Mars, God of War

May 28, 2016 — Mars, mythology, planet, retrograde, Scorpio

Mars/male gender symbol

Mars will be so close to the earth next week that it will visibly outshine our brightest star, Sirius.  The red planet is retrograde in Scorpio as it appears shining brightly in the night sky.  The planets (as well as recently demoted Pluto) are named for Roman gods because they have certain qualities the ancients identified with them. Mars rules battle and martial arts.  The word martial is derived from his name.  He was the father of legendary Romulus and Remus who founded Rome.  Thus he is the true god-father of Rome.  Citizens of Rome referred to themselves as sons of Mars and worshipped him copiously.  Indeed, war was perhaps the best talent of the Romans as a civilization.  They certainly developed the first global takeover strategy.  Sure, they had common currency and governance from the emperor in Rome, but none of that would have been possible without their military conquests.  Mars was their main man.

The famous adulterous affair between Mars and Venus has been immortalized in many ways. The symbol for Mars the planet is the same one used for the male gender and the element iron.  Similarly the symbol used for Venus is the same for the planet, the female gender, and the element copper.  Men actually have more iron in their blood than women, while women have more copper in the bloodstream than men.  Chemically this is just a fact.  There are the theories in psychiatry about communication styles and the conflicts they naturally engender between the sexes.  From Roman mythology to pop culture the planets Mars and Venus represent archetypal male/female roles.  In reality nobody is made up of a single archetype, although we usually have one that is more developed than the others.  The Mars archetype is aggressive and militaristic.  It is protective of farmers and soldiers.  In the Roman Empire Mars was a unifying factor, linked to local gods in order to strengthen the empire.  I can see how Mars has been the god we share with all of our war partners around the globe.

We can no longer live without war on earth. Security forces are needed to prevent all out chaos.  However, as Mars approaches the earth this Memorial Day to salute his people, let us give some thought to our use of his powers.  Military suicides are highest in the time before deployment because Mars is one scary boss.  The general public generally hides from the gruesome details of the horror of war.  This year as you pass the potato salad look to the sky as Mars passes by look directly into his flaming red eyes and take an oath to direct his energies to a higher purpose.  As protector of farmers he has work to do on global warming.  Happy Memorial Day, gentle reader.  I wish you a cloud free sky and a clear view of his majesty, Mars, in all his glory.