6/27 – 7/5 Mars square Pluto
Thick blood-red light floods the smokey stage. The rhythmic and ritualistic beats of Densmore’s drums bellow through the audience. Hairs at the nape of your neck stand on end. The tension builds as the crowd sways in mystical union. Morrison appears out of nowhere. Possessed by forces unseen, he bounds across the front of the stage in cathartic, twisting leaps and moans. Morrison writhes in sweat-soaked leather pants, howling and grinding himself into the stage. Ride the Snake. Ride the snake, he growls.
He is Dionysus.
He is Mars erotica.
He is fire and earth.
In stark contrast, lining the front of the stage is stone-faced law enforcement. They attempt to hold back an inflamed crowd that begs to taste this shaman and his stage magic. Or are they holding back Morrison from delivering a collective Dionysian climax? The ultimate authoritarian cock-block on full display.
Morrison walks a tightrope of chaos and creation. He taunts authority and whips the crowd into frenzied ecstasy. He does it with words and sound. Body and form. Knowing and not knowing if he will push too far.
Will there be rapture, or will there be rupture?
Rapture or Rupture?
This is the dynamic that this week’s transits and especially Mars square Pluto speaks to. These energies sit at the nexus of chaos, creation, and destruction, and describe a tipping point, a pressure cooker. Mars in Aries stomping on a stage to the beat of pounding war drums. Emoting coded incantations and mind-altering tongue lashes. The poet conjures primal forces, shaping his will into manifestation, breaching the underworld and cracking open the ancient Orphic Egg.
Cardinal fire meets cardinal earth.
I recently re-watched Oliver Stone’s 1991 film, The Doors. I was struck by Val Kilmer’s potent portrayal and embodiment of Morrison, and the lengths an actor or performer will sometimes go to, to get it right. The tightrope walk. A delicate balance between artistic immersion and unruly self-indulgence. Obliteration of boundaries within and without.
Break on through.
Break on through.
Break on through.
Not every battle requires engagement, but Mars’s natural state is to conquer, to burst in headlong with quick powerful strikes. Mars in Aries lacks the strategic vision of Scorpio, his other domicile, so he may just literally lose his shit. Conversely, he may take advantage of that sextile to Saturn to make his influence more controlled and productive. It is a choice. But a choice that a charging ram’s head full of fire can easily miss or ignore.
Morrison always pushed for the edge. He consistently sought to disrupt the status quo and longed to free his audience from societal taboos and inhibitions. In a world that is going through some serious contractions, we may want to ask ourselves. Are we choosing to ride the snake or scorch the earth?
Star Wisdom for the week: Conjure the spirit of Jim Morrison and ride the snake. Be at peace, but take up space like a Chieftain warrior.
Published on 6/20/22