Mars the motivator in Taurus

New Moon in Scorpio, 2nd November 2005, 1.24 am

And a happy birthday to all you Scorpio’s out there! Each sign of the zodiac in astrology has a special link to a planet, which is said to govern or “rule” the sign. The planet and the sign have similar kinds of energy and expression. In the case of Scorpio, there are in fact two rulers: one termed “modern” and one termed “traditional”. The modern ruler of Scorpio is Pluto, which was discovered relatively recently, in 1930 to be exact. Before Pluto’s discovery, astrologers assigned rulership of Scorpio to the planet Mars.

Mars in astrology represents energy and drive. It’s what motivates us and gives us the determination to succeed. It is also associated with anger and how we express it, as well as our attitudes towards sex. In a woman’s chart Mars can describe the kind of man she’s drawn to on a physical and sexual level. Mars is also the god of war and represents fighting, the military, knives and any cutting activity, including butchery and surgery – all having quite a bloody theme in common!

Many people who have Mars in the birth chart making a strong contact to their Sun, which represents their sense of self-identity and their life path, have bags of energy and determination to succeed in life. They have a strong “fighting spirit”, so to speak. A perfect example, and one which brings forward the theme of the fighter in a very literal sense, is the boxer Mohammed Ali. His Capricorn Sun is in a stressful and highly energised combination with both Mars and Pluto. Such an explosive planetary combination needs a positive physical outlet or it could have negative consequences. Ali’s success in working out his potential anger and frustration in the boxing ring is an excellent use of this energy. Given his underprivileged background, Mars, along with the Sun and Pluto, certainly seems to be a major factor in both his huge success and his worldwide renown as a sports and celebrity icon.

Another well known figure with Mars in combination with the Sun is Richard Branson, the entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin empire. Branson is known for his pioneering exploits (including record-breaking ocean crossing attempts in hot-air balloons) and his hands-on approach to his work. His great energy and determination to succeed can be attributed at least in part to the Mars/Sun combination, but we also have the added factor of Neptune in his chart, sitting right next to his Mars. This brings in the vision and creativity of the man whose exploits don’t always succeed, but invariably hit the headlines!

As I mentioned in a recent newsletter, Mars went into the sign of Taurus this year on the 28th July. It’s set to stay there right through the rest of the year until February 2006. This is an unusually long sojourn in the sign of the bull, and Mars spending such a long spell in any of the signs is an event which happens only once every two or so years. At the moment, Mars is doing what we call a retrograde cycle, which means it appears to be going backwards from an earth centred viewpoint. During this period we are being asked to consider how we are using our energy and what our motivations have been, and maybe taking time out to revise these areas of our lives. Retrograde cycles of Mars, as well as those of Venus and Mercury, can have a direct impact on the business world as well as on individuals. Here’s how:

Mars retrograde
Mars is retrograde for approximately 10 weeks every 2 years. This is a good time to reconsider and revise your business motivations, company goals and your strategy for the next 2 years. It is, however, a bad time to launch new products, for the following reasons:

• The product or service will turn out not to be ready for the market or vice versa
• The product or service will turn out not to be correctly defined for the market
• The product or service will prove to have quality or mechanical issues
• There will be inadequate promotion to drive the desire for the product and therefore sales.

In addition, the stock price of a company can go down during these periods, with a worst case scenario resulting in bankruptcy.

For more on business planning by the stars, go to the horoscopes page on my website, click on articles and select “Better Business Decisions with Astrology”.

So that’s the astro-view of Mars. Mars in the sky just happens to be particularly close to earth right now, here’s what NASA has to say for any budding astronomers out there:

http://spaceweather.com

ENCOUNTER WITH MARS: This weekend [October 29th-30th], Mars comes closer to Earth than it will again for another 13 years. Rising in the east after sunset, Mars looks like an intense pumpkin-coloured star--very bright and easy to find.

A great number of people will see Mars on Halloween while outdoors Trick or Treating. Although, technically speaking, the moment of closest approach occurs on Oct. 30th, a day before Halloween, the difference in distance between Oct. 30th and Oct. 31st is too slight to matter. Mars will still look terrific.

To find out more about how Mars in your birth chart drives you forward, as well as what the other planets symbolise for you, contact me for a confidential consultation in person or by telephone on 01572 822226.

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