I first considered the phenomena known as the ‘long stay of Mars’ in 2001 when Mars made a long stay in Sagittarius (See Vol. 13 No. 2 of the Journal of the Astrological Association of Great Britain) My current renewed interest, is probably due to the fact that I have Scorpio rising and my radix Mars is in Aries. As you probably know, Mars will make a long stay in Aries this year… which means I get a triple Mars return .. looking forward to that !!
However, in this post I am revisiting specifically the long stay of Mars in Sagittarius, during its late retrograde period in the summer of 1969. I knew that Woodstock had taken place under this ‘long stay’, but I only just realized that the Stonewall Riots took place at this time too. Searching on Stonewall astrology – I came across this article – by Alex Miller which apart from anything else, also has fantastic images. I am using the same time Alex uses, June 28 1969, 01.20 Manhattan, NY – though the situation got nasty at around 3 am (there’s a newspaper clipping giving this time – for source see link to mainstream press below).
In the 01.20 am chart, Mars rules the ascendant and at this point in the summer, Mars is reaching its final station, it will go direct on July 9th. Mars governs sexuality, action, adrenaline, fight or flight, and Sagittarius is freedom loving, unrestrained, restless and will fight to defend justice and fair play. Mars is sextile to revolutionary, rabble rousing Uranus – who is just minutes of arc into his transit through relationship sign Libra. Uranus is very powerfully placed in this horoscope, since it is triggering the axis of the world. The equinoctial and solsticial signs mark powerful turning points and though this wasn’t clear at the time, because the mainstream press supported the police narrative, the Stonewall Riots kick started the fight for LGBQ rights.The Moon (the people) is also in ‘fight for your rights’ Sagittarius – and it opposes a vocal Mercury in Gemini. Lots of mutable or double signs here. Media – Mercury – Gemini – pluralism, i.e. many voices. Mainstream media – no longer reports events – it frames them in a certain way. Uranus is ever the outsider and we need to hear other voices. Perhaps no surprise, the most popular local alternative paper, The Village Voice, gave the riots front-page coverage.’ Gay rights started to enter mainstream consciousness at this time I think. The debate society needed to have with itself started here.
Saturn in ‘we shall not be moved’ Taurus made a sextile to ‘safety first’ Sun in Cancer: during the six day riot period the police did not fire on the protesters. Venus in earthy, sensual Taurus rules the conflicting Saturn/Uranus archetypes. Uranus is the new awareness coming into full consciousness while Saturn represent the more conservative system that needs to change.
End result?
In this horoscope Venus in her own sign aspects the Moon’s Nodes and trines Pluto. Jupiter enters Libra on July 15th – and meets Uranus on the world axis. This is a massive signature for change for something new in the area of relationships and shows that the stakes were definitely very high.
‘After the Stonewall riots, gay men and lesbians in New York City faced gender, race, class, and generational obstacles to becoming a cohesive community. Within six months, two gay activist organizations were formed in New York, concentrating on confrontational tactics, and three newspapers were established to promote rights for gay men and lesbians. A year after the uprising, to mark the anniversary on June 28, 1970, the first gay pride marches took place in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.’ Taken from Wikipedia.
© Liz Hathway Astrologer
