In astrology we have 3 categories of planets: 1) personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars), 2) social planets (Jupiter and Saturn), and 3) generational planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto).

If we want to understand someone’s personality we look at their personal planets – Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars. 

If we want to understand how society works, we look at Jupiter and Saturn. 

And if we want to understand how the Universe works, at a meta-level, we look at Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. 

Basically, the farther a planet is from the Sun, the less it is about “Me” and the more it is about “We”.

If you want to know what will happen to you, you look at Sun or Mars. If you want to know what is going on in the world, we look at Jupiter, Saturn, or Pluto. 

The personal planets are of course the most familiar, and the most accessible from an individual perspective. They are under our direct control.

The Sun and the Moon is our identity. Mercury is our thoughts, Venus our feelings, and Mars our actions. 

Mars – The Bridge Planet

Mars is the most important personal planet from an evolutionary perspective, because it is the first personal planet that goes a full circle around the Sun.

As a comparison, Mercury and Venus never travel more than two signs away from the Sun. 

And because Mars is the first planet to take this giant leap into the unknown, because Mars is the first planet to apply squares and oppositions to the Sun, Mars plays an extremely important role in our evolution.

That’s why Mars is a bridge planet – it bridges the personal planets with the social planets (Jupiter and Saturn).

Mars says: “This is who I am, and this is what I want, as an individual in my own right, with my unique wants and needs, and you, society (Jupiter and Saturn) had better listen to me, and take my needs into account”. 

Mars – Me Against We

Of course, each person has their own Mars – their own wants and needs. And your friend, your spouse, or your co-worker’s Mars’ wants and needs, may clash with your own wants and needs.

Mars can lead to conflict.

That’s why Mars is not only the planet of personal assertion, but also the planet of war and conflict. 

What do we do with all these people’s Marses that want different things? Should our consciousness get stuck at the “Mars” operating level, we’d become stuck in a permanent state of conflict.

Thankfully, we don’t stop at Mars.

Jupiter – The Path Of Least Resistance

The planet that comes after Mars is Jupiter. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, and the first social planet.

Jupiter is the planet of consensus and coherence.

In our evolution, there comes a time when it doesn’t make sense to operate from our individual needs alone (Mars), but to merge with others and reach a consensus (Jupiter).

There comes a time when we need Jupiter.

Jupiter is the sign of justice, morals, and what everyone agrees on. We all agree on some basic principles, such as human rights, or that we need health and education to function as a society.

Jupiter is what everyone agrees on, at least within our defined social circle: the community, village, town, country, culture, or religion that we belong to. 

But Jupiter is not enough.

Saturn – Rings, Rules, Responsibilities

To make sure that these societal values are held, we need Saturn’s rings, rules, and responsibilities.

Saturn makes sure everyone follows what society has agreed upon (Jupiter). That’s why Saturn comes with “how TOs”, procedures, enforced laws, and of course, repercussions. 

Let’s take traffic as an example.

Imagine if there were no traffic rules. Everyone would drive as fast or as slow or as erratically as they wanted to, and in any direction (Mars). Drivers would not give way to others.

Of course, there are places where this kind of driving is a reality.

But in most places in this world, there is a consensus on how to drive. We have driving schools. We have traffic lights (Jupiter).

And, of course, we have paperwork, point systems, and fines (Saturn).  

Mars, Jupiter, Saturn

To make all this work, we need to follow the logical order of the planets.

We start from Mars. We need to become an individual on our own (Mars). Mars is a very important step in our individuation process because it’s Mars that helps us act upon our unique self. 

When Mars is not integrated, we have a society of copy paste individuals who have no idea who they are and why they are here for. 

We need to act upon our personal needs. Mars will kill the animal (or the plant) to survive. 

We need Mars to voice our opinion and to state our needs.

We need a lot of people acting from their Mars energy. We need as many (different) opinions as possible so that we can find the best Jupiter solution, the path of least resistance. 

And if a consensus is not found – we can’t blame Jupiter. It simply means we haven’t done our ‘Mars homework’ properly.

It means there are not enough individuals voicing their points of view, debating, and exposing the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of other people’s points of view.

Only when we have enough back-and-forth debating (Mars), can a robust solution be found (Jupiter). A solution that doesn’t take the unique needs of each individual into account is not a good solution. 

The dance of Mars and Jupiter is what democracy is about. The status quo (Jupiter) needs to be continuously challenged (Mars) so that we never become complacent (Jupiter’s dogma). 

Once we formulate solutions that everyone can agree on (Jupiter) – then and only then – can we enforce this consensus with rules (Saturn). 

Trying to enforce things that society has not agreed on with rules, will only backfire. Because this is not how the Universe works.

We cannot ‘force’ other people to follow rules they don’t believe in. 

That’s why, for example, politicians don’t just enforce rules. They try to ‘convince’ the public through television or other communication campaigns. If they are successful, people also accept Saturn’s rules.

But if the solution they come with is not in the best interest of the system – even if the rules are enforced – things will again, eventually backfire. People will rebel (Uranus, the planet following Saturn) against these rules. 

The ‘Mars Homework’

TO RECAP: Any change in society starts bottom-up, with Mars. It starts with people acting upon their unique needs. It’s important that these Mars needs are expressed with honesty. If we wouldn’t have Mars, we wouldn’t survive. With Mars, it’s ok to be selfish! 

Once enough opinions are being expressed, we move to Jupiter.

Jupiter finds the path of least resistance, the best possible solution, given the Mars circumstances.

The solution is then measured and controlled through Saturn’s rules and systems.

To get to Jupiter, to find a solution everyone agrees on, we need to do the ‘Mars homework’ properly.

The law and the politicians (Jupiter and Saturn) cannot independently solve society’s problems if there is not enough Mars. That’s why it’s our individual responsibility to get involved. To express our point of view. 

There are two ways to express our Mars energy: through healthy conflict (when we express our point of view with the aim of finding a solution, without hurting others) or through rage (when we seek destruction).

An unhealthy Mars is “I’m right, and you’re wrong”.

A healthy Mars is expressed as free will,  and the outcome is the best possible Jupiter resolution. 

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