Thoughts on Mars in Cancer

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Mars in Cancer is known traditionally to be a weak Mars, but I noticed through reading some Reddit thread this week that a lot of people didn't really understand this placement. And perhaps when an individual with this placement reads or hears this, they then get sucked into a whirlwind of - “wait - I’m weak?” thinking. In response it sort of spawned this philosophical rant.

CHOOSE YOUR PLAYER:

Mystical

Now, I’m probably going to catch a lot of slack for this, because in a way its a little like common core for astrology, but the way I see it, is like each sign though Mars is sort of like Naruto, or Magic the Gathering, or even DND. For instance, in Magic the Gathering, there are creature cards that have very little attack, but they can bring other cards back from the grave. There are some cards that have little attack, but affect all of the cards in play by giving them more attack. These are powerful creatures, yet, at a glance they seem insignificant.

In particular, with regard to Mars Cancer, this reminds me of this scene from Naruto I saw once.

Look, I'm no Naruto expert, and the only reason I know about this scene was from this time that I was watching it with my son so I apologize if I butcher this explanation. Shikamaru, is fighting Temari in a stadium. Shikamaru fights his opponent using shadow jitsu. He comes off as lazy and uninterested, yet, doesn't want to “look weak by getting beat by a girl” (which kind of reminds me of this whole Cancer men over compensation concept that can play out sometimes). Now, shadow jitsu is super powerful, but very strategic. Once the opponent is in the shadow, its called shadow possession. This reminds me a lot of the the lunar phases/cycles and the nodes because not only is he using the the shadow cast by the time of day, but the arena is shaped in a circle, which casts like the shadow of the moon. It also reminds me of the 4th house, and how a lot of our shadow and IC foundations can be read from home/mom/moon elements. This has enormous mysterious and undefined power, and shapes people in ways that can sometimes take a lifetime to unfold. Just like Shikamaru, aggression in the usual Aries directedness, or normal expression of it, does not serve him, but the power that he does have requires planning. The look on Temari’s face when she realizes she fell into Shikamaru’s trap is reminiscent of the look a 5 year old makes when a mom tricks her into eating vegetables by making a carrot cake haha.

Obviously, there’s also Sailor moon. I’m saving her for something else though. And I’m sure there are people going “What about the Momma Bear” type- another obvious one but it was a personal choice to look at a different angle.

CYCLICAL IMPACT:

Physical

KNOW YOUR MOON. Knowing your moon with Mars in Cancer natal will change everything about your power. With that in mind, it now brings me to my second example. Cancer, a sign representing home, mother, emotions, and the fertility cycle, has a very specific way of directing action. If you don’t know the cycle, you’ll always be out of whack and wondering why things aren’t going the way you want them to go. This is reminiscent of “going with the flow”. With my natal moon, pluto, and venus in the 6th house, I feel obliged to share my story about it.

So, a few years ago, I decided to take on weight training. After lots of frustration about water retention, lack of sustained energy, and not really knowing if it was my diet or the types of exercises I was engaging in were the culprits, I stumbled across this video about work out strategies based on menstruation. The concept is based on the types of hormones that are being made in your body at the time:

Menstrual Phase: mat yoga, light cardio, rest (follicle-stimulating hormone)

Follicular Phase: steady state cardio and weights (estrogen)

Ovulatory Phase: weight training, hiit, crossfit (testosterone)

Luteal Phase: steady state cardio and weights (progesterone)

This changed everything for me, and helped me understand myself a hell of a lot more. I realized that I could be so much more effective if I had a strategy that worked with the way my bodily matrix worked to create lasting results in my personal health and fitness goals. And to think, that whole time, I thought that I had to attune myself to something I thought was some sort of standard way.

The well oiled machine: A black pill

Capricorn VS Cancer

(A series of questions Im making public I guess.)

And now, to take it in another direction. Does society fully underestimate the usefulness of mothers? Is it that the corporate consumer society demands we produce more people, to consume more, while we work for the betterment of their institutions? Or is it that we should procreate less so that we have more time to work to spend money on over priced burgers, faulty selfcare goop, and nostalgia products the mirror machine tells us is healing (coddling) our inner child? We fight for our legitimacy by taking on roles created by man to sustain mans workforce because its a weak look otherwise- and for anyone deciding to become a mother, you might want to check your IQ, says the institution. The beautiful female CEO nursing the company by her breast, drives the Telsa with a battery made by slave children. If the emotional stability of the individual starts with early development, perhaps a society where the majority of the mothers did not have time to spend with their children create stunted and traumatized civilians in some regard? Or maybe it’s the institution that swaddles you into thinking your parents are the culprits for never feeding your ego? Creating algorithmic bonds so strong and “seen”. Could our fascination with bonding at a distance though means of the internet have anything to do with being homesick?

Or maybe, for the Pluto Sagittarius and Pluto Capricorn generation, its something more. Maybe these mothers are becoming so narcissistic that even when they are with you they are way from you, fully engulfed in a digital matrix that you nearly have to nurse yourself with an algorithm? Alone together. As the shadow gets bigger between you and your ability to comfort yourself and others, maybe tech is your new momma. The narcissistic cycle. Its a good thing that AI is programmed to say all of the right things without having emotional charge, because its warmth of words and ability to listen may make it nearly human. Is it the hand of the toxic mother that nurtures the future of the toxic masculine?

The lack of emotional support, understanding, forgiveness, gentleness, thoughtfulness, and care that institutions can bring reek of Social Emotional Learning workshops and stoop to the level of the paychecks that encourage performance vs the intertwining tenderness and sacrifice of unconditional love. Especially that unconditional love that we see in the movies and curated social profiles. You know, families with perfect portrait archetypes that we compare ourselves to? The kind that smash what you thought was an okay family life into some kind of million pieces to fracture your perception through self hypnosis programing as if what you were viewing was some sort of roadmap to reality. The feminine toxicity does not leave visible marks.

At the end of the day, your perception is only what you make of it. Maybe society is a mirror? Regardless of what the “real” problem is, as its really hard to pin-point, it all seems to come up when Mars spends an unusually long period of time in Cancer right after opposing Pluto in Capricorn for the very last time since 2008. Humanity can now reflect- rather, a pause (mars retrograde), on how the system (Capricorn) might actually have affect on the foundation (Cancer/ 4th house) of subconscious (Pluto) of humanity (Aquarius).

The United States

At the beginning of this transit, with Mars in Cancer in September, we saw the loss of many homes due to water catastrophes on the east coast, and just recently with Mars back in Cancer, we experienced the loss of even more homes due to fire catastrophes, and deportation. Its devastating, but whole communities are pooling together to get aide to people in need, which is one of those things that is really beautiful. No one really knows what’s going on as Pisces is still calling all the shots in Saturn and Neptune. In regular USA fashion, we sit awake with the blue-light wool over our eyes. If only we could use our feeling, and convert it into knowing. “Maybe its time to stop getting gaslit by Virgo (US 9th house)”, says the North Node in Pisces (US 4th house).

This has also made its way into astrology circles to look like nationalism, or defending the home front, which I can also see. I’m not going to take this into politics, but we JUST had a returning president sworn back into office, and considering The United States is a Cancer Sun, it makes sense that we are returning to a previous leader (Mars retrograde when sworn in, and Mercury retrograde while voted in).

The LUNATIC

Look guys, so its not wrong. Sommmmetimmes, Cancer Mars takes things WAY too seriously and looks like dudes who cant take jokes. An inferiority complex so big no amount of muscle can stop the soft insides of this damaged baby from ripping you a new one for looking at them the wrong way. It can be like a war general who only makes decisions based on his feelings. This is because Cancer is ruled by the moon and the moon switches signs every 48 hours. Trying to appease a leader who is emotionally unpredictable is damaging to say the least. If Mars is our direction, or force, then we need a consistent goal or target, to sustain force. Emotionally distracted. Again, this is where knowing its a cycle, can help in creating the power Mars needs to make effective actions (says a Capricorn sun).

Scenario One:

This one is the most common I think. You have a new goal for yourself, say, its working on a passion project in your spare time. But, because you simply “don’t feel like it”, often times, we just don’t follow through. Days go by, weeks even, and you’re waiting to feel inspired, but little do you realize, that part of the reason you’re not reaching the goal, is because you’re coating yourself in a protective layer of comfort. Or maybe, you simply have poor internal self-talk. “What if it fails?”, the voice says. Whats worse, is when you tell people about the actions you’d like to take towards the passion project, and they neh-say it, or ask you how its going when you’ve been passively avoiding it. Oh boy, time to get really defensive.

Scenario Two:

The power(mars) to create (Cancer). The drive (mars) to create (Cancer). Emotion (Cancer) evoking inspirers (Mars)— I mean, just look at it:

Steven King, William Shakespeare, Pablo Picaso, David Lynch, Dolly Parton, Notorious BIG, Robert Smith, Morrissey, Yves Saint Laurent, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cyndi Lauper, David Gilmour, Syd Barrett, Immanuel Kant, Sid Vicious, George Lucas, Gene Simmons, Ray Charles, Noam Chomsky, Warren Buffett, Nostrodomus…

Scenario Three:

Al Capone, Ted K, Xi Jinping.

The thing about David Lynch

Maybe this image says it all. Our artist of subconscious illusion thrill has passed beyond the curtain. Morphing the house of the dead (8th house) with that of the subconscious inspiration (Cancer Mars), David Lynch had an almost exact transit conjunction with this natal Mars Cancer at the time of his death announcement. And you know, it says a lot about the state of his hometown (Cancer) at the time of his death (8th house) with the LA fires, as well as his smoking (Cancer and 4th house typically talk about themes of what we put in our mouths). His natal moon being in the sign of Virgo denotes a sort of consciousness of his bodily habits, as well as having influence in his very specific way of curating his vision. Pulling inspiration from hidden themes (8th house) and presenting them to the world with his moon in the 10th house. In true Neptune in the 11th opposition Part of Fortune in the 5th house fashion, an intuitive take on the surreal through creation. Libra Neptune and Jupiter in the 11th leaving behind a broken hearted cult following.

Final thoughts

Although, the light off* the moon may skew our judgement as the reflection of the sun casts its light untouched by earth’s shadow distorting what we think we see, its pulling effect on the water molecules down here on earth dance in syncopation night after night. Knowing this cycle is half the battle. What you consciously choose to do with it is up to you. Most of the time, your siblings have a different natal moon.

Inconclusion, never underestimate the illusion. Yours is personal.