When the planet of drive and desire, anger and frustration travels through the sign of peace and harmony it’s not always easy.  Mars in Libra craves harmony and true partnership- the equanimity that occurs when everything in our lives is in balance.  Libra is the sign of love and beauty, certainly, but the underlying energy here is the sense of harmonious integration which is experienced when we are surrounded by beauty and feeling the comfort of love. The love and beauty are means to an end rather than the end itself.

Mars is none of those things. Mars is easily frustrated when needs aren’t met, and eager to achieve desires and goals. It cares nothing for harmony but instead seeks personal satisfaction. Mars is therefore often disrespected by astrologers as a “bad” planet – a malefic, one that is up to no good. But as my readers know, an effective Mars is essential for a healthy personal eco-system. Our needs must be met, and our truths must be spoken.

Mars is the ruler of Aries, Libra’s opposite polarity so Mars is said to be in its detriment in Libra, where it is less easily able to find its full expression as the planet of aggression and self-direction.  Under Mars in Libra we sometimes tend to sacrifice who we are and what we ourselves need in order to find that peaceful integration that will soothe our jangled nerves – we yearn to find balance and integrate the confusion of opposites into one complete whole of understanding and compassion.

Mars will be in Libra until it moves into Scorpio on October 30th.  Scorpio is the other Mars-ruled sign, and Mars is intense and passionate in Scorpio.  While in Scorpio Mars will set off the square from Saturn to Uranus, and you may already be hearing warnings about this. A friend of my sister wrote “Check in with your sister. Those of us in the metaphysical world have been hearing signs of dramatic shift/disjunction in November this year. Another COVID setback? Terrorist act? Natural disaster?”  Mars moves quickly unless it’s in its retrograde cycle (as it was in 2020), and these triggers to the outer planets are not necessarily harbingers of major crises. There won’t be other major alignments to intensify the action of Mars, so I’m not too worried about November. That said, it wouldn’t hurt to keep your eyes open between November 7 and 20 when three planets in Scorpio set off both Saturn and Uranus.  More about that later!

Meanwhile, when Mars is in Libra we will be well-served by remembering to honor our own needs and desires (Mars) while seeking the peace and equanimity of the Libran experience. This is not a time to lose ourselves for the sake of harmonious balance.

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