“Iron never lies to you.”
Henry Rollins
In the heart of every star, the idea of iron perseverates amongst the fusion happening all around it. When that star goes supernova, iron is flung across the universe and soon gets to work. It is the most abundant element on Earth (by mass), and encompasses most of the planet’s core. Without iron, hemoglobin could not carry oxygen from our lungs to the rest of our bodies. It forms us, it keeps us alive, yet so often we refuse to lift it. It’s a shame, because it’s also ferromagnetic, meaning: once it becomes magnetized, it stays that way. It’s the perfect metaphor for what iron can do for us if only we picked it up and moved it around a bit. Iron is also the metal of Mars.
The planetary metals are important to know. They teach us about the true nature of the planet; Gold with/and as the Sun, Silver for the mirrors of the Moon/Copper’s conductivity with Venus/Tin for cans filled with Jupiter’s content/lead for the weight of Saturn’s reminders. Whether we lack or have an abundance of any of them, we have problems. With Mars, when we lack iron, we are weak and tired, potentially anemic, and we cannot harness the iron will of the Soul to move through the world with courage.
I bring this up because Mars is getting close. The retrograde waits in December on its iron throne, and day by day, Mars is getting closer and brighter and his themes more pronounced. Already in Cancer, the intimations of themes to come have begun percolating. You can feel it in the air. It’s obvious in ourselves if we are honest about it. Our success with the most exciting part of the Mars cycle depends entirely on our strength and how well we can protect ourselves from the dangers both out there and in here.
From now until the middle of April, Mars will be spending lots of time in Cancer—the Rx begins in Leo, but we will save those thoughts for the next paragraph. It’s said that Mars is “fallen” when in Cancer. Without getting snarred by the traps of good and bad, it’s still important to contemplate this. If it’s the Martian function to be born in stars and build entire worlds, Cancer can hinder this process. Familiar quotes from Mars in this Cardinal Water sign are: “I don’t feel like it…” “I’m tired, I think I’m going to stay in tonight…” “I dunno, I’m too traumatized to act…” “I’m triggered.” Cancer and all the feels that scurry around it can greatly hinder the Mars function. To remedy it, we must pick up the iron key and try our best to find the door that it unlocks.
As mentioned, Mars will be spending some time in Leo as well. There are no “traditional” dignities like ‘fallen’ or ‘domicile’ to consider here, yet it’s still important to note. It seems to me, that in the West—especially the further into the zephyr wind we travel—the expression of Leo gets more and more deranged. In a post-modern world where “god is dead” for far too many, and celebrity culture has pickled our minds to such a degree that it’s hard to even imagine that what is expressed through us is something else than our own. We identify too much with our images and creations. We think they are ours and because of that, we somehow become the center of the universe. This breeds some nasty Mars energies like competition, zero-sum games, and incubates the deepest strains of resentment. And even though the retrograde isn’t set to begin until after the election, the pre-shadow begins in early October, so these themes will be a rolling boil by the time we get there. This cult of personality cannot be invested in too much. If we do, it will pickle our hearts as well.
All in all, when Mars comes close during a retrograde, it’s an invitation to get strong again. We get to set and practice holding boundaries. We get to spot our enemies, and hopefully, learn to love them for what they have helped us become. Mars is not evil or bad. To take that view is to have no understanding of iron or what it takes to be the hero of our story.
Find Leo and Cancer in your chart and you will spot him there. He’s not going away anytime soon. So it’s best we take control of our feelings and learn to express in selfless ways sooner than later. For if we don’t, we will soon find ourselves behind the iron bars of our own prison, ferromagnetically polarized for good. In other words, we will find ourselves miserable.
Key Dates:
Oct 4th. Pre-shadow begins. 17º Cancer
Dec 6th. Rx begins. 6º Leo
Jan 15th. Sun/Mars opposition. 26º Cancer
Feb 23rd. Station direct. 17º Cancer
May 2nd. Post-shadow end. 6º Leo
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I love your inclusion of the metals. A wonderful teaching. And your image is beautifully evocative. I relate to it as I notice my ambivalence about this transit, over my 10th house Cancer Sun and Leo North Node, trying to honour feeling both daunted and psyched 😅 thanks Adam 🙏🏼
Drawing is hilarious 😂I love it.