This blogpost is a transcript from a YouTube video that I released on 9/11/25. If you would like to support your reading with some audio or visual stimulation, here's the video for your enjoyment.

This is a part of a series I made doing a deep dive on all of the planets in Astrology. You can find that playlist here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoBmZH12fbw

*I will often refer to a Zodiac Wheel through the video which includes the Zodiac signs, their planetary rulers, element assignment, quadruplicity, and gender. This is extremely helpful as you begin your studies in Astrology. If you would like to download a free, high quality version of this graphic, click here.

Intro

If you are ready to go deep and unlock the full power and potential of astrology to shape change in your own life and the world around you, stay with me. My name is Aleena and I am the astrologer for creatives and change makers with a physics BS from Yale.

Today we're talking about Mars!

We're going to get into the basic meaning of Mars, the exaltation scheme, the mythology, the astronomy, the planetary joys, transits, how you interpret Mars in a birth chart, everything you need to know about Mars. And if there's one thing in particular you're looking for, you can also check out the table of contents above to skip to what interests you.

Basic Meaning of Mars in Astrology

So Mars, who is he? What does he do? Mars is our planet of anger, aggression, violence, severing, splitting, separating, piercing, penetrating, inflammation, aggression, all of these kind of masculine warrior vibes.

Mars and Saturn as Malefics

He is one of the two malefics, the other malefic being Saturn. So, these are the two planets that want to do more challenging, difficult things for you in your chart. And if you have a day chart, if the sun is above the ascendant descendant axis, if the sun was above the horizon, that is to say, in your chart, then Mars will be the more difficult planet in your chart. If you have a night chart, if the sun is below the descendant ascendant axis, then Saturn will be the more challenging of the two malefics.

So although in traditional astrology, we call Mars malefic, there's always going to be two sides to every coin. So in more modern astrology, people tend to sort of soften the edges of what these planets can mean. And in traditional astrology, they were not trying to soften anything. They were very direct and extreme in the way they would delineate these planets and the types of challenges that they might offer you in your life.

So Mars is the malefic that is sort of hot and fast, has this kind of impatient, driving, aggressive energy. And Saturn on the other hand, the other malefic is more of this cold, slow, dry type of malefic where Saturn is about isolation and punishment and hardship and discipline and slows things down and deprives you of things. Mars is a quick, fast, hot, painful type of malefic. So although they are both very challenging to encounter and have a difficult energy to experience from outside of you, they are different in sort of opposite ways.

And if you want to really unpack more about Saturn, I have a whole video on Saturn that you can watch here. This is actually a part of a series that I'm doing where I'm doing a deep dive on all of the planets. So if you want to support my work or follow along on this journey and get notified whenever I'm releasing new videos, you can also subscribe and that really helps me out.

The Constructive Side of Mars

So Mars and Saturn are different types of malefics. And although there is a very real, very challenging nature to these planets, there's also a more constructive side. So nothing is just good and nothing is just bad. So on the more constructive side of what Mars wants to offer us, Mars is also our willpower, our drive to take action, our ability to assert ourselves and get things done. Mars is also bravery and courage and leadership and the ability to go forth into the unknown and overcome challenges. So this is also an important energy to integrate.

And this is sort of my philosophy around astrology that all of these planetary energies are parts of us and different people will have different types of relationships and identify more with some energies and less with others depending on your chart. But for all of us, it's important to integrate these qualities and be able to recognize them in ourselves and relate to them so that we're not overcome or possessed by them.

And it could go either way where maybe a planetary energy for instance if Mars is right on your ascendant then this might be an energy that could be really kind of taking over your life and that you are fully embodying which is not necessarily good or bad but if it comes to the point of archetypal possession where it's almost like a compulsion to act out in alignment with Mars's energy then that is not so much the direction that would be psychologically healthy to move in. However, it's also possible that we could deny these different qualities.

And for instance, if Mars is on the descendant on the western horizon when you were born conjunct that point in your chart, then it's possible that maybe Mars is a type of energy that you disassociate with and you would say, "I would never. I am not that way. This is not me." And in that instance, it could also be difficult maybe to assert yourself or stick up for yourself or act with courage and bravery in certain situations. So it's important that we are neither overwhelmed and consumed by these archetypal energies nor dissociating, splitting, denying that this energy exists inside of us.

My philosophy is that there is a transcendent self. And while we do have all of these archetypal energies that are present within us that we cannot remove, nor should we necessarily try to, we are not only these different archetypal energies. We are also this bigger self that is sort of able to relate to these things without being consumed, subsumed, overwhelmed, controlled by, possessed by these different archetypal energies.

And this is also in alignment with the philosophy psychology of Carl Jung. So if you're into this type of thinking, then you would probably be very interested in his work as well, which I highly recommend. And many astrologers are Jungian and very much resonate with this archetypal psychological understanding of the planets.

But that is only one layer to it. I am a traditional astrologer. So I also look at the way that Mars can be encountered outside of us. For instance, a Mars type experience that you might encounter outside of you would be getting in a car accident or having a fight or having a breakout of inflammation in your body. These are different ways that Mars can show up outside of you outside of a psychological context that it could be a literal material situation that you find yourself in. And astrology can show us both of those things at different times in different ways.

Mars is also associated with protection, your ability to protect and defend yourself in different situations and also lust and sexual energy. So, it's not just physical energy, but also sexual energy. Mars has this very penetrating quality to it. He is also the most masculine probably of all of the planets, the manliest man, the warrior of the zodiac. And opposite to Mars is Venus, which is sort of the most feminine, fem lovely female planet in the zodiac.

We can also think about Mars as our ability to show up in extreme and difficult situations. So there's this way that we can encounter Mars outside of us like I was describing, but also we can sort of embody Mars in different situations. So Mars is not only the situation that is difficult of maybe some kind of aggressive really fast-paced violent situation or something like that but also our ability to be in difficult situations and stay courageous and act swiftly and effectively even in extreme difficulty. So there is this way that we can embody Mars's nature and also a way that we can encounter Mars's nature from outside of us.

And as you're getting into your astrological learning, it's very helpful and important to start to be able to recognize in yourself, "oh, here is me acting from my Mars placement. Here is me encountering Mars in a situation outside of me. Here's Mars showing up in the world around me and in other people." And this is sort of how we start to get into the power and transformative tools is when we can identify what parts of life in ourselves and the world around us are relating to these different archetypes.

And to be able to sort of separate and understand and break down these different energies more subtly allows us greater autonomy and depth of self-understanding to be able to work with and transform the energies that we see around us. Because if you can't recognize and separate them from each other, then you will be more subject to their will and volition. And it will no longer be a situation of relating and autonomy, but rather a situation of kind of unconscious playing out the energy of those planets through you, which many of us do at different times. Of course, just kind of live out unconscious patterns and habits. But when you can recognize them showing up using these symbols, it is an extremely powerful tool of self-awareness.

My Method for teaching Astrology

And this is also why I teach the planets in this way. So in this video, for instance, I'm not going to be going over this is what Mars in Aries means, this is what Mars in Gemini means, this is what Mars in Cancer means. Instead, I am interested in teaching people the kind of most abstract foundational fundamental qualities of each of the planets and from there allowing you to make your own delineations.

So I'll also go in the future through each of the zodiac signs and the elemental qualities of the zodiac signs and also the houses and also the aspects and that's normally the program that I recommend to people for learning that you learn first the planets then the zodiac then the houses then the aspects and once you understand each of these at a very core archetypal essential level then you'll be able to make your own delineations that will not be just the projections of other people and other astrologers or people telling you this is what this means for you, but rather you'll be able to recognize and break down on this most essential level what things mean and apply them to your life in the way that is meaningful for you.

And that will ultimately be much more transformative than having someone write down linearly and give you some paragraphs about what each things mean. So I am interested in helping people to understand the totality of the symbolism and I think the most effective way to do that is to first break down each piece in its most core level and that ultimately will also take a very long time to really integrate. It is something that you need to practice by recognizing in your own life looking at your own chart looking at the charts of other people and just really kind of meditating and reflecting on this energy this archetype also as you see it in the media in stories. This is also a part of our cultural narrative that we see all over.

The Mythology of Mars

To take it back historically to the oldest version of Mars that we have record of, ancient people understood the planets to be like gods and at different points in history, Mars was assigned to different gods depending on the time period and culture that he was understood through.

So in the oldest sense we have the Babylonian god Nergal which means "to scorch" and Nergal was the god of the underworld in addition to being the god of war and violence and all of these things which is very interesting because by the time the Greeks come around Mars becomes the god of war and the warrior and sort of loses more of that underworld side to him and by the time we hit the 20th century and discover Pluto, Pluto then gets assigned this underworld type of connotation.

So Nergal was also god of the dead and responsible for deciding the fates of the dead. And it was said that he guaranteed peace due to his gruesome nature for fear of what he might do. Which is interesting because war is sort of the opposite of peace. And it's interesting the way that even in this ancient context they understood that war and peace are sort of two sides of the same coin and that the threat of war is sort of a guarantee of peace in some situations or at least that's sort of the story that they were telling in these ancient myths of Nergal.

And then the Greeks understood Mars to be god of murder and terror and blood lust and destruction and was very much hated. It was totally split. There was no sort of "let's look at the bright side of Mars." It was just something that you never want to encounter. Which is interesting that we've sort of come around to this psychological understanding of not splitting in this way of just saying that things are just good or bad. Or at least that's my position. And I think many other astrologers would agree with that in the 21st century.

The Astronomy of Mars

To get into Mars's astronomy, Mars from our visual perspective is one of the traditional planets that we can see with the naked eye. So that's why we have thousands of years of record and data that tell us about the types of effects Mars has on humans here on Earth. And visually we can see that he is glowing red, which is probably part of the origin of how he became assigned all of these more aggressive fiery associations.

So the way that planets look to us in astrology is core to the type of symbolic meaning that we make out of them. And Mars is literally a red planet glowing in the sky. Mars takes about two years to go around the zodiac. He spends about six to eight weeks in each zodiac sign depending. He goes retrograde about once every two years where he starts moving backwards in the sky and then forwards again. And is the neighbor that we have Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. So Mars is right after us in the order of the solar system, which is why his orbit is a little bit closer to Earth's length as opposed to Pluto for instance, which is the furthest out planet that takes about 240-some years to go around the zodiac and make his orbit complete.

Mars in the Zodiac

So another really useful way to understand the planets is through their manifestation in the zodiac signs. So, here I have this lovely zodiac wheel graphic that I made and you can download this for free on my website if you're interested. It is super useful for learning about astrology. There is so much symbolism rich within this graphic that will take a very long time to understand deeply and completely. So, highly recommend you give that a download.

And we can see here the different zodiac signs, their name written out in English in the outer circle. The inner circle has both the glyph and the symbol of the constellation associated with that zodiac sign. Within there we have the planetary ruler, the symbol of the planet and then the name of the planet written out in English. The quadruplicity—whether the sign is cardinal, fixed or mutable, the element associated with the sign—fire, water, earth or air—and whether or not the sign is masculine or feminine.

So we can look at this to start understanding the manifestations of Mars. So each planet has one or two zodiac signs that it is the ruler of. And what this means is that the zodiac sign is essentially an embodiment of that planet's nature. So Mars, for instance, (here's the symbol for Mars) is the ruler of Scorpio and also Aries. So Aries is the cardinal fire version of Mars and Scorpio is the fixed water version of Mars. Aries is the masculine Mars. Scorpio is the feminine Mars. So these different qualities help us to break down the way that Mars can show up in different situations.

Mars as the Ruler of Aries

Aries as the cardinal fire version of Mars I sort of think of as like a machine gun, right? So fire that is shooting out. Cardinal is like moving forward directive. And then if you imagine fire shooting out, this is similar to sort of a gun's energy. And Mars does have this violent, aggressive warrior type of spirit. So Aries as the masculine version of Mars is really just the embodiment of the warrior.

And in the symbol, Aries is a ram. So Aries is also associated with the head being the first sign in the zodiac. So Aries has this initiating, bursting forth, springing out of the ground, the seed coming out of its shell, life penetrating through the earth to give birth to life. This is the spring equinox. This is Aries, and this is the ram. Aries is associated with the head, and rams, of course, plow through things with their heads. And this is part of that kind of drive and forceful association with Mars and the warrior. Aries is very brave, very courageous, not afraid to go at things alone, a very strong leader and protector, not afraid to say or do the hard thing.

Mars as the Ruler of Scorpio

Scorpio is a very different version of Mars, the feminine water version of Mars. So I suppose I should say fire for Aries is more of this passion, energy, drive, bravery, courageous element and water is this emotional merging intuitive, mystical, magical, healing type of energy. So that is not really what you would expect Mars to be more oriented towards, would you?

So Scorpio is the scorpion as well which does have that stinger. So we still see this kind of aggressive nature in the symbol. But the way that this works for Scorpio is that they are sort of the archetype of the witch or the sniper. So as a fixed water sign, water also likes to go really deep into things. So in this kind of deep emotional way, Scorpio can just really hone in on something. It could be a person or it could be an interest of theirs and they will just completely consume themselves with almost like this obsession for this thing. And it could be again like a relationship or like a personal interest.

The way that Scorpio has this Martian bravery is more in kind of an emotional and almost intellectual way where Scorpio is not afraid to look into the deep, dark, taboo underworld parts of life. Scorpio does not shy away from things that we're told that we shouldn't look at. Scorpio is actually very interested in all of those things. Sometimes Scorpio can even be kind of into conspiracy theories. Sometimes Scorpio is associated with the genitals in the body mapping of the zodiac signs. So there's also this sexual energy of Scorpio. Mars also remember is sexual energy. And Scorpio is not afraid to look at the difficult parts of life or come to terms with the harsh reality of things.

Scorpio can be a little bit even pessimistic sometimes for that. Also can be very interested in the occult and kind of witchy magical things. This is often a thing that comes up for Scorpio and that's sort of how they get that witchy energy. And the thing about a witch is that there's not necessarily a connotation that they will use their magical power for good or bad per se. And one thing that Scorpio is sort of known for can be holding grudges too. And this is like the fixed nature of Scorpio. Kind of holding on to emotions, holding on to things. Scorpio is someone who will remember the people who have wronged them and never forget.

So this is the different version of Mars in Aries and Scorpio where Aries will be right away the one to take you down first punch aggressive. Like if Aries is winning a fight, they're going to take you out in the first punch. Scorpio may not come off so aggressive and forward. It'll be probably a little bit more underhanded or less confrontational and initially assertive and aggressive, but completely unrelenting. So, if they are in a fight, it may not be that they are the flashiest kind of showy fighter that's going to make a scene and be aggressive right away, but rather the type of fighter who will wait patiently in the shadows for the exact right moment to strike and take down their enemy, which is why they have more of this sniper archetype.

I think of the fixed water Scorpio as kind of like an iceberg where they go deep. What you see on the surface is not the full extent of what is going on for them. And you know ice is fixed water in a sense, the solid form of water. And it does have this very deep and cold and piercing and kind of dangerous and threatening nature like Scorpio. I heard another person talk about Scorpio as fixed water as sort of like the scorpion protecting a tiny little water hole in this vast desert and that gives us more of that protection type of Martian energy which I thought was also a very apt analogy.

Mars’ opposite: Venus (Scorpio-Taurus & Aries-Libra axis)

So another way that we can look at Mars in the zodiac is to understand him through his opposite. So if we come back to the zodiac wheel over here we see that Mars is always opposite to Venus. So in the Scorpio-Taurus axis, Mars ruling Scorpio, Venus ruling Taurus and also the Aries-Libra axis, Mars ruling Aries and Venus ruling Libra.

So Mars is sort of our archetype of war and Venus is sort of our archetype of peace. And so these planets have opposite nature and they are found in opposite places in the zodiac. And the Scorpio-Taurus axis, this is the water versus earth feminine axis of war and peace. Whereas the Aries-Libra axis is the fire-air masculine axis of Mars-Venus.

I think Aries-Libra is a good one to start with because this is sort of the clearest warrior archetype versus peacemaker archetype. Aries, like I've been saying, has this warrior energy and Libra is sort of the archetype of the diplomat. So, Libra has this inclination towards social harmony and sort of facilitating peaceful, harmonious spaces and also relationships in their environment. And Aries is not afraid to shake things up and say something aggressive or put their opinion forward or make themselves known or assert themselves to go first. And this is the opposite of Libra's nature. Libra will want to make sure that everything is fair and beautiful and on the shadow side could even kind of sacrifice their own needs in order to keep the harmony and peace of a group.

So when we look at the opposite ends of the zodiac wheel like this, we can really start to understand the types of qualities that we may need to integrate. So for instance, if you were someone who has a lot of Aries placements, then it will be important for you to integrate these opposite qualities of Libra type of energy and integrate what is sort of the shadow of Aries. So thinking about for an Aries person that it may be important to practice and learn how to not maybe just speak your mind whenever it comes up or assert your needs over that of the group or push for what you think is right or good or necessary or logical in a situation. But instead to kind of be patient and sit back and prioritize harmony in the group. And this will be something that's probably very challenging for Aries people, but will be quite intuitive and natural for Libra people.

So on the other side, we can look at the shadow of Libra. So nothing is just good or just bad. And it will also be important for Libra, if you have a lot of Libra placements to integrate the shadow side of Libra, which is Aries. So if you are very much a Libra person, it might be difficult for you to say no and set boundaries and assert yourself when you need to. Libra can sometimes fall into people pleasing and denying their own needs for the sake of the group. Sometimes Libra lacks sort of a social courage because it's so important for them for things to be fair and harmonious. They can kind of lack the necessary bravery that's required sometimes when they do need to speak up for themselves. And that's more of this Aries Mars quality and sort of act decisively as well. Libra can sometimes struggle with making decisions, weighing the pros and cons of what's fair, whereas Aries will be very quick to just choose something and make a decision and go for it. That is something that tends to be more difficult for Libra that they could kind of probably also use that type of skill.

And then on the other side, so the feminine Venus-Mars axis of Scorpio and Taurus, the way in which Taurus is opposite to Scorpio is that I think of this axis as kind of like depth versus shallowness in a way. That would be kind of like the shadow side of Taurus. Or you could think about it as almost like comfort versus discomfort. So Taurus as the fixed earth version of Venus is very much oriented towards things like earthly sensual pleasures. Venus loves the finer things in life. And because it's an earth sign, Taurus is more oriented towards these material goods and sometimes is also associated with money as well.

Whereas Libra, the air version of Venus is much more of the social harmony aesthetic side of Venus. Taurus is more of a lover of food and comfort and being cozy and slow and relaxed and just really enjoying all of the pleasures that the world has to offer. And Scorpio on the other side being Mars is like, "let's get into the difficult conversation. let's get underneath of what's really going on. Let's be real about the hardship of the world and the reality of things" and has a little bit of this kind of pessimistic but also sort of emotional bravery that they're getting into.

So on the shadow side of Taurus, sometimes they can be a little basic or just interested in what kind of feels good and is easy and comfortable. They don't really want to go too deep with things, you know, whereas Scorpio will be like, "Let's get uncomfortable. Let's get into it." So, that'll be the type of quality that's important for Taurus to integrate in sort of the shadow side of Taurus. So, Taurus might need to ask themselves, "what is the uncomfortable truth that I'm not willing to look at?" for instance, and the shadow side of Scorpio could be that sometimes Scorpio might tend to be a little negative sometimes or a little obsessive. And maybe it could be important for Scorpio to just relax and take it easy and enjoy the simple pleasures of life sometimes. And that's kind of how this more feminine material axis of Mars and Venus plays out.

Mars’ exaltation in Capricorn

We can also look at Mars's exaltation and detriment. So Mars is exalted in Capricorn and that is sort of interesting because Capricorn is ruled by Saturn which I was saying at the beginning is sort of a malefic that has opposite nature to Mars in some ways as the kind of slower colder version of hardship whereas Mars is the fast and hot version of hardship.

But Mars loves Capricorn because Capricorn also has this drive to construct and build things that last for posterity and is very much oriented towards hard work and discipline and structure bringing things into existence. Capricorn is cardinal earth and that has this initiating energy that Mars also enjoys. So Mars here is able to really take the Capricorn spirit of building things to last that matter for the future and really bring them into action with that energy and drive.

Mars’ Detriment in Taurus and Libra

And then Mars has his detriment in Libra and Taurus. So like I was saying, Libra is opposite to the place of Mars rulership Aries and Taurus is opposite to the place of Mars rulership Scorpio. So opposite places have opposite energy. So if Mars happens to find himself in Libra or Taurus, those places are more oriented towards peace, comfort, and harmony and Mars wants to get out there and take action and shake things up and cause problems.

So if you have a Mars in Libra or Taurus, it just won't be the easiest place for Mars to do what he wants to do in his most archetypal energy. Which is not to say if you have Mars in Libra or Taurus you will never get things done. It just might be a little bit quirky in the way you go about things. So a Mars in Taurus for instance, Mars likes to move fast and Taurus likes to move slow. So a Mars and Taurus person just might be a little bit slower to complete things. Although as a fixed sign, it does have this staying power that can be really useful for Mars. So, it's kind of like a slow burn and maybe important for there to be comfort in the way that you take action and complete things.

And Mars in Libra might struggle a little bit to take action that's counter to what the collective and social environment might be leaning towards. So Mars in his most essential nature wants to do what he wants to do the way he wants to do it when he wants to do it. And Libra is going to have much more of this, "oh wait, wait, wait. How's everyone feel? Like is this okay with everyone? I don't want to ruffle any feathers. Like if it's okay with you, like maybe we could do this." So it has more of this kind of like checking in and less of the drive. So it just might be a little bit slower and sort of working against that burst of drive and action because there's this kind of social harmony force that is working against Mars's inclination towards just forward drive. But that's not necessarily bad. It's just again makes the way that these people get things done a little bit quirky.

Mars’ Fall in Cancer

And then lastly, Mars has his fall in Cancer. Cancer over here ruled by the moon cardinal water sign. So, Cancer is the crab. Crabs move sideways. Mars wants to move forward. Cancer is also very concerned with nourishing and nurturing and supporting others. And Mars is interested in causing conflict with others and severing relationships and things like that. So, they do have this opposite nature in a way.

So a Mars and Cancer person might be a little bit more passive aggressive. Cancer is not so oriented towards direct confrontation but rather moves sideways about things and also just might be very difficult for them to assert themselves when they know that there might be emotional harm caused because Cancer is so oriented towards nurturing and supporting that Mars's inclination to do the hard thing just doesn't really fit with Cancer's nature as much which again is not to say that you're doomed if you have Mars and Cancer. It's just again this kind of quirkier version of Mars that might need to kind of really start to understand on his own so that way we can make sure that the Mars in you is able to function as it needs to or be aware of the way these things work in your psyche so that you can still relate to what needs to be done and affect the change in your life that you need to.

Mars’ Joy in the 6th House

And then for the planetary joy scheme, Mars has his joy in the sixth house, the place of bad fortune in traditional astrology across from the place of a bad spirit where Saturn has his joy. So Mars in this sense because of the planetary joy scheme becomes more associated with the physical realm. Fortune in astrology is sort of like the material world and spirit is more like the mental emotional type of realm.

So Saturn having to do with isolation, discipline, hardship, punishment, these are a little bit less material sometimes whereas Mars is more associated with violence and action and splitting and has much more kind of an embodied sense to him. So Mars rejoices in the sixth house. This is the place associated with injury, illness, accidents and things like that which are all very Martian types of qualities. So that's where Mars likes to be. Whereas Saturn enjoys the 12th house which is the place of isolation, self-undoing, imprisonment, addiction and those are all things that Saturn is more associated with. So Mars in the sixth house is just a stronger place for him to be because it's the type of energy and parts of life that he wants to be in.

Interpreting Mars in a Birth Chart

To get into how to interpret Mars in a birth chart, like I said, if you have a day chart, then Mars tends to be the more difficult of the planets. So you can look at what house Mars is found in if you have a day chart, and that will likely be an area of life that you experience greater difficulties in. In a night chart, Mars is a little bit less challenging. And you might find Mars placements and situations to be not quite as impossible to overcome. It'll be more of Saturn placements that might be kind of impossibly difficult to overcome in a night chart.

We can also look at the sign placement of Mars. And this again will kind of give us clues about your style of assertion and how you get things done. So you can look at the zodiac sign that Mars is in when you were born to help you maybe understand how to create environments that will be conducive to you affecting the type of work that you want to do. So for instance, if you had a Taurus Mars like I was saying earlier, it might be important that you're able to take your time to get things done. Taurus really needs to move slow and not be rushed. So that would be qualities that might be important for how you are getting things done. Taurus also needs things to feel good and be beautiful and maybe that will also be important for the way that you get things done.

We can look at Mars aspects and again especially if you have a day chart then the planets that Mars is aspecting very closely will be particularly potentially difficult things to deal with. If it is a square or an opposition—opposition being the most difficult—if you have a day chart and Mars is opposite to a planet that is going to be quite challenging or if you have a square with Mars and that is not quite as difficult. It can sometimes even be constructive in the end, but Mars squaring a planet in a day chart is still a very difficult thing for that planet that he's squaring to be able to do what they want to do in their function and your life and personality.

A conjunction with Mars can be kind of good or bad, which merges that quality, but does tend to be kind of like a wounding on whatever it is that Mars is conjunct. If Mars is in the same place as the sky as another planet again especially for a day chart but a trine or a sextile with Mars is not a challenging thing—a trine is a very positive aspect even if it is with a challenging planet it will still give you the more constructive version of that planet's energy in the relationship that it has with the planet it's trining.

If you have Mars in the first house or aspecting the moon, this can sometimes give us physical body difficulties like maybe injuries, accidents, surgeries or inflammation, things like that. That would be the way that Mars shows up in the physical body in relationship to the ascendant or the moon or the first house.

And if we have Mars aspecting the sun or conjunct near the sun or what have you, then that'll give more of that Mars energy to you mentally and having more of that maybe ideological bravery or a strong assertive mind or unafraid to share controversial ideas or assert yourself in a conversation or socially or something like that. And this is more of like the Aries sun type of energy as well as Aries is quite a complete embodiment of Mars.

And then lastly, there's so much more that I could say about aspects and how to interpret Mars in the birth chart, but this is sort of just the basics to get you going and it'll depend on so many things and all the different layers of dignity and debility and aspects and timing and so much, but that's sort of a good ground to start from.

Mars Transits

Then transits. So Mars as he moves through the sky, the main transits that you have to be aware of with Mars is Mars retrogrades, which I mentioned happen about once every two years when Mars starts to move backwards in the sky. So as the planet that likes to get things done for us, when Mars goes retrograde, this can be very challenging time for getting things done and completing what you need to complete.

And in fact, you might experience some of this Mars energy of difficulty splitting, exploding, challenges during a Mars retrograde, particularly regarding the sign, placement, and house that that's associated with for your chart. So, if Mars is going retrograde through the seventh house of relationships, for instance, this could be a particularly challenging time for you and your partner to get along. Or if Mars is going retrograde through the fourth house for you, then that could be a particularly challenging time for parental things or your home life.

A Mars retrograde really likes to mess things up for you in the area of life that he's going through. And if it's going through multiple houses, sometimes it goes through two houses and not just one, then it will connect probably challenges between those two different areas of life. So if Mars is going retrograde through the fourth and the third house then maybe that'll be parental difficulties but also turn over and change into controversies with the siblings which is something the third house is associated with for instance.

And Mars normally only takes about 6 to 8 weeks to go through a sign but when he is retrograde it will take him months to go through a sign. So it just really slows down things and kind of drags on in this kind of painful way. And if you include the pre and post shadow period, it's like almost six months that it'll take Mars to get through this part of the chart that he's going retrograde through. It'll take about 8 months for Mars to get through the signs that he's retrograding through. Like from the time period where he enters that section of the sky, goes backwards over it, and then goes forward over it again. That whole thing will take about eight months, whereas normally it would take like six weeks. So it really just drags things out and throws things off and slows things down and causes painful difficulties.

And this will be different for different people depending on if you have placements where Mars is going retrograde. If you have planets present there or important angles like the descendant, the ascendant etc. then that will be even more felt. But if it is through a house that is empty and a little bit less consequential for you then it will not be felt as much.

And of course, we can also get into different timing techniques that help us figure out which transits will be the most impactful for you depending on which planet is the lord of the year and things like that.

Closing

And if you wanted my help to figure out what types of transits are going to be affecting you most and talk about what you can expect coming up in your future, I do offer consultations where we get into things like career peaks, what is going to be affecting you the most in the coming year, how we can connect past things you've experienced to future transits and analyze sort of the different cycles that you find yourself in.

I also do shorter consultations where we just talk about the birth chart as a symbol for who you are and understand kind of it as a map of the psyche, your strengths and weaknesses and things like what the purpose of your life could be or the major direction and focus. So, these are all available for you to book on my website linked below if you would like to do that.

Of course, please subscribe and like this video if you got any value out of it. That really helps me a lot. You might also share this video with someone else. And if you are enjoying this, I would recommend that you listen to my other videos on the planets next. You could also follow me on Instagram, @Prometheia_Astrology over there. And these earrings are also available for sale on my website. I'm also a jeweler and an artist, so you can check out that and I'll link that below as well. Thank you so much for being here with me and let me know in the comments if you have any questions or if something didn't make sense. I will be happy to talk to you down there. Be well.

Mars in Astrology: Everything you Need to Know.

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