Sign InMars and Saturn in opposition
Today, our focus is on a pair of planets, Mars and Saturn, in an aspect of opposition. A quite notorious mix, because it involves two planets radically different from one another, and not really believed to be easy-going.
Those who open a traditional astrology book may even feel a bit disconcerted by the interpretation given. Fortunately, for several years, modern astrologers have been considering that the opposition is a dynamic aspect creating energy and impulses. As far as Mars and Saturn are concerned, it is necessary to pay attention to their entire symbolism without negative prejudices.
On the one hand, Mars is the planet of action, related to the god of war who wants everything, immediately. On the other hand, Saturn is the planet which hinders us by forcing us to be patient and to ponder, but helps us build with tenacity.
The former is hot, or even boiling, the latter is phlegmatic, often glacial. Whatever the aspect linking them may be, their blend suggests that they are simultaneously keen on competition and afraid of it.
The traditional meaning of this configuration is that people having this aspect highlighted in their natal chart tend to put themselves in situations prompting them to take up numerous challenges.
With this combination, people go through inner tensions which may translate into back and forth movements of acceleration and slowdown. Sometimes, they behave too boldly, and sometimes, they withdraw into themselves. They act too rapidly, or they get lost in exhausting arrangements which drain their energy to no avail.
There is a clear tendency to stand up against (Mars, action) authorities (Saturn, knowledge and its representatives), or to incur their wrath.
To put things differently, one could say that there is a lack of detachment from the aim pursued. One is too stubborn, or one is willing to overdo. For instance, in a conflicting situation, one may behave with undue inflexibility, which is detrimental to the effectiveness of the action.
In addition, there are various ways to experience this dynamic aspect. Although it is certain that it includes a principle of roughness and of harshness, it may prove useful at the same time for competitions and for overcoming defeats.
To this end, it is necessary to learn to use alternately the best assets symbolized by the sign and the House in which one of the planets is posited, then those of the other planet, and so forth. A path to a possible agreement consists in becoming able to measure out the energies in question, and to control them. This means to avoid engaging in aggressivity and in self-flagellation, which are among the biggest risks caused by the Mars-Saturn opposition.
In order to better explain this aspect, we are mentioning several well-known personalities. This article deliberately isolates the opposition so as to better describe it. For this reason, it claims on no account to be a psychological analysis of the celebrity in question, for whom many other articles are available in the "Focus" section.
It is possible to find thousands of other horoscopes having Mars and Saturn in opposition (or other aspects), with the online tool search. The planets, positions in sign and in house as well as the orb, are configurable.
Robert Downey Jr.
Here is a cinema figurehead known worldwide. He personifies perfectly well the dangers of the Mars-Saturn opposition and the gift of wisdom stemming from the fact that he triumphed over them.
Robert Downey Jr. was born in a family of insiders in the movie business; he had no major difficulty finding roles in Hollywood, and he touched his audience and critics in the eighties. However, Mars being in Virgo in the 2nd House, in conjunction with Uranus and with Pluto, in opposition with Saturn in the 8th, very early Downey had to fight his inner demons. Celebrity changed nothing, on the contrary. Everyone knows that he has had drug and alcohol issues, of which he cured himself.
Owing to the 2-8 axis, he was doubtful of his own worth and of the material aspect of his life. He oscillated between excessive euphoria and backlashes from the system. In those two Houses, income as well as financial luck are involved. Therefore, it is necessary to remark that such an opposition did not prevent him from amassing over 250 million dollars, one of the largest fortunes of Hollywood. This leads us to mention how he has been able to turn the situation to his advantage.
It was thanks to Neptune, in Scorpio in the 4th, who forms a double aspect beneficial to the duet – sextile with Mars and trine with Saturn – that Downey experienced a sort of inner enlightenment. Actually, he declared that one day, he decided to put an end to his slides. Today, he is interested in Buddhism and even in astrology, thus using Neptune's spiritual facets associated with the Mars-Saturn combination which endows with iron will.
In the second place, it must be noted that in front of Neptune, the Moon (popularity) in exaltation in the sign of Taurus and in the 10th House (professional destiny) is also part of the solutions to this opposition. The actor is appreciated by the public, and his career is constantly successful. No less.
Finally, no one has forgotten to reckon with the wonderful Yod creating a diversion. Therefore, it provides an outlet for problems brought about by this opposition which includes the Mars-Uranus-Pluto trio and Neptune, and the Sun-Venus duet in Aries in the 9th House. Willpower and charm are definitely there to mitigate the tremors and ups-and-downs we pointed out above.
Robert Downey Jr.
You can also read the Astrotheme astrological portrait of Robert Downey Jr..
Below, you will find the horoscope of Robert Downey Jr.:
Sophie Marceau
How strange is the destiny of the star of La Boum, a cutesy French comedy of the eighties, just like the actress' natal chart! At 16, Sophie Marceau became a celebrity, a statute which grew stronger over the years. Of course, she owed it to her Scorpio nature, tenacious and intense, but also to the Mars-Saturn combination which is in an angle and therefore impossible to avoid in the analysis.
Although Mars is in the 12th, the end-of-cycle House, he is already in conjunction with the Ascendant, describing a resolute temperament eager to act immediately. On the other side, Saturn is exactly on the Descendant, indicating some degree of coldness or of clumsiness in relationships with people. Incidentally, it is not surprising that young Marceau "grew up" with the first love of her life, the father of her son, Andrzej Zulawski. 25 years her senior, he taught her everything about cinema, personifying the Saturnian father-figure until she decided to stand on her own two feet.
Astrologers who looked into Marceau's chart noticed, in addition to its singularity, the huge assets put at her disposal. Indeed, the Mars-Saturn opposition is linked to a quartet of planets in the 3rd House and in the natal sign, of which three personal planets, i.e. Mercury, ruler of the Ascendant in Virgo, Venus, the Sun, and Neptune. One might as well say that these high-flying people allowed Marceau to find a pathway to express herself through art (Neptune), and this, by deeply tapping into her personal resources.
Quite a lot could be said about this amazing sky map, the configuration of which is extremely rare, a bucket or a sailboat in analogy with Jupiter and Pisces, and in which Mars and Saturn would precisely be the waterline on the 1-7 axis. How grand!
Sophie Marceau
You can also read the Astrotheme astrological portrait of Sophie Marceau.
Below, you will find the horoscope of Sophie Marceau:
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Beyond the funny aspects shown in so many interviews, cultivated by himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme is a perfect example of the challenges set by the Mars-Saturn opposition. In his chart, we find again the planet of action in Cancer and in the 9th facing a powerful Saturn in domicile in the 3rd.
Furthermore, both planets form a wide square with the Ascendant, perhaps illustrating the blunders he may have committed in his communication, which took him away from his true personality.
Thus, for many people, he remains a sort of celebrity figure who gives his opinion on everything and nothing in a sometimes idiosyncratic French, using at the same time frankness and fantasy; as a result, people do not know where they stand.
Anyway, he says he is "aware" (a word he also utilizes when he speaks French). This is how he manifests the tension between these two planets which have few affinities, especially in the 3rd and 9th Houses axis.
At the beginning of his career, to achieve fame, Van Damme relied as much on Mars as on Saturn. Mars explains his attraction for martial arts, physical feats, and the desire to have an impressive muscular structure. Saturn prompted him to try classical dance and its iron discipline. “If you can survive a classical dance training, you can survive the training of any other sport”, he declared, seriously for once, afterwards.
Jean-Claude Van Damme
You can also read the Astrotheme astrological portrait of Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Below, you will find the horoscope of Jean-Claude Van Damme:
Brigitte Bardot
With this mythical and gorgeous actress, graceful like a Libra, and passionate like a Sagittarius (her Ascendant), we are dealing here with a Mars-Saturn opposition describing an issue caused by the strong desires connected with the 2nd and the 8th Houses as well as with the oh! so very different signs of Aquarius and of Leo.
Born in a good family that she found a bit boring, Brigitte Bardot jumped at the first opportunity the cinema offered, because she was convinced that celebrity and travels would give her everything she was dreaming of.
However, instead of the coveted freedom, she quickly felt that something was lacking inside her, for the professional events of this activity did not produce the fulfillment she was hoping for. Mars in Leo in the 8th, with his taste for risk, epitomizes this trap and its hazards. (Bardot even tried to commit suicide when she was young), while Saturn in Aquarius in the 2nd House allowed her to find her path through a more balanced, both original and austere lifestyle, corresponding to her real values.
It is most likely that Saturn in particular accounts for her withdrawal from public life and her need to grow old peacefully, in calmness and serenity, far from the media din of celebrities and of the cinema, surrounded by her beloved animals (the natal Moon in the 6th, in trine with the Midheaven and with the Sun).
Brigitte Bardot
You can also read the Astrotheme astrological portrait of Brigitte Bardot.
Below, you will find the horoscope of Brigitte Bardot:
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