Feb 22, 2024 | Ramblings, Reflections and Ruminations of Daniel Giamario |
The GREAT SAGA, the 32 Year Cycle
and the SACRED MARRIAGE PROCESS
Venus-Mars Conjunction: The Sagas of Venus and Mars
On Wednesday, February 21, at 11:14pm PST, Venus and Mars aligned at 6Aquarius57. For nearly a week, they are within one degree of each other, Venus being hundreds of times brighter than Mars. They will be within 10 degrees of each other from January 31 – March 15, during which time the Moon passes them twice.
Ever since the mid 1990s, I have been fascinated by the visible pattern of the dance of these planets with each other. While doing the research that inspired my influential synodic cycles articles in The Mountain Astrologer magazine (1997/98), I noticed a pattern that I had not seen elsewhere: the unique way in which Venus and Mars align over a 6.5 year / approx. 77 months period. This cycle has been noted as the periodicity of Venus, Mars and the Sun in conjunction every 77 months approximately. But little modern research exists for the patterns of synodic Venus-Mars conjunctions in the morning and evening skies. These turn out to be three distinct patterns that repeat every 6.5 years.
TOTAMS refers to these three patterns as the Venus-Mars Sagas.
- THE UNDERWORLD SAGA: Venus and Mars conjunct the Sun in the Underworld, off the world stage, and are never seen together in the morning or evening sky.
- THE RAPUNZEL-DUMUZI SAGA: There is a brief union of Venus and Mars in the evening sky marked by just one Lunar conjunction. This is followed by a somewhat longer union of Venus and Mars in the morning sky. This saga is named after the ancient mythic stories which were inspired by this visible planetary pattern.
- THE GREAT SAGA: This pattern usually has a longer, up to 3-4 months, period of Venus and Mars within 10 degrees of each other in the evening sky, and then a shorter time together in the morning sky. But recently these time frames are equalizing. This is especially revealed with the cycle happening now. The current Great Saga began December 7, 2022, lasting until January 15, 2025. Then the next Underworld Saga begins.
The 32-Year Cycle
While these three saga patterns repeat every 77 months approx., they are not repeating in the same signs or seasons, and are not true synodic returns. There is an even more remarkable and astonishing pattern of 32 years. The Venus synodic return is every 8 years, and that of Mars a less regular and rarer pattern of 15-32-47-64-79. They synchronize every 32 years. Here are the most recent of these synchronizations and the upcoming ones in the morning sky:
1928, January 23 – March 6: Venus and Mars within 10-degree orb in the morning sky
Only ONE Moon-Venus conjunction; Venus-Mars conjunct February 11 at 15Capricorn50
1960, January 26 – March 10: Venus and Mars within 10-degree orb in the morning sky
Only ONE Moon-Venus conjunction; Venus-Mars conjunct February 18 at 24Capricorn30
1992, January 28 – March 12: Venus and Mars within 10-degree orb in the morning sky
Only ONE Moon-Venus conjunction; Venus-Mars conjunct February 19 at 00Aquarius30
2024, JANUARY 31 – MARCH 14: Venus and Mars within 10-degree orb in the morning sky
TWO Moon-Venus conjunctions; Venus-Mars conjunct February 21 at 6Aquarius57
2056, February 3 – March 18: Venus and Mars within 10-degree orb in the morning sky
TWO Moon-Venus conjunctions; Venus-Mars conjunct February 24 at 12Aquarius51
2088, February 6 – March 21: Venus and Mars within 10-degree orb in the morning sky
TWO Moon-Venus conjunctions; Venus-Mars conjunct February 27, at 18Aquarius05
The pattern is truly remarkable and processes slightly over time. You can discover the same patterning wonder when looking at the evening star positions of this Great Saga – almost exactly the same signs, dates, constellations, and the same season. We are fortunate to be alive as the pattern is shifting in our lifetimes! The morning and evening star phases of the Great Saga are equalizing. We shall explore the possible significance of this.
I hope this investigation will inspire further research.
A Narrative
As the ancients pioneered when inspired by the visible planetary and stellar dances, stories and scenarios can be projected onto the night sky. One of the missions and purposes of TOTAMS is to do just that – create new stories inspired by the old stories, but not bound to them. As “Seed People”, we are creating the stories for the next epoch and all that comes next. The stories projected are admittedly and unapologetically anthropomorphic. Here is a possible framework that uses the Venus Leo synodic overstory in combination with the Mars Gemini synodic overstory. The Venus Capricorn synodic overstory is also involved:
2022, December 7, Great Saga,16Gemini:
Mars in the Gemini Overstory seeks Venus in the Capricorn Overstory. They have a long union in the evening sky. Venus enters the interior underworld, transforming into the Leo Overstory, followed by a similar union with Mars in the morning sky.
2023, June 1 – July 24: within 10 degrees in the evening sky; two moon conjunctions
2024, January 31 – March 15: within 10 degrees in the morning sky; two moon conjunctions
Any given Saga of Venus and Mars begins with the opposition of Mars with the Sun, in a so-called acronychal rise (rising in the East at sunset), when Mars is brightest, closest to Earth, retrograde, and stays in the same sign for as long as seven months.
The 25-26 months Mars synod is longer than the 584-day one of Venus. Therefore, the Mars cycle contains parts of two Venus Overstories. The current Great Saga began December 7, 2022, at 16Gemini05. This established Gemini as the Overstory for his entire synodic journey.
Meanwhile, on January 15, 2022, before the beginning of the Great Saga, Venus rose heliacally at 15Capricorn, the beginning of her 584-day Capricorn Overstory. When the Great Saga ensued, Venus had just completed her Underworld sojourn on the other side of the Sun and was slowly rising as an evening star – still in her recovery mode: initiated, but vulnerable. Capricorn Venus was awakening from her shamanic death, and Mars was powerfully birthing and still quite young in his new Gemini Overstory. By this time, both are now in the evening sky and slowly start to meet up. In the narrative that is: Mars in the Gemini Overstory seeks Venus in the Capricorn Overstory. They have a long union in the evening sky.
After the powerful meet-up of a youthful Gemini Overstory Mars with a mature and elder-wisdom Venus Overstory Capricorn (June 1 – July 24, 2023), Venus descends into the metamorphic Underworld (between Earth and Sun) around August 7, 2023, where she will transform into her Leo Overstory by August 19, 2023. Mars, also in the evening sky and still close with Venus, enters the Underworld on the other side of the Sun on September 30, completing his journey towards the Shamanic Death and Rebirth Initiation. As of August 7, 2023, they lost visible contact with each other and were each on their own.
While Mars was in the Underworld and off the world stage, Venus rose heliacally on August 19, 2023, beginning her Leo Synodic Overstory. On January 8, 2024, Mars rose from the exterior Underworld. Now both Venus and Mars are in the morning sky and could start seeing each other as Mars slowly emerged from his journey of surrender.
This brings us to the current time of the narrative:
Venus enters the interior underworld transforming into the Leo Overstory, followed by a similar union with Mars in the morning sky.
After this union, Venus and Mars separate, with Venus soon descending into the underworld of Shamanic Death and Rebirth, on April 27, 2024, while Mars grows in strength and wisdom as he will be completing his overstory journey by the end of 2024. The next Saga, an Underworld Saga, begins on January 15, 2025.
The Situation Happening Now
What most interests me in this narrative is the situation happening now:
2024, January 31 – March 15: within 10 degrees in the morning sky; two moon conjunctions.
Here we find the archetypal union of an initiated and vulnerable Mars of the Gemini Overstory with an experienced morning star Venus of the Leo Overstory about to go into her Shamanic Death and Rebirth journey on April 27.
How can a more vulnerable and initiated Gemini Mars find union with a Leo Venus in the process of letting go and gaining vulnerability? One thing is sure: a Gemini-Leo relationship is not a “normal”, conventional mainstream one! Amplifying this inquiry is that the exact conjunction occurs in the sign of Aquarius: February 21 at 6Aqauarius57!
The Sabian symbol from Dane Rudhyar for 7Aquarius is remarkedly articulate of what seems to be happening now:
“AQUARIUS 7°: A CHILD IS SEEN BEING BORN OUT OF AN EGG.
KEYNOTE: The emergence of new mutations according to the great rhythms of the cosmos.
The ancient symbolism of the Cosmic Egg (Hiranyagharba in Sanskrit) out of which a new universe is born can be interpreted at several levels. Here we see the appearance of a new type of human being who is not born from “Ancestors” and who therefore is free from the inertia of mankind’s past. He is a new product of evolution, a mutant. He constitutes a fresh projection of the creative Spirit that emanates from the cosmic or planetary Whole, and not from any local culture and racial tradition.
This second stage symbol is in contrast with the preceding one. It can be said to announce the EMERGENCE OF GLOBAL MAN for the New Age. The power of the whole is focused within him in perfect freedom from ancient standards of value based on local conditions.”
Instructions From Great Mystery
I have always felt that the Great Saga was the most suitable of the three patterns for successfully navigating the personal relationship challenges of our times. And especially the morning star phase of the Venus-Mars union! It is the most conducive one for an easier accomplishment of the Inner Sacred Marriage work, as well as for becoming aware of the external manifestations of it. I feel that this is even more pronounced as this Great Saga, in its 32-year pattern, has now equalized between morning and evening star phases. But, without question, this is not a normal one, where “normal” is defined as average. If archetypal Gemini Mars meeting up with archetypal Leo Venus is not non-traditional enough, meeting exactly in the completely different than normal and leading-edge Aquarius is certainly an incredible set of instructions from Great Mystery!
- Gemini Mars: free, shape shifting, fun-loving, curious; a puer aeternus (eternal youth)
- Leo Venus: sovereign, autonomous, alpha Amazon queen; a vision carrier
- Aquarius: utterly free and unique, holder of Universal principles of universal Love, objective and detached.
So many possibilities are inherent here, and certainly necessary in these times.
- Be courageous to think outside the box and without the shackles of consensus reality!
- Be willing to imagine the unique conscious equal partnership Leo and Gemini could have!
- And be as outside the box yourself if necessary!
The Sacred Marriage Process With Venus And Mars
The Inner Sacred Marriage Process (ISMP) is one of the foundations of TOTAMS and the Shamanic Astrology Paradigm™. Course 03 of our certification program has this as a major feature. The Venus cycle is archetypal Feminine and not just about women. The Mars cycle is archetypal Masculine, and not just about Men. All humans have both.
The ISMP is primarily about inner wholeness, the union of male and female within ourselves. External relationships, whether easy or difficult, serve to facilitate that union. The external work, in this current cycle, involves the projections by men of Leo and by women of Gemini. These projections can and must be integrated. The more the outer projection can be withdrawn and instead integrated within, the easier it is to gain inner wholeness. The additional benefit is that the more this process is accomplished, the better our external relationships get!
I think the time we are in now is tremendously conducive to this inner work, and the results are likely to show in your external relationships.
In the spirit and magic of TOTAMS Earth and Sky Astrology, I urge you to experience this auspicious morning sky Venus-Mars conjunction and be open to receive whatever transmissions may come!