The Psychological – Astrological Framework of Mars

The Psychological – Astrological Framework of Mars

In psychological astrology rooted in the Jungian paradigm, planets are viewed as archetypal forces that dwell in the unconscious and seek expression through the personality. Mars belongs to the fundamental driving principles of the psyche and is connected with the archetype of the Warrior – the bearer of instinct, combativeness, energy, sexual impulse, and the individual’s ability to say, “I want.”

Mars is the symbol of libido in its active form: it initiates, pushes toward action, differentiates “mine” from “yours.” Its archetypal root lies in the masculine principle – what Jung calls the animus in the female psyche, the active, directed, and differentiating aspect of the mind.

When this principle is in disharmony or placed in an unsuitable environment, the expression of libido becomes distorted: aggression is either repressed or expressed in destructive forms, desire shifts into fantasy, and combativeness turns against the self.

Mars and the Element of Water

When Mars is found in water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces), the Warrior archetype is immersed in emotional and unconscious realms. Instead of clear and direct action, its moving energy passes through the filters of feeling, intuition, and collective patterns. In its “worst expression,” this leads to:

• passive aggression,
• an inner sense of powerlessness,
• blurred boundaries between self and others,
• or a battle against the shadow of one’s own emotions

The Shadow of Mars

In Jungian psychology, every archetypal function has its shadow. The shadow of Mars is:

• violence, rage, destructiveness,
• self-aggression and self-sabotage,
• a sense of impotence disguised as anger,
• compulsive need to prove oneself

When Mars is repressed or unnaturally expressed (as in Pisces or Cancer, in their “worst form”), the shadow easily takes over. The individual either denies their own aggression and projects it onto others (perceiving the world as hostile), or falls into patterns of self-destruction and passive aggression.

Thus, in this framework Mars is not seen merely as the “planet of war,” but as the psychic symbol of willpower and energy, which, when poorly integrated, becomes an inner enemy.