Interpreting a natal chart: the planet Mars

In Greek mythology, Ares, Mars for the Romans, was the god of war. If he was the only legitimate son of Zeus and Hera, he was on the other hand the adulterous lover of Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. We see in this myth, the distinction that it is necessary to make between the institution of marriage and sexuality, powerful force of the desires being able to push to the transgression.

Its ideogram represents the cross of the matter, or more often a phallic arrow surmounting the circle of the spirit referring to the idea of action on the matter and of fertilization of this one.

In the natal chart, Mars indicates our level of physical, vital energy, and in what directions or areas we direct it. While Venus indicates what our values are, Mars shows how willing we are to defend them. Mars symbolizes our willingness to assert ourselves and our ability to fight to achieve our goals. The red planet refers to the notions of courage, endurance, but also our physical strength and, by extension, our relationship to sports activities. Mars also informs us about our sexuality and the way we live it. In a woman’s chart, Mars represents the ideal lover. With disruptive aspects, it can indicate an extreme, passionate or violent character. Finally, Mars is in analogy with the army, weapons, the steel industry and machines.

Mars Analogies:

Sign : Aries and Scorpio

House: 1st (personality, self-assertion) and 8th (sexuality, death and rebirth, transformation)

Metal: iron

Color: red

Body parts: muscular system

Keywords: strength, energy, desire, fight, sexuality, sport, war, competition, initiative, impulsiveness

Mars in signs :

Aries : courageous personality, reckless and full of initiative. Sometimes aggressive.

Taurus: Great determination and hard work, enduring. Can sometimes be possessive.

Gemini: Likes verbal and intellectual jousting, likes debates. Sometimes tends to be everywhere at once and lacks anchorage.

Cancer: Emotions define action. Gives all his energy to his home, his family. Difficulty to control his emotionality.

Leo : Very powerful vitality, passionate character, sometimes authoritarian and tyrannical

Virgo: Great control of emotions, critical and fastidious mind, great control of emotions.

Libra: Difficulty in managing conflicts. Tends to be too conciliatory or on the contrary to meddle in other people’s affairs, indecision.

Scorpio : Up to the limit character, ready to do anything to reach his goal, great resistance and will. Sexuality is essential in life. Can sometimes be destructive.

Sagittarius: Ability to fight for noble ideals. Need to always discover new spaces, new lands. Sometimes dissolute life.

Capricorn : Great capacity of organization and planning in order to achieve his professional objectives. Natural authority. Emotions under perfect control. Sometimes despotism.

Aquarius : great energy put at the service of social or humanitarian causes. Team spirit, strong non-conformism.

Pisces: Exacerbated emotionality, lack of self-confidence and fighting spirit, fleeing from conflicts.

Mars in houses :

1st house: Competitive personality, who likes challenges. Great physical presence.

House II: Struggle for financial success and material security.

House III: Arguments expressed with strength of conviction, love of speed. Sometimes conflicts with siblings or neighbors.

House IV: Family conflicts, appetite difficult to control, authoritarianism in the home, heightened emotions.

House V: Love of sports, competition, great creativity, passionate love.

House VI : Great strength of work and robust health if Mars is not afflicted, spirit of sacrifice.

House VII: Energy to defend others, conflicts in marriage. Sometimes infidelities.

8th House: Very strong sexual appetite, remarkable resilience.

House IX : Energy mobilized to defend a philosophy, a belief. Need to explore, to travel, but if Mars receives disruptive aspects: incidents while traveling, tendency to fanaticism.

X House: Struggle for ambitions, to rise socially. Sometimes conflicts with parents or authority in general.

House XI: Struggle to make avant-garde or humanist ideas triumph. Conflicts with friends.

House XII: Sacrifice of self for others, forgetting oneself to relieve those who suffer. Sometimes self-destruction, secret action.