[HOROSCOPE HIGHLIGHTS] Rise to the Occasion w/ Christopher Renstrom
Listen here:
✨ Time Stamps
0:00 Intro
0:13 Astrology Hub Podcast Contest
1:59 Week Overview
3:44 Honoring Difficult Transits
5:00 Mars Uranus Square
9:00 Mars in Aquarius
14:19 When is fighting good?
28:05 How to reflect on violence
Mars square Uranus
This is your Horoscope Highlight for the week of March 21 – March 27, 2022 with world-class astrologer, historian, and author of The Cosmic Calendar, Christopher Renstrom.
This week, the Mars-Uranus square brings dramatic conflict to the forefront, which may leave us feeling attacked, challenged and oppressed. Christopher extends the invitation to ask ourselves, “When is a good fight justified?”. We are encouraged to reflect on and take the best path forward for humanity, even in times when our back is up against the wall.
If you’d like more personalized guidance from Christopher, make sure you subscribe to receive your free Weekly Horoscope so you can read what the week ahead will bring for your sun or rising sign, delivered to your inbox every Sunday!
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Transcript
This transcript is automatically generated. Some miswording might be present.
Christopher Renstrom 0:13
Hello, my name is Christopher Renstrom. And I'm your weekly horoscope columnist here on astrology hub. And before we get into this week's horoscope, I wanted to tell you a little something that's going on with astrology hub. You're at astrology hub, we are celebrating over 3 million downloads of the astrology hub podcast. And we'd love to include you in the celebration. enter for a chance to win one of three prizes by submitting a review of the podcast via iTunes, Spotify, or other major podcast players. Now what we want to know from you is what is your favorite thing about the podcast? How has it helped you to improve your life? And did it do anything to enhance your understanding of astrology, you'll receive bonus points if you're an inner circle member and mentioned your inner circle experience to us. Now, this is what you could win. The top prize is a free mastery class from the Academy. The second place prize is one free month of the inner circle. And the third place prize. The third place prize is one free astrological report. Now while Facebook and YouTube comments are appreciated, we want to ask you to please submit your review via your podcast app to be considered. Please be sure to leave your name so we can find you in our system. Well, with over 3 million downloads that have taken place I would imagine there are a lot of names in the system. Okay, so that's the that's the little thing that I wanted to share with you this week. Now let's get into the astrology of this week.
Christopher Renstrom 1:59
The Astrology of this week is a little bit heavy. I mean, I have to confess, I'm not a big fan of Mars, Uranus squares in general, they tend to be very volatile. And they tend to be very dramatic in the way that they exercise their energy. It's really kind of like this thunderstorm that takes place over the horoscopes affected whenever Mars and Uranus Square in the sky. But looking at this week's horoscope and looking at these week's planets and their planetary dispositions, I was really sort of moved to ask, I think some questions that are appropriate to the Mars Uranus Square. And the questions that I want you to think about as we talk a little bit this week is when is a good fight? Right? When is a good fight? Good. These are the things that I want you to think about. As we talk about the Uranus Mars square this week. Nobody likes conflict, a lot of people don't like conflict. Even people who who work in areas of conflict don't like conflict. You know, nobody really likes conflict. Nobody really likes anger. Nobody really wants to be combative. But there are times in your life in which conflict and anger and being combative show up and they have to be dealt with. Now a lot of us might want to tune it out, or sidestep it or say I don't have a dog in this fight. You know, and and and that might be the case. And certainly if you can avoid a conflict, that's that's a good thing.
Christopher Renstrom 3:44
But one of the things about being an astrologer is that you have to honor the energies of the planets involved and their configurations, we have to honor them for two reasons. The first one's pretty obvious, the planetary configurations take place. So you have to honor them, everyone on this planet has to honor them, because that's what's taking place upstairs in the sky. Okay, so you have to honor life, you have to honor the way that life is taking place. Sometimes life is really, really wonderful and good and peaceful and benevolent. And sometimes life isn't. And you have to honor that you can't, you know, sweep it under the carpet or pretend it doesn't exist or, you know, go do something else until until it's past. I mean, you can in some situations, but there are going to be situations in your life in which you really cannot. Okay, and so and so that energy has come into your life and in some sort of way. So as an astrologer, we have to honor the planets and their courses and the way that they behave, because there's no stopping them. But then also our job as astrologers is to interpret our job as astrologers is to interpret what's going on with the planetary energy and try to advise and try to guide
Christopher Renstrom 5:00
So when we're looking at something like a Mars, Uranus Square, you have on one hand the Mars energy which is Mars is named after the Roman god of war. So Mars is combative Mars can get warlike and Mars can go on the attack or write a square which is an aspect in Astrology.
Christopher Renstrom 5:24
Square the nature of a square the characteristic of a square is Mars by the way, trine are ruled by Jupiter sextiles have the characteristic of Venus and squares squares have the characteristic of Mars. So one of the planets involved this week is Mars. And so we have Mars and Aquarius, and Mars in Aquarius will be squaring Uranus and Taurus on March 22. Uranus is a much slower moving planet takes seven, seven years to go through a sign and so you know, it sort of sets the tone or flavor of its transit. And then it's going to take seven years to play out. And what's interesting is that on the day, that Uranus entered Taurus on 2018, March was an Aquarius and Mars was squaring Uranus in Taurus on that day, I think it's like around May 10, or something like that of 2018. So what you have here, a lot of people were predicted, you know, Uranus in Taurus is, you know, destruction of the economy and ruination of markets and the end of capitalism and, and all these sorts of things. Everyone likes to get so apocalyptic when we have these things that are going on in the stars, but anyway, um, you know, so this is what's gonna happen and economies will be ruined and all these sorts of things. And I don't know Uranus isn't out of Taurus yet, so it might happen. But usually what you see with a slower moving planet, and by slower moving planet, I mean, the modern planets, that's any planet discovered after 1781 Actually, the first modern planet was Uranus, and then comes Neptune, and then comes Pluto. So modern planets is the word that we use for those planets that were discovered after 1781 and Uranus. In its role as the revolutionary planet of astrology, the planet that comes in and kicks over the game board and sends all the pieces flying. Uranus was actually discovered it's the first of the modern planets, it was discovered in 1781, right at the midpoint between the American War for Independence and the French Revolution. So Uranus has this very volatile revolutionary energy to it. And so Uranus is going to change the rules of the way that the game was played before, via whatever zodiac sign it happens to be traveling through. And so you know, you think of Taurus and Taurus is absolutely a sign that's connected to money and to property. Because Taurus is pretty much connected to land, and it's connected to turf. The symbol of Taurus is low, it's cattle and what a cattle do, but they graze and they cover land and territory and and earth. And so with Uranus here, you've got this upset in the territory and in the turf. And what I've been noticing since 2018, is actually Uranus has been doing this extraordinary redistricting campaign upstairs in the sky. And we've seen redistricting going on in states here in the United States of America, we've seen redistricting going on in countries, and we've seen redistricting going on in nations. It's kind of like a reworking of, of where the the demographic or where the people are going to be gathering and it's kind of reworking of this that's, that's going on. And, um, and, and it's been an area of concern for people who are on all sides of the political spectrum.
Christopher Renstrom 9:00
When you add Mars to the equation and Mars is in the zodiac sign of Aquarius. Aquarius is very future oriented. And Aquarius, is is very future oriented. And it's very principle oriented. It's very, um, what is the working system that all of mankind is going to live under a word that comes up with Aquarius a lot is the collective the concerns of the collective and things like that. And it is the concerns of society. I'm not a big fan of concern of collective because it sort of sounds like the Borg ship and Star Trek, but anyway, it's its concerns of society on a whole. And so what you can have with Mars in Aquarius, is that it can get very ideological. Another word for it is political. But I'm going to go with the word ideological, you know, it's going to be you know, this is the ideology. This is, this is how I'm convinced that everyone should live. Or this is this is the gameplan it's not like how I am convinced this is the game plan about how everyone should live. And this is now going to be imposed on society and everyone's going to live like this. Okay? So there's a lot of shoulds with with Aquarian energy, there's a lot of doctrine and agnosticism and a lot of absolutes. I mean, Aquarius is a Fixed sign. Remember, of the zodiac. So there's a lot of absolutes. This is absolutely the best way to live. This is absolutely you know, how a society should be run. Okay, so when you get this is absolutely the best the way that everyone should live. And then you get a sort of redistricting or a reshuffling of people, you know, sort of fit that idea.
Christopher Renstrom 10:45
You can have people who are signing on board and say, That's great idea. We should all live like that. And then you can get people who are like, No, that's a horrible idea. That's dreadful. We should we should, we should not live like that. Okay, there it is the history of our civilization in a nutshell, it's always a coin toss, you put them for wild heads, and you flip in for a wild sales. Okay. So, you know, there's always going to be some sort of controversy or, or a disagreement. And a way that a lot of disagreements ideally are settled is through our rules and laws, which also translate into our day to day, life as etiquette, protocol and etiquette. And these, as you probably have already recognize from previous podcasts refers to the Venusian energy, which is what is the proper way of referring to someone what's the proper way to conduct yourself around someone, they sound a little, you know, a feat or delicate, but actually, etiquette and protocol has been responsible for fights not breaking out or taking over things, you know, it's, you know, even sports, you know, with all of the, you know, with all the focus in theory and competition, you know, you still have the referees, you still have the judges, there's still a proper way to conduct this, this this sport or to play this sport, you know, when there's a foul fouls are called, you know, this all falls within rules and laws, and etiquette, and protocol. And it could even be said, the reason that sports get so competitive is because they have to honor reason sports get so competitive, and so exciting, okay, is because they have to honor this protocol. And they have to honor these rules and these laws. And so it really is, you know, showing off the person who is exceptional in their athleticism, you know, it's not just brute force, but it's like playing the sport. And so things like strategies and game plans and things like that show up. So so we have this idea of a Mars and Aquarius squaring a Uranus in Taurus, and it's been, it's very volatile. And so what can also happen when you have a Mars in Aquarius, is that fights and combats can be justified, okay, fights and combat are justified on principle, fights and combat are justified on theology. fights in combat are justified in the name of doing the best good for the most people involved, you know, we're going to engage in this combat because, you know, all of society will be served by this, and this is, you know, this is what's going to happen. So for all of the gloves that can be put on, you know, and with Mars and Aquarius, and all the talk of like principles and ideologies, and we're doing this for the best of everyone, it's still Mars, it's still a fight. And all fights in this regard can be dirty. Alright, and this is something that we're seeing play out on our television screens with, with, with what is going on, in, in the Ukraine, and also the the high risks that are involved, you know, what's going to escalate it, what's going to bring it to an end, you know, diplomats, diplomats scurrying around and trying to bring some kind of an end to it. And so it brings us back to the question,
Christopher Renstrom 14:19
when is a good fight? Right? When is a good fight? Good. Okay. And so what that gets into is, you know, are we're fighting for a way of life, we're fighting for a civilization, we're fighting against an oppressive regime, you know, so, so, so these things, you know, come to the fourth and they're the four and they're very much coming to the fore right now. And, and because we're dealing with a lot of decisions right now that are dealing with the future of the planet and our civilization. We're not at a crossroads. We're at a threshold, you know, and and it's really about taking that step over the threshold. Is it going to be an hour At entrance, or is it going to be a pratfall? You know, we are in the midst of finding out. But I want to tell a really silly story. It's a quaint story. It's a story that I don't know. I think it might make a number of you laugh, but it's an important story to me. And and it's a story from my childhood. It's actually something that took place when I was in the fifth grade. I can never remember what ages we are in the fifth grade was it like nine or 10 or 11? Somewhere around there a preteen. So um, so this is something that took place in fifth grade and I come from a large family, all boys and all want one, and we're all born one year apart. And, and so we're kind of like known as the Catholic quintuplets. Okay, so anyway, um, so, so, my experience of rough and tumble was, was pretty well. You know, I was used to, you know, being beaten up upon and beating up on others, you know, and things like that, I was four out of the, out of the lineup of five. So, I spent a lot of time getting beaten up on but anyway, you know, it was, it's guys, you know, this is what guys do. Okay, so, so there's all of this, and at school, on a, on a regular basis, like, like, like, I was in fifth grade, and my fifth grade teacher, I love my fifth grade teacher, my fifth grade teacher, his name was Mrs. Stone. And she had like, dark black hair with a little bit of gray. And she was always very crisp, and well put together. And she had a sort of soft voice, but there was a strength to it, it was really kind of like a radio voice. You know, and she, she was glamorous. I mean, she, she was just like a very beautiful woman. And, and very articulate and really prompted and encouraged my love of learning, especially in a book reading and history and things like that. I mean, I was one of those types, okay, I'll confess to it. It was like, I always asked for extra homework because I just, I wanted to impress Mrs. Stone, you know, it's like, I wanted to get that A and I wanted Mrs. Stone to be pleased with, with how I enjoyed her recommending books for me to read and history lessons and, and things like this. So, so So this is, you know, this is my headspace in the fifth grade, you know, pressing the teacher and, and it wasn't to show off or anything like that. It was just, I loved history so much. And I loved reading books so much. And she always had, you know, a well thought book or history plan or something like that to share. I always learned something from her. And, um, you know, I got aggravation, of course, from the other kids that like teacher's pet, you know, the things that kids do in their infinite gentility and sensitivity. Childhood, but anyway, um, but there was this one, jerk, there was this one, like, jerk. I mean, there's no other word for it, you know, and he was in a different class, but he would always sort of like, find me on the playground somewhere. And say, like, you know, you're a fag, you know, like that, like, you're a fag or a faggot. You know? And, of course, I had no idea what he was talking about first. So, okay, this is childhood, fifth grade, this is, you know, pre, you know, and I went up and looked it up. And, you know, it was aghast. Like, it means like, homosexual well, actually had to ask my mom first, and she explained that it's like, it means homosexual. But, but I also read, like, it was a bundle of sticks, and, and, and a cigarette, you know, in Britain, or something like that. So I thought I was really quite clever, and really quite smart. When this kid showed up. The next day, it was like, You're a fag I, you know, I was like, I am not a bundle of sticks. You know? Or like, the next day who would be like, you're a faggot. And it'd be like, I'm not what they call a British cigarette. I mean, honestly, how gay can you get thought I was big, Oscar Wilde. It But anyway, this went on and on and on. And he kept increasing it and kids started pointing and laughing and, and all these sorts of things. So it finally got to the point where he had said this on the playground or something like this, and I had it, so um, I slugged him really hard. It was just like, I had it. And so, you know, he looked kind of like astonished and amazed or whatever, and he you know, through, you know, a punch.
Christopher Renstrom 19:19
I mean, of course, when you're in the fifth grade, you're imagining this punch fight like Marvel Superheroes or something, but I'm sure it looks much more like Alexis and and crystal, you know, like, pounding persons on each other from Dynasty. But anyway, you know, in the moment in the fifth grade moment, you know, it's like, we're throwing punches and things like that. And, um, and basically, uh, you know, I I beat the crap out of him. I mean, that's the game too. Okay. And, and I you know, and and so, you know, I was in the kids had gathered around a bit like there's a fight, there's a fight, you know, all these things and it's hallucinatory and, you know, you're eating and things like that. But anyway, he was the one who was on the ground and I I wasn't, you know, and I was ready for more. But, you know, I like stopped, I stopped because I looked up past all of these, you know,
Christopher Renstrom 20:08
jeering children who are like Hit him Hit him kicking. Yeah, whatever, like, children, they're just so lovely. But anyway, um, you know, but I saw Mrs. Stone. She had walked up to, obviously where this commotion was. And she looked at me with her steely blue eyes. And I lost it. I lost it, I began weeping like a baby. And she said, Well, you know, where you need to go. And, and so I walked off to the principal's office, you know, um, and, and, you know, kids were, like, you know, good fighting or something like that. I was just, I was so full of shame. That's really what I sort of wanted to communicate. I mean, I had fought, you know, what, you know, in my eyes, actually, at the time was a good fight. This kid was giving me a hard time and call me, you know, names and and, you know, you stand up for yourself. Yep, yep. Yep. Punching back, you know, that's what and and so, I was at the principal's Oh, my God, I just like, wept, oh, my God, you would have thought that, you know, I was like, a biblical heroine or something the way I was like, lamenting, carrying on or something like that, you know, in the principal's office, and they had to, like, you know, console calm you down and things like that. And, and, you know, I don't know, I got detention or something like that. But I just remembered that for like, a week, I could not look Mrs. Stone in the eye. You know, because I was just full of so much shame. And then eventually, you know, she passed me a new homework assignment, I think, was the gold rush or something like that we're back on speaking terms, you know, after a proper probationary period. But the reason that I'm sharing with you this story, is that, you know, if you look at it in, okay, the reason that I'm sharing with you the story is that I felt justified to, you know, hit back, or to hit this kid who was tormenting me, he's calling me back every day and big, really dreadful. And And nowadays, that probably would get a lot of support. You know, it would be like, Yeah, you know, and, and, but what I felt on the other side of what should have been a good fight, what I felt on the other side of, you know, when is a good fight, right, when is a good fight good? was an incredible amount of shame. You know, it was an incredible amount of shame. And it wasn't shame of like, being gay or anything like that. I mean, I grew up in Northern California was like, not a big deal. No, the incredible amount of shame was in having thrown a punch in having hit someone, and having hurt someone. And I did, you know, in all of my, you know, feeling horrible think about going back and apologizing to him, and then I just remembered, he's such a jerk. So I did it. So okay, I confess, but I do it because you're such a jerk. But, um, but the thing is, it was that that feeling of shame now. It's, it's a quaint story, it's a quaint story. It's not a playground where kids are, you know, carrying guns. This didn't take place, in an economically strapped, or difficult neighborhood, there was no military regime that I was living under, and I wasn't, you know, growing up in a place where there's war being fought every day. I mean, this is a very nice upper middle class, you know, area, you know, I haven't lost loved ones to murder or to gunfire or to assault. I didn't grow up in a home that was domestically violent. It could be rambunctious, but it wasn't domestically, you know, violent, or any of those things. And, and so, it's a small story, my story, but, but the reason I share it, is it gave me an inkling of what it feels like on the other side of that, you know, there wasn't this cheering victory this Triumph, you know, I wasn't being lifted up onto the shoulders of other children on the fifth grade playground and, and celebrated, you know, or anything like that. It was this incredible shame and this and this incredible, these tears, my memory of it is just, you know, after, you know, the being filled with that Mars is, you know, was the incredible tears that that that came out, and it taught me a very deep lesson lesson. And, and, or, what it taught me was to find a better way, you know, you you have to find a better way. And, and, and in moments like that, you know, and again, I've never been accosted or assaulted or put into a situation where I'm fighting for my life, on on, on insure circumstances. You know, it or in areas of life where that's done every day, you know, I've
Christopher Renstrom 25:02
been very, very fortunate. But I did get a glimpse of that I did get a feeling of that, you know, and it makes me think of people who, you know, are coming back from war, you know, they're not coming back triumphant and celebrated, they're coming back, you know, carrying this, this trauma, you know, this, this, this, this trauma that they have to live with, or deal with, or manage for the rest of their lives. So, when opened up like that, war is, is just a horrible thing, violence is a horrible thing. And so the challenge becomes, the challenge becomes to do better than that. But how do you do better than that? When, you know, areas of your life have been taken over? How do you do better than that, when you're your back is really up against the wall. These are very tough questions. Now, you know, we're not all going to be plunged into some sort of, you know, war torn landscape because of the Mars Uranus Square this week, but you are going to feel many of you will feel a pressed pressed upon, challenged on the other side of an argument where people are just yelling at you, where you've been reduced to a statistic, or you've been reduced to, you know, a catch phrase. And, and you're, you may feel challenged to me feel attacked in some way, you may feel like, I'm engaged in a good fight, help wherever those good fights show up in your life, take a moment and ask yourself, Is this the best way? Nobody's saying not to fight for what's right? Nobody's saying not to defend your rights, or as a person or who you are, as as a person. But we are or one should ask, is there a better way? Is there a better way to do this, and that's, that's again, invoking the higher level of the Mars in Aquarius, Mars and Aquarius can be very ideological, you know, I, I'm in this camp here on that cam, you know, type of thing. But there can also be, you know, a fighting for a higher principle. But we have to remember those higher principles still have feet of clay. And the reason why higher principles have feet of clay is because we're the feet, you know, they're a higher principle, you know, can be an eternal truth living in the universe, but it doesn't mean anything without a human voice that speaks it, or human life that's committed to it, or human being that embodies it, okay, those principles are nothing if they aren't exercised or visited, in, in, in ourselves as people.
Christopher Renstrom 28:05
I think something to think about, you know, because there are things where you're challenged, where you have to fight for something, and you have to fight, you have to answer the challenge. You know, there's no, there's no question of that. And oftentimes, that will show up in a square, okay, so So I have to honor the planetary energy by by telling you that, you know, for those of you who are dealing with these challenges and these fights, there's the it's going to become even more so this this week, during during the energy of this of this square. And so, you ask yourself, is there a better way to fight? Is there a better way to meet the challenge? How can I meet the challenge? How, how do I join a fight that seems dead on finding me where to go? It's just like, following me where wherever I go, how do I how do I rise to this occasion? How do I face this? And the last thing that I wanted to share with you was this interview that I was watching on PBS NewsHour, the the other night, I love the PBS NewsHour, it's all about Judy. So So I was watching the PBS NewsHour the other night, and they were interviewing this priest in the Ukraine. And, um, and he's the short sort of sort of fellow, you know, I mean, I mean, little taller than a hobbit, but kind of reminiscent of, you know, and and clearly someone who could be easily you know, you know, thrown to one side or shot or trampled or whatever.
Christopher Renstrom 29:46
But he has consistently for years, put himself into or answered the call. He has consistently for years answered the call to come to the Spiritual rescue of soldiers who have been involved, you know, whether they are the instant friend in Ukraine and right now, he's doing this for his, his, what he calls his people, his his brothers and sisters who are fighting. And he comes and and, and you know, what is He? Is he a priest? Who's packing heat? Is he picking up a gun? Is he you know, whatever. And and No, he's not. He's he's walking with the people who are picking up arms, he's walking with the people who are fighting for their country, and he is with them in their hour of need. And oftentimes, recently, that hour of need has been the hour of their passing, where they pass from this world to the next. And so the interviewer was asking him, you know, you're a priest, I mean, a person of peace, what are what are you doing out here? And he's like, I'm answering the call of my fellow countrymen and women. And they said, Well, what, what, what do you do, and he says, what I, I don't make promises, I don't, you know, tell them, you know, things are gonna be alright or whatever, what I do is that I see myself as the guardian of their humanity. I see myself as the person who reminds them, of their humanity, where they can come to cry, where they can come to confess, where they can come to get angry. He marries soldiers, you know, on on the battlefield. He's there for them, when they go off to battle, and he's there for when the bodies return, and need to be buried at a funeral. And I think that that is extraordinarily heroic. You know, it's, it's an answering of the Mars energy. Because he has to, you know, he can't flee, he can't evade. He can't, you know, he has to answer that Mars energy. But he's answering that Mars energy with humanity, you know, being, being that sanctuary, being that sanctuary of humanity, for people who need it at a time when everything looks, and must feel so intolerably inhumane. And I think that that's the thing we call upon in the different struggles and the different skirmishes, no matter how great or how many are, no matter how small that we face, in our lives. You know, everyone's good will face an evil, everyone's right will face somebody else's wrong. It's, it's the flip of the coin. It's been going on since the beginning of our civilization as battle lines are drawn and redrawn in different configurations. But the thing that's here for all of us, the thing that's here for each of us who was born into this world, is our humanity. You know, it's the thing that we're fighting to hold on to. It's the thing we're fighting to preserve. And it's the thing that will transcend ideologies, it will transcend politics, it will transcend different cultures and different borders, and different battle lines. It's our humanity. And that's, that's the thing that I would ask you to call upon. When you face the question of, you know, when is a good fight good, and when is a good fight? Right? And it's that when you are fighting for the preservation of your humanity, and the humanity of your fellow person here on the planet