Welcome again to this new series of planetary rulers for each ascendant. As always since the zodiac cycle starts with Aries. I will start with the Aries ascendant as well with focusing on Mars in this article. I initially intended to do three planets in one article but those would be too long, so for now will be doing one planet at a time. The focus of the articles will be on these individual planets and how they can function or be used to their best ability for such an ascendant. Please read the ascendant series articles for more information on Aries itself.
MARS FOR ARIES ASCENDANT-
I start with Mars for this ascendant, as it’s the lagna lord for the chart. The lagna lord is one the most important planets for a chart, almost at par with the sun and moon placements. For Aries ascendant, Mars rules the 1st house of physical self, outward appearance, your personality that you put out in the world. In addition, Mars also rules the 8th house for the chart. This combination makes it particularly interesting to understand the behavior of Mars for such ascendant. 8th house deals with transformations, changes and anything that’s hidden. It is considered as a house of extremes and can go either ways depending on your life choices and decisions.
Mars ruling these houses implies that if you are an Aries ascendant, the aspects of life that these houses govern will have a Martian approach from your side. Mars is an active, strong, quick to decide, always ready to compete soldier of the zodiac. It likes to find logical solutions to things. If there is any fixing needed anywhere, be sure to find Mars ready with a plan to fix it. This is why engineering and mechanical skills are seen by Mars placement in a chart. People many times give Mars a malefic status because of the fact that it can be aggressive and headstrong but that is not always the case. In its highest form, Mars is that calm self-sufficient soldier who when given a just battle to fight will never shy away but will also not go and pick petty fights everywhere. It stands strong in its full glory, ready to follow orders.
As I have always mentioned each quality, sign, planet has two sides and its on us to decide which side we want to let out. Astrology is not just about destiny and fixed outcomes, it is about the outcomes based on your choices and decisions, given some conditions. In mathematical term, a conditional probability if you will. Mars bringing out some maths here…
Anyways, with such a planet ruling your first house you become a very active person ready to deal with life as a whole. You like to have an active lifestyle and have lots of energy. Also since mars rules your 8th house, you might deal with changes and challenges in a very headstrong way. Example, if some unexpected event happens in some area of life, you might become agitated and unsettled and would want to find a solution to the problem as fast as possible. You want to resolve all conflicts quickly and this might sometimes lead to further issues. It really depends on how Mars is placed in your chart, to actually see which area of life will your most focus go to. Since the first house lord goes to that house, someway or another your life focus will direct you to the matters of that house. It can also be the area seeing the most transformation.
One very important concept that I have come across and which makes a lot of sense to me is the exaltation and debilitation placements for that planet for that ascendant. What this means is, every planet has a sign where it is considered exalted (can behave in its highest fashion) and the opposite sign where it is considered debilitated (meaning losing lot of its strength). Eg, Mars is exalted in the sign of Capricorn and debilitated in the sign of Cancer. This shows that Mars is in its highest form in the Saturn ruled Capricorn sign of restrictions and boundaries. Whereas, it becomes uncomfortable in the Moon ruled water sign of cancer dealing with emotions and nurturing.
Applying this concept for an Aries ascendant, irrespective of where the actual Mars is placed in your chart, if you are an aries ascendant certain qualities come not just from your rising sign but also due to these other placements. Mars is exalted in the 10th house of career and profession. What this implies is Aries ascendant need to be able to cultivate this quality of a Capricornian mars of restricting their boundaries in life. They will be able to put in their best effort if they choose their battles correctly. Mars respects authority and will be extremely beneficial for you if you use it wisely. Aries people should use this aspect of mars in their professional life for growth and prosperity.
Mars is debilitated in the 4th house. What this shows is such people do not like to sit at home and do nothing. They do not deal well with emotions. If the aggression of mars is used in their home life it may cause a lot of turbulence. It is best to handle such a mars with structure and give it a plan to work on. If something in the home needs fixing, rather than dealing with emotions, if you give these people logical ideas to improve the situation they will work much better.
So to know how exactly your mars behaves and how you can make the most use of it, we really need to look at its house, sign and nakshatra placement along with the entire natal chart.
Will be back with Venus, lord of 2nd and 7th for Aries soon…
Astrology...A way of living 