Mars In Libra In His Own Words
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| War (1924) by Otto Dix, who had Mars in Libra and turned his experience of battle into art |
Planets traditionally have signs which they love or hate, where they are comfortable or uncomfortable. The assignment of these rulerships happened a long time ago though — in another time and place, a culture quite different from ours where conforming and being part of the establishment was essential. If you didn’t do that, you might well find yourself in the pond on a ducking stool.
For example, Mars, the god of war is said to be in rulership in Aries and in Scorpio (supposedly good placements), in detriment in Libra and in Taurus (supposedly bad placements). He is exalted in Capricorn and in fall in Cancer.
However, the more I study planets in detriment and in fall, the more I think we need to see them simply as special. Currently, Mars is spending a long time in Libra. Mars is aggression, courage, force, battle, libido. Libra seeks harmony in our social interactions. Libra is often about an unspoken connection between individuals or between one person and wider society. Libra also creates harmony by turning war into art.
All of these people have Mars in Libra in their natal charts. As you will read, there’s potential for good and bad in this placement.
“Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
— Abraham Lincoln
“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
— George Orwell
“Love is the answer.”
— John Lennon
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”
— Anais Nin
“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”
— Margaret Thatcher
“We all have the chance to create a world where extreme poverty is the exception rather than the rule, and where all children have the same chance to thrive, no matter where they’re born. For those of us who believe in the value of every human life, there isn’t any more inspiring work under way in the world today.”
— Bill Gates, who with his wife Melinda is become the world’s greatest philanthropist
“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”
JK Rowling (in the mouth of Dumbledore), whose creation Harry Potter exemplifies bravery in the face of tyranny
“My religion is kindness.”
— the 14th Dalai Lama
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| A scene from Platoon, directed by Oliver Stone (Mars in Libra), whose experience of the Vietnam War informed this movie |
— Nelson Mandela
“Before all else, the Gospel invites us to respond to the God of love who saves us, to see God in others and to go forth from ourselves to seek the good of others.”
— Pope Francis
“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
Winston Churchill, Britain’s war time Prime Minister, seemed to have particularly loud Mars in Libra (conjunct Jupiter)
— Marcel Proust
“Beauty is desired in order that it may be befouled; not for its own sake, but for the joy brought by the certainty of profaining it.”
You can see Mars in his worst aspect stomping into poor Libra there.
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Exalted in Scorpio… not quite, Mars is the traditional ruler of Scorpio. Exalted in Capricorn. Detriment in Taurus. Fall in Cancer (where he is also in triplicity).
Love those quotes. I have this natal placement and can relate to many of those quotes 🙂 I loathe war but will never back down if I see injustice.
Ha I see Alanis Morissette has Mars in Cancer.
This has set me wondering about Mars in Cancer though. I can see how the combination of emotion and violence could go wrong.
Yes, you are right. I am going to correct that.
Churchill had Mars conjunct Jupiter ?
Putin has Mars in Sagittarius – his Mars is ruled by Jupiter.
He took action when Mars went direct and tomorrow Jupiter goes direct !
The progressed Moon in Ukrain’s progressive horoscope is in Sagittarius, so the Moon is now under the rule of Jupiter.
I wonder what he will do on April 25th.
mimi
sorry, Christina – of course I meant when Mars went retrograde !
Maybe it’s a good thing that Saturn is going retrograde too – makes everybody just a little more cautious.
mimi
There is no getting away from the fact that the astrology around this situation is horrible… poor Ukraine.
How would you compare Mars in Libra to Mars in Taurus?
Hm, I have Mars in Taurus in my 10th. Clearly sitting at a desk all day as I do is not ideal! Come home and eat too much. 🙂 Should really get to the gym, but need to get motivated. I prefer getting outdoors and walking, but it’s been ungodly cold here this winter. I can only aspire to stamina and grace… (sigh)
…. and one further thought about the dark side of Mars in Taurus. Hitler’s greatest asset in persuading people was his voice — specifically his amplified voice, the Nazis used loudspeakers, then a new technology to great effect. Now Mars is the god of war and Taurus rules the throat and by extension the voice…
Stamina and grace: Aung San Suu Kyi also has Mars in Taurus.
I think they are completely different. Mars in Taurus is immensely physical. The first words that spring to mind are strength and stamina. Muhammad Ali has this placement. But I think physical grace must be an element here too (Rudolf Nureyev), that is Taurus. It’s a really good question because you can see the difference between the airy social sign of Libra, and Taurus so clearly just from how this Mars placement works. So the Libra Mars is all about ideas and society, whereas Taurus Mars is all about physical expression, earth energy. I looked for people with Taurus Mars and was struck by the number of singers who dance: Madonna, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger – and those are just the Ms. There are some particularly physical actors too: Tom Cruise, Charlie Chaplin, Bruce Willis,: he actually looks like Mars in Taurus. Mars in Taurus connects energetically to the earth: Isaac Newton has Mars in Taurus! And so did Galileo. It’s sexy and earthy energy incarnate. But there is a dark side to this placement — it’s polarity is Scorpio. I wonder about Mars ability to make things real: Tim Burton, the director of among other movies Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, has no planets in Scorpio but a powerfully placed Mars in Taurus. Kafka — he of the human turned cockroach — has Neptune, Mars, Pluto in Taurus but only the NN in Scorpio. Hitler famously has Mars in Taurus, which is often cited as an example of a planet in detriment behaving badly. But speaking of earth energy, check out Queen Latifah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8cHxydDb7o
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‘However, the more I study planets in detriment and in fall, the more I think we need to see them simply as special.’
I love this sentence because it perfectly captures how humanity has – for the greater if not most part – evolved across the board of individuality as a personal right. quite logically then, these age old archetypes are thus open to *evolving perspectives* that broaden their interpretation spectrum. and we are the richer for it.
thanks for taking the time and care to present these points.
Thank you for another excellent teaching!
Astrology can be so complex that I really appreciate your written “voice” style because it is so fresh and artistic. So, refreshing to find an astrologer who can communicate so clearly and beautifully at the same time! It helps one to absorb astrology on a much deeper level!
And, I am with you on poor Ukraine! As I watch the nightly news unfolding in that region, my minds recalls your blog on that countries chart and I feel for her children.
You always give me much food for thought, and shed light on the way energy flows in my own doings and beings 🙂
I set up a memorial page for people who die of the disease I have, and it felt like an act of war against the ignorance — so often willful and spiteful — that surrounds it. It isn’t seen as a deadly disease, but the facts belie this. I will not have it.
I’m a 12th-house Aries, with Mars combust the Sun; transiting, retrograding Mars is opposite this painful natal signature, and Venus is squaring it — I hope she’s lending elegance and appeal to that.
Meanwhile, Uranus has been crawling over my natal Mercury (I was born on the day it stationed direct) for awhile…
As for Ukraine… hearing my government bleat on about how it’s illegal to impose one’s will on another country just makes my stomach turn over and over again. /sigh/
Thanks for the Queen Latifah youtube clip Cristina. She is one of my heroes and what a message, too. It should be mandatory viewing for all teenaged girls.
mars in capricon?
mars in capricon