The glyph sits at the centre and the branches of Mars' symbolism are arranged around it. Gods are shown in gold, archetypes in blue, traditions in green and narratives in red. Tap a branch and its explanation opens below the map.
AresThe Greek war god
Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera and stands for the bloody, blind face of war. In Homer Zeus calls him 'most hateful to me of all the Olympians', and he always loses to Athena's strategy. Aphrodite is his lover. Deimos (terror) and Phobos (fear) are his sons. The classical texts assign to Ares not only war but also sexual violence and seizure by force. Ares in the Greek family tree →
MarsThe founding god of Rome
In Rome Mars is the greatest god after Jupiter. He is the father of Romulus and Remus, and the month of March and the campaigning season belong to him. As Mars Gradivus (the strider) he is the soldier, and as Mars Silvanus he is the farmer who guards field, herd and border. The wolf and the woodpecker are his animals.
NergalThe Babylonian god of plague
Nergal is the son of Enlil and brings together war, plague and the scorching summer sun. He descends to the underworld, overpowers Ereshkigal, marries her and becomes king of the dead. Babylonian astronomy called Mars 'the star of Nergal' (Salbatanu) and held the planet to be ill-omened. Nergal in the Mesopotamian family tree →
Seth and MontuThe Egyptian gods of desert and war
Seth is the god of the desert, the storm and chaos. He kills Osiris, yet he is also the one who spears the chaos serpent Apep from Ra's boat. Montu is the falcon-headed war god of Thebes. The Egyptians called the planet Mars 'Horus the Red'. Seth in the Egyptian family tree →
TyrThe Norse god of oaths
Tyr is the god of oaths and war. When the wolf Fenrir is bound he places his right hand in the wolf's jaws as a pledge and loses it. The Romans matched him with Mars. That is why Tuesday is Tyr's day in English and Martis dies in Latin. Tyr in the Norse family tree →
MangalaMars in Vedic astrology
Mangala is Mars in Vedic astrology. He is counted as the son of the earth mother Bhumi, is pictured as a red and warlike graha, and is identified with six-headed Kartikeya. Kuja dosha (the Mars flaw) is still checked in marriage matching today. Tuesday (Mangalavara) is his day.
MardukThe young warrior who defeats Tiamat
Babylonian astronomy attaches Marduk to the planet Jupiter and calls him Neberu. His warrior face in the Enuma Elish belongs to Mars. The young god kills the primal water Tiamat, splits her body in two and builds the sky and the earth from the halves. Depth psychology reads this story as separation from the mother and the birth of the individual. The fire and weapons of Marduk also show spirit coming down into matter and taking shape. The Jupiter face of Marduk →
Phallic godsRa, Min, Zeus and Shiva
In the Heliopolitan creation story Atum-Ra brings the world out of his own seed, and Shu and Tefnut are born this way. The Egyptian Min is always shown ithyphallic with one arm raised, and the harvest festival belongs to him. Zeus is known for impregnating goddesses and mortal women, and his line spreads through those unions. In the Indian tradition the lingam of Shiva carries the same generative force. In all of these gods insemination and dominion are two names for one movement.
Sword and phallusThe power that pierces and divides
The glyph of Mars is a spear. The sword cuts and separates, and where it cuts it draws a line. Phallic gods such as Min, Priapus and Shiva's lingam show the generative face of the same power. In them insemination, seizure and dominion cannot be told apart. The energy of Mars runs all the way from crude aggression to creative potency.
Sexual power and procreationPotency, rivalry and desire
Lilly names Mars together with unbridled lust and makes him ruler of the generative organs. In this branch sexuality is a display of power rather than intimacy. Sexual rivalry between men, unions counted as conquests and anxiety about potency all belong here. The desire of Mars differs from that of Venus, because it aims at seizure rather than at bonding.
War heroesThe road of Perseus, Jason, Heracles and Siegfried
The hero receives the call, leaves home, fights the monster and returns with the prize. Perseus kills Medusa, Heracles completes the twelve labours, Jason brings back the Golden Fleece and Siegfried slays the dragon. Every one of these stories tells the 'call to adventure' of Mars. The pattern Campbell called the hero's journey corresponds, in an astrological reading, to the myth of Mars.
The dragon fightThe myth of separation from the mother
Marduk slays Tiamat, Apollo slays Python, Sigurd slays Fafnir, and Saint George slays the dragon. Depth psychology reads the dragon as the engulfing mother and counts Mars as the power that creates by dividing. In this reading, to defeat the dragon is the birth of the individual and the founding of the world. Marduk and Tiamat →
The knightLancelot and the duel
The medieval knight is Mars tamed, because his sword is bound to an oath. The story of Lancelot shows how fragile that discipline is. Lancelot loves Queen Guinevere and enters a rivalry with Arthur that resembles a conflict between father and son. Rivalry, adultery and honour end up side by side in the same tale.
SamsonThe tension between strength and desire
Samson's strength lives in his hair. He tears a lion apart with his bare hands, kills a thousand men with a jawbone and loses his strength in Delilah's lap. The story is about the battle of the sexes and the tension between power and desire. In astrological terms, this is where the weakness of Mars before Venus shows itself.
Fire gods and the smithThe fire of Agni and Hephaestus
Fire both burns and gives shape. The smith forges the sword in fire. The net Hephaestus sets to catch Ares is the moment the smith defeats the warrior. The fire of Mars is the world-making power, and because it brings that power down into the body, will becomes action in it.
The Chariot (Tarot VII)The card of will and victory
In the tarot the Chariot shows an armoured driver reining in two sphinxes, one black and one white. The card speaks of will, resolve and victory. The force the driver reins in can also turn into ruthlessness. In the Golden Dawn system it is assigned to Cancer, but the driver carries the will of Mars. The Tower (XVI) shows the destructive moment of Mars.
GeburahThe fifth sephira of the Kabbalah
On the Tree of Life Geburah (Strength, Severity) is the sphere of Mars. It stands for judgement, discipline and cutting. Opposite it stands Chesed (Mercy), the sphere of Jupiter. If the two are not held in balance, Geburah turns into tyranny and Chesed into laxity.
Iron and sulphurFerrum and the sulphur of alchemy
The metal of Mars is iron. Both the sword and the plough are made of it, and the haemoglobin in the blood carries it. In alchemy sulphur is the fiery, male, active principle. The lion is the animal of sulphur and of Mars alike. In the body the muscles, the bile, the head and the face belong to Mars.
The animal kingdomLion, wolf and bull
Mars stands for instinct. The reflexes of hunting, fleeing and attacking are its territory. The wolf of Mars in Rome, the lion of Nergal in Babylon and the strange beast of Seth in Egypt all carry that instinct. Mars shows the uncivilised, untamed body. Adrenaline and reflex belong to the same territory.