How’s life going with Mars right now? As I posted the Mars retrograde article just over a week ago, I’ve been flooded with questions from many of you wondering how to manage some of the “nastier” aspects of Mars that you’ve found yourself facing.
Hence, this article.
Generally, as a human being you’d like to think that you’re a good person and when you come face to face with some of the darker aspects of your character, it can be scary, shameful, and a huge wake-up call! Especially if you consider yourself to be a spiritual person of any faith or belief!
If you’ve been battling with the darker, more aggressive aspects of your character, let’s break down the powers of Mars and get you the best tips on how to manage that power in a different way. Here’s what we’re going to cover:
· Mars’ function in your life
· Symptoms of an Imbalanced Mars
· Mars Diagnostics (aspects of your natal chart that can cause an imbalance in Mars’ energy)
· How to make peace with Mars and heal imbalances
Mars’ function in your life
This is something I did address in the previous article on Mars Retrograde in Aries but review never hurts! If I were to sum up the essence of Mars in once sentence, this would be it right here:
Mars is the God of War and he rules over all things you would associate with such a god – conflict, success, physicality and health, sex and lust, boundaries, courage, survival, defense, and offense.
His energy and function are very primal and indeed this can all be derived from his very symbol. It has been called the male phallus by some and the shield and spear by others. The essence of his glyph is neither in truth but hide a special meaning in the secret symbols: the value and attainment of physical achievements over the spiritual world.
To distill it down for you, here is what Mars governs in your life:
· Physical health and enjoyment of physical activities
· Sexuality and passion
· Initiative, drive, and action
· Boundaries and defense
· Ability to manage aggression and hostility
· Strength, courage, and fear
· Competitive and judgmental tendencies
When we look at Mars’ glyph, it can be interpreted in 2 ways:
1) The physical overruling the spiritual
2) The spiritual upholding and supporting the physical
When we look at what Mars governs over, not all of it is bad! Health, passion, sexuality, courage, strength, drive – these are all great things! And we have more of these good fruits from Mars when we are working with him from the second interpretation of his glyph – the spiritual upholding and supporting the physical.
When the physical overrules the spiritual however, this is when Mars’ energy turns ugly on us. Let’s look at how that can show up for you.
Symptoms of an Imbalanced Mars:
If Mars is imbalanced in your chart, you’ll know it! The God of War is not subtle! When he does things, he does them wholeheartedly, so the symptoms don’t remain hidden for awfully long (if ever)!
If any of these statements apply to you, make sure you read the rest of this article so that you can figure out the cause of the imbalance and how to address it.
1) Small triggers = huge explosions at random times – and you can’t figure out how something so small and normally insignificant brought out so much ferocity!
2) Avoiding conflict and holding boundaries because you’re scared of hurting others – previous explosions have left you feeling guilty and you’ve become scared of using your power because you can’t control it
3) Pacifying yourself by indulgence (drugs, alcohol, food, sex, or any other means) to avoid your aggressive side – likely for the same reasons as above, you’re scared of power you can’t control
4) Competing and comparing yourself to others – your drive to win/succeed has you obsessed with the competition and how you compare to them
5) Inability to rest – you’ve always got something to do or work on because rest feels counterproductive and stresses you out more than being in constant action
6) Fixation and excessive focus on goals/targets – to the point where you neglect other areas of your life and perhaps alienate people you care about because you can’t be present with them, even when you’re with them physically
7) Judgment of self and others – you don’t acknowledge progress or good things. It’s always a critique or an attack, poking at what is weak or “wrong”. Making yourself judge, jury, and executioner with yourself and the ones you love on trial.
As I mentioned above, these symptoms show when the physical overrules the spiritual, but the great news is that this can all be turned around! If you’ve been experiencing these symptoms and judging yourself in the same category as a homicidal maniac or the kingpin of an international drug ring (I know some of you do that), take heart that this can be turned around!
So, let’s get to potential causes so that you can reach an effective solution!
Mars Diagnostics: How Mars becomes imbalanced in your chart and life
Many imbalances of Mars can be traced to your Natal (Birth) Chart and the conditions that Mars occupies. Here are a few ways that Mars can show up in your Astrological chart that lean towards imbalanced expressions of Mars’ energy:
1) Mars Out of Bounds (OOB): Most likely to occur if you have Mars in Gemini, Cancer, Sagittarius, or Capricorn. When any planet is OOB, it is like injecting it with steroids. Put the God of Sex, War, and Physicality on steroids – your imagination can provide an accurate picture.
2) Mars-ruled Chart: This can happen when Mars has influence over too many planets or angles in the chart like the Ascendant or Mid-Heaven. The exaggerated presence of Mars energy via the planets or angles makes you what I like to call a Mars Specialist – in essence, your life is very focused on overcoming the negative aspects of Mars and embracing/embodying the positive aspects. An epic battle indeed!
3) Mars in detriment: This occurs when Mars is in Taurus, Libra, or Cancer. The natural flow of Mars is weakened in these signs and makes him more prone to grudges and retaliatory expressions instead of strength and good boundaries.
4) Mars hidden or overruled by exaggerated friendly energy: Mars in the 12th house or the exaggeration of Venus’ energy can overrule Mars in your chart when he’s supposed to be doing his job. However far we swing to one extreme (being overly forgiving for example) is how far we slingshot to the other extreme (being retaliatory, vengeful, etc.)
These are potential conditions of Mars in your chart that can cause imbalance and lead to the symptoms in the section above. If you’re dealing with very strong symptoms of Mars’ imbalance or have been dealing with these issues long-term, I would definitely encourage you to book a Natal Chart Reading – we’ll work through your chart together to accurately pinpoint and heal that imbalance so that you can feel at peace with your power and free yourself from unwanted episodes of anger.
Mars imbalances can be pinpointed in your chart, but sometimes that imbalance comes from exposure to Mars’ energy in your life and environment. Here are a few external factors that can alter your relationship with Mars’ energy and lead to the same symptoms:
1) Living in Mars-ruled environments: if you grew up in or currently spend a lot of time in environments that are aggressive, competitive, hostile, violent, or abusive – that can shift your relationship with Mars through conditioning. These environments are full of situations where boundaries are violated frequently and tend to produce more aggressive expressions of Mars.
2) Taking on qualities of a Mars-ruled person in your life: If you spend or have spent a lot of time with someone important in your life who has the symptoms listed above, then it is also possible to learn or absorb these behaviours through association – especially if you’re more of an empathic type.
The above is a pretty comprehensive list of internal and external factors of Mars that can result in imbalance. But if you’ve made it this far, it’s because you want to restore balance to Mars’ function in your life – so let’s get to the best part!
Healing Imbalances of Mars in your Life:
If you’re a Mars-type, you likely skipped the symptoms and diagnosis and have jumped straight to this point. You just want to know how to shift things and likely you want them to shift quickly. If you want to heal though, being impatient and jumping on solutions without proper time for reflection and discernment won’t help. If you’re feeling super impatient, I recommend connecting with myself or any of my colleagues at the Modern Mystery School to help establish some clarity about the best way to move forward.
Here’s a sample of methods and steps to establish balance to the function of Mars in your life:
1) Accept that there is a warrior within you! Mars is within you! If you try to shun, repress, or avoid this aspect of yourself, it will backfire! That which is disowned within you will wreak havoc! Use methods like the Sanctuary Meditation, where your higher self can introduce you to the inner warrior so that you can accept it, and converse with that part of yourself. You need a relationship with that warrior within!
2) Understand the full scope of your power and start practicing with it! You can’t control what you don’t use. Especially if you’re someone who’s scared of your power because it comes out uncontrollably. Keep working with it so that you can fine-tune your control to the same degree that you can control your own hands. Use your physical power and use your voice! Martial arts and physical activity are great ways to get acquainted with your power, but also try things like acting classes or debate so that you can get comfortable using your power verbally too!
3) Reflect on what Mars is trying to accomplish – the truth is that Mars wants your desires fulfilled, a safe environment for you, health, and accomplishment. If Mars is showing in your life in an unhealthy way, then one of these is missing or “under threat”. And if that’s the case, Mars will stoke his fires larger and larger to fulfill that on your behalf. Figure out what is trying to achieve on your behalf and address his concerns in that area!
4) Spiritual Healing Methods – if you’ve had those conversations and reflections and you’ve been physically active and still find that these symptoms persist, here are a few healing methods that can help establish balance:
Life Activation: The Life Activation helps connect you to your Higher Self and feeds energy to all the archetypal energies within you to help establish balance and growth. Feeding energy into the compassionate, forgiving aspects of yourself can help with judgment, anger, and competitiveness. In this session, the practitioner will gently soothe and balance all areas of your energy field before performing the activation itself – reconnecting you to your divine blueprint and purpose.
Kabbalistic Healing: Astrology is also deeply rooted in Kabbalistic teachings. Imbalances in Mars can also show up in the Tree of Life that sits within your energetic structure. The Kabbalistic Healing awakens the virtues and divinity of each of the spheres bringing them into balance as well as their highest expression of goodness in your life. As you lay down for this session, you will feel the holiness of the healing as the practitioner uses the divine names of god to elevate you to a higher state of being!
Etheric Reconstruction: This is especially recommended if you have trauma or old dogma resulting from being in harsh environments or around strong Mars-types that have resulted in imbalanced expressions of Mars. It can help to uproot autonomic programs (for example exploding when you feel threatened or insecure). If you have specific triggers that you’re ready to finally release, contact me!
You don’t have to live with anger, resentment, and frustration
No matter the symptoms and condition behind the imbalances you’re experiencing, things can change! The good news is that Mars-types are often unafraid of work and that’s good – because no change comes without sufficient and consistent effort!
If you want to get at the heart of the cause, don’t forget to message me for a Natal Chart Reading! Otherwise, start putting the methods into practice and receive healing work!
And one last piece of advice: be patient with yourself! It takes time and repeated practice to cultivate balanced ways of using your power! Don’t expect years of practiced behaviour to be undone in a short span!
Wishing you all the goodness and blessings of Mars!
Aleks