What the difference between Mars in Libra and Venus in Aries.

What’s the difference between Venus in Aries and Mars in Libra? 

What’s the difference between a girl who makes the first step and a boy who hesitates? 

Could we avoid talking about gender roles, when talking about Venus and Mars? No. 

If identity politics reached as high as Mount Olympus, Ares and Aphrodite, aka Mars and Venus, would be the last ones to tell their pronouns when introducing themselves. 

What is a Goddess? To this question, Aphrodite’s answer is a smile and a movement of the hips. 

And what is a God? Mars smiles like he is saying: “The answer would kill you!”

One attracts and the other pursues. One is beautiful and the other is strong. One binds and the other breaks. 

Venus and Mars live as archetypes in the human psyche. They represent some ideal of what it means to be a woman or a man. 

The anti-poets would say these ideals are “social constructs”. Venus and Mars are not buildings in my opinion. They grew organically. 

Now, my worldview is spiritual: we are souls. We incarnate, sometimes as men, sometimes as women. 

As souls, we may have our preferences. We may be more skilled at handling feminine than masculine energies, or the opposite, independently of the kind of body we got. 

As human beings, born with an astrological natal chart, we all have both Mars and Venus as part of our psychic makeup. 

Whatever our biological sex (which indeed matters) we have archetypal masculine and feminine attitudes which we blend the best we can…

The poets and storytellers of ancient times used characters, gods, monsters or heroes, to describe what we now call psychic energies. 

With pictures and stories, we become able to see life behind the symbols we interpret.

For Mars and Venus, the characters can be… the boyish boy and the girly girl, or the manly young man – the warrior –  and the womanly young woman – the princess. 

These characters are stereotypes. They are but mono dimensional sub-personalities.

Venus is the girl, or the woman who attracts, seduces, is a potential lover and partner, she is a princess, an artist, her magic is called “enchantment” or “charm”. She is not a mother. She is not bothered about feeding the family. She’s not a nurse. She is not interested in the needy. The Moon sometimes becomes Venus, but when Venus is Venus, she is not the Moon.

Venus is like a mouth. She knows her tastes. As for go-getting what she likes, that’s business for her other half, namely Mars. 

Without Venus, Mars wouldn’t know what to love. With a bit of introspection, Mars would say that what he really enjoys is actually a good release of energy. Other than that… Give Mars rice, Mars eats rice. Give him an energy bar that tastes like rubber, Mars eats the rubber. Give him an apple, Mars eats the apple. The serpent knew he only had to convince Eve.

In everyone’s chart (and psyche), Mars is the go-getter and the protector. Who tells Mars what to go get? The other planets. The Moon tells Mars what is needed. The Sun urges Mars on the path that gives meaning to life. Mercury and Jupiter want mostly knowledge (and knowledge is power!) Saturn talks about duty and ambitions. Venus suggests pleasure. She is Mars best motivator. 

Until now, I have been talking about the relationship between Mars and Venus within ourselves, independently of any aspects or placements. What happens when Mars falls in Libra? 

Imagine a soldier rushing forward on a training course. It’s a race. He is determined to win. He climbs, runs and jumps… in front of him, a new obstacle: a giant see-saw. He’s got to walk on it, from one end to the other. There is no other way. 

In the middle, he finds himself with a foot on each side of the central pivot. Welcome to Libra! He can’t move forward anymore, he is just trying not to fall down. This Mars had never thought balance was a thing.  

He may have to wait for another contestant. One of them could stand on one end of the narrow plank to stabilise it whilst the other would walk to the other end where a handle can be grabbed. From there, he will be able to stabilise the plank to allow the other guy to pass in turn.  

The big problem is… how to negotiate: who goes first? They are all competitors, it would be all too easy for the first one to keep racing and leave the other stuck behind! They need to build trust, and quickly! 

Finally, Mars number one agrees to let the other guy go first – it’s a big risk to take, but negotiating for hours is not an option. His best argument is that there may be other unexpected obstacles requiring cooperation ahead, the two of them united can beat all the others. Victory will be for one of them two, that’s for sure. 

His second best argument is that in case of betrayal, one day, he will catch up with the traitor and make him pay so much that he will regret being born.

I hope this little story was entertaining. 

Mars in Libra is still Mars: he is taking action. He has a goal, he goes forth. If the soldier had trained his physical sense of balance, he could have done without cooperation. Cooperation is another kind of balance. 

Libra is Air. The soldier may also have used his intelligence and found another way to deal with the problem… 

Mars in Libra may also mean being confronted with the principle that for every action there is a reaction. It can practise martial arts, or feel paralysed with indecision. It can have a very personal idea of cooperation (you do as I say!) or turn any relationship into a battlefield. However, fighting with someone may also mean fighting together against something or someone else. Have you ever witnessed a serious argument between partners, tried to meddle just to see them unite against your meddling? 

Mars is energy that needs to do something. Libra is Cardinal Air. Starting thinking in new ways, striking new conversations, engaging with new people are likely in most cases. This Mars may want to fight for justice. It may want to take action elegantly, be assertive with good manners, use charm to get what it wants, pioneer a new art style, go to speed dating events… 

There is in principle an infinity of possible manifestations for each placement, especially when we talk out of context. To summarise all the possible expressions without writing an encyclopaedia, all you can say is that Mars is in Libra. 

 We are like Sherlock Holmes. Placements are clues. One clue can’t give you the whole story. We need many clues, and a story in which they all make sense together. 

Mars in Libra is ruled by Venus. How is Venus? If Venus is torn by contradictory aspects, like a square with Uranus, she may send mixed signals to Mars. I want this – No I want that – Actually I want this AND that (even if it’s impossible to have both, like complete independence AND a committed partner full time).

We can guess that in such a case, Mars will run after two hares and catch none. But if Venus is, let’s say, well aspected in the seventh house, in a chart where Sun and Moon don’t conflict, Mars in Libra is likely to simply invest his energy into the relationship. His favourite question may be “What are WE doing now?” 

Mars in Libra and Venus in Aries are not entirely different. They are both combinations of Mars and Venus energies. However, Venus is not the action taker, but the one who values, attracts and binds. She wants relationships. 

Venus in Aries, like Mars in Libra, may enjoy martial arts. She may initiate relationships. She is likely to value boldness in love. She may rave about the muscular bodies of six pack guys, or fall in love with one who looks like the hero of a swashbuckling novel. 

She may ride dragons, dress up in sexy leather, wear a mini skirt, a bra with cups made of copper and a helmet with little horns. Unless the rest of the chart imposes otherwise indeed. 

Venus in Aries wants Mars to be Mars. As I said at the beginning of this post, Venus is the one who knows what she likes. In Aries, she wants deeds, not flowers. What kinds of deeds? Let’s look at Mars, as it rules this Venus, his position precises her Aries tastes. 

Is Mars sleeping in Cancer, trying to escape a Neptune opposition burying his head under the pillow? Venus in Aries may then appear in his dreams, hopefully as a reason to get up… 

Is Mars proudly displaying a crown of laurels well supported in Leo? Venus in Aries will be the inner voice that applauds at any new creative endeavour that may be crowned with glory.  

I have Mercury conjunct Venus in Libra, and the Moon as well. I think a lot in terms of “on one hand, on the other hand” 

For instance: 

On one hand, I should write much more about Venus in Aries, to balance all what I have managed to say about Mars in Libra. 

On the other hand, no, I shouldn’t. I believe I have occupied your mental space enough with my words, I don’t want to overstay my welcome. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of pictures and stories coming to you about Venus in Aries when I’m gone. So thank you, and goodbye for now! 

Jean-Marc

Storyteller Astrologer Philosopher

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