Considering Mars
FFS
One of the things that I’ve been considering, with a great amount of time & bandwidth lately, is watching my stories through the lens of the decans. It is a large motivator of my work in my other publication, The Decan Walk where I share information around the decans: what they can represent in a person’s lived experience as well as a theological exploration of the subject. I say “theological” and not “theoretical” as a way to describe my own experience with noticing the divine stories that the decans bring. The stories that haunt, for better or worse. Stories that I feel we are here to live, end, carry and begin during our lifetime. We bring stories with us, through our natal chart and in a wonderful synchronicity, I listened to Kira Ryberg’s interview with Sasha Ravitch about her ancestral work around blessings & curses in the natal chart the day after I began writing this. Please listen to this conversation if you’re interested in your ancestors or just like haunted things.
While the decans may be considered “smaller gods” in historical astrological writings, I argue that they are just small enough to fit through the key hole into our world.
and their apparent size does not reflect their magnitude. Gods of (s)mall things.
Mars is the divine ruler of Aries & the inaugural decan ruler for the year. This double Mars beginning of the zodiacal year focuses my attention to the stories that Mars is telling. Mars speaks by example, leads with action and may not use words but favor (S)words instead. Mars’ stories can feel heavy handed, injurious, bloody, passionate, edgy, fierce, stories of martyrdom, winning/defeat, stories of defense for what one believes to be true. Mars is rarely subtle, so finding those stories might be easier than, say, the Moon.
This planet rules my ascendant so I watch its movements through the year anyway. For this year, I am looking at where Mars is traveling by transit during each of the times that it is the decan ruler. The Sun will be traveling through Mars’ 6 decans but Mars itself will be elsewhere. I’m looking at what story is being told by spinning the two threads of location: where the Sun is & where Mars is. You can layer this technique on your natal chart to see any aspects either of these planets make, but particularly what Mars is doing. All of this information will build the context of what stories are whistling around you.
Mars rules the most decans in the wheel of the zodiac, all of the other planets rule 5 decans while Mars rules 6. This happens because there are 36 total decans and we begin & end with Mars. This division of the zodiac provides a seam, a double door that Mars defends: one faces the past in Pisces III and the other faces the future in Aries I.
I will be looking at each of the planets’ journey through the zodiac during this decan walk but lets begin with Mars.
Mars rules these decans:
Aries I
Gemini II
Leo III
Scorpio I
Capricorn II
Pisces III
You can think of these places in your own chart, the houses that they reside in & any planets that sit here, as a way to think of your own story that Mars may be driving.
If you use time lords for personal forecasting, paying close attention to the transits of your time lord can be helpful in surfing along the waves of change. If Mars is your timelord (profection, solar return, zodiacal releasing, firdaria etc) watch for when the Sun is in Mars’ decans. The Sun illuminates everything, it burns up what is old and highlights what remains. The Sun will help you see the stories.
Mars’s transit during these decans for 2026-2027:
Sun in Aries I:
Mars 14°11’ - 22°06’ Pisces
Sun in Gemini II
Mars 09°20’ - 17°02’ Taurus (exiled Mars)
Sun in Leo III
Mars 00°53’ - 07°41’ Cancer (fallen Mars)
Sun in Scorpio I
Mars 14°10’ - 19°20’ Leo
Sun in Capricorn II
Mars 09°50’ - 10°25’ Virgo
Sun in Pisces III
Mars 23°56’ - 21°47’ Leo (Retrograde Mars)
At the time of this writing (March 25), we are in Aries I, the Sun in the first decan of the first sign. On Friday, Mars will enter Pisces III which it rules. For three days, the Sun & Mars will be in Mars’ decans speaking loudly, through acts & will, telling the Mars story. Pisces is my 5th house & I have enacted on multiple art projects lately. I built a pool noodle + Mardi Gras bead rainbow for my nephew’s birthday party. It was anchored in gold spray painted single concrete blocks and draped with tiny strands of plastic pearls to look like clouds. I have spent nearly 3 days in my kitchen, putting up food from a weekly food rescue. I have volunteered for a food pantry for 6+ years, taking perishable food from partner grocery stores and delivering it to food pantries. Depending on the pantry’s capacity each day, I often get left with massive amounts of perishable produce. I sort it and share with many families in my community and then I try to save the rest from going to waste. Today alone, I made a large pot of vegetable stock, roasted bell peppers, kale chips, enormous batch of cream of celery soup (and will juice the rest of the celery because good lord was there so much), breakfast veggie egg cups and zucchini bread.
Now, my natal Mars is in the 11th House in Virgo I, which speaks to sources of abundance, agricultural themes, development of skill and the getting of wealth. The Picatrix describes the decan “of sowing, of plowing, of the making of trees to sprout, of gathering bunches of grapes.” Gathering the food (Virgo I), rescuing it (Mars ) sharing it with my community (11H) has dominated my last few days. It is work that I do each week, but this past week there has been SO much more attention paid to it. Additional coordination with the other volunteers, new families to feed, new protocol at the pantries, the struggle to locate appropriate boxes to gather the food in for deliveries, adjusting to new schedules & forms…all of this has been the overarching theme for me. This is a part of my Mars story.
Now, I am in a Sun profection year, Venus by Solar Return, Saturn by ZR of Fortune & Spirit as well as Firdaria. But Mars is still talking through me. Mars is speaking the part of my story that is passionate about reducing food waste, of supporting families directly, of making meals at home etc. All of this work reifies my Mars nature and I see it highlighted during this Mars decan. When Mars enters Pisces III on Friday while the Sun is in Aries I, a double Mars amplification, what elevation will the story take? I’ll let you know. It will be a combination of me, Mars ruled, my 5th & 6th houses combining as well as drawing in my 11th house Mars natally. I could add in the aspects to the rest of my Virgo & Taurus placements. The stories have as much nuance, if you’re game to pay them close attention.
These stories, these decans, may seem small but they weave into larger narratives that build on themselves. Since I began volunteering for this organization, I estimate that I have personally saved over 20,000 lbs of food from being wasted, going instead into people’s kitchens. Over time, that has given families (my own included) food security while helping the environmental impact of food decomposition in landfills.
There are more stories being woven for me, and a part of being an astrologer is identifying them and studying them. But for yourself, I encourage you to seek out the stories that you are living in through the decans. You can tease out the larger narrative by watching the planet’s journey through the year, while the sun is highlighting each decanic tale. You can get glimpses of light shed on stories that confound or confuse you; stories that you want to hear more of can be nurtured with attention. Stories that repeat with misfortune, can be listened to and guided to end through decanic work.
If you’re not already a subscriber to the The Decan Walk please consider doing so. If this article interested you, this is the vibe that I’m bringing to the decan party this year. And if you want a guide to finding your own stories through the decans, I have a reading just for this: Personal Myth
I really enjoyed this! I sometimes have blinders on for other planets energy and where it's coming from/what it's driving. this was so helpful.