Mars - The first movement

Mars first of all represents a movement from the inside out, a momentum, an initiative, an action. As Dane Rudhyar wrote : “Mars leads the way.”

It remains to be seen what the origin of the movement is, what motivates it, as well as its destination.

The Mars glyph is composed of a circle from which an arrow emerges in the upper right part of this circle. The arrow is pointing upwards at 45 degrees, suggesting that the movement is at the intersection of the horizontal and the vertical trying to reconcile them.

The circle symbolizes a totality, a perfection or a balance but also a limit. The arrow indicates going beyond this limit to explore new possibilities. The circle can also represent a matrix from which a force seeks to extract itself, resulting in a birth to a new state.

Rudhyar saw it as an emergence from within the sun: “At the dawn of cosmic manifestation, the power which draws Light from the 'Heart of the Sun', from the mystical Darkness prior to all beginnings, is Mars. »

Mars thus appears as a separating force which allows us to escape finitude and entropy by recharging our batteries in solar light. Here we find the link with the Act of Will in Psychosynthesis which finds its source in the Higher Self. Mars thus represents the possibility of serving the inner light by maintaining a dynamism dedicated to the incarnation of this light in the external world. The arrow of Mars pointing upwards evokes this momentum of elevation.

Mars is the ruler of Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, representing the start of a new cycle. But at this stage, it is mainly a question of potentialities which do not yet have defined external forms and the night of Pisces threatens the nascent forces of Aries.

In the zodiac, the sign of Aries squares Cancer and Capricorn.

Mars is thus in tension with the security needs corresponding to the Moon and Cancer. The Martian will seeks to emancipate itself from lunar protection because Mars perceives that the Moon risks stifling its desire for independence. The inner world exposed by the sensitivity and emotionality of the Moon threatens Mars, which sees in it obstacles to the setting in motion of its impulses and their expression outwards. However Mars and the Moon are not necessarily antagonistic, Mars can work to implement the Moon's protection needs and the Moon can allow Mars to connect to an inner dimension which will humanize it and bring to its action the sensitivity and tact that he so often lacks.

The sign of Capricorn square to Aries indicates the antagonism of the two archetypes and the need to channel Martian energy through a collective framework that demands from Mars qualities of discipline, responsibility and maturity. If Mars takes up the Saturnian challenge, he can then bring his energy and passion, which the exaltation of Mars in Capricorn suggests.

But analysis of the zodiac shows that Mars' challenges are multiple. Aries is opposed to Libra, further reminding Aries that they cannot always exert brute force by following their impulses alone. To achieve his objectives, he must know how to deal with others, demonstrate sociability, finesse and understanding.

Mars appears both powerful and fragile. Martian impetuosities are often thwarted by the control imposed by culture and its cultural and moral framework, by power relations in the family and in society or by the need for belonging and security. Martian energy will have to find its way through a journey strewn with obstacles in order to find its expression in the world. This explains why Mars represents an energy that is often repressed, whose healthy expression is made difficult.

It is the immense courage of Freud to have attacked the prohibitions of the Viennese society in which he evolved by revealing the importance of the presence in the unconscious of repressed contents and particularly of sexual repressions.

The positioning of Mars in a person's chart and the analysis of its aspects with the other planets makes it possible to deduce the challenges that the expression of Mars represents for them. In my birth chart, Mars is only aspected by Uranus in trine. This relative isolation of Mars reflects my difficulty in connecting to Martian power, despite the presence of the South Node and Mars in Aries.

Analyzing aspects of Mars with the planets in another person's birth chart is also very informative. The comparison of my chart and that of Elias (the spiritual guide I followed) in Synastry reveals a precise square between Mars at 8 degrees of Capricorn for Elias and Mars at 8 degrees of Aries in my case. This aspect shows the intensity of the underlying rivalry between the two of us from which I accepted being in a dominated position. The positions of Mars in Aries and Capricorn recall the archetypal character of the square formed by these two signs in the zodiac.

The expression of my Mars in Aries was crushed so that his Mars in Capricorn could continue to exert its power and dominance. It was during intensive meditations, about ten years ago, in the Pune ashram that I began to visualize my penis being cut off. The castration that this relationship inflicted on me began to appear, but it took me a while to make the connection between this castration and the relationship I had with Elias. I remember a dream around this time where I broke a bottle in half and aimed the broken bottle at Elias to attack him.

The beginning of awareness of a deep dysfunction in the master-disciple relationship occurs during this period.

There is something blind with Mars in Aries, a form of naivety that comes from the need to trust the new cycle that is beginning and the new possibilities that are available to you. The exaltation of the Sun in Aries reflects the solar impulse transmitted to Mars who sets out on the path of the Hero, like Heracles who prepares to accomplish his twelve labors. There is a form of faith in Mars' innate confidence to meet life's challenges. But it is a faith in him, in his own abilities, which is linked to a certain unconsciousness of what awaits him. He may even believe that he can overcome all challenges alone. He believes himself to be invincible and risks giving in to the feeling of omnipotence.

This is what happened to Elias, he refused any help and even any connection with other people who could have enlightened him on his path. Without feedback from the outside, blind spots linked to unresolved internal problems led him to let himself be caught in the meshes of illusion.

But Elias was the mirror of my own past confinement in the pursuit of a solitary struggle, which is indicated by Aries at the South Node associated with Mars in Aries in my birth chart. Leaving Elias also meant letting go of the illusion that I am so special, that what I am experiencing is so unique, that no one can understand what I am experiencing.

When I left Elias on July 4, 2022, Mars was transiting the South Node, reactivating the power and strength I had gained in the past. This break with Elias' group was necessary in order to release the potential indicated by the North Node conjunct Jupiter and Neptune. Jupiter transited natal Mars, confirming the need to open myself to a broader vision and rediscover my faith in life, supported by the natal trine between Mars and Uranus in fire signs.

The North Node was transiting Venus, corresponding to the reconnection to my own value, at the heart of the Sun. Rudhyar wrote: "Mars is the liberator of the Solar Light, Venus is hidden in the 'Heart of the Sun'."

This union between Mars and Venus has the power to reseed the path of life, for new harvests to come. I quote Rudhyar again: “All fertilization depends on the interaction of Mars and Venus in terms of the cycles of the Moon. ".

Pierre Mevel