Mars has its “fall” in Cancer, which can often posit some challenges from both the concrete and psychological manifestations of astrology, though reveals a occult secret from the esoteric stand point (as do all the “difficult” planetary placements).
Exoterically, Mars as a penetrative planet of assertion and direction can be a little shady in the sign of the protective crab. Natally it may speak to someone who is indirect in their expression of anger or desires (the crab, after all, moves sideways!), or may have a proclivity towards passive aggression. Mars is direct in its claiming of Self-hood in Aries – where the Sun-self is exalted – yet in the diffused sign of the emotive crab, the sign too of mass consciousness and thus very sensitive to a myriad of psychic impressions, Mars can be much more unconscious in its reactivity, not always clear about what exactly it is reacting to and from.
Approaching it from a deeper psychological angle, and with the occult understanding that Mars rules the emotional desire nature of the astral body itself (6th ray and the Solar Plexus), Mars in Cancer has a strong attachment to the perceived needs & desires of the Form from the place of body-identification. This can express as a need to protect and shelter, or too, in the sexual element of Mars, a strong attachment to sexuality and whatever comforts rise from body-identification.
Mars traditionally “separates” – me from you, my body vs yours, my passion or your desire. From the occult angle, the separation itself is the desire nature which rises from body-identification. When Aries becomes the Sacrificial Lamb (rather than the blind ram!), the Desire Nature (Mars) evolves from personal to impersonal, where the passions of the body becomes the devotion to God and for serving the higher-self. Mars’ separation becomes that which is willing to sacrifice itself to merge with the higher, revealing the hidden function of unity via Mars through the process of death and transformation (Mars ruling Scorpio esoterically).
In the sign of the Mother, Mars and its hidden desire for the God-Self “falls” into form, where it is hidden within the intense desire for comfort. Yet, at the Core of Mother Matter, is the Universal Love of the One Human Family. Esoterically, Mars in Cancer is quite a splendid placement, as it pairs with its sacred co-ruler of the 6th ray, Neptune, the mystical Planet of Universal Love. Mars then, as an occult planet of death and sacrifice, does very well in the lesser-known sign of Death (Cancer, the Moon and the regeneration of the Human Psyche) – where the personal (Mars) is sacrificed towards, and/or aligned with, the impersonal (Neptune).
As Cancer is a sign of Mass Consciousness and commands the natural intelligence of the evolution of Psyche, Neptune – the “God of the Waters” – and its connection to the astral plane reveals the path to universality through the connection to the Collective Unconscious. If one is connected to the Soul, and moving with its desire to incarnate into the form, the Mars in Cancer transit is an invitation to show us where our psycho/physical consciousness is operating in a separative way within the psychic structure itself. It is important to grasp the reality that; identification with the form is actually a form of separation from it, as it is reactionary, whereas consciousness is responsive, and seeks to enter into the form rather than react from it.
That is to say: when we withdraw the Mars energy from reactive identification to the world of form, and we return to the source of those reactions, what is the root of our activity, desire, emotional response? As an example: my husband and I have found this transit to be very revealing of aspects of the anima and animus challenges, revealing the contra sexual conflict (mars) within the archetypal substrate of the psychic structure (occult Cancer, Neptune and the psyche). The result of these discoveries have brought about: resolutions to unsettling psychic disturbances, greater sense of unity with the Archetypal Mother – the building of the “lighted house” in Cancer – and a capacity to rest more deeply into the nourishment and abundance of the Maternal Wisdom of the Human Being, as the vehicle of personality which houses the Soul.
As Mars rules Scorpio and the battle of the selves upon the path of the Occult Disciple, this transit offers opportunity to highlight psycho-physical conflicts in our environmental spaces – internal and external – with the Goal of unifying more deeply with the Wisdom of Feminine Wholeness, Psychological balance and Integrity, developing greater sensitivity and connection to the universal needs of the human being, discovered through a deep connection to our own individual forms and environmental surrounds.
Questions for reflection during this transit:
Where am I not at Peace in my human experience? How can I resolve these conflicts in a conscious way, responding to genuine Needs rather than reacting to Wants?
How can I relate to my home & environment in a way that is supportive & nourishing? Why might this be challenging?
Where do I feel psychologically agitated, activated and disturbed? Can I prod deeper into these patterns of psychic consciousness?
How is Archetypal Mother challenging me, testing me, confronting me? What might she be reflecting to me at this time?
