Solar Rays: Under the Beams, Combustion & Chariot
Intro
In Astrology, there is a lot of time spent arguing over what is considered “correct.” Some argue that the conjunction (0°) is not an aspect, which is an interesting take, as there are numerous examples of the contrary. The idea being that the conjunction does not involve sight—the planets can’t see each other—but rather co-presence—standing in the same house. This article isn't a theoretical debate; the aim of this article is to show that not all conjunctions are made equal. We are looking at the stages of encroaching on that blinding light, and the rare, protected moments where a planet finds a way to survive the heat.
Under the Beams and Combustion
Planets approaching the Sun move through three distinct stages of visibility and power. The first stage, known as being Under the Beams, begins when a planet is within 15° of the Sun but still more than 8° away. At this distance, the planet becomes invisible to the naked eye. Its expression is obscured or weakened, often causing it to behave erratically—almost out of character. This condition is frequently described as the planet’s energy being kept hidden, secret, or "undercover." Think of the desert mirage trope: you are lost in the middle of the desert, exhausted, thirsty, consumed by the heat, when you all of a sudden see an oasis. You run towards it and drink the water with keen desperation, only to be hit by the gruelling reality that what you are drinking is a hallucination when the dryness of the sand consumes your mouth.
06/03/2026, 12:00, Lyngen, Norway. Charts sourced from: www.aspectarian.com
A literal manifestation of this undercover signature occurred shortly after Mars moved into Pisces on 03/03/2026. By 06/03/2026, when the Sun and Mars were approximately 12° apart, elite NATO reconnaissance units were operating deep within the Arctic Circle. These missions involved the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS) launching from submerged submarines to establish hidden observation posts along the Norwegian coast. The placement in Pisces provided the prominent water signatures, while the soldiers’ tactics mirrored the condition of Mars. To avoid detection by thermal-imaging drones, the units dug snow caves by hand to mask their heat signatures. Mars, the planet of war and action, was active—yet his heat and intent were completely obscured by the environment. This operation, part of the Arctic Sentry activation, demonstrated the exact nature of a planet Under the Beams. The military power was potent, but his expression was kept entirely secret and invisible to the naked eye.
As a planet moves within an 8° orb of the Sun, it enters the territory of Combustion, a process of complete exhaustion. If Under the Beams is a mirage, then a combust planet is a planet with heatstroke. The light of the Sun is so potent that it completely outshines its companion. The planet is burning up, forced to expend significantly more effort to be noticed while struggling to perform its basic functions. If you remember when you were a kid and you tried looking into the sun; I want you to think of that moment when everything disappears and all you can see is the light of the Sun—that is what a Combust planet is like.
29/01/2026, 12:00, Kiev, Ukraine. Charts sourced from: www.aspectarian.com
We can see this very clearly on 29/01/2026 when the Sun at 9°30' of Aquarius sat at the exact midpoint between Venus at 14°55’ and Mars at 4°42’. On this day, the Kremlin issued a formal invitation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to come to Moscow for peace talks, a move that occurred as US-led efforts to end the nearly four-year war were intensifying. Both Mars, the planet of militia and strategy, and Venus, the planet of diplomacy and union, were combust, and the resulting failed diplomacy serves as a literal manifestation of these planets being outshone and exhausted. Zelenskyy rejected the invitation, refusing to travel to the capital of a nation that was firing missiles at his country every day. This refusal highlights the "heatstroke" of the combustion; the desire for union and the strategy for peace were both present, but they were blinded and rendered non-functional by the overwhelming reality of the ongoing conflict.
There is something to be said about the condition of the planets and how none of them really had any dignity at this point. Mars was in the face of Venus/Saturn, and the bounds of Mercury; Venus was in the face of Mercury and the bounds of Jupiter; and the Sun was in detriment, in the face of Venus/Saturn, and the bounds of Venus. This lack of essential dignity meant that no planet was a chariot, leaving the significations of both diplomacy and warfare completely unprotected and vulnerable to the Sun's consuming rays. Instead of a protected strategy, we saw a hollow diplomatic gesture—a mirage of a peace talk that could not be realised because the heat of the war made the journey to the "oasis" of Moscow an impossibility.
The Strategic Shield: The Chariot
Before moving on to Cazimi, we must examine a potent mitigating factor for the harmful effects of Combustion: the Chariot. A planet is said to be in its Chariot when it holds essential dignity—specifically when it is in its own domicile, its exaltation, or its own bounds. In this state, the planet is viewed as being protected or shielded from the Sun's harmful rays.
19/01/2026, 12:00, Kharkiv, Ukraine. Charts sourced from: www.aspectarian.com
A prime example of this occurred on 19/01/2026, when the Sun was at 29°17' Capricorn and Mars was at 26°54' Capricorn. Mars was in his sign of exaltation and his own bounds. On this day, the introduction of the Malvina-M unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) marked a definitive shift toward a technologically obscured phase of the Ukraine conflict. Although Mars was deeply combust and technically invisible, his presence in his sign of exaltation provided a level of strategic protection and functional mastery.
This miniaturised, uncrewed version of the TOS-1A “Solntsepyok” heavy flamethrower was designed to launch 220mm thermobaric rockets from highly concealed positions. By mounting these “vacuum bomb” launchers on a lightweight, remote-controlled chassis, engineers mitigated the extreme vulnerability of manned crews. The UGV acted as a literal robotic chariot for the Mars energy. Despite the blinding authority of the Sun, the deployment of the Malvina-M demonstrated a tactical evolution toward "blind" warfare. It allowed for the delivery of intense, oxygen-depleting heat while the human operators remained miles away. Much like a planet in its chariot, the aggressor was removed from the face of the battlefield, remaining hidden and protected while exercising lethal, exalted force. While Mars was technically blinded by the Sun, we see the strategy of a cooled-down, exalted Mars using that invisibility to its advantage: “If I cannot see my opponent, I will make that my strategy”
Conclusion
Proximity to the Sun is a study in extremes. We see planets moving within his reach getting obscured, hidden, and sometimes entirely exhausted. Under the Beams is a moment in the sky when the Sun’s rays outshine Mars’ defences and cause him to be hidden in plain sight. As the Sun, Mars, and Venus move closer to each other, we see Venusian diplomacy and Martian warfare getting burned up by a poorly resourced authority. Yet, we also found the Chariot—the moment where a planet’s own dignity provides a shield, turning a desperate debility into a lethal advantage. But what happens when the planet moves even closer, right into the centre? When we hold someone in our heart, they radiate out with us, and we see the Sun turning from a malefic influence into a powerful bonifying condition. In the next article, we examine the throne: Cazimi.