Mars in Aries

IN Aries, Mars is in his own house, tremendously strong. The fiery and precipitate nature of Aries blends admirably with his, and the essential passion of the character, as indicated by Uranus, leaps forward unchecked, to its fullest development. We have, therefore, a long list of famous persons with this position; it will be apparent that even those with inherent weakness of disposition accomplish their ends; the petty, crazy, or ignoble purpose is executed as surely as the lofty configuration and the wise desire. 

We have a very characteristic and salient illustration of the action of Mars in the nativity of Jesus of Nazareth, where he is conjoined {319) with Neptune, opposed to Jupiter, square to the Sun and Mercury, and sextile to Saturn. In this extraordinary complex, Mars on the cusp of the seventh house is very strong to deal with public affairs, and Saturn adds wisdom to that force. But the opposition of Jupiter interferes with material power, and the square of Mars and the Sun acting externally predicts the danger of violent death. 

We find the Mars of Emmanuel Swedenborg in the third house, giving great excitability to the mind, but the opposition of Saturn is not very favorable, as this should tend to deny the higher wisdom to that mind. It is interesting to observe Mars thus usurping the position of the mental ruler, Mercury, who is rising. The subjective mind is, therefore, much stronger than the objective or rational mind; so that the intuitions of the native were more nearly correct than his arguments. 

Swami Vivekananda, with Mars in opposition to Jupiter, exactly squared by a rising Venus, and Jupiter in square to the Sun, was hindered as a practical propagandist. The gentleness of his nature was too great to enable him to use a battering-ram against the inertia of other minds. Mars, however, is again in the third house, and we see in him the same forceful intellect, the same iron will to solve the problems of existence. Per se, Mars was adequate; it was only in connection with the non-ego that the weakness appeared. 

To turn to political types, one of the most successful in the world's history was Queen Victoria. Astute to the point of hiding her political aims from even many of the wise, she aggrandized her throne and held back the republican movement in England with matchless skill. The sextile of Jupiter to her Mars must have been of unqualified assistance in this matter, and accounts for the good fortune which attended her indomitable purpose. 

Franz Josef, again, who achieved an even more difficult task in Austria-Hungary, has a Mars sextile to Uranus, square to Jupiter, and placed on the cusp of the seventh house. Jupiter being in the fourth house, the affliction by Mars accounts to some extent for his domestic tragedies. But the Aries power of Mars himself is to be thanked for the courage and energy displayed in his policy. 

Nicholas II, on the other hand, has no strength of Mars beyond this position in Aries; and, as he is in the twenty-eighth degree, some {320} of this influence is more Taurian than Arian, and Mars is, therefore, not a strong or favorable planet. Venus on the cusp of the eleventh in conjunction with Uranus seems to imply that the Tsar trusted to alliances, and was deceived therein. Saturn in the fourth indicates his tragic end. 

Contrast this weak character with the fiery Cromwell. Here Mars, Lord of the Ascendant, is just above the eastern horizon, with the Sun, Venus, and Mercury rising just below him. Saturn opposed, denies far-sighted political wisdom; perhaps this made it impossible for him to found the dynasty he so dearly hoped for; but the primary position of the planet of battles rendered it impossible for him to fail in courage or energy, as soldier or as ruler. 

In George III Mars appears as obstinacy. The Moon and Uranus square him, making the king deluded and stupid; hence his loss of the American colonies through sheer mismanagement. But Mars is on the cusp of the tenth house, very powerful; so that the ultimate issue of England's war with Napoleon, who had Saturn in the midheaven, could never have been in doubt to any enlightened astrologer. 

Gambetta, who “stamped his foot amid the ashes of the glory of France, and sparks of manhood sprang armed to life at his summons,” has the Sun and Mercury very near conjunction to Mars, with Venus and Uranus semi-sextile, and Neptune sextile. 

In literary men, artists, and musicians, this position of Mars seems to imply great mastery of technique, great power of execution. It further seems to mean much brilliancy and energy; even originality is enhance where Uranus is well placed and favorably aspected. 

Among novelists, for example, Zola and Dickens may be fairly classed together. Their pugnacity and propagandism is all decidedly characteristic of Mars in Aries. Zola's Mars is exceedingly strong, with Mercury conjoined, the Sun and Moon not far off, Uranus semi-sextile, Neptune sextile, and Saturn trine. Dickens had not nearly so powerful a Mars as this, and it is in the fifth house, confining his pugnacity to his art. It would never have occurred to Dickens to placard London with a violent political squib, as Zola did in Paris. He had to work indirectly through his novels. {321} 

Compare now the virle, forceful Baudelaire with the dreamy and gentle Maeterlinck. The latter only has Uranus sextile to Mars which is in the fifth house; it is good enough to win out, but the force is hardly strong enough to be called revolutionary. Baudelaire has Mars in a tremendous complex. Neptune and Uranus conjoined, are square to him – hence, his eventual paralytic insanity; the Moon stands apart; but all the other five planets are in conjunction with him. Here is overwhelming force indeed; and we understand how his passion for the Infinite yet burns in those words of his that seem to corrode the soul like acid! 

Albrecht Durer has Mars culminating in the ninth house. There is no particular support, so the effect is limited to craftmanship, especially in working upon metals or with them. Mars, incidentally, is a very angry, passionate, impatient planet when excited to the full; the student will do well to contrast carefully the extremes as presented by Durer and Baudelaire. 

In music we have two more great originators of superb technique; Chopin and Richard Strauss. The former has Neptune trine and the Sun semi-sextile; Saturn, too, is close to Neptune; and all this tends in a way to modify the fire of Mars, and lead him into subtle channels. Yet in his “Polonaises” the essential force of the spirit is well represented, as well as the general firmness and conciseness of his technique. 

Strauss has Venus sextile, Saturn in opposition, Neptune in conjunction; this is a somewhat great excitation of Mars, who, moreover, is in the tenth house, dominating the horoscope. Hence, we may judge, come the wrath and fury of his “Electra” and his “Salome,” and the violent perfections of his technique; the conjunction of Neptune obviously accounts for their eccentricity. 

Havelock Ellis, to conclude, another militant person, has this same position of Mars. Venus is square, Saturn trine, Uranus sextile on one side and the Moon on the other. It is a strong but not a violent complex, and fairly descriptive of his method. 

For the benefit of those who are not in possession of Raphael's Ephemeris, or who are not able to interpret the symbols contained therein, the years when Mars is in the sign Aries are as follows: 

From March 7th through April 14th 1840 

February 14th “ March 26th 1842 

January 23rd ” March 3rd 1844 

December 22nd 1845 “ February 6th 1846 

June 17th ” August 4th 1847 

May 18th “ June 27th 1849 

April 26th ” June 3rd 1851 

April 4th “ May 13th 1853 

March 15th ” April 23rd 1855 

February 22nd “ April 2nd 1857 

February 1st ” March 13th 1859 

January 5th “ February 17th 1861 

July 6th 1862 ” January 14th 1863 

May 28th “ July 8th 1864 

May 4th ” June 12th 1866 

April 12th “ May 20th 1868 

March 23rd ” April 30th 1870 

March 2nd “ April 10th 1872 

February 9th ” March 21st 1874 

January 17th “ February 27th 1876 

December 10th 1877 ” January 30th 1878 

June 9th “ July 23rd 1879 

May 13th ” June 21st 1881 

April 21st “ May 29th 1883 

March 31st ” May 8th 1885 

March 11th “ April 18th 1887 

February 17th ” March 28th 1889 

January 26th “ March 7th 1891 

December 28th 1892 ” February 10th 1893 

June 23rd “ August 18th 1894 

October 13th ” December 30th 1894 

May 22nd “ July 1st 1896 

April 29th ” June 6th 1898 

April 8th “ May 16th 1900 

March 19th ” April 26th 1902 

February 27th “ April 6th 1904 

February 5th ” March 16th 1906 

January 11th “ February 22nd 1908 {323} 

From July 21st through September 26th 1909 

November 21st 1909 ” January 22nd 1910 

June 3rd “ July 15th 1911 

May 8th ” June 16th 1913 

April 17th “ May 25th 1915 

March 27th ” May 4th 1917 

March 7th “ April 14th 1919 

February 13th ” March 24th 1921 

January 21st “ March 3rd 1923 

December 19th 1924 ” February 4th 1925 

June 15th “ July 31st 1926 

May 17th ” June 25th 1928

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