Mars

The Signs

Sep 23

Mars Astrological Symbol Glyph Meaning — **assertive courage, controlled passions**

**Keywords:** action, agency, drive, exertion, sexuality, passion, will, defensiveness, masculinity, anger, daring, courage, will, assertiveness, energy, enthusiasm, ego, competition, focus, strength, heroism, survival instinct, aggression, threat, fight, frustration, hot-headed, impulsiveness, impatience, hastiness, passive-aggressive

sign rulership: aries & scorpio

mythological correspondence: ares, god of war

The Warrior

Mars is the raw embodiment of energy, passion, thrust and vitality. It is the central driving force that propels us forward, ignites our ambitions and fuels our desires. A truly unyielding spirit, Mars constitutes the warrior archetype, describing our personal expression of courage and assertiveness — it denotes our primal instincts and influences our ability to take action, assert our will, and overcome obstacles. This planet fiercely and fearlessly asserts its independence, and typically doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Through masterly discipline to control and use rather than explode or suppress, we learn to channel Mars’s fire, becoming a dominant force with passionate ambitions rather than a reckless, hot-headed desperado.

Strength and Leadership

Independent of gender, Mars is associated with the masculine principle or ‘yang’ energy in our birth charts. Embodying the core essence of masculinity, Mars describes how we employ strength, move forward, gather determination, and pursue our goals, and consequently take charge of our lives. Do we possess leadership qualities, and how do we define positive, impactful leadership? Are we relentlessly competitive and ruthless, driven to conquer challenges, or diplomatic and fair-minded? Mars defines our ability to endure in circumstances of adversity, yet its key challenge is to assertively employ energy for higher purposes and devotion instead of wasting our resources on defence.

Raw Physicality

Mars is closely tied to our physical energy and vitality. It describes our stamina, physical endurance, and our ability to channel our energy effectively. It also governs our passions and sexuality, reflecting how we express our desires in intimate situations. As the counterpart to Venus, its feminine equivalent, Mars symbolises the more active pursuit of pleasure, sexual gratification and romantic attraction, and defines the level of intensity we bring to relationships. Which type of partners we seek and how we assert ourselves both in the quest for partners and within relationships is a greater reflection of our confidence, and also gives clues about our creative energies. Mars functions through the urgency of survival, and requires the exceptional skill of controlling strong passions to achieve an optimal outcome.

Mars in the Birth Chart

Our Mars sign and house placement reveals our drive, style of determination, and competitive spirit. Understanding the placement of Mars in the birth chart is key to harness and direct our energy towards productive endeavours. A well-placed Mars in the birth chart can indicate robust health, confidence and an assertive approach to physical activities, whereas an afflicted Mars can manifest as recklessness, impulsiveness, or a confrontational personality. It provides hints about life areas where we are likely to exert energy, apply pressure to or achieve recognition, and how we empower and assert ourselves in our chosen field to take decisive action towards our goals. If you need deeper insights into how your Mars placement operates and how to optimise its potential, please book a birth chart reading here.

Positive expressions of Mars include a fiery spirit, assertiveness, overcoming challenges, controlled passions, diplomatic action, energy, enthusiasm, focus, courage, survival, and endurance, and heroism. Unbalanced expressions of Mars include aggression, impatience, recklessness, impulsiveness, frustration, perpetuating conflicts, destructive tendencies, hot-headedness, threatening, and a choleric personality.

Mars’s Mythological Meaning

In Greek mythology, Mars was known as Ares, god of warfare, bloodlust and slaughter. Governing war, conflict, competitive expansion and defence from attack, Ares was generally feared and distrusted, and not many temples were built in his honour — instead of orderly, intelligent, strategy-based tactics, he represented unpredictable violence and reckless bloodthirstiness. Only the Roman Mars was viewed differently: he was considered the patriarch and tutelary god of Rome, honoured by the Romans as the warrior spirit of courage and military craft. Under his domain came strength, martial arts and sports, suggesting an emphasis on martial discipline rather than uncontained aggression.

The Meaning of Mars’s Symbol

Mars’s glyph is often used as a synonym for masculinity and manhood. With the arrow pointing upwards and reaching its mark whilst grounded in a closed circle, this glyph denotes the thrusting and forthright quality of this planet. The arrow is symbolic of our focused energy set on a goal, as well as our enthusiastic vision of the possibility of manifestation being realised.