Anger and aggression get a bad press but if you think of them as stored-up assertion they sound less off-putting. Mars is the planet of the individual life-force which says ‘I am’. In order to be myself I have to voice and act on my wants and needs, which is not negative, merely an expression of who I am. If my need to assert myself is thwarted by other people or life being difficult, then the ‘I am’ urge doubles, trebles, quadruples until it erupts as impatience or explodes into a tantrum.
A good many relationship problems would be pre-empted if both partners were assertive in small ways from the start, rather than one side being overly nice and placatory, until the unlived Mars resentment builds up and it all turns destructive.
Although having said that Mars is competitive. It loves a good fight or challenge, and may the best one win. In early adult life Martian types can be brash, tactless, insensitive to others’ needs. Telling it like it is – is a definite trait because Mars tends to be straightforward and usually has no agenda. Only as experience crashes in does it get through Mars’ head that a show of empathy and co-operation, however forced and insincere, will make for faster progress and more workable relationships.
Mars is speedy, operates on a high-adrenaline flow, is brave, at times foolhardy, tending to leap before it looks and speak before it thinks. Action is its first response to any trigger without thought of consequences.
In mythology, Mars and Aries, whom it rules, were gods of war (Ares). But in Roman times, Mars was the military power who brought and enforced peace, so he was regarded as essential and only destructive to good purpose.
Mars also represents virility, perhaps why he is always thought of as a masculine energy. Konrad Lorenz’s study of ducks indicated that the ones who were not aggressive couldn’t mate. The impetus to coupling comes from Mars but the aggression has to be diverted or toned down at the point of mating. So sexuality and aggression are intimately connected. Not in the sense of rape – for that Mars needs to be merged with Pluto’s drive for power and control, to produce an overpowering, inhumane and ruthless action. Or in sadism where Mars joins with cold Saturn to inflict pain.
The woodpecker was sacred to Mars for his ability to tap with a sharp beak, strong enough to feel an oak tree; also the wolf and bear. The horned ram in the Aries symbol presumably came about because of rams’ behaviour at rutting, clashing skulls to identify the stronger male to produce better progeny.
It tends to be at its best in kick-starting new projects, but has a low boredom threshold and attention span, unless in Fixed signs. A better sprinter than marathon runner.
However irritating it is to be on the receiving end of a Mars blast, it is an essential part of the life force.