Astrology: Mars

Mars is the planet of action, energy, vitality, and drive. It is how we get things done and how we go after things. Mars governs sports, competition, endurance, tests of strength and challenges. Mars is also a planet of aggression, anger, and sometimes even violence.

Mars rules over the signs of Aries and Scorpio, it mainly rules over Aries. It also rules over the first house of self (and the eighth house), but mainly the first house. Traditionally Mars ruled over the third (siblings, communications) and tenth house (career). The first house is also known as the ascendant or rising sign. The first house is the house of self. It is how you thrust yourself and represent yourself to the world. It’s also how the world receives, perceive and see you. The first house represents our early childhood and how we navigate through the world and ourselves through discovery, mistakes and challenges. It’s the “who I am” house, and describes a bit of your personality. Lastly the first house is your outlook on life.

Mars in Roman mythology is the god of war, courage, bloodshed and men. Mars represents war, military, aggression, and competition. The Greek equivalent of Mars is Ares. Mars’ parents are Jupiter and Juno, siblings with Hercules and Vulcan and parent of Cupid. Mars is also seen as the father of Romulus and Remus, the founders of the city of Rome. Mars often seen as violent but Mars is the protector, using its strength and power to keep the peace.

Mars’s glyph is the inverted symbol of Venus, representing Mars’ undeniable masculine energy. Mars travels around the Sun in 687 days, so it spends about 58 days in each sign of the zodiac. Mars rules over sexuality (especially in regards to a women’s natal chart).

Exalted in astrology means the highest and best position a sign in a planet can be in. Mars is exalted in Capricorn. The sturdy, hardworking discipline earth sign is the most comfortable in Mars. It’s not overtly aggressive and impulsive like a fire sign, not overtly emotional and sensitive like a water sign and not overtly intellectual and people oriented like an air sign. Its practical, grounded and reasonable. Ruled by Saturn, gives Capricorn that natural ambition, discipline to go after what it wants. While Capricorn’s cardinal energy makes it a self starter, ready to start and explore new projects and ideas. This is why it is exalted in Capricorn

Mars detriment in Libra. Detriment represents a planet and zodiac signs most difficult and challenging position. Detriment doesn’t fit the ideals of a planet that it’s supposed to represent at all. Mars is in detriment in sign of Libra. Libra is an intellectual air sign, ruled by Venus. Venus is pleasure seeking, wanting things to come to it, rather than them going out to get it. Along with that Libra is the scale balancer. Fair, just, and pleasure seeking gives way to lazy, indecisive, passive aggressive behavior in the planet of Mars. Mars is action, action you create. Libra doesn’t do action, it contemplates, it is seeks out other people and doing all that oftentimes doesn’t give the motivation to actually go out and actually do something.

The fall sign in astrology represents a sign in which its position in a planet is uncomfortable and weak. Though this position is not the worst position it’s difficult to express the nature of the planet. The Fall is always the opposite sign of a planets exaltation. Mars fall sign is Cancer, which is the opposite of Capricorn. Cancer is an emotional water sign. Influenced by emotion and sensitively it maybe compel to act based on emotion. Not on logic, not passion, not reason but emotion. That can be a reckless and quite irresponsible thing to do. Though Cancer is of cardinal quality, so it is automatically a self-starter in mars, it is self-starts itself to act on emotion. Emotion is not bad but emotion oftentimes can get the best of you and it can’t be control. Combine mars, emotion and sensitivity with Cancer and Mars is a confused, lost, irrational and not on control. Mars isn’t supposed to feel too much, it is supposed to do. Mars shouldn’t be compelled by emotion to act, it should just act. As long as mars in Cancer understand to curb and to direct its emotion to be more productive it can actually accomplish a lot (it is of cardinal quality after all).

Overall Mars is action, energy, vitality, strength and endurance. Mars is about using aggression and confidence to go after what you want. Mars governs sports, physical activities, sexuality/sexual relations and competition. It can represent violence and anger but Mars has to do with self and getting what you want out of life, all on your own.