Exploring Mars
We are being forced to pay closer attention
After all these generations since Columbus, some of the wisest of Native elders still puzzle over the people who came to our shores. They look at the toll on the land and say, “The problem with these new people is that they don’t have both feet on the shore. One is still on the boat. They don’t seem to know whether they’re staying or not”.
from Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
This quote could also be describing a puzzled Universe’s view of us humans here on Earth, when it comes to us playing out our Mars energy. The current lengthy (79 days) Mars retrograde period especially strikes me as having one foot on shore and the other on the boat. Further, the fact that the lunar nodal axis is finishing up its 18 month period with Aries as the sign of the North Node could also be seen as a time to finally act decisively.
This is a refresh of the Conscious Curiosities companion piece from October 2024. This week marks the third time I am sharing basics on Mars on my podcast. Aside from taking Christmas off, I am sharing a third time because Mars is relevant to my series on Medical Astrology (we are about half way through) - Mars rules acute conditions. Having a baseline understanding will be helpful when I restart that series in a couple of weeks. Here is what will be covered in this post:
Themes of Mars based on current astrology
All about Mars (in brief): the planet, the mythology of the archetype, and its astrological associations (medical astrology, Aries, 1st house)
Journal or reflection prompts
How Mars demonstrates taking action toward a goal through the 12 signs
Mars has been very active and prominent in 2024. Mars moved into Cancer on 9.4.24 after making some key back to back aspects in the weeks prior (to Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune), and made an opposition to Pluto from the very last degree of Cancer just prior to moving into Leo on 11.3.24. Then on 12.6.24, Mars began its retrograde back through early Leo and half of Cancer, and will move forward again 2.24.25, and finally out of Leo in April 2025.
Remember that Mars rules the North Node, which will be in Aries through January 2025, and also oversees Chiron while Chiron is in Aries (February 2019 - April 2027). So, we need to pay special attention to the longer term themes raised by the nodal axis and Chiron, as well as to themes of Mars in Cancer and Leo.
Look at your birth chart to see where the second half of Cancer and early degrees of Leo cover, as well as Aries, to determine how to personally synthesize all of the above. A theme will emerge:
That is healing and transformative
And perhaps necessary for you to step into rulership of your own life
By taking aligned action to your highest desires
From a solid home foundation
After integrating past experiences
Into the direction your soul is calling you.
Astronomy (from NASA’s website)
Mars was named by the Romans for its god of war because of its reddish hue, which looks like blood. It is red because the iron minerals oxidize. 4th planet to the Sun, if Earth were the size of a nickel, Mars would be the size of a raspberry. Its orbit is 687 Earth days, and its rotation is 24.6 hours. It has an elongated egg shaped orbit around the Sun, so its seasons are much longer than Earth’s and they vary in length.
It is a dusty, cold, desert with a very thin atmosphere. It has seasons, polar ice caps, extinct volcanoes, canyons, and weather. NASA has sent Rover missions to explore it multiple times.
Mythology (from the website Theoi)
Mars is the Roman name for this god, one of the Olympians, while Ares was the Greek name. Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera. He was the god of war, courage, and battlelust. He is symbolized by the helm, and his sacred animal is the serpent.
Ares/Mars appears to have been quite impulsive, having an affair with Aphrodite. Her husband Hephaistos was not too happy about the affair, and trapped Ares and Aphrodite in a net and shamed them in front of all the other gods. In another myth, Mars changed one of his daughters and her husband into serpents and sent them off to an island.
Of course, Mars had a lot of war shenanigans, too, as he is said to have delighted in war for the sake of war, and reveled in the slaughter.
Astrology: Basic associations
Mars rules Aries (in Hellenistic astrology, also Scorpio). In Hellenistic astrology, Mars is exalted in Capricorn, in its detriment (out of character) in Taurus and Libra, and in its fall (weak) in Cancer.
Corresponds to the 1st house of the Zodiac, a few keywords are: “I am”, awareness of the self, identity, the initiation of action
Element: Fire
Body Functions and associations (from Medical Astrology: A Guide to Planetary Pathology, by Judith Hill): Adrenaline, testosterone, male organs, the sense of smell, the catabolic metabolism (burning of fuel), the release of toxins, the red blood cells, iron, muscle tissue. The entire muscular system, inclusive of tendons and ligaments. Traditionally, Mars rules the left ear and Saturn the right. (Note we will cover more when we resume the Medical Astrology series).
Corresponds to Chakra 3, the solar plexus.
Mars represents our drive to take action toward our personal (or ego’s) desire. It is like the first growth of Spring, as it has to aggressively burst out and then survive. Mars also represents the sex drive, basically to implant the seed. Mars doesn’t actually formulate the goal, the Sun does that. The Moon provides the emotional drive, and Mars is the physical action.
Similar to the sign of Aries, it could be considered childlike, because it doesn’t layer on complexity to its survival agenda. It can lend decisiveness, which could also be looked at as impulsiveness, depending on the situation. It can make anything a competition. It is energetic, but not necessarily of the enduring type. More of a sprint or brute strength type. When I was thinking of a song that represents Mars and Aries energy, I thought of the Ramones song Blitzkrieg Bop.
I offer some questions for self-reflection related to Aries and where we made need to focus on self.
Am I clear on what it is I desire, and the motivation behind it? Sometimes continuing to ask yourself the question why helps you get down to the good stuff. Sometimes the motivation is not what it seems on the surface.
Do I stand up for myself when it is required, or do I habitually abandon myself, and where does that pattern come from? Is there any healing I can do if this is a wound?
I am leaving it at these two questions because they are big ones. For example, as I started questioning why I kept abandoning myself in the presence of my mother, I initially had some superficial reasons, such as “I am kind” (which is true, but irrelevant in these circumstances), or “She doesn’t have many years left” (which is just a guess on my part, and hey - my years count, too).
After continuing to ask why, I was able to get to the absolute truth that could no longer be denied, and then decide consciously whether I wanted to allow her narcissistic pathology unlimited access to my energy (in large part in order to continue playing my role as the “good daughter”), and thereby reduce my bandwidth to serve in a larger way. Oof! Not easy stuff. I think my “how” around this decision point exemplifies my Mars placement in Leo in the 10th house (associated with Saturn/Capricorn and boundaries, vocation, and legacy), conjunct to my Sun (conscious purpose, highest expression of self).
Below are very simplified key phrases for how you may tend to take action toward a conscious goal when exercising your own Mars’ placement by sign in its most authentic manner:
Aries: Charge forward fearlessly and passionately
Taurus: Take their time, assess impact to resources first
Gemini: Investigate many goals before settling on one to pursue
Cancer: Act from a secure home base, be prepared to retreat
Leo: Act from the most authentic expression of oneself
Virgo: Act with efficiency and logic with perfection in mind
Libra: Ensure consensus, aim for a state of harmony
Scorpio: Understand the underlying context, the deeper Why
Sagittarius: Evaluate whether the goal is broad enough, is more possible
Capricorn: Leverage experience, effort will contribute to mastery
Aquarius: Approach the goal from a unique perspective
Pisces: Surrender to the goal attuned to their spirituality, trust it will all work out
Related posts:
I just got the braiding sweet grass book for Xmas! Will have to check it out. I am learning so much from these breakdowns. I also appreciated you sharing the example with your mom. You got me good a few times. Playing the role of good daughter. Depleting your bandwidth that could be used for something better? Even asking us to think of the times we don’t stand for ourselves. I think of it as by not standing up for myself I’m giving the other person a gift. Even if it’s just a gift of not being a burden. But I’m being selfless to make things better for someone else. I never thought of it as abandoning myself. Or that the years I have left matter too. Woah this one got me real good. Thanks for making me think. 🩶
Thank you, Maria. This is so helpful and I am glad to be back to my astro studies and explorations after the hectic holiday season. I'm thankful that I journaled and answered those two big questions in depth before reading on. Mars in Cancer (opposing Sun and Jupiter in Cap) couldn't be more spot on as a modus operandi than your description and I'm glad I mined that through my journal explorations before confirming it externally. Home is where the heart(h) is and the essential foundation of all that I do. I feel less ashamed of my need to retreat and steward my solitude, in order to be effective socially (selectively and with careful intention).