StarIQ.com's Cosmic Correspondent Kim Rogers-Gallagher has been invited to the planets' secret hangout. She's the first astrologer to enter this starry domain, and reports regularly on her findings there.

Cosmic Café 46:
Mars Enters Scorpio—and the Plot Thickens

A few weeks had gone by since I'd seen any of the planets, and I had to admit, I missed them. Okay, I wasn't really torn up about not seeing Saturn, but I did miss Jupiter. And Venus. And Mars—especially since he was getting dangerously close to my own Mars, in Scorpio at almost 12 degrees, made even more flammable by the fact that I was also born with an almost exact square between Mars and sudden, unpredictable, Uranus.

Now, Uranus is the guy who runs the department of tornadoes, winning the lottery, plane crashes and striking gold—the last thing in the world you'd ever imagine, in other words. My natal square, then, is the traditional astrological formula for sudden turnarounds, last-minute changes, accidents, incidents and, if you'll pardon the pun, "issues"—the kind that come up suddenly, and often urgently. Basically, I've always thought of myself as a loose cannon on the deck.

At any rate, once I began thinking about Mars, I started worrying about how "volatile" my own astrological set-up really was. I decided I'd call the Café and actually ask for Mars—go right to the source, so to speak. Just to check in and see if there was anything he wanted me to do that I wasn't already doing—because if that was the case, before he arrived "home" to my own Mars position, damned sure I'd be doing it. It's not a good idea to aggravate the ancient god of war, and I was curious as to what I could do to help "tap off" some of this energy.

See, Mars has a two-year orbit. When he returns "home" to where he was at the time of our birth, it's like getting hit with a double-dose of red-hot energy, for better or worse, depending what you do with it. We're faced with situations that demand we deal with anger, assertion and “just saying no,” and that we do it in our own defense. And speaking of “just saying no,” think of what happens to each of us right around our second birthday, when the "terrible twos" hit, right on schedule. But all you really have to do to understand Mars is to say some of his words: anger, aggression, assertion, red and adrenaline.

I picked up my galactic cell-phone and dialed “one.” Mercury, as usual, answered immediately.

"Hey, girl! Jupiter was just asking for you! You coming by?"

"Sure am," I said. "Any chance Mars might be around?"

Mercury laughed out loud. "Now, that's funny. First time anybody's actually come looking for him—except Venus, I mean." Then he got serious. "But I really don't know where he is right now, girlfriend. Even Venus doesn't. He's in Scorpio—and you know how he gets in Scorpio."

"Um, yeah," I answered. "I've got Mars in Scorpio. And I thought I'd talk to him before he got too close, you know?"

"Oh, uh-huh, gotcha, girl," Mercury said. "But I wouldn't even know where to start looking. You'd probably know better than I would, in fact."

"Well, how about I just stop by, and see if he shows up? Scorpio's pretty psychic, right? Maybe he'll just know I'm there."

"Yeah, do that," Mercury said. "Venus is here, so you girls can chat."

I was there fifteen minutes later, appropriately dressed in black. The Café was quiet, but I spotted Venus at the bar as I walked through the door, and Mercury skated over to me as soon as it closed behind me. He was wearing camo-gear and green in-line skates, and had a variety of pens in his right breast pocket. Ah, yes. He was in Capricorn, a very "militaristic" sign.

Venus embraced me, smelling of perfume, wine and cigarettes. In Pisces, however, I wasn't surprised. Pisces is the sign that most loves romance, drugs and escaping the planet, and alcohol is often one of the hatches it uses. "So we're both waitin' on the same guy, right, girlfrien'?" she said. Oops. Slurring her words, too.

I smiled and slid into the stool next to her. "Yep, sure seems that way." I felt the need to reassure her that I was only there for advice, however. In Pisces, she was ultra-sensitive, not quite sure of herself and easily frightened by competition. I didn't want her to think I was trying to move in on her territory, especially since she was just weeks away from an extended stay in Aries, four months worth of the goddess of love in the sign that belongs to Mars. In other words, she might not want to do battle for her man right now, but she'd certainly be armed and ready soon. Best not to start something now she'd want to finish later. Venus in Aries was a much more valuable ally than an enemy.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the Café door opening quietly. An absolutely gorgeous man in black stepped in. He closed the door, pulled down the shade and hit the light-switch. It was completely dark in the Café as he made his way toward Venus and me, but his aftershave was hard to ignore. He stopped first by Venus' chair, and kissed her—something you didn't need lights to see. After a long pause and a soft, sweet sigh from Venus, he tapped me on the shoulder. Chills ran down my spine as I experienced the touch of sexy Mars in Scorpio.

"You wanted to see me, my dear?" he said.

"Um, yes," I answered. "Do you have time to talk?"

"I always have time for a beautiful woman," he answered. "How about we have a drink at my place?"

I felt Venus cringe beside me. "Um, no, I was thinking we might talk right here."

"All right," he said, obviously not pleased. "But I'll still have that drink."

Neptune appeared, with three glasses and a lit candelabra. "I understand your need for privacy, darling, but a little light wouldn't hurt."

He grinned, and I realized that all three of us were staring at him. He was unbelievably, magnetically sexy. How the hell was I going to be able to actually talk to him?

Next Week: Advice From the God of Passion