Tender Tuesday: Encouragement for the Spiritual Warrior 2.0

by Jessica Girija Jewell

The Mars/Saturn conjunction is moving inexorably closer. When the passion of Mars collides with the discipline of Saturn, we may become passionately responsible, courageously disciplined, practically goal-oriented. Or as the heat of Mars meets the coldness of Saturn, the earth is scorched, power creates misfortune, diplomacy becomes punishment. Always, there is a range of possibilities for how energy manifests.

Mars is the activating force, and its fire is anger. Let's draw closer to the heat.

In the body anger can feel like a flush of heat, a rush of energy, a fierceness blazing through the eyes. But what is it really? A tender need for protection, for care, for boundaries. Underneath the fire, almost always, is grief. Even the Pandavas wept. Grief and integrity are close companions — we grieve most for the world we know is possible.

Marshall Rosenberg, who pioneered Nonviolent Communication, helps us tend the fire of anger rather than be consumed by it. He reminds us that anger is fed by our stories — the way we blame, judge, and project. What others do can light the match. But we add the fuel. His four steps for navigating anger:

1. Stop. Breathe.

2. Identify the judgmental thoughts.

3. Connect with your needs.

4. Express your feelings and unmet needs.

Not to others at first. First to ourselves. This is tapas — turning the fire inward for purification. The highest use of flame. 🔥