runs on sacrifice.

There’s a way in which the universe is like a boiling cauldron, eating and cooking itself as it churns out life. It is naturally sort of destroying and eroding its own essence in order to recreate itself. Ancient people observed this. Physicists sort of observe this in different ways too. So it’s interesting. It’s not an easy reality to live with, I don’t think.

But when we consider that anything worth creating requires that we burn something... I mean, I think about this very literally every day with my very amateurish hobby of bodybuilding. I have a coach who’s a professional bodybuilder, and I’ve learned so much about the science of nutrition, the mind-muscle connection, and so many different movements. But I realize every day I’m in there, even when I have to practice eating foods where I’d rather eat something a lot saltier, more sweets, or whatever.

The diet is very clean, and the sleep patterns have to be dialed in. And there’s a way in which, to feel as good as I think we want to feel in any kind of fitness endeavor, we have to burn a little. That’s part of it. Even in yoga—like, we had a yoga studio for a decade—practicing yoga is a kind of act of sacrifice. Practicing meditation is a kind of act of sacrifice. Practicing art or writing on days when you don’t want to, but you better, because when the Muse shows up, it shows up, and you never know when it’s going to happen.

So you better sit your butt down and do your practice. There’s an element of sacrifice involved in anything that is worthwhile. I wonder what kind of tremendous moments of catharsis are in front of us right now because we recognize what kind of heroic sacrifice something requires of us. If we want to really experience the creative potential within us or within something we recognize, we better put some skin in the game. We better throw a little g on the fire.

So, what is that sacrificial act that is being asked of us right now? And again, how much is appropriate? There could be a tendency to sacrifice too much. And, you know, we want to be careful about that, obviously.

And then finally, one of the most charitable ways of looking at Mars-Neptune contacts is through the kind of heroic act of compassion. You think, for example, of those bodhisattvas who refuse to enter Nirvana because, until all sentient beings are freed from suffering, they will continue to incarnate and do that compassionate, heroic work.

You know, I love that story. I grew up in the Christian church, and I feel that, in essence, the mythology of Christianity, if you want to call it that—unless, of course, you’re taking it literally, or if you do not, the story of Christ is also a story of heroic, compassionate redemption. Compassion, right? That’s very Mars-Neptune.

So Mars-Neptune has this sense of sacrifice, forgiveness, compassion, courageous acts of compassion even, and the charitable response when something happens and something in you says, “I’m going to donate to that hurricane relief fund. I don’t have the money, but it doesn’t matter, those people have nothing.” You know, it’s that. That’s Mars-Neptune.

Mars-Neptune, running into Mars-Pluto, could be quite a cathartic act of charity or giving, for example. And this is really, I like extreme sort of caricatures because I think they help, but I don’t want people to get freaked out. But, like, let’s just say someone that you knew suddenly was in need of an organ—a kidney, I don’t know. Donating an organ to someone who’s going to die without one would be very Mars-Trine-Neptune, Mars-opposite-Pluto at the same time.

Are most of us going to run into needing to donate an organ? No. Right, but you get the idea.

So, alright, I’m going to end things here for today. I hope that this has given us, as always, solid themes archetypally to consider and bring into our consciousness as these symbols and their interactions pass through our linear-time space container.

I hope you’re all doing well. These are intense energies. We have an intense Mars-Pluto opposition. A lot, I think, a lot more to talk through about that opposition. I’ve been trying to kind of prep us for it, because, again, I think it’s one of the biggest transits of our year as we’re coming to the end of the year here.

So I’ll leave it there. We’ll talk to you again tomorrow. You can find informational content about the upcoming program that starts on November 16, after I sign off.

I hope you’re having a good day. Bye.