MARS RETROGRADE:
WRITTEN BY LYNN KOINER
Mars rules how we initiate, how we take the initiative and how we deal with and express anger.
Whenever I see this aspect, I have observed that the individual came from a family in which no one knew how to express or deal with anger. It signifies a family pattern and it will show up with the other family members in some way, with their Mars either by aspect or Interception.
With Mars R, reactions, aggressive urges and hostilities are internalized in some way. On the surface, they can appear calm but, inside, they can be a raging volcano. In other cases, anger is expressed inappropriately. And, it can be passive-aggressive in its indirectness. These people do not know how to express their anger.
The House position of Mars Retrograde is where you bottle up, bottle up, bottle up and then BOOM – they explode and cut off the situation. They feel anger inside but they do not know how to direct it and get it out.
They are rarely comfortable with direct, competitive activities, preferring to work alone or indirectly. This can manifest through encouraging the energies and supporting the enterprises of others…such as a coach.
EXAMPLE: A client with Mars Retrograde in Libra finds it too difficult to fire an employee. As the owner of a successful business, she hired an aggressive woman who LOVES to fire people…so this is her job.
When anger is internalized, it leads to various psycho-physical distresses, including depression. They can be accident prone but, statistically, accident-prone people live longer than other angry types because they will release their anger through jamming their toe on a chair rather than internalizing it for 20 years and suddenly dying of a heart attack!
FEEDBACK from Students:
1) In aggressive situations, I keep my mouth shut and go mild.
2) Alcoholic who drank rather than show anger. When this person stopped drinking, it released the anger.
3) Self-destructive and abusive relationships, also alcohol.
4) Gripes and complains a lot rather than do anything about problems.
5) Represses her anger until it does away. Her family immediately explodes with their anger and this anger is a distortion, over-reacting to what happened, she is afraid that she will be this herself so she keeps angry feelings inside.
6) Father was alcoholic and abusive – she learned not to say or do anything or the father would only get worse.
7) These individuals have a rather strong habit of suppressing anger, as well as their ambitions. This woman says that this is something we have to deal with all our lives.
Mars Progressed Retrograde Direct: My husband has Mars Rx along with five other retrogrades in his chart. When Mars turned Direct in his chart, he stopped drinking, became involved in 12-step recovery, got divorced and began to study Poekelan, an Indonesian martial art.
Mars R in 1st While these people can appear very calm, there is a smoldering volcano underneath. Like a volcano, they have their calm and quiet periods followed by an eruption that seems to come out of nowhere. Anger can be expressed with regard to sex. In its positive expression, the 1st House is connected esoterically with advocacy work, battling what is perceived as unjust or unfair, especially when connected with Jupiter. Setting priorities and determining which cause to fight is essential.
Mars R in 2nd – There is a sabotaging pattern with anger – they can work hard, save their money and then one day they get angry at the wife, take out all of the money from their savings account in the bank and buy a Porsche…then they have to start all over again saving their money.
Mars R in the 3rd and 4th tends to get along with family members for years and then all of a sudden they instigate a big fight and never speak to them again. In the 3rd, there can be a change in the behavior during the school years – the quiet child who all of a sudden starts getting into fights with other children.
Mars R in the 5th does better motivating the creativity or recreativity of others. Dancing or playing the drums helps them release energy. There can be impulsiveness in romantic relationships. They need to learn to be participants rather than simply spectators.
Mars R in the 6th can be a perfectionist in work projects and this can sometimes alienate co-workers. This can be mis-directed internal anger issues. The health can suffer through frustration and nervous anxiety about their work. They can experience tension headache due to high Cortisol levels.
Mars R or D in the 7th indicates that marriage will be the “battle ground of your life.� When R, internalized anger can become mis-directed and projected onto others, causing tension in relationships and in dealing with the public. They much exercise caution against impulsiveness and acting belligerent with others and any anti-social behavior. They can instigate lawsuits but these will be fraught with costly delays.
Mars R in 8th can be very passionate but very troublesome internalized anger can impact sexual relationships. Using the healing powers of the 8th House, they have an ability to encourage and motivate others to success. They may marry someone who is not good with finances so they need to be in charge of the family resources.
Mars R in 9th: Any time there is a Retrograde planet in the 9th, the education may be interrupted and they go back to college at a later time. They need to be careful of legal confrontations and confrontations in foreign countries. They can be activists, projecting internal anger towards authority towards civil rights or environmental issues.
Mars R in 10th brings difficult with those in authority, which can hold them back professionally when they have to work under the thumb of others. They must always keep high standards in their work ethics or they can be plagued with scandals and losses. They always possess an ability to try, try again. They tend to be more successful in later life when they have learned some important lessons.
Mars R in 11th can cause many problems in groups and friendships. This energy is best projected onto activist activities with others who share a common vision.
Mars in the 12th often causes subconscious resentments, passive-aggressive behavior that they do not recognize in themselves but others clearly see it. It is best applied in helping the disadvantaged.
The House position of Mars Retrograde is where you bottle up, bottle up, bottle up and then BOOM – they explode and cut off the situation. They feel anger inside but they do not know how to direct it and get it out.
They are rarely comfortable with direct, competitive activities, preferring to work alone or indirectly. This can manifest through encouraging the energies and supporting the enterprises of others…such as a coach.
In your chart, this would apply to your one-to-one relationships. Anger issues are projected into the relationship but not in an obvious manner.
Anandamayee 