THE NATURE OF MARS
I’m not sure where our society would be without Mars’ energy and the joy of competition and sports. Mars is the defender of society in the form of the police or the military. Mars is the logical brain behind our engineers and the force in the construction world that builds everything. The fan worship of our action heroes’ childhood comics, the courageous energy in our firemen and doctors, and the hero that keeps our society going. Indeed he governs the very red blood in our veins as the Vedas remind us he is the controller of the blood and all passion. In Vedic mythology, Mars is connected to Skanda, the 2nd son of Shiva. Mars is also connected to the hero of the Ramayana, Hanuman, who reminds us of the glory of selfless service to achieve moksha by devotion to the Lord.
Mars’ ultimate purpose is to bring pent-up volcanic turmoil to the surface to heal. He is the firepower important for making the world move and heal. He governs volcanic eruptions, wars, and rebellions.
On the mental level, Mars governs willpower and the ability to forge through difficult tasks using just his might and energy. Mars is the sexual conqueror that women desire but at the same time fear. When weak, Mars leads to rape, murder, and war, but when strong Mars embodies service as in the military duty to support the king and country. When afflicted, Mars can rage with anger, brutishness, and violence, and get caught up in drinking, smoking, and gambling –all those fun things that adolescent boys love to do. At the deepest level, the Mars archetype needs to conquer primal drives and move toward surrendering to the Divine will in service to mankind and beyond one’s own selfish and lustful desires.
Mars is deeply connected to the ego and dreams of great adventure where he is celebrated as the hero for climbing Mt. Everest or saving the abandoned miners lost in the cave. Boys grow up idolizing superheroes and the great athletes of our society. Society uses stories to inspire courage and overcome defeat. The dark side of Mars also comes out in early childhood education where the obsession with winning leads us to forget the need for cooperation. Remember: that for every winner there is a humiliated loser.
If you were born with a weak Mars in your chart –e.g. in the signs of Cancer or Aquarius–you may not have learned core lessons around service and courage. If your Mars is in either the signs of Libra or Taurus, you may need to control your passions and lustful energies.
Ironically, Mars is exalted in Capricorn because a good soldier can triumph and have extra energy while in the enemy’s camp. However, Saturn is debilitated in Aries since it is Saturn’s nature to be slow and ponderous. Saturn gets into trouble if it is impulsive and hasty. The sign of Cancer will debilitate Mars because domestic life destroys the Martian drive for energy and adventure. Every man needs a good night out with boys to balance out domestic drudgery.
Mars and the Sun are good friends because the Sun, the archetype of the King inspires their soldiers to be heroic and fight for just causes. Mars needs the Sun’s independence, courage, and confidence to complete its mission.
The dark side of Mars in Aries is the sexual conqueror ready to score another notch of sexual conquest –the pure expression of adolescent joie de vivre. Unfortunately, many men do not outgrow their teenage fantasies.
On the deepest spiritual level, Mars is the Shakti in the kundalini energy of Scorpio which is dormant and needs to become active to start the journey to self-realization. Ultimately, Mars ignites the hero’s journey for God-realization to return to his source.
Special thanks to Ron Schmidt of Loose Leashes for the Cover Photo. Visit his website at:
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