I thought I would start with a portion of the Orphic hymn to Ares from the translation by Patrick Dunn* especially as I at the time of writing it is Tuesday the day of Mars.
‘’ Lord Ares (Mars), rattling in armor, always
smeared with slaughter, rejoicing in bloody
murder of men, raising the noise of war;
horrible one, you yearn after the sword
and the unmusical battle of spears:
make raging discord stand still and release
the pain that grieves the heart, and bow your head
to the desire of Kypris (Venus) and the feasts of the Deliverer (Dionysos)’’*
Here in this passage, we are introduced to the character of Ares the Greek equivalent of Mars. The love of war and blood is antithetical to the nature of the Venus-ruled sign of Libra. We can instantly see how someone covered in the filth of war, barging into a beautifully decorated, delicately fragranced home is going to be received. I think Venus may want Mars to wipe his feet!
This guest/host situation is how Planets in signs work. As Venus is currently in the Mars-ruled sign of Scorpio and Mars is moving into the Venus-ruled sign of Libra we have what is technically known as a Mutual Reception. This is a good thing in a chart, it gives both planets dignity and they can help each other out, a bit like being able to phone the other and ask them to feed the cat or put the bin out!
Mars whilst in Libra will be co-present with Mercury, which will be helpful to get anything communicated quickly but it may just as quickly be retracted in a couple of weeks due to Mercury turning retrograde on 27th,. This may cause a lot of backtracking and frustration for those who make plans based on the first round of information.
Mars will also connect by trine to both Saturn the planet of boundaries and structure and Jupiter the planet of expansion and truth. This calls to my mind an interesting dynamic over the next few weeks. If we think about the nature of Libra and the need to harmonise by communication, adding Mars to the mix can quickly get messy. The Saturn structure can work very well for Mars, think the construction industry or making something with iron, blacksmithing, carpentry, something solid that is cut and then reformed.
The word reform can also apply to the Jupiter connection. When we are looking for reform in a doctrine or law we are looking to cut, sever or throw out something that is no longer working to make room for the new ‘truth’. Mars is more than happy to do the cutting.
What happens when all of this is put together? We have a situation where those who are looking to apply their ‘truth’ will come together and unify to fight their version of the ‘good’ fight. Mars is very willing to come together for that goal. A faction after all needs someone who is a strong, forceful orator who can encourage others to stand with them to help the cause.
There are happier more harmonious versions of Mars in Libra. It can bring mediators, facilitators, martial artists. I also think of Chess as a very Mars in Libra activity, exceedingly civilised but equally, we are looking to bring the complete downfall of our opponent.
As we move through these next few weeks things can start to look a bit shaky, there are many astrological influences for the rest of this year that can test our resolve. We may just need that Mars energy to stand up for what we believe to be the truth, to bring about our own sense of harmony.
With this in mind, it is worth taking the last few lines of the Hymn to Ares into our hearts and ask Mars to turn all that pent-up energy towards reaping the last of the harvest instead. I believe we will need to be sustaining our hearts, minds, and souls through the coming months.
‘’And craving peace
that gives happiness and nurtures children,
turn strength of arms to the work of Deo (Demeter/Ceres)’’*
*Dunn, Patrick – The Orphic Hymns, Llewellyn, ISBN 978-0-7387-5344-7