Astrology of the Soul

by Linda Brady

MARS IN VIRGO – CONFLICT TO COMPASSION

DAILY VIRGO MEDITATION

“Welcome to you blessed Virgo, Divine Mother of the Divine Son, and Goddess of the Harvest to your sacred earth as Mars continues its journey through your constellation. It is through you that the intentional uniting of spirit and matter occurs. Through this marriage we are witnessing divinity planting its seed in Virgo. The results are sacred form and ultimately the manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. It is through you Virgo, we become vessels of sacred service. It is through your connection to the sacred earth that we more clearly understand the mind, body and spirit aspects of the Age of Aquarius.” Linda Brady

THE ENERGY OF MARS

Mars journeyed into Virgo on November 12^th, 2011 and will remain there until July 3^rd, 2012. It retrograded from January 24^th, 2012 until April 14^th, 2012. When Mars retrogrades, it expands Mars’ usual transit of six weeks to six months. It provides us a powerful opportunity to review, reflect and resolve issues and conflicts catalyzed by this planet’s energy, and that is what I will do in this article dedicated to it. Mars, the planet that ruled the Age of Aries, Moses, and most of the Old Testament, represents physical energy, assertion, aggression, war, power, initiation, and will. It is the energy that embodies action, forward motion, and risk taking. It represents independence, boldness, and self-reliance. Our Mars energy is a self-centered energy; it wants to win for itself, and compete with itself. At its best, Mars represents focused determination and self-motivation. Mars rules our basic need to achieve our wants and desires, and sexuality is one of those basic needs. Thus, Mars encompasses our sexual motivation, and its energy manifests as our need for physical excitement and stimulation, whether through exercise, physical assertion, or sexuality. It drives our primordial need to physically connect with another person on a sexual level. Our Mars energy contains the ingredient that drives us toward the erotic and to consummate our desire through sexual relations. In many ways it represents what traits we ﬁnd physically attractive in someone, and we use our Mars energy to take the actions necessary to become sexually active with that person.

Mars also symbolizes sharp objects and people who use those objects in their work, surgeons and soldiers, for example. Mars rules warfare, whether it occurs internally or externally. As the male archetype, it has a strong need to manifest its male energy through forward, directed action. Mars colors how we motivate ourselves and how we initiate action. In a woman’s astrological chart, Mars is one of the planets that symbolize her animus (the hidden male side of herself). It is also the energy that romantically stimulates her and draws her sexually to another person. If a man’s Mars is in a female astrological sign, he may manifest his Mars energy in a more feminine, passive-aggressive manner. At its worst, it can be impulsive, reckless, impatient, short sighted, destructive, and accident-prone. Mars represents the way we understand and express anger. At its most organic level, it symbolizes the savage in us, the impulsive part that is about action and reaction: no thought, no social consequence or rules. Mars also reveals how we make others angry with us.

THE KARMIC MARS

Karmically, in an astrological chart, Mars tells us about the actual and symbolic wars we have experienced in other lifetimes. The placement of the planet Mars on the day you were born indicates the type of conﬂicts you’ve initiated, and the havoc you’ve wrought in the past. One of the most prominent ways our Mars energy affects us is in our ability or inability to take aggressive action. In past lifetimes we’ve taken actions that hurt others or ourselves. Now in this life, we’re very reluctant to take an aggressive action again, fearing the same injurious result as before. So before we can be free to be more assertive in this life, we have to confront and resolve those previous experiences. If you are afraid of discovering and resolving your Mars conﬂicts, you’ve created a new conﬂict right there. This conﬂict can be resolved only by uncovering the life where a Mars conﬂict had an extremely adverse effect on you. Without resolving the conﬂict, you may be depressed without knowing why. Thus, Mars is extremely important in helping us discover how past life conﬂicts can cause vague feelings of depression. A powerful clue is anger we feel in this life that seems to have no immediate cause. To learn more about the issues from which you may be sourcing your anger, consult your Mars sign or see “Mars Placements,” pp. 185–192 in Discovering Your Soul Mission, How to Use Karmic Astrology to Create the Life You Want.

VIRGO AND SACRED SERVICE

In ancient times the word Virgo or virgin meant an independent, fertile, self sufficient woman, which is quite different than the Christian definition of purity and celibacy. Virgo represents the Inner Divine Feminine and the Divine Mother that springs forth from the earth she rules. The time of Virgo is early fall when the harvest is reaped. She is the goddess of wheat, and is usually seen holding a sheaf of wheat in her arms. In the form of Isis, Virgo was the grain goddess who lived among the common man as the goddess of agriculture and medicine. She was the epitome of sacred service, which is the 6^th House of our astrological charts. Virgo rules the 6^th house, which rules life issues of duty, service, health, skills and habits and how we need to prepare ourselves for life’s debuts. Virgo is the polar opposite of Pisces and as such, can manifest as self-sacrifice in all the worldly religions as the highest form of practice. For the rest of us, Virgo’s purity and attention to detail gives us “cleanliness is next to godliness” as a symbolic Pisces/Virgo experience. More recently in western society, Puritanism and the Victorian age are clear manifestations of the purity, humility and chastity of Virgo.

MARS IN VIRGO

Mars in Virgo manifests itself in our desire to create order and high standards. Actions are sublimated through a drive to use precise logic, and in its need to analyze and discern. This energy is fueled by a strong devotion and concern for service and a health orientation. Its positive characteristics include being analytical, discriminating, industrious, dependable, and conscientious. Mars in Virgo’s challenging characteristics include being obsessive, too result-oriented, nervous, and hypochondrial. It may project impossibly high standards on others and us. It catalyzes our need to be methodical, practical, organized, and thorough. It seeks a perfect blend of mind and body. Possible past life challenges may include:

A doctor or nurse whose entire motivation was martyrdom to his or her patients
A doctor or nurse who overlooked an important detail that might have led to a patient’s death or injury
A workaholic obsessed with perfection, whose life was ﬁlled with pettiness, detail, and negative thoughts
A leader of workers who was controlling, hypercritical, and pedantic
A hypochondriac driven by fear of illness

CURRENT LIFE REACTIONS AND PHOBIAS THAT MAY SURFACE

Terror of making any mistake lest it damage others or self
Eschewal of healers to avoid being positioned as a martyr
Obsession with, or abhorrence of, details and order
Being self-critical with impossibly high standards
An overarching desire to have the “perfect” body

When angry, Mars in Virgo may be critical and judgmental. Anger brings out its pettiness. The Virgo part will analyze anger, and at times discriminate about whether it should be angry. Therefore it is not spontaneous; rather it is studied in its expression of anger. It is loyal and loving sexually, although not particularly passionate. A mantra for Mars in Virgo’s transformed self-assertion could be, “A disciplined mind delivers practical service with compassion.” It needs to utilize its anger to hone its logical abilities, in order to produce a clearer understanding of the essence of the challenge.

COMING SOON – MARS IN LIBRA

On July 4^th, 2012 Mars will move into the sign of Libra. Mars in Libra manifests its energy in harmonious, cooperative, and satisfying interactions with other people. Its energy is fueled by social connections, diplomacy, balanced communication, and a strong desire for justice. Mars in Libra’s actions are based on its need for social fairness and compromise. I will continue my analysis of this energy in my May column.

Visit my husband, Michael’s and my website CreativeChoices.com for more information and/or to download Discovering Your Soul’s Mission by Evan St. Lifer and me.

Are you reading my e-book/podcast, Conversations with Linda? Three chapters have been released!

Chapter 1) The WOW Program: Weight off Wholistically

Chapter 2) Love & Soul Mates, Relationships & Heartbreak

Chapter 3) Releasing the Past & Resolving Karma

Visit conversationswithlinda.com for more details. Breakthroughs and transformations should be expected!