Mars, Mars, Mars…All You Need Is Mars

I know it’s been said before, but one more time:

There’s no such thing as a perfect sign for an athlete or pro-sports player.

There have been athletes born at all times of the year, with their Sun located in any of the twelve different signs. This is important to note, as some folks might read their own horoscope and say, ‘Hey, I’m supposed to be an accountant, not a ball player!’ Athletes have been members of every sign, and sign is no guarantee of sporting ability or even of a particular position. Let’s take a look at some of the greatest football running backs of the NFL:

Tony Dorsett (Aries)
Emmitt Smith (Taurus)
Jim Thorpe (Gemini)
Barry Sanders (Cancer)
Walter Payton (Leo, of course)
Shaun Alexander (Virgo)
Priest Holmes (Libra)
Bronko Nagurski (Scorpio)
Bo Jackson (Sagittarius)
Steve Van Buren (Capricorn)
Jim Brown (Aquarius)
Marshall Faulk (Pisces)


[I know there are plenty of other premier running backs…I was just trying to find one for each sign. For those that are curious Gale Sayers and Marion Motley are both Gemini, Eric Dickerson is a Virgo, both Terrell Davis and Larry Johnson are Scorpios, and LaDainian Tomlinson is a Cancer just like O.J. Simpson. Took me a while to find a Sagittarius, and I almost went with MY favorite fullback of all time, Mike Alstott, but I figured most folks outside of Florida wouldn’t give him credit as a “premier back”]

ANYWAY…you can find pro sport players of every sign in every position of every pro-sport. Just because a person is an Aries doesn’t make them a natural athlete, any more than being born a Leo makes a person a natural superstar (though Aries people may feel like warrior-athletes and Leo folks may feel like movie stars).

There are, however, some indications in a person’s horoscope that could be seen to symbolize athletic ability. The planet that would traditionally rule athletic endeavors would be MARS, the red-warrior planet, and traditional astrologers would look for a prominent Mars to indicate athletic achievement.

So what’s a “prominent Mars?” Well, that can vary from chart to chart and from astrologer to astrologer. Mars in a sign of its own rulership (Aries and Scorpio traditionally) or one conjunct one of the four angles of a chart (especially the Ascendant or Mid-heaven angles) would be considered fairly strong. Likewise, a heavily aspected Mars (that is, one that makes tight angles with other planets) or a Mars that is aspected by the Sun or some of the “heavy hitter” planets (Saturn, Uranus, Pluto) might also be considered prominent.


A French psychologist and statistician by the name of Michel Gauquelin (interesting side note: born November 13th, he shares both my birthday and my interest in psychology and statistics!) conducted some fairly interesting research with regard to astrology. Originally attempting to show that astrology had no basis in scientific fact, he found that professional athletes had a higher proportion of Mars located in what astrologers consider to be the 4th quadrant of the zodiac (that is houses 10, 11, and 12) and also the 9th house (the house immediately preceding the Mid-heaven and the 4th quadrant). He called this the “Mars Effect” and while it has been disputed and debated, it’s interesting to consider. Some astrologers thing of the 4th quadrant as a person’s “objective view of self;” that is, how they feel they show up in the world. It would only make sense that a person with Mars in the 4th quadrant considers themselves a type of competitor in the world (whether professionally or by identity).

Of course, Mars isn’t just the martial spirit in a person. These days it’s often interpreted as a person’s WILL…as in both willpower and desire. Mars is the planet that shows what “turns us on,” though not necessarily in a lusty way. It is what piques our interest and what gives us energy. It also describes how we get angry or frustrated (usually when our desires aren’t met) and also how we vent our anger and frustration. While a prominent Mars might show a professional athlete, it can also show a person with anger management issues.

You can call Mars the Testosterone Planet, I guess.

Now of course, I mean that figuratively speaking. Female athletes may have a prominent Mars even while they fail to have prominent testosterone. Let’s take a look at one.

Tennis champion Venus Williams has Mars in the 12th house. Certainly this falls into the area of Gauquelin’s “Mars Effect” but it’s not really conjunct the Ascendant (how we project ourselves into the world) nor even close to the 10th house (showing the role we play in society). Mars is in the sign of Virgo, which some astrologers might interpret to mean she’s an overly critical person…getting her kicks off nagging people or over-analyzing stuff. Her Sun sign is Gemini in the 9th…that’s a powerful, inquisitive intellect, and quite possibly a “talky” person. Is there anything here to indicate Venus would grow up to be the world’s #1 tennis player?

Sure.

Ms. Williams has her Mars conjunct Saturn…the heavy, foreboding planet of discipline and restraint. Having Saturn conjunct Mars is almost like putting Mars into Capricorn…this is a person with the natural ability to discipline and hone her willpower and desire. Virgo is also the sign of the blacksmith, the craftsman…the whole point of Virgo’s analyzing tendency is to REFINE itself, perfecting itself as the perfect tool of service. Saturn lends a hand here.

Because Mars is in Virgo, its dispositor (a fancy word for the planet that governs, controls, and colors it) is MERCURY, the planet of the mind, the hand, logic, and communication. And Ms. Williams has the planet Mercury located in the 10th house almost conjunct to the Mid-heaven. The Mid-Heaven is the angle that shows the highest point of the sky on the day we were born…the place where the Sun will reach “High Noon,” so to speak. It shows our highest aspiration and how we hope to eventually show up in society. The 10th house in fact shows where we do show up in society, consciously or not. Having the dispositor of Mars in the 10th house can be an indication that her disciplined willpower and drive is something for which Ms. Williams will be known and recognized.

As an aside: Mercury is also the dispositor of Venus’s Sun. This can certainly indicate some public recognition, as the Sun represents a person’s most basic identity.

As far as aspects go, Mars is conjunct Saturn (already mentioned), approaching near sextile with both Mercury and the Mid-heaven, and likewise approaching near sextile with the explosive planet Uranus. Sextile aspects are within 60 degrees of each other and they excite and give energy to the planet in aspect. Mars thus excites and gives energy to its own dispositor (Mercury) feeding it a good supply of energy. Likewise Uranus (the planet that rules lightning and electricity) feeds energy and excitement to Mars. Good thing Saturn’s sitting on Mars; it helps channel all that energy into something constructive!

Basically, Ms. Williams is an incredibly powerful, intelligent, and driven individual. She is also exceptionally independent, even though she can show up as a social person and harmonizer (i.e. promoting teamwork and cooperation). She can easily leave others behind simply because of her own intensity and discipline…but since this is an astrology-sports blog, we won’t get into her personal life here.

Next Up: A Mars Analysis of Jim Thorpe