With your natal Mars in Libra, this tender and balanced Air sign will blur most sharp sides of the red planet. This placement prompts it to function in balanced ways even if those are incompatible with Martian power. Libra may be neutralizing the strong drive that Mars usually offers, yet on the other hand will gift such a native with the ability to avoid quarrels of any type and handle all situations with diplomacy. Mars in Libra can be very helpful for people whose target is a stable marriage and that invest in creating the right conditions for a happy merged reality with their significant other.
Mars is generally governing activity and our drive, what we fight for and what we conquer too. The red planet rules our actions and where we place our energy to receive results, yet also can show life areas where fighting for our goals receives resistance from other people (or life itself). Naturally, this planet is also connected to any types of violence and anger, as it is rather abrupt, impatient and explosive.
Since the ancient times, the fiery planet has taken the name of the Greek god of war, Ares, and his Roman equivalent Mars. His energy is extremely masculine, symbolizing (together of course with the Sun, one side of the Sun-Moon dual axis) the archetype of the male. His opposite counterpart is of course Venus, creating with him the Mars/Venus axis as another archetypical Yin/Yang. An interesting fact is that even the ancient ones were being careful while handling the powers that god Ares (Mars) represented. There were very few temples of Ares, compared to all the other gods of the Greek Pantheon, and they were not invoking him.
Of course, he was naturally receiving his share of respect, yet without specialized priests and cults of worshippers – as war and violence was always undesired. By analyzing this through a psychological filter, the sole fact of not making a lot of festivities in his name made him difficult to reach in the subconscious and unconscious of the masses and individuals. This way, he was in a rather idle mode, being invoked only when war had already erupted in order to raise the spirits and create a holy frenzy to the warriors.
In the sign of Libra, Mars is in detriment and thus in its lowest potency. Libra is located directly opposite of the sign of Aries, where Mars is considered domicile as it is the sign that he rules. This is a rather impractical placement to have in a natal chart, as it will diminish all impulsive reactions that the red planet usually creates. Such people become overly discreet, polite and fair; as a result they might not even react when someone else mistreats them, raises his tone or even become aggressive. They will even absorb all that negativity just to calm things down, while at the same time hold inside them any sharp feelings of their own – to not throw more gas in the fire.
Libra is ruling the seventh house, which is responsible for business partnerships, marriages, contracts and all types of merging reality with another person. With Mars placed here, all these life patterns become very important; the native may be even sacrifice a lot of his ego to preserve such relations in a good condition. We should also note that Mars needs around two months to move to a next sign, while travelling through the skies. Once every two years Mars has a period of retrograde motion, where it appears to move backwards on the celestial canvas for apparently two months. Additional information about Mars’ potency in each sign can be read in the article about Mars’ Essential Dignities.
Natal Mars in Libra is great for people who need a life without a lot of turmoil, and prefer long-lasting harmony and stability. They will fight for it, yet through absorbing Martian energy rather than radiating it. They are willing to be patient when their partner’s Mars is having explosive moments, and by receiving those “punches” without retaliating, they are somehow becoming a catalyst for expulsion of aggression from the couple as whole. Indeed, this is not an easy job to do, as it requires delicate handling and a lot of strength to not get hurt. Yet, such people consider their relationships as an utmost goal and will do anything to preserve them. This will make them the real heroes, as sometimes avoiding battles and being calm in difficult situations is even more difficult than entering a duel and winning it.
An important characteristic that this placement creates is indecisiveness, especially when someone needs to act quickly. The Mars in Libra native cannot decide well under pressure, because he needs time to weight the possible options and their outcome; in addition he has the tendency to check what effect any decision will have on other people too. Thus, when he needs to choose quickly, some sort of black-out may happen and blur his mind. In such situations a Libra Mars may either let other people decide and hold a passive position, or let life and circumstances decide themselves. Stalling over choosing may actually seem the most attractive option that they can have!
A quite natural technique that Mars in Libra people use during confrontations is a passive-aggressive approach. As they do not feel comfortable opposing other people directly, this is usually their weapon of choice when they want to impose their own rules. Yet, because they usually fight for the sake of both themselves and the other person (actually for the harmony of the relation between them), passive-aggressive behavior cannot be considered some cunning way of dominating the other individual.
It actually becomes a necessary tool to impose the right balance, or else the Mars in Libra native will just submit to the strong will of the other individual and no harmony will ever be reached. In addition, the polite and fair traits that such people have will even give a charming approach to the usage of this tool. Thus, other individuals will willingly find some golden middle point where agreements can be reached. After all, who can say no to puppy eyes? Especially if those eyes keep their sweetness after sorting out the dispute, and are not used cunningly only for the sake of passing their own agenda.
In case that the native’s Mars in Libra is adversely aspected, especially by malefic, such a native may become a manipulator and use his charm in order to gain things rather than for necessary diplomacy. This can be particularly observed in natal charts of women, where Mars is playing a secondary role. They clearly do not need aggressive masculine energy to drive them through life, and they use the lack of it (due to Libra’s detriment) as a tool for manipulating people who have excessive Martian power. Such women are usually overly feminine, which may make them overly attractive to men with a strong Mars, and they may even end up playing “victim mind games” in order to gain what they want. These darker traits usually are awakened when their Mars is in tough aspects with Pluto, Neptune or Lilith, and all their strategy may look like some clandestine operation of secret services.
When someone has his natal Mars in Libra, he may be very active in the fields of arts, and it is generally considered a good placement for jobs connected not only with creating art but also promoting it. People who have Mars placed here may excel in public relations for artists, selling pieces of art or even managing them, as they seem to find the right ways to blend and bond people of arts with people of business. In case the individual is an artist himself, his own presence and charm may attract a lot of fans, and they can easily find individuals who will finance them. As Libra is ruling the 7th house, it is not uncommon to turn someone who finances their art into a lover – with the prospect of even getting into a deep relationship and bonding deeply. And indeed, Libra Mars people are in need of not being alone; with their significant other being a stable stepping-stone for success and prosperity.
When Mars in Libra is well aspected in a natal chart, the native will be very active in the life area that the sign of Libra rules, winning his battles concerning those house matters. He will tirelessly dedicate his energy, confronting any possible difficulties and problems successfully and enjoying the conquest of the desired goals. The victories in those areas will gift him the drunk-like feeling of the warrior who raises his sword and yells when the battle is finished and the opponent defeated. On the contrary, bad aspects to Mars can bring quite a lot of problems mostly connected with anger and putting too much efforts in vain. Also, when the darker traits of Mars are awakened by difficult natal aspects, the Libra Mars person may experience war-like situations from rivals, too much turmoil and even defeats.