Seeing Red: "Red" Magic for Mars Retrograde

Join us for a live presentation with Claudia Bader about Mars Retrograde, anger and the alchemical magic of the Color Red.

This is a pay-what-can in-person event at the New York Theosophical Society. You may also join the Zoom livestream that night for a small $5 required ticket fee. This fee is necessary to prevent Zoom bombers.

Livestream Tickets:
Buy tickets – Claudia Bader - Seeing Red: "Red" Magic for Mars Retrograde – Zoom

Event Description:
Mars will be moving retrograde through the cosmos until Sunday, February 23rd. Claudia Bader will lead us in an exploration of red, and how its deeper meanings can inspire us to harness the challenging energy of this Mars retrograde period more constructively.

Our meetup will mark the first day of Mars’ reverse sojourn through Cancer, as well as a tight Mars-Pluto opposition. It will be a potent evening for probing emotional depths, looking honestly at our patterns around aggression, advocacy and alacrity, and seizing the opportunity for an alchemical shift.

As we prepare for Mars retrograde to stimulate Cancer in each of our charts, our emotional processes around rage, anger and aggression may be tested. “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die,” the late Carrie Fisher once quipped, popularizing an aphorism from the twelve-step community. As valid as our hurt feelings might be, how do we guard against poisoning ourselves and embrace a more constructive container for what Mars retrograde kicks up?

In the various lineages of alchemy and astrological magic, from ancient Alexandria to the Renaissance, working in a dynamic and ritualized way with red has offered a container for the risks and opportunities of Mars energy. The notion of the Rubedo was once intrinsic to red but is now lost or poorly understood. Combining insights across astrology, alchemy, psychoanalysis and art history, Claudia will lead us on a journey through manifestations of scarlet, crimson, vermilion and other shades. How can we use red like a talisman to get through the most difficult moments of this Mars retrograde?

The vast overuse of that word “transformation” in occult circles has turned it into a word that means everything and nothing. In its original alchemical context, transformation specifically referred to the physical alembic that could contain and manage intense agitations by way of heat and fire that would provoke major changes in the substance within the alembic. In the occult imagination, these heating procedures of early (al)chemists in their laboratories became metaphors for how to constructively cope with "hot" emotional agitation to improve the psyche and empower the soul.

Join us for an exciting evening with Claudia Bader, exploring how the metaphors of red in the alchemical tradition can empower our experiences of Mars retrograde and inform our work with charts during this hot start to 2025.

$$ In Person Event:
A suggested donation is $5 -$30 is very VERY much appreciated, but please know whatever you can afford is acceptable. Donations collected pay our rent, Meetup.com fees, beverages and snacks, and the honorarium for Claudia Bader. You may bring cash to donate on the evening of the event, or you can donate online by purchasing a livestream ticket.

$$ Livestream:
You may also join the zoom livestream that night with a small $5 required ticket fee. You are encouraged to donate more to Claudia Bader. This fee is a precaution against trolls and zoom bombers, which occurred frequently when we shared a free zoom link on meetup.com. You may purchase and livestream ticket after the event starts and join late. E-mail Danny Larkin at DanielBLarkin@gmail.com with any questions.

Livestream Tickets:
Buy tickets – Claudia Bader - Seeing Red: "Red" Magic for Mars Retrograde – Zoom

Recording:
If you can’t attend live, you are welcome to buy a livestream ticket to get access to the recording. The recording will be shared with all livestream ticket buyers as well as individuals who RSVP yes for the event on meetup.com. The deadline to buy the recording through the link above is 9:00pm on Jan. 1/7. Email Danny Larkin at DanielBlarkin@gmail.com with any questions.

Directions:
The meetup takes place at the New York Theosophical Society, which is next door to the Quest Bookshop. You may enter through the bookshop before 7 pm (when it closes) or to the left of the bookshop after 7 pm.

Timing:
7:00pm - 7:30pm - Open Q & A
7:30pm - 9:00PM – Mars Retrograde and the Alchemy of Red