In the Greek tradition, Mars or Aries was the god of war. Red, fiery, and bitter, he is typically associated with declared enemies or adversaries. Mars morphology is typically virile, angular, and athletic, and corresponds to aggressive, domineering, masculine behavior. Likewise, Mars is usually associated with rage, its resultant brutality, and male destructiveness and domination. Psychologically, Mars figures in any situation of conflict, opposition, and confrontation. Mars symbolism intervenes to separate, oppose, and decide, and corresponds to duels, war, and any situation in real life which involves confronting an obstacle. Individuals who are greatly influenced by Mars are typically direct and straightforward–either unabashedly extroverted or furiously introverted; they are extremely active and extremely emotive. Their purpose in life seems to be inextricably mingled with a combat against an unacceptable situation, a challenge which they either issue or are forced to accept.

Adam Dirks:

Traditional astrology has always considered Jupiter as the Great Benefactor, the planet of luck and success such as personal fortune, social prominence, professional prestige, and so on. The Jupiterian bounty is peerless! In psychological terms, this planet has a much vaster significance. As the biggest planet in the solar system, it does preside over the process of personal expansion, interpreted to be fitting into society better and finding an appropriate match between one’s individual ambitions and the aspirations of the group. This growth is accompanied by a feeling of self-confidence, which, in turn, buoys up an even greater externalization and expansion of the ego – hence the planet’s flattering reputation. But this snowball effect (Jupiter smiles and the world smiles with you), in which social skills magnify confidence and boldness reaps many rewards, betrays the negative side of Jupiter: extreme and excess. Although grandeur was the characteristic of the “king of the gods,” errors of judgment, poor taste, and sometimes selfishness and pride are also likely to be part of the Jupiterian package. It is important to note that the extension of the ego may be a form of escape; it is tempting to hide behind one’s popularity and social success, which are fairly easy to obtain, rather than be really demanding with oneself. The Jupiterian has a tendency to amplify qualities out of compensation, to avoid seeing weaknesses and flaws. As a result, you must be aware of the risk of over-identifying with your social mask, which would cause you to neglect your inner self and deep nature.

As one of the planets historically thought to be on the outer limits of the solar system (until the “modern” planets were discovered), Saturn has always been associated with the moon, itself a peripheral heavenly body because it belongs to Earth and not to the solar system. Therefore, both Saturn and the moon are aspects of a protection principle (the moon encompasses the earth in the same way as Saturn and its rings encompasses the solar system). Like the moon, Saturn rules a security/insecurity dialectic, but where the moon’s concerns the private, intimate aspects of the individual, Saturn influences social and collective security. Saturn can be thought of as the polar opposite of the moon (the archetype of the mother, but also of the child, and therefore related to orality). The god Saturn ate his children in order to reign and thus, represents the archetype of the mother (motherhood), the grandmother, and the sage (wisdom). The domination of Saturn thus indicates a maternal complex or, at least, an issue related either to the biological mother or to the symbolism of motherhood. This influence may result in a problem of identity and difficulties in aging which will make themselves evident in personal crises at every passage of this planet, every seven years—thus at the age of 7, at 14 or 15, and 21, 28, etc. Depending on the psychological context in which you are developing, you may overcome or overcompensate your identity complex and gradually acquire a strongly structured personality, or, conversely, remain in a state of immaturity which would probably be detrimental to your destiny.

The first house is an area of the sky which is especially important in Adam Dirks’ theme.