Aphaeresis
…On the Mars/Neptune trine, just before the cazimi
There’s an old idea that points to a process we are all familiar with but maybe didn’t have the keyword to open the lock of its underlying implications. It’s the concept of taking away or abstracting something we deem lower in ourselves to make room for something greater; said another way, it’s abstracting from God all that does not belong to his nature. In my limited understanding of it, it can be applied to relationships, addictions, or thought forms traveling in deep grooves of our psyche. Our attempts to make such changes are usually driven by our desire to feel better, yet with a subtle shift of the perceptual dial we can begin to see it as a crushing battle to widen a space within us for more Love, more Soul, and more Spirit to make a nest inside us. The Neo-Platonists called it aphaeresis and It’s the epitome of Mars work.
One of the primary functions of Mars in our lives is that of separation; all the slicing and dicing of concepts, the hacking and hewing away at ourselves trying to improve, and the attempt of holding lines and creating boundaries all take place with Mars by our sides. With Mars just 48 hours away from his cazimi (and the beginning of his cycle) there is but one stop to go before the blast off into another journey: Mars will trine Neptune (17th; 24”59’ Scorpio/Pisces).
The brief alliance between the two offers up an opportunity for us to spot the differences between dreams and visions and the “paradise” of images in the world to help us with this aphaeresis. A dream happens with our eyes closed; a vision with them wide open. Often, a dream will come first, having inoculated our imagination with potent images that then sprout a vision. Whether we act on them is an entirely different process. That is where Mars steps in.
It’s easy to be open to change, yet it can be near impossible to have the will to do it. Through the process of aphaeresis (as far as I understand it), we chop away at ourselves, pushing through numerous dark nights, until there is a clearing for something divine to enter (or remember?). We can’t do it alone. We need the help of a more powerful force. For some, that is God; for others, it is the gods; in the case of this transit, it’s Mars and Neptune we must invite to our table. Together, they can mix up quite the alchemical potion — one that can assist us in our dreaming and offer a vision or two. It’s a generous invitation back into our imagination where we remember what we are and how anything is possible.
At the end of every cycle, we discover a strain of melancholy. It’s not easy to simply will ourselves out of it either. Mars is powerless in such riptides of blue-grey emotions, yet he is preparing for what comes next. Once the cazimi occurs on the 18th in Scorpio, the call to adventure begins to circle these waters we are in. And once visible again in the morning sky (around the holidays), we will hopefully be well on our way. If even the subtlest aphaeresis took place, we will be lighter, more inspired, and filled with the strength of some wyrd force that has overridden our personal will.
Mars cycles not only help us track the battles we will face but also in recalibrating the aim of our lives. We all need to be aiming high, doing our best not to forget how high we can go.
- If you’d like to have a reading around the Mars journey, I offer an extended reading where we meet multiple times through the 2 years of the cycle. Message me if you are interested.
Eudaimonia,
Adam
