Photo by Capture Queen (cc)
This post is part of an occasional series about the Ascendant in your horoscope.
The Mars retrograde hullaballoo is bulldozing right over my ascendant, so I’ve been paying attention to the changes as it moves around my chart lately.
I have Mars in late Leo in the 1st house, so Mars had crossed my ascendant and was within a few degrees of its return when it turned and began marching back again. Here’s an assessment of the practical effects of this set of transits so far:
Transiting Mars conjunct ascendant
In Planets in Transit, Robert Hand writes:
The symbolism of this transit is self-assertion with regard to others. It is not enough that you are yourself and able to do your own thing. With this transit, you may have to show other people that you are someone to be reckoned with.
I noticed that my temper definitely rose during this period, and I was a lot less diplomatic than usual. However, being aware that I might feel this way seemed to head off the more negative effects, and any anger I expressed to people tended to clear the air and make things slightly more productive because I was more direct than usual. I also had more nervous energy, so I was cleaning the house more and going out to do small errands more often than normal.
Thomas David Kehoe writes in his Astrolog summary:
Martin Luther King had this when he was arrested for leading a sit-in demonstration, and courageously refused to post bond, thereby refusing that he’d committed a crime, and so he was thrown in jail. Ernest Hemingway had this when he blew his brains into his orange juice. …Pay attention to [people's] feelings and win them over to your aims, rather than trying to dominate them and creating anger.
I visited the Hemingway Home in Key West last spring so I reflected on this, bought another orchid, and resolved to lay off the proverbial rum for a while. And combined with the current Saturn in Libra action, I feel I was able to mostly sort out some personal issues using the self-assertiveness boost from this transit.
Retrograde Mars conjunct ascendant
I didn’t know what specific differences to expect between Mars direct and Mars retrograde, but it became clear when it reversed to within two degrees of my ascendant:
- Stay away from the knives!
- Oh, and watch your mouth.
The last line of the Planets entry is:
It is a good idea to avoid sharp instruments and cutting tools right now, because Mars signifies steel and cutting in general.
Thought I dodged that one because it wasn’t a problem on the direct first pass, but at work I have cut, burned, and poked myself in the hands more in the last week than I have in years. In the bakery I’ve casually passed off all my regular cutting work to co-workers until at least the end of January, when Mars is “comfortably” deep into my 12th house again.
Bakery machetes- normally an everyday part of my job, but I’m staying the hell away from them for a couple more weeks now. (That’s a bagel for size comparison.) At my current injury rate, I’m afraid I’ll lose a finger the day this transit is exact.
My temper has ramped up again too, but the distinct difference between the first pass and this retrograde one is that now, the subject of my ire is misunderstood or misinterpreted. Every time. Granted, right now Mercury is retro too so it can be hard to separate the effects, but Mercury is retrograde in my chart so I’m used to being misunderstood… this is a whole different level, and only when I’m angry about something. Not at all how it was on the direct pass.
I’ll update this post with some more observations of the second and the coming third (direct) pass, but even now I find it striking that both experiences are very Mars-like, and yet very different from each other. I’m curious who else has transiting Mars on an angle right now, and what shape that’s taking.
I can relate – My AS is 12 degrees Leo – With the transit forwards I did get very direct with people and they were really taken aback, as was myself. Someone said to me that as nice as one can be is as nasty. It was really obvious as I never like to cause harm to others and here I was mouthing off – and always with good reason. It felt quite liberating actually. Also hurt my fingers a lot – which I need as I work on people’s bodies with my hands. Let us see when the retro hit occurs as Merc will be direct then and the things I am being forced to confront with others must not be misinterpreted. Hope to share with you then.