The word vulnerability comes from the Latin vulnerare, meaning "to wound, hurt, injure, maim.”1 In today’s vernacular it translates to being open to hurt, with a splash of emotional transparency. While war, attacks and bloodshed have been a constant staple in the human history passed down to us, we are currently transitioning into a new era where the baggage of inherited trauma is too cumbersome to carry forth.
Astrologically, Mars oversees attacks, wounding and discord. On November 18, 2023 it initiated a new cycle, spearheading a deep dive into our relationship with vulnerability and all that Mars governs. In these early stages of this cycle we’re seeing Mars active in warfare, protests, boycotts and calls to action on the world stage, but what about when home is a place of unrest, violence and harm? Where do we turn when our place of safety is vulnerable, or posing threat?
This cycle will unfold over the coming two years with a focus on reconciling what is disparate, wounded, hurt and unhealed within us. If we can remain open to where wounding lies, and how it bleeds into other areas of life, we can find the spark in the ashes that births new life, new patterns. If you’ve been waiting for the lights to go green, this is it, but like in traffic the safest way to proceed is to count to 3 before advancing. When Mars is involved, there’s always extra potential for calamity.
MARS: A steady handed surgeon
Evidently, Mars is not chill. Traditionally classified as a malefic, its nature is hot and dry, divisive and separating. Since Babylonian times, Mars has been a bold, blood thirsty character in our collective psyche, pillaging and ruining with an abrupt brashness.
As cultures and social etiquette change over time, our relationship to the Mars principle also changes. What was once acceptable behaviour can today be a punishable crime. Forced military conscription is less common in 2023, yet the size of one nation's military is still a significant statement of power. Homosexuality continues to have its parameters of acceptability defined by the ethics of religion and power of state, but it never actually goes away. Mars doesn’t go away, and it’s also best not buried.
Mars isn’t a solely destructive energy however, and discord can be remedial. We want a surgeon to have a steady, precise hand where cutting is a necessary part of healing. We want our team to play at peak performance and win, while grievances aired help clarify where boundaries lie. Mars in our daily lives promotes action and assertion, movement, motivation and change. It is the force behind us getting what we want, when we want it.
“Mars chiefly causes dryness, and is also strongly heating, by means of his own fiery nature, which is indicated by his colour, and in consequence of his vicinity to the Sun; the sphere of which is immediately below him.”
~ Ptolemy, 1st-2nd Century 2
INITIATING THE CYCLE IN SCORPIO: A dog with a bone
Mars circles the Sun in an approximate two year synodic cycle. Returning to initiate a new cycle in each sign every 15 years (with a few calculable skipped steps along the way), this passage through the Sun is a funeral pyre in a planets rotation. Held in the Sun’s Chariot3, as Mars was on November 18th, 2023, marks an ending that necessitates new beginnings. It set the stage for a new round of Martial activity. Over the next two years Mars will move through each sign of the zodiac, turning retrograde for approximately 3 months late in 2024, and finally complete the cycle on January 9th, 2026.
This current cycle initiated in Scorpio, Mars’ nocturnal residence. Unlike Aries, Mars’ hot and fiery diurnal home, the curtains are drawn during the day in Scorpio. There is a distinct mood shift from inside to outside; the temperature drops, the stench from the still lake to the side of the house saturates the moisture-thick air, and you immediately get the sense that beetles, bugs and snakes are creeping around in the dark, watching your every move. They are. Should you get stung, there are poisons that double as medicines on hand to counter the attack4.
Valuing privacy, secrecy and all things hidden, the realm of intimacy and vulnerability can be treacherous in Scorpio. The uncontrollable waters of other people’s feelings, and the tie of strong emotional bonds leaves room for betrayal, jealousy and paranoia. Being a fixed water sign, Mars in Scorpio is not quick to act on anger. It will sooner draw its energy inward for protection and mentally enact a strategic blood thirsty revenge plot than waste precious energy on something, or someone, it no longer values. If it does feel vindicated in revenge, the goal is complete annihilation.
Water is the carrier of memories and they run deep through the Scorpio lair. Here, Mars pierces through life’s superficial layers, penetrating the depths with intentional precision, tracing every move. While energy cannot be created nor destroyed it does get transformed, this fertile terrain is where it happens. The external world is insufficient to satisfy the eternal quest for truth. Unstirred by fickle distraction, moved deliberately by unseen forces, Mars gets its fix via magnetism, sex and all that is taboo. Scorpio deals directly with the tenacious determination of life to persist, for better or worse, ’til death do us part, and therefore is unflinchingly familiar with the less desirable aspects of life from waste and blood, to death and decay. What has lay undisturbed in these deep waters is currently being activated, and with all power unleashed comes equal responsibility.
To effectively deal with vulnerability requires trust. While Mars is well equipped in Scorpio, it makes for a challenging passage. Not being able to see in the dark arouses irrational fears and requires a level of self-trust that technology is rapidly stripping us of. Consciously choosing how we use this Mars in Scorpio cycle means we employ long term strategy like a steady handed surgeon. Just as we eat well and exercise to avoid going to the doctor, we can employ preventative measures collectively, too.
Seeds and symbols of belonging
Each degree of the zodiac corresponds with a specific area of the body, and has a Sabian Symbol to convey story and meaning. 25° Scorpio, where this Mars cycle originated, correlates with the perineum, while the Sabian Symbol is Indians making camp.
As I’m not indigenous to North America and can’t speak to what it is to set up camp through an experience of indigeneity, we can utilise these symbolic images to convey meaning and message about the current Mars cycle. Setting up camp implies belonging to place; a cyclical relationship to land, animal and sky based in seasonal changes, with the potential for cultural and spiritual connections. It suggests a place of activity, commerce, occupation, where we sleep held by our ancestors, where celebration and festivities are honoured, and the nourishment of a nearby water source is received. There is a level of safety and connection. The togetherness and belonging in this scene, while cohesive, simultaneously suggests otherness. The acknowledgement and respect of territorial lines is ever present while the awareness of threat and displacement looms. The constant flux of life can be natural, seasonal and cyclic, and where Mars is concerned, forced or imposed upon.
Setting up camp in this Mars - Scorpio terrain suggests piercing the surface to what lies below at the origins. When an unchecked Mars enacts war and genocide, as has happened repeatedly throughout history, there is likely to be disputes, theft, sexual violence and a knock-on effect resulting in displacement and/or disassociation. This poses questions about what home and belonging is, and how settlers reconcile a living history of theft and occupation. How do we define home, land borders and territory when the land underfoot is unceded, or disputed? How many of us are a product of sexual violence somewhere down the line? How do we heal inherited trauma?
The Sabian Symbol also reflects back to us the importance of community, not only for connection, but also for accountability. For true healing to occur, accountability is a vital ingredient. According to Brené Brown, the greatest barrier to generating the courage to be accountable is how we self-protect when we’re afraid. To address shame head on is to go against the shame-grain. We all have it, no one likes to talk about it, and not talking about it reinforces its gripping effects. According to her research, unchecked shame correlates with addiction, depression, violence, bullying and eating disorders. Shame begets shame.
The activation of Mars at the perineum, at our collective base chakra, in Scorpio where indulging in the taboo is commonplace, suggests that themes of sex and sexuality, sexual violence and trauma, sex work, and generational shame will all arise in this cycle. Considering the state of the world and the abuses of power that are continually being exposed, this energy clearly needs to move.
The first chakra grounds us. It is our connection to traditional familial beliefs that support the formation of identity and a sense of belonging to a group of people in a geographic location...The first chakra is the foundation of emotional and mental health. Emotional and psychological stability originate in the family unit and early social environment.
~ Caroline Myss
Adding nuance to this Scorpio ignition point is fixed star Algol, and asteroid Ceres. With a long history rooted in sexual violence and the isolation of shame and gaslighting, Mars is as far away as it can get from Algol, marking a turning point of maturation in Mars-Algol themes. Ceres, tightly enveloped in the fold at 27° Scorpio adds a quality of “nurturance with intense and deep emotional bonding.” This added nuance is a spark of hope that however uncomfortable and painful this cycle is, we can come out closer to ourselves, and each other, in 2026 should we step with clear intention.
Ceres in Scorpio: Imbalance occurs when feelings of isolation are expressed as selfishness, jealousy, envy, anger and revenge.
~ Demetra George
Mars passing through the Sun in its Chariot tells us that the call is coming from inside the house. There is no outsourcing our discomfort. We have to take the call. When the war begins at home and we act as our own worst enemy, perpetrators are simultaneously those who are supposed to keep us safe. This Mars cycle is an opportunity, however uncomfortable, for accountability. While not everyone will receive the accountability that allows for deeper personal healing, we can each be responsible for our own bodies and become conscious about where trauma is stuck and stored, using Mars’ tools to help release it.
I’ve compiled a list of suggestions and free offerings to help facilitate you along your way. What we do for ourselves we do for each other.
PEAK OF THE CYCLE IN CANCER: It's a serious thing just to be alive
Mars initiating its cycle in Scorpio paints a difficult passage for the softer, yin aspects of life. A destructive energy in a feminine sign, Scorpio is also where the Moon falls, and Venus is exiled. It suggests that the feminine aspects of life suffer most at the hands of war; women & femmes, art & beauty, creativity & delight, home & body, belonging and love. It’s a harsh reminder that the comfort of safety is tenuous. It’s not a guarantee.
When Mars begins its cycle from its home base of Scorpio the peak of the cycle occurs in Cancer. Being the place of Mars’ fall, this is unfortunate terrain littered with landmines. Fallen planets can be rendered ineffectual in the topics they govern, often suffering loss, or having to watch others succeed while they are held back. Through the peak of the cycle, Mars is also retrograde. Retrograde motion can slow events down, turn things around, face the other way and retract. It’s a malefic energy in difficult circumstances with odds against it. A frustrated, fallen Mars is more likely to act out than act strategically.
The two energies, Mars and Cancer, couldn’t be more contradictory. Mars cuts, separates and divides while Cancer, the first in the water triplicity, is the home of the Moon; protective and nurturing, seeking safety in togetherness. The natural fast-paced autonomy of Mars gets slowed down by the moisture of the Moon bringing everyone together. Mars tackles head-on where Cancer, represented by the Crab, fronts with a hard shell insulating inner soft meat, side-stepping harshness to avoid hurt and conflict. Acutely tuned, Mars boldly confronts the fractures within Cancerian issues such as home, family dynamics and themes of belonging. What it finds is the paradox of that which is meant to be safe can also be the source of pain; the war begins at home.
With sincere motive, Mars in Cancer people often attempt to repair divisions and strife on the home front, but the force of Mars ultimately makes matters worse. The directness of Mars is tumultuous in Cancerian waters: emotions get heated, Mars is out of its depths, care is derailed, tears flow and everyone is hurt. What was supposed to be reconciliatory creates further separation. It’s a difficult lose-lose cycle.
The maleficence of Mars destroys and disrupts, and this can extend into the psychological, too. Holding onto resentments, bad blood, and seeing red renders us irrational and lacking clear sight. This heightened physiological state reinforces the illusion of separateness. Believing we are separate from each other, or separate from the source of life itself, has a multitude of expressions that leave us unengaged in life in meaningful ways, and causing harm without full awareness of consequence. Ongoing research also shows a direct link between anger and depression. Studies acknowledge that the expression of anger can occur internally as well as externally, confirming a correlation between anger outbursts and expressions of self-hatred, guilt, resentment and lowered self-esteem.
The war may begin at home, but so does the repair. As Mars retrogrades through Cancer, the impulse might be to act outwardly, to heal or repair that which appears disparate and fractured in others and the world around us. As long as we focus externally, Mars’ energy in Cancer is misdirected. We cannot heal others until we address our own vulnerability. Just like on an aeroplane, we are instructed to affix the oxygen mask to ourselves before tending to others. When not dealing with the originating issues personally, the opportunity for healing and true reconciliation can be thwarted and projected onto others.
Giving Mars an alternate action, such as a job seeking the originating point of issues with home and safety, using it to help define boundaries, or utilising its skill as a surgeon seeking the origin of grief or rage, we can ask: what needs reconciling in myself that it is being reflected externally? What fractures linger as open wounds impacting other situations? How can I accept differences without having to change them? In so doing we heal our lineage multidirectionally. While this inquiry may result in reunion, the paradox of Mars reminds us that sometimes separation is a necessary part of healing.
REPETITION OF THE CYCLE: History doesn’t repeat, it rhymes
The uncomfortable truth about Mars is that we all possess its greatest weapon: we can kill each other. The other harsh truth about malefics is when we interact with one we inevitably deal with the other: incarceration, severe penalties, depression, and the burden of shame or guilt that inhibits healing and accountability. The last Mars cycle initiated at 13° Libra, in October 2021. It immediately took the life of Halyna Hutchinson on the set of the movie, Rust. While accidental, a blow from Mars can be fatal and Alec Baldwin was left holding the smoking gun. Born on the day of a Full Moon at 13° Libra, Baldwin was ripe for Mars to run roughshod through his life if he didn’t exercise caution.
As Mars has been circling the Sun infinitum, we can track its past crusades through this Scorpio terrain to see emergent patterns (see more about the 2021 Libra cycle here or scroll down for some other examples). While cycles of the last 200 years were birthed in the Earth era of the Jupiter-Saturn cycle, Mars cycles from 2021 onward will seed in new Air era terrain. This suggests martial activity will change shape from tanks on the ground to drones in the air, from physical arsenal to digital and chemical warfare, and a transition from trauma stored in the body to mental health and frequency awareness.
Past events occurring within this specific Scorpio cycle indicate martial themes of coups, uprisings, advancements in nuclear warfare, unsuccessful peace agreements and disturbances to systems of power and control.
Gender equality fairs well in this cycle, as do race relations, bringing an end to apartheid in South Africa, segregation was ruled unconstitutional in the US, and the American Anti-Slavery society was established. Malcolm X, born with an angular Mars in Cancer, was arrested in this cycle, setting a new trajectory for his life.
In the retrograde passage of the 1788 cycle, Captain Cook and eleven ships of the First Fleet landed in Australia, resulting in genocide and ongoing displacement of aboriginal peoples. In 1920 Adolf Hitler presented his National Socialist Program in Munich, renaming it the Nazi party, while assassination attempts, the first on a US President, Queen Victoria and Nader Shah, all failed.
The Winchester gun was invented, and America's first recorded riot was in response to grave robbery. Notorious Australian bush ranger, Ned Kelly, who stole from banks to distribute money to the people, met the death penalty after one of many shoot-outs with police. He utilised Mars’ tools to fight Mars: his armour was custom made from Mars ruled iron, allowing his line of defence to be impenetrable for many years. His last words were ce la vie.
Advances in communication technology within this cycle birthed the push-button telephone and the long telegram, the MOS transistor and our first mobile app, while the Vatican opened its archives to scholars for the first time revealing long kept secrets.
HIV-AIDS changed shape in public consciousness when in one month (November 1991) Freddie Mercury died, Magic Johnson announced his status, and the 1st condom add aired on TV: Trojan brand.
In the scope of inventions this cycle birthed the atomic bomb, dynamite, barbed wire, laser, water-jet propulsion and artificial refrigeration. As far as discoveries go, we became aware of silicon, radium and acetylene lighting - so we can see in the dark!
U2 released Achtung Baby, (Achtung being German for Danger), sadly a little too late for the last Wolf in Ireland who was hunted and killed in 1786.
With this cycle again underway we can expect to see, both, patterns of repetition as well as advancements in these areas. Current events and themes we can add to its cyclic manifestation are:
Growing tensions and fundamental loss of life in the Middle East spurred on people across the globe to use Mars’ association with Unions and workers via their power in numbers protesting, boycotting and calling for a ceasefire. The senseless loss of innocent life for political leverage is ongoing with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as is a multi-billion dollar housing project exhuming Aboriginal remains in South Australia. Changes of the guard at OpenAI headquarters during the Cazimi meant that incest allegations against Sam Altman came to light as Mars activated both malefics in his chart. Numerous men in power continue to be charged with sexual assault as the Adult Survivors Act comes to a close in the US, of which 2,500 cases were brought forth in one year.
We all channel martial energy. How that comes out is dependant on innumerable factors and conscious mitigation. The trigger is the smallest part of a gun and remaining clear, not hot-headed, in times of crisis and healing will determine how we express our responsibility toward ourselves, and each other, as this cycle unfolds.
JOY FUELS PASSION: Ignite Mars
Mars being the driving force of our desire and passions, we would be wise to learn how to use Mars’ tools in this cycle. Acting from an attachment to past hurts and resentments we allow trauma to fuel in-house fighting. To use the tools of Mars to combat Mars means that we hold the power of annihilation with conscious awareness and responsibility. A clear ground to start from comes at a cost, so what are you willing to pay?
By identifying and following our passions, we are fuelled by joy. To move through this Mars cycle with integrity intact will require us to maintain strong ties with our gut instinct and Spirit, allow what stirs from the still waters to rise, and identify where our own personal trauma and fears bleed into other areas of life. Keeping a piercing Mars vigilance we will not betray ourselves in an unflinching pursuit for truth. Only by identifying the end goal can we reverse engineer the road forward.
“There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground;
there are a thousand ways to go home again.”
~ Rumi, Mars in Scorpio
Examples from the 2021 Mars in Libra cycle
The last Mars cycle initiated at 13° Libra, in October 2021.
Vulnerability etymology - https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=vulnerability
2a- Brady, Bernadette. Star and Planet combinations. The Wessex Astrologer. 2008. p93
Ptolemy, Claudius. Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos. Forgotten Books. p22
Chariot - “A planet is protected from the burning, debilitating power of the Sun when it is in its chariot or throne. This occurs when the planet is strengthened by being in its own domicile, or bound (Porphyry adds triplicity) and it is invested with strength.” George, Demetra. Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice. Volume One. Rubbed Press. 2019. p 277-278
Lilly, William. Christian Astrology. 1647 / 2004. Astrology Classics
Such much research went into this! Thanks for all the hours of work you put into this piece of writing ❤️❤️