Venus ℞ square Mars in Leo · Neptune ℞ square Lilith in Capricorn

The headline this morning is Venus retrograde square Mars, just past exact at half a degree. Venus is in detriment in Scorpio, which is uncomfortable to begin with, but Mars receives her from his own house, and that reception is doing real work. It takes the aspect from a straight collision down to something more like an argument between people who already know each other's rhythms. The friction is real; the rupture is not necessarily.

The Sun in Libra is in fall, which I always find worth saying out loud because people underrate how much it colors a season. But today the Sun applies to a sextile with Jupiter, and Jupiter receives the Sun by domicile, so the weakened luminary has a benefic patron for a few days. Add that Sun and Saturn are in mutual reception by exaltation, Sun in Libra, Saturn fallen in Aries, and the Sun is actually better supported than its sign suggests. I want to revise what I said a sentence ago: the fall matters, but it is substantially cushioned this week.

Mars sextile Uranus is in the background, mild, the kind of aspect that lets a quick decision land cleanly if you happen to make one.

The Moon is under the beams at the tail of Libra, a hair from new, in the Neck mansion, which the older texts flag for caution around disputes and legal matters. Combine that with the Venus–Mars square still cooling and I would genuinely postpone any confrontation you were planning for today. Around 15:24 UTC she crosses into Scorpio and meets Venus's territory, which will sharpen the mood by evening.

Neptune square Lilith is exact to under half a degree but it has been grinding for weeks and will grind for weeks more. I mention it only so you know what the low hum is.