Learning Astrology: Mars in the natal chart

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Astrology 101: Mars in your chart

Mars is the planet of action.  The house placement and zodiac sign of Mars in your chart signifies the areas of life in which you take a stand as well as your style of aggression.  Knowing about someone’s Mars can reveal much about their passions, the things in life they consider worth fighting for, as well as how they will fight.

Mars in Aries

Astrology is a language of symbolism but these symbols of the zodiac are very dense, containing multiple meanings.  Mars rules Aries, so a person with Mars in this sign may carry very strong energy related to Mars’ themes.  However, not all Mars in Aries people will are the same.  Looking up a list of famous people with Mars in Aries, we see can see Mars-Aries combining for a sinister form of selfishness (Jeffrey Dahmer and the Marquis de Sade) or blending for a uniquely personal creative style (poets Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson).

Mars in Virgo

By adding house placement to our interpretation of an individual’s Mars, we can begin to understand some of the very different ways in which the planet can be expressed within a specific sign. Virgo is related to health, food, service, order and small animals.  If a woman has Mars in Virgo in the seventh house, she may take a very proactive stance in regard to her husband’s health and diet, trying to ensure that he keeps his cholesterol and blood pressure levels low.  On the other hand, someone with Mars in Virgo in the twelfth house of charity may volunteer for a local food pantry.  An individual with Mars in Virgo in the sixth house (Virgo’s native home in the natural zodiac) may also do volunteer work, perhaps at an animal shelter.

Mars in Capricorn

Another factor which can influence the way a planet is expressed is its placement relative to other planets or key points in the chart such as the Ascendant.  Capricorn is a sign related to structure and authority.  Ronald Reagan, with Mars in Capricorn opposite the Ascendant, represents to many Republicans a key figure in trying to protect and conserve old-fashioned social values.  On the other hand, two famous people with Mars in Capricorn closely conjunct a Capricorn Sun, each sought in their youth to use their personal images to re-define the creative structures of the medium in which they worked:  David Bowie and Patti Smith.

Mars in Cancer

The themes related to Cancer include home, children and nurturing.  Since these themes seem at odds with war-like Mars, traditional astrology says Mars is in its fall in Cancer.  However, as we saw above, even in its home sign of Aries, Mars can be expressed in a variety of ways and the same is true in Cancer.  One of the most famous paintings of Pablo Picasso, who Mars in Cancer in the death-related twelfth house, is Guernica.  Picasso was born in Spain and this painting is his response to bombings in the Spanish Civil War.   Maria Montessori, who had Mars in Cancer conjunct freedom-oriented Uranus, founded a style of elementary education which emphasizes giving children more choices in the classroom.  On the negative side, homegrown terrorist Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber, had Mars in Cancer in the sign’s natural home of the fourth house.

Although it would take an entire book to look at every possible combination of Mars signs, house placements and planetary aspects, this blog entry has tried to present some of the different ways the themes of this sign can manifest.  Take a look at your own chart, to see what Mars’ sign, house placements and aspects reveal about your own passions and aggressions.  You may wish to schedule an astrology reading to discuss the creative ways in which you can positively draw on the potential of your Mars.

 

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