Mars in Aries ♂ Dec 31 – Feb 14

Dec 31, 2018 – Feb 14, 2019

Mars: ruler of the body and all its carnal urges. Mars governs Aries, the first constellation in the zodiac, and it is here that he returns now, triumphantly, like a warrior returning home from battle, victory on his lips. Really nice timing this year with the Gregorian calendar: Mars enters Aries on New Year’s Eve! Aries invigorates with an inundation of physical and sexual energy, like the first day of spring, the first day of new life. Prepare for a healthy new connection to your body and sexuality. Aries is pure molten stamina, suspension of inertia, sublime titillation from head to foot. This is a time of action and movement. Something within the collective consciousness is reawakened, refreshed. Suddenly it’s no longer so difficult to move through the day and accomplish what we need to do. Blessed be the fires of the lusty ram!

Ancient Roman calendars began on March 1, which was celebrated as Mars’ birthday. On this day, a festival called Matronalia was held by women in honor of Mars’ mother, Juno (his father was Jupiter). Mars was god of both war and agriculture. Mars fought only if it secured peace. This is important because we need to conceptualize of the Divine Masculine as multi-faceted, not bloodthirsty and savage. As god of agriculture, Mars was associated with seedlings, springtime and Mother Earth’s loving guidance. His identity is really one of duality. Mars the Warrior channels virility; Mars the Agronomist channels fertility.

Lastly, Mars and Venus were passionate lovers. In his dissertation titled On Love, 15th century Italian philosopher Marsilio Ficino made a striking discovery upon studying ancient artwork depicting the lovers: “Only Venus dominates Mars, and he never dominates her.”

Aries is the sign of the leader. There are many kinds of leaders, of course. The Aries leader is one who stands alone. He is hotheaded, self-assured. People with strong Aries in the chart tend toward baldness or thin hair due to excess testosterone in their biochemistry. Another manifestation is a propensity for unusual haircuts or facial piercings – anything which draws attention to the head. One (bald) head to rule them all!

Aries also rules the muscles and blood, which is why this archetype is so connected to exercise. Aries types usually can’t sit still for long, nor are they patient. But spending time with children takes cares of that very quickly. Study the way children move and speak and you will essentially study Aries: an archetype who runs through life, running here, running there, always running, distracted, but full of laughter.

Frustration and impatience flash up more quickly with Mars in Aries. One-upmanship will be on full display. Beware folks who are naturally trigger-happy as they may be more aggressive or reckless. On Jan 8, Mercury squares Mars. It is on a day like this, when Mars is negatively aspected, that we are likely to see malfunction. It is wise to avoid travel when Mercury and Mars clash. The morning of Jan 18 looks harmonious, the evening not so much. On Jan 21, Mars faces off with Saturn in Capricorn. Things are looking much better by the end of the week, as Mars forms an auspicious trine to Jupiter in Sagittarius on Jan 25. On February 1, Mars squares Pluto. Sexual desire will be very intense. This transit definitely inspires the arousal of passion, but not necessarily in a healthy way. Lastly on February 12, just two days before Mars enters Taurus, he forms a last minute conjunction to Uranus. This transit is actually really exciting – usually it involves travel and meeting new funky, groovy people.

Consider indulgences like massage, acupuncture, saunas, craniosacral therapy and vinyasa yoga. Write down everything that you want to accomplish during this transit and get excited about it. This is truly one of my favorite cycles, and it comes just once every two years. So put your dancing shoes on, people, and I’ll see you on the dance floor. Power colors for Aries are warm colors like red, orange and yellow. Start the day with Aries Yoga. If you were born with Mars in Aries, this is your Mars return. To find your personal Mars sign, click here.

Mantra:  I AM