Opposition
Degree: 180°
Symbol: ☍
Energy: Saturnian, Disharmonic
Key Themes: Contrast vs effort, oppression vs stress, passionate attraction, slow constant action
Aries is the 1st zodiac sign, it's the beginning and representation of Mankind. Libra, Aries's opposite or sister sign, is the Union of two men or polarities. Libra's symbol is The Scales for a reason. Libra/Aries are literally in the middle of the zodiac when you look at a wheel chart, holding together and weighing both sides of the fence (or the top and bottom halves of a chart). As Above, So Below. Everything in this universe and within this dimension has polarity. Good and bad, male and female, light and dark; So by understanding this dynamic we can better understand how the sister signs of the zodiac and the opposition aspect operates. Too much of one side creates an imbalance. Too much good isn't really all that good. You need a little evil (everything related to primal instinct, which isn't actually "evil" in the same sense as what's "good" can mean different things to different people) to bring some order and purpose to life. They say there are only two emotions, love & hate, and every feeling and emotion are branches from either force. Evil comes from hate, as well as fear and egoism. If you had no fear, you'd have no purpose. Because purpose is a reasoning with life that "I might not make it" so further action needs to be taken to avoid our own death aka failures. How often has doing or being "good" benefitted those seeking success? How often does "doing the right thing" and "following all the rules" got people to the top? We'd be surprised if we knew the types of sacrifices people had to make, the rules that needed to be broken, and the corners that needed to be cut for one to come out on top. Kingdoms are toppled and wars are won through "evil", no matter the agenda. Now, that's not to say someone who always does good won't become successful, because a good mindset is necessary to live a happy and fulfilling life, but we all know that saying "nice guys finish last." And yes, some people have karmic contracts to live an "always do good" lifestyle, that's for them though. This is just an overall and general outlook on the matter.
So getting back on track, oppositions work best when the polarities are being worked together to create the balance that's needed. However, sometimes we need to (and inevitably will do) experience both extremes of the polarity in order for us to know or find that balance. Without experience, do you even know? Think of it like a seesaw (I know, fucking cliché), they're kinda fun though right? One person sits opposite from one another on a piece of wood or whatever, and when one decides to apply force (or exert their power/strengths) it pulls the seesaw down, forcing the other person up off the ground. When the one who exerts their force decides to let go, it allows the other person on the opposite end to regain their power and strength and thus they can participate in enforcing their energy as well. When they work together, they're able to take turns, each time gaining new perspectives and experiences. This can be fun for a while as the constant going back and forth allows you to enforce and not enforce the energy. Of course, an opposition is considered be a "hard" or "disharmonious" aspect, meaning it's not an easy one to master. So for most it probably isn't all that fun as you are having two separate or dual energies facing off with one another. But I personally find an opposition to be something of a good thing. It brings the opportunity to see both sides.
Sometimes one side can decide to apply too much force, and this doesn't allow the other to exert anything, it's just sitting there in limbo, feet off the ground, absolutely out of it's environment without control. This is that disharmony or imbalance, when one is doing too much of one thing for longer than needed, it's not fair to the other. This is where things can get tricky and simulations get disrupted. At this point in order to regain fairness or balance the overpowering force HAS to allow some resistance OR the underpowered force needs to work that much harder to apply pressure. Fortunately this is where a mutual agreement can take place. You don't have to completely give up your power, but you need to give up some of it. How 'extreme' this plays out will be different for each individual. Those with prominent Scorpio/8th House/Pluto/Mars energy for example will tend to experience oppositions (and life in general) on very extreme levels for most of the time. And that's normal for them. Since Scorpio's Mode is Fixed, that energy continuously plays out through an extremist-type of lifestyle by default. The natal doesn't have to be an "extremist" by definition, but their life may be more eventful, and usually more taboo, compared to someone who lacks that kind of energy in their chart.
When we implement a planetary opposition into our world, and this will appear as a transit or can be found in someone's natal chart, you're having to face a situation with a clear view (simply put). Whether or not you're fully "aware" of this, you'll go through scenarios that are closely tied to the energies of that placement. For example, when the transiting Sun is opposite your natal Moon (which happens once a year for everyone), you'll become more aware of your personal feelings and emotions, and may even be a little more sensitive during that time. If this is happening in the 1st House and 7th House, it'll be linked to your personal life and the life of others. I'd see this as how your emotions and identity fit in in this dualistic world (as Aries/1st House and Libra 7th/House represent the Duality [Libra] of Man [Aries]). Your actions and ego (Sun) may show you where these feelings and emotions (Moon) stem from, and it'll give you an opportunity to work on or nurture anything that needs attention. Since the Sun is our life force and source of light, this particular transit isn't one you can just run and hide from. It's like a personal Full Moon (and now that I think about it, does the Sun ever eclipse our natal moon?
). However, humans do have free will, so it's really up the natal what actions they do or don't take (physically, mentally and spiritually).
The Sun illuminates everything it touches, highlighting all the energies of that object. It leaves nothing off the table. It's not just planets that play a role in astrology, but asteroids do too. Even mathematical points in the sky. Mathematics is a major key to the creation of the universe. If you think about it, everything is made from numbers, lines and shapes. It's what forms the sounds and vibrations of creation. The sound "Aum/Om" is said to be the first sound, the sound of all life. All planets and objects, including ourselves, other life forms, and our man-made material junk all give off a vibrational frequencies. Sound can only be made from light, and the Sun provides a shit ton of that for us (Jupiter does too, it's like a mini second Sun-ish, but that's for another time). Everything has a mathematical equation to show it's existence, even if scientists haven't figured them out yet.
As you could imagine it's hard to ignore Sun transits, because basically the Sun is the major driving force to all of life. But let's take a planet that's controversial in both in Astrology and Astronomy, the infamous planet-ish Pluto. Pluto is Death in the flesh, or err I guess rock, and he operates in the under realms. Far off and out of sight of our own human existence (ok, just our eyeballs). He's the gatekeeper between life and death (Neptune is the gatekeeper between the spiritual and material). When Pluto is in opposition to your natal Moon, this may end up playing out on subconscious levels, and it could even distort or manipulate your own perceptions of reality. You may be forced to face your own fears and the darker sides of life. It'll change and transform what you care about and how it makes you feel.
The things we hate or don't like is still a feeling, and anything you give feeling to is something you care about. For most people we tend to run away from things that don't feel good even if we're the ones creating the feeling. At least, we may think we're running away from it, but really we're just ignorantly ignoring it. For some, times of opposition can be a challenge (especially if fixed energy is dominant in your chart), but approaching them properly can yield more favorable, and karmically profitable, results. Use them as an opportunity to fix or see through on what needs our immediate attention. The great thing about astrology is that it's all prediction based, whether or not everyone will agree with that statement, we use past events (aka experiences) to foretell current or future outcomes. Sun opposition to your natal Mercury? The Sun is illuminating your rational mind, so take the conscious effort to evaluate what's coming to the surface. Sun opposite Mars? Your drives and passions are highlighted, and the actions you need to take can come into your awareness. You'll know what needs to be done, but that thing called free will need some enforcement as well. However, I do believe that certain outcomes are inevitable, as the only thing that's certain is death. But how you get there is completely dependent on your circumstances, mindset and personal drive.
In the smallest and simplest conclusion, Oppositions are opportunities to refresh or gain new perspectives in order to bring/create balance between two opposing, mutual, forces. Resistance to this will result in oppression, and oppression will result in stress. The key is to discover both sides of the fence and find their middle ground. Drawing the line in the sand, coming to a conclusion. An alchemist point of view for an opposition is to remain neutral, accept that life is dualistic with opposing forces, and us humans are in the middle of that chaos eagerly trying to figure out how to integrate these forces into our everyday lives.
When we implement a planetary opposition into our world, and this will appear as a transit or can be found in someone's natal chart, you're having to face a situation with a clear view (simply put). Whether or not you're fully "aware" of this, you'll go through scenarios that are closely tied to the energies of that placement. For example, when the transiting Sun is opposite your natal Moon (which happens once a year for everyone), you'll become more aware of your personal feelings and emotions, and may even be a little more sensitive during that time. If this is happening in the 1st House and 7th House, it'll be linked to your personal life and the life of others. I'd see this as how your emotions and identity fit in in this dualistic world (as Aries/1st House and Libra 7th/House represent the Duality [Libra] of Man [Aries]). Your actions and ego (Sun) may show you where these feelings and emotions (Moon) stem from, and it'll give you an opportunity to work on or nurture anything that needs attention. Since the Sun is our life force and source of light, this particular transit isn't one you can just run and hide from. It's like a personal Full Moon (and now that I think about it, does the Sun ever eclipse our natal moon?
The Sun illuminates everything it touches, highlighting all the energies of that object. It leaves nothing off the table. It's not just planets that play a role in astrology, but asteroids do too. Even mathematical points in the sky. Mathematics is a major key to the creation of the universe. If you think about it, everything is made from numbers, lines and shapes. It's what forms the sounds and vibrations of creation. The sound "Aum/Om" is said to be the first sound, the sound of all life. All planets and objects, including ourselves, other life forms, and our man-made material junk all give off a vibrational frequencies. Sound can only be made from light, and the Sun provides a shit ton of that for us (Jupiter does too, it's like a mini second Sun-ish, but that's for another time). Everything has a mathematical equation to show it's existence, even if scientists haven't figured them out yet.
As you could imagine it's hard to ignore Sun transits, because basically the Sun is the major driving force to all of life. But let's take a planet that's controversial in both in Astrology and Astronomy, the infamous planet-ish Pluto. Pluto is Death in the flesh, or err I guess rock, and he operates in the under realms. Far off and out of sight of our own human existence (ok, just our eyeballs). He's the gatekeeper between life and death (Neptune is the gatekeeper between the spiritual and material). When Pluto is in opposition to your natal Moon, this may end up playing out on subconscious levels, and it could even distort or manipulate your own perceptions of reality. You may be forced to face your own fears and the darker sides of life. It'll change and transform what you care about and how it makes you feel.
The things we hate or don't like is still a feeling, and anything you give feeling to is something you care about. For most people we tend to run away from things that don't feel good even if we're the ones creating the feeling. At least, we may think we're running away from it, but really we're just ignorantly ignoring it. For some, times of opposition can be a challenge (especially if fixed energy is dominant in your chart), but approaching them properly can yield more favorable, and karmically profitable, results. Use them as an opportunity to fix or see through on what needs our immediate attention. The great thing about astrology is that it's all prediction based, whether or not everyone will agree with that statement, we use past events (aka experiences) to foretell current or future outcomes. Sun opposition to your natal Mercury? The Sun is illuminating your rational mind, so take the conscious effort to evaluate what's coming to the surface. Sun opposite Mars? Your drives and passions are highlighted, and the actions you need to take can come into your awareness. You'll know what needs to be done, but that thing called free will need some enforcement as well. However, I do believe that certain outcomes are inevitable, as the only thing that's certain is death. But how you get there is completely dependent on your circumstances, mindset and personal drive.
In the smallest and simplest conclusion, Oppositions are opportunities to refresh or gain new perspectives in order to bring/create balance between two opposing, mutual, forces. Resistance to this will result in oppression, and oppression will result in stress. The key is to discover both sides of the fence and find their middle ground. Drawing the line in the sand, coming to a conclusion. An alchemist point of view for an opposition is to remain neutral, accept that life is dualistic with opposing forces, and us humans are in the middle of that chaos eagerly trying to figure out how to integrate these forces into our everyday lives.
