The Sun and Mars
Understanding planetary pairs through the decans and stars
Understanding the planets is the key to understanding astrology. Though signs get a lot of attention in our current culture, they really get their power and attributes from the planets that rule them, fuel them, shape them. I wrote my series on Embodying the Planets to help people bring that information into their bodies through ritual activities and what I saw as the most important attributes of each planet.
If you don’t know the basic attributes of the 7 visible planets, start there:
But here’s the thing: in charts and in our lives, planets rarely show up by themselves. A rose, for example, may be of the nature of Venus for its color, smell and association with love buts its thorns are of the nature of Mars. You may have a really sweet Cancer Moon, natally or by transit, but if it’s opposed by Saturn, you can’t get the nurturing, protecting qualities of Luna without the scarcity and struggle of Saturn.
Again and again in client consults, I find that by solely talking about the planetary combinations in someone’s chart, you can get to the heart of the foundational dynamics of their heart. And if you start looking around, you see planetary duos, specifically between two planets, show up all over astrology. Lots, or calculated points of fate, are determined via the relationship between two planets in your chart. Signs are defined by both their domicile and exaltation rulers. All fixed stars are assigned a planetary duo that reflects their nature.
By beginning to understand what it means when two planets come together, you see the relationships between them and the common ways they manifest in our mixed-up, varied lives.
In our charts, a planet is considered in combination with another when they are in the same sign, in opposing signs, or in mutual reception (a swapping of rulerships, i.e. when the Moon is in Leo and the Sun is in Cancer. Terms, exaltations and decans count here too).
So today, I begin a series exploring these planetary combinations in part because I find them so interesting. This work is heavily inspired by Austin Coppock’s “36 Dramas: Essential Planetary Relationships” Lecture from NORWAC 2022, so please check that out if you want to learn more! Going beyond his wonderful starting point, I will also include information on the decans, each of which have two planetary rulers when you consider both the Chaldean and Triplicity system, as their dynamics do a great job demonstrating what the planetary combinations look like in action. We will also be examining the fixed stars that share the same nature as this planetary combination to further our understanding.
Other uses for these combinations:
understanding mixed planetary correspondences
determining which herbs may help you if they have more than one ruler
connecting with your holy guardian angel (who is classically of the nature of two planets)
seeing your chart more clearly
attuning yourself to both planetary days and hours
P.S. If you want help understanding your own planetary combinations, my books are open for June! Book now to reacquaint yourself with your magic and destiny (no big deal).
Mars and the Sun: Summary
The Sun and Mars are of the same nature: hot and dry, making them both energizing, active and more concerned with action and force than connections or watery feelings. Their difference lies in the degree of heat. While sunlight can certainly prove deadly, it also sustain’s life. Sol’s illumination and warmth, in true luminary fashion, is also what allows us to survive on this earth. Mars’s heat, on the other hand is like that of a hand on the stove or a log encountering a fire. It burns, enflames, harms but also forces movement and quick action. Both of these planets control our energy and how we spend it, as well as how we assert ourselves both within and without.
As the center of our Solar system, the Sun has to do with our essence; the core, spirited self from which our unique genius and sovereignty arise. Mars, conversely, is much more concerned with action than ideals. He is rough, conflicting, and, as a nocturnal planet, also extremely instinctual and impulsive. While Mars wants to aggressively assert his agenda, the Sun wants to be honored for being himself. If the Sun is the king, always aware of his exalted, singular status, Mars is the enemy soldier more concerned with successfully tracking his opponent than being seen. While the Sun is our base energy level, Mars demonstrates our ability to effectively gather and exert this energy when needed.
When in combination, Mars and the Sun bring together this belligerent call to action with imperious majesty. The Yavanajataka tells us that this pair “produce[s] a vigorous, violent, and fierce man possessing strength and courage”. The heat of this duo turns one into someone full of energy, valor and might but with a penchant for more vicious ends. Firmicus warns against harm to the eyes— gesturing to the Sun’s authority over sight— or injuries from iron or fire— two of Mars’s purviews. While this combination promises a native with plenty of vitality, the martial impulsiveness may let this vigor get out of hand, coming back to hurt the native or others unintentionally.
The double-edged sword of this combination is illustrated in the host of lots calculated by the distance between this pair. While, on the one hand, Sun and Mars dictate the Lots of Authority, Conquest, Initiative, and Passion, they also determine the Lots of Treachery, Destruction, Enemies, Punishment and Deceit. The active, courageous side of this combination make a native primed for leadership as well as forceful acquisition of their desires. The heart of these individuals burn bright, with the necessary spark to begin something new, to break new ground. But, on the other hand, the sheer heat and speed generated by this combination can destroy just as quickly as it creates. There’s also a penchant to make nemeses or face sudden upheavals from relationships, as the Sun is most concerned with the self and Mars with breaking oaths over keeping them.
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