Mars in Astrology: How You Act, Fight and Want
Mars describes how you go after what you want: your energy, ambition, courage, sexuality and the way you handle anger and conflict. It spends about six or seven weeks in a sign, so two people born a few months apart often have very different Mars signs.
| Type | Personal planet |
|---|---|
| Rules | Aries and Scorpio |
| Exalted in | Capricorn |
| Detriment in | Taurus and Libra |
| Fall in | Cancer |
| Full cycle | About two years through all twelve signs |
| Time in each sign | About six to seven weeks, up to seven months when retrograde |
| Retrograde | Every 26 months or so, for about ten weeks |
What Mars describes in a birth chart
Mars rules Aries and, traditionally, Scorpio. It is the planet of action: getting up, starting, competing, defending and desiring. Where Venus attracts, Mars pursues. A chart's Mars shows what makes you angry, how fast you act, how you compete and what kind of physical energy you have.
A Mars that is blocked, by sign or by hard aspects, often shows as frustration or anger turned inward. A Mars that is well used shows as courage and the ability to finish what you start. Mars is not bad; it is the part of the chart that gets things done.
Mars in the twelve signs
Mars in fire signs acts first and asks later and is at home with competition. In earth signs it works steadily and is hard to stop once it has started. In air signs it fights with words and ideas. In water signs it acts on feeling and can hold anger for a long time. Mars is traditionally strongest in Aries, Scorpio and Capricorn.
Mars in the houses
Mars's house shows where you put the most effort and where conflicts tend to start. In the first house it is visible in your manner; in the sixth it is in your work ethic; in the seventh it can bring strong partners and arguments with them; in the tenth it drives a career.
Mars's aspects
Mars with the Sun adds confidence and a temper. Mars with Saturn describes effort under restriction, which builds endurance over time. Mars with Jupiter adds enthusiasm and risk. Mars with Pluto adds intensity and a need for control. Mars with Venus links desire and affection.
Mars in relationships
Mars contacts between two charts show attraction and friction. One person's Mars on the other's Venus is a classic attraction marker; Mars square Mars can describe a couple who argue often and make up just as often.
Mars in transit
Transiting Mars energises whatever it touches for a few days, sometimes as motivation and sometimes as irritation. Mars retrograde, about every 26 months for roughly ten weeks, is read as a time when plans stall and old conflicts return, best used for revising strategy.
Common questions
What does my Mars sign say about me?
How you act, compete, desire and get angry. It is often the clearest description of what motivates you.
Is Mars only about anger?
No. Mars is energy and courage. Anger is one form of it; ambition, sport, sex and simply getting started are others.
Find yours
Find your Mars sign and what it says about your drive, desire and the way you handle conflict. Mars sign calculator
See where Mars is pushing in your chart now
Transiting Mars sets off a different part of your chart every few weeks. A Precision Horoscope tells you which part it is today. Get my free personal reading