FULL 50-PAGE ESSAY AVAILABLE IN THE STORE AT: http://soulsign.com/store/astrology $12.95 FREE EXCERPT OF: Transcendence: The Archetype of Masculine Transformation in the Mars Cycle by We humans serve the Self not the other way around, and in this service we may discover our essential humanness, our history and our value beyond the personal limits of our own experience. One way to do this serving is through imagination. - Gregory Max Vogt, Return to Father Masculine Symbols in Astrology There are two astrological symbols generally accepted as primary for the Masculine or the yang force within the astrological framework: Mars and the Sun. While Mars is clearly the main symbol for Masculinity itself and is thus the focus of this essay (see Mars section, below), the Sun as Masculine symbol requires attention. The astrological Sun represents the unfocused qualities of ever-present activity and aliveneness in that activity. Traditional astrology continues to promote the Sun alternately as: an individual s basic identity; the main symbol for one s Masculine nature; the co-symbol with Saturn for the Father archetype; and the Moon s partner as the primary Masculine symbol. Though accepted and widely in use, these assignments do not address the actual dynamic of the Sun itself. The astrological Sun infuses into everything with which it is involved its vital current of outward-moving energy (prana or chi). It is indiscriminate aliveness. For the human 2009-2012,. www. S O U L S I G N A S T R O L O G Y.com 1 of 6
being, the Sun is the quality of his/her raw current of life-force. It should not be seen as that which gives rise to an individual s quintessential and base nature, but as that which provides the energy for it. We express as or though our Sun sign in a visible, light-ed and recognizable way. In this way, the Sun can be seen as the universal additive for the collective or as a personal battery for an individual. The Sun is Masculine for two reasons: it provides us with the energy to be alive, to be seen, and thus to be an individual, and secondly because its energy is outward-moving. Therefore, to understand an individual s full Masculine embodiment, one need begin with the natal Mars Story (see Appendix D) and then include the other relevant symbols such as the Sun. Building one s self-identity or classifying another exclusively as their Sun sign is either lazy or fallacious. Mars The most direct symbol for the Masculine principle is without doubt Mars. Examining the planet s physical progression through the space of our solar system symbolizes the archetypal development of Masculinity through the vessel of human consciousness, both individually and collectively. As an archetype, Mars represents the pre-conscious will to live, how we enact our Desire, and how we individualize ourselves. It signifies a portion of the nature of our instinctual selves. Mars is also our sexual drives, our experience of our power, and our proclivity for impatience, anger or violence. Its archetypal energy is characterized by inconsistency, aggressiveness, intense focus on the goal, outward-movingness, curiosity, directness, and erraticness. The celestial path of Mars precisely mirrors the universal qualities of Masculinity. Mars tracks an inconsistent and at times extremely variable path through the solar system. Mars succession of phenomena and rhythms of movement are most difficult to comprehend. Its motions, whether considered spatially or temporally, show irregularities and variations to a degree not found for any other planet. 18 This trait is in direct contrast to Venus ongoing regularity see Figure 2. 2009-2012,. www. S O U L S I G N A S T R O L O G Y.com 2 of 6
Figure 2- The Venus pattern shows a regular, nearly exact progression of archetypal intents over long periods of time (the pentacle shape), while the Mars pattern shows an irregular pattern both short- and long-term. For each, the intersections of inner lines with the circle s circumference indicate the beginning of a new Cycle. This expression of Mars or the Masculine for an individual can certainly be refined through the course of a life or an age, but the essence responsible for that expression remains consistent. Natal Mars remains natal Mars. The terrible twos period of childhood shows this. The twenty-sixth month of life is in fact the first astrological (minor) Mars return where the child is for the first time exhibiting behavior and speech which emanate from its growing Masculine individuating urges - to separate from parents, the familiar safe ground, and the known past. Though only a minor return, the 2-year-old return is the most significant of all the minors because it is the first outward exploration of their uniqueness. Thus, it is the most obvious departure from familiar behavior and temperament. Up until the second birthday, the child is in an emphatically undifferentiated state requiring everything from the parents. When Mars returns to the child s birth placement at approximately 26 months of age, the spark of Mars fire is highly noticeable. 2009-2012,. www. S O U L S I G N A S T R O L O G Y.com 3 of 6
The Mars Cycle The Mars Cycle of 26 months signifies the development of the collective Masculine consciousness through a specific and unique Masculine identity or expression. At any point, the sign Mars occupies signifies the current intent of Masculine development relative to that Cycle s overall intent. And the spatial distance (elongation) between Mars and the Sun at any point indicates the specific phase of Mars within his cycle. 19 The first appearance of Mars rising before the Sun in the morning (Mars heliacal rise) occurs when Mars is approximately 15 in front of the Sun. It is this first appearance of Mars in our eastern morning sky that tells us that the next 26-month cycle is beginning. The astrological sign of Mars here at the Emergence Phase determines the developmental intent or signature of the entire cycle, just as an individual s birth chart determines his/her developmental intent throughout life. 20 The Mars Phases Similar to the Moon s eight phases which are determined by the Moon-Sun elongation, the Mars Cycle has thirteen phases or sub-periods which each have unique developmental characteristics within the cycle s overall intent (see Figure 3 and Table 1). With knowledge of the Mars cycle, we know not only what is being worked on (the sign of Mars at any point), but also how it s happening (the phase of Mars). In other words, we are able to tap directly into the collective Masculine consciousness in development at any point along the cycle. For example, if we observe morning-sky Mars 17 from the Sun, we know that Mars is just about to complete seeding the core intent for that entire cycle because Mars is in its Emergence Phase. We understand Mars is not only in that sign, but also that that sign s mysteries are the focus for the upcoming Mars cycle through the next 23 months. As another example, if Mars is in Libra during the Explorations Phase of the Taurus Cycle, then collective Masculine consciousness will be focusing on its participation in relationships with others in order to stabilize itself. Again, these interpretations apply to the level of the collective psyche. 2009-2012,. www. S O U L S I G N A S T R O L O G Y.com 4 of 6
Figure 4 - Patterns of the Mars Cycle for three 15-year periods show no consistency. The intersections of the arrowed lines and the circle s circumferences indicate a new Mars Emergence Phase (Mars first appearance in the morning sky). Midway through the cycle, the Transcendence Phase occurs. The Transcendence Phase divides the full cycle into two halves of about one year each. Each half has its own astronomical indicators and is quite different in archetypal quality. Morning-sky Mars appears to ascend out from the glare of the rising Sun in the East and brings a focus on the development of self-identity. The night-sky Mars period comprises the latter half of the cycle and focuses on developing objective consciousness through the trial-and-error application of the subjective identity for a social purpose. Full Masculine maturation requires the successful development of both the morningstar period archetype of breaking a wild stallion (first half of the cycle), and the nightstar archetype of the unwilling leader coming to accept his destiny to lead (second half of the cycle). This is the simplest and most basic way to frame an understanding of the developmental structure of the cycle. To appreciate the cycle on its many levels of meaning and thus to incorporate it into chart interpretation, each phase needs to be studied both archetypally and through case examples. The Transcendence Phase Each phase of the Mars Cycle evolves Masculine consciousness in unique ways. 26 We ve mentioned briefly the Emergence Phase which gives rise to the first and originating expression of that cycle s overall intent. The Transcendence Phase determines how and around what issues the original intent (Emergence Phase sign) will transform. It is signaled by retrograde Mars opposition with the Sun. Depending on application, this Phase can alternately represent the completed development of 2009-2012,. www. S O U L S I G N A S T R O L O G Y.com 5 of 6
subjective consciousness from the previous period, a threshold marking the shift from subjective development to objective development, or the inception of objective development (see Figure 5). 2009-2012,. www. S O U L S I G N A S T R O L O G Y.com 6 of 6