I always seek to understand the astrological aspects a little more deeply, in particular the opposition.
In part because I don’t have ANY (involving personal planets). And involving outer planets and asteroids I have a mere TWO.
My first astrology teacher taught us that “oppositions are other people” — in contrast to the square which is inner tension within YOU. Your inner battle.
That the opposition is coming at you, from the outside. And we see this especially in transits. Pluto oppositions by transit will bring Pluto people into your life.
The other day, in the wee hours of waking up I was thinking of someone’s Mercury Saturn opposition and how it felt to me.
Mercury is, first and foremost, the way one communicates. And Saturn can be cold. And I was thinking about communications with this person. How this harshness would pop out. That Saturn wasn’t blended smooth with the Mercury (like a conjunction would be). It would just show up. And then sink from view. And it sounded like Duck Duck Goose in my head, like this:
Mercury Mercury Mercury SATURN! Mercury Mercury SATURN! Mercury Mercury Mercury Mercury Mercury SATURN!
My feelings would often get hurt. I thought I was talking to Mercury BUT THEN SATURN. Until I learned to expect it. This person couldn’t be Mercury for too too long without Saturn showing up to bash some heads (although some oppositions are more subtle than others, depending on the planets/signs, and not all oppositions are cruel. I’m particularly talking about a Mercury Saturn opposition with Saturn in a “cold” sign.)
Folks struggle to balance the energies. It’s a challenge. They tend to err on the side of ONE side and then slip to the other briefly and then head back to the original energy. Example: you may be talking to a sweet and lovely Mercury in Pisces but then Saturn in Virgo (ouch! Saturn authoritarian + Virgo criticism) will erupt.
So apply this to the Grand Cross — Jupiter. Jupiter. Jupiter. Jupiter. PLUTO. Your rush and desire to expand something in your world can lead you to some pretty dark places. Throwing your weight around. Thinking you have nothing to lose. Double-crossing. Manipulation!
Oppositions are always fascinating to me because they supposedly help us understand others (we can see the other side, the other point of view) but we also project when we have oppositions. We consider that quality NOT OURS, we pretend we don’t see it, can’t see it (which is very convenient.) It’s always “someone else,” “the other person,” that we blame for the qualities we rather not admit we have.
Another example:
someone who has a Moon Mars opposition but who finds Mars (passion, anger, rage) frightening (or gross or distasteful or taboo) is going to NOT own that Mars and instead may covertly subconsciously seek to make OTHERS angry (or even make them passionate i.e. inspire passion in others so that the person with the opposition doesn’t have to feel passion, much less act on it) —
In such a situation, the other person lives out that repressed Mars, and the person with the opposition can feel safe from those terrifying feelings of… feeling out of control. The opposition person may even feed off, siphon off the other person. Draining them.
But you know what? If you sacrifice PART of your Mars, you lose all of it!
If you notice yourself feeling very depleted around certain people, check and see what oppositions they have and if they tend to repress that part of themselves. And if YOU tend to LIVE that part of yourself. Check the dynamic! It’s probably partly why you chose each other. Thing is, you need to cut yourself a better deal 😉
Back to Mercury opposition Saturn: oh that cold style and cruelty isn’t MINE. It’s his/hers. It’s not me! No way. I’m quite sweet and lovely, poor me! a Mercury in Pisces. I’m not critical at all, nope! That Saturn in Virgo is other people being too critical of me! That OTHER PERSON OVER THERE is so very very harsh. The world is so cruel! Alas!
Bullshit.
😉
Not that life is easy but the opposition is going to “give away” or “outsource” one end of that opposition routinely and it will probably flip-flop. Although, again, I do think people do tend to favor one side over the other for complex reasons.
Sigh.
Life is complicated, isn’t it?
Well studying astrology is a pretty good way to spend April, don’t you think? 🙂
Love, MP
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2 thoughts on “Oppositions Are Other People (And You Too)”
I took your advice and checked out my fathers chart. Turns out he has a lot of oppositions in his chart! His sun conjunct jupiter opposes saturn which likely factors in his authoritarian style. He also has a mars in aries – neptune in libra opposition which may account for why he never admits that he’s angry when he starts yelling. His mercury also opposes saturn so he either fears or speaks to make sure people are afraid to disagree. HIs mars opposition squares my sun and tells me I’m the angry one when I’m not saying anything, or doing anything but listening silently. Its one of those things where I can go over every moment of a conversation trying to see what it was I did wrong, and not see anything that stands out. His moon is conjunct my mars I guess I trigger him by existing. He also has a cap chiron – cancer uranus opposition and his uranus conjuncts my venus. It seems karmic since I also have a chiron-uranus opposition and a venus neptune opposition.
The upcoming 13 degree cross will conjunct his mars and i’m afraid of what will happen with us. Something will snap. It’s happening in my 8th house. I live in fear of his anger and his words but I guess because of the opposition he just can’t see that. And if I try to tell him, he can’t hear it. He only hears me opposing him.
Interesting post. I have to agree – oppositions can definitely play out the way you’ve described, with people unconsciously acting out the unowned or repressed aspects of their nature.
But oppositions can serve a positive function as well in that, ideally, they allow us to view ourselves more *objectively* – sometimes through other people and sometimes through an honest acknowledgment of our own push-pull, inner dynamics. I think a lot depends on how mindful and self-aware we are, and also how willing we are to work on our ‘stuff’. Assuming we’re willing, we can eventually begin to incorporate the best qualities of each of the two sides into a more blended balance of energies, similar to the way the Nodes can work. Or that’s been my experience anyway.:)