Mars is dignified by domicile in Aries until 14 February where he has been sojourning since the beginning of the year. For most of this time Mars has been squared by Saturn, but he is finally past this which enables us to make practical and helpful use of his power for our own benefit. It is a good time to do all those martial things you’ve been putting off like crushing your enemies, seeing them driven before you and hearing the lamentation of their women.
Of course, if you are not a Cimmerian barbarian, or you are simply short of worthy enemies to vanquish, you may want to use the time to create a Mars talisman for strength, courage, protection and general Martian goodness.
Seek from Mars what is consistent with his nature, such as petitions against soldiers, officials, fighters, and those who busy themselves with warlike acts; and on behalf of friends of kings, and those who destroy homes and citizens, and do evil to humanity, killers, executioners, those who work with fire or in places such as stables, litigators, shehperds, thieves, companions on the road, liars, traitors, and the like. Similar, ask him concerning infirmities of the body from the groin downwards, and also for phlebotomy, accumulation of gas, and the like. – Picatrix II.7, transl .John Michael Greer & Christopher Warnock
Generally Mars can be petitioned to either ensure success when you engage in warlike acts or to defend yourself against the aggression of others. It can also be used, according to the Picatrix, to stop blood flow from a part of the body, but in that case, it is probably better to visit a hospital than it is to wait for a suitable election.
Mars is known as the lesser malefic, and even when he is well behaved in his sign, his influence does not sit well with everyone. It is well worth checking if Mars is afflicted in your nativity and consider whether you have a good handle on your own aggressive impulses. If you are naturally choleric and fly of the handle easily – or if you have serious anger issues stemming from watching your whole village being slaughtered before your eyes by snake cultists when you were a child – you may well want to practice some caution if you start carrying around a Mars talisman.
William Lilly says of a native with Mars debilitated in his horoscope: “he is Pratler without modesty or honesty, a lover of Slaughter and Quarrels, Murder, Theevery, a promoter of Sedition, Frayes and Commotions; and Highway-Theef, as wavering as the Wind, a Traytor, of turbulent Spirit, Perjurer, Obscene, Rash, Inhumane, neither fearing God or caring for man, Unthankful, Trecherous, Oppressors, Ravenous, Cheater, Furious, Violent.” While that may represent a worst case scenario, none of these are qualities that you should want magnified.
If you find yourself subject to bouts of sudden anger or a desire to become a highway thief soon after working with Mars, you may wish to take some cooling baths containing some herbs associated with Venus as She is the natural remedy of afflictions arising from Mars.
Examples of Talismans
Agrippa in his 3 Books of Occult Philosophy (Book 2, Chapter 22) describes a particular form of Mars talisman that involves scribing an iron plate with the magical square associated with Mars as well as its divine names, Angel and Inteligence:
“The third table belongs to Mars, which is made of a square of four containing twenty five numbers, and of these in every side and Diameter five, which make sixty five, and the sum of all is 325. And there are over it Divine names with an Intelligence to good, with a spirit to bad, and out of it is drawn the Character of Mars, and of his spirits. These with Mars being fortunate, being engraven on an Iron plate, or sword, makes a man potent in war, and judgements, and petitions, and terrible to his enemies, and victorious against them..”
The second book of the Picatrix gives us a Mars election which, although not en exact match, is potentially suited for the election we provide below:
“In the hour of Mars, mars rising in the first face of Scorpio, make an image for strengthening timidity and humbling the anger of a king and to turn aside robbers, wolves, wild beasts and all evil doers.” Picatrix II.7
The image is left up to us, but the images described in the Picatrix for Mars generally involve a man bearing a sword in his right hand and a severed head in his left, either standing or riding a lion. For materials, the Picatrix suggests iron or red copper or carnelian.
The election
The election is set for London, UK. The date is 30 January 2019 and the time is 16:36.
Mars is dignified by domicile and term and is culminating. The Moon is dignified by face and makes an applying trine to Mars as well as conjunctions to both benefics. Mars hour starts at 15:55 and ends at 1640, so there is not much time for messing around. Preliminary invocations can start at the beginning of the planetary hour, then work hard, work fast and get the job done.