Mars-Jupiter squares occur at intervals of just over a year on average. The aspect is occasionally repeated three times over the space of a few months, due to a Mars retrograde during the alignment. Except for such retrograde repeat performances, the aspect alternates between waxing (90 degree arc) and waning (270 degrees) phases. In either case, the alignment seems to herald a time when people are looking for hard and fast solutions to deep structural problems: trying to reach a position of strength often not justified by the resources at hand. In other words, there's a sense that it's imperative to 'strike while the iron is hot', coupled with a fear that whoever hesitates is lost.

The waning Capricorn-Aries Mars square to Jupiter of 1999 is the first to occur in this sign combination since 1963. (The only other 20th Century waning Mars-Jupiter square in these signs occurred in 1917.) Not until 2035 will there be another waning square between these two planets in this particular combination of signs. Cardinal sign Mars-Jupiter squares tend to coincide with bellicose behavior, as individuals and groups become more than usually inclined to seize by force what they fear they would otherwise lose over time - often with the objective of negotiating from what they hope will be a position of strength on the brink. Wholesale miscalculation by each side of the other's capacity to resist is common in these brinksmanship scenarios.

The waxing Mars-Jupiter square from Virgo to Gemini in the year 2000 was last seen in 1953. Its only other 20th Century appearances came in 1929 and in the 1917-18 triple alignment. This particular combination of planets, signs and aspects does not recur until 2036. Mutable sign Mars-Jupiter squares tend to be 'the revenge of the bean-counters' - times when technicians try to tinker and fine-tune their way toward their desired objective. Often, they discover too late that they didn't take everything into account; and in fact their best efforts end up being a well-intended application of force in precisely the wrong direction.

I envision the fixed sign Mars-Jupiter square as signifying a kind of cease-fire or stalemate between evenly matched polar opposites - who are in some sense really too depleted to engage in outright struggle. However this may come on the heels of a miscalculation that tempts one side into a first strike against the other - usually with disastrous consequences for the initiator. 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.'

Triple-squares of Mars and Jupiter are relatively scarce, only occurring a half-dozen or so times per century as a rule. Besides the 1917-18 triple, the only others in the 20th Century took place in 1920, 1926, 1945-46, 1967, 1973-74 (including during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War), and 1992-93. There won't be another triple until 2014.

The first Mars-Jupiter square of the 21st Century comes in 2002, when there's a waning Aries-Cancer alignment in January (the first since 1990), followed by a waxing Scorpio-Leo alignment in December (the first of its kind since 1978).

Richard Nolle, Certified Professional Astrologer phone or fax 480-753-6261 - email rnolle@astropro.com Box 26599 - Tempe, AZ 85285-6599 - USA on the World Wide Web at http://www.astropro.com