Mars in the Houses
On this page, you’ll find interpretations of the placement of Mars in the twelve houses of the natal (birth) chart.
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Mars in the 1st House
Mars in the first house of your chart is a commanding position and is even more so if Mars is also conjunct the Ascendant. Your reactions to new situations are immediate and pressing. You are an active, energetic, dynamic, enterprising, and possibly even forceful or aggressive person at times (unless Mars is in strong aspect to Saturn or Neptune).
You often begin new endeavors with enthusiasm, although follow-through may not be present, depending on the rest of your chart. Some of you might be rash, inconsiderate, or overly assertive. People are often impressed with your energy and stamina! You need to be involved, take the lead, and act independently. You don’t enjoy following others or playing waiting games.
Fiercely independent, you are usually direct and straightforward–and this is wonderfully refreshing! Spontaneity is extremely important to you. Some of you might stir up trouble–whether consciously or not–when you’re bored. Your approach to life is physical and active, and your love of competition is notable.
Mars in the 2nd House
You are likely to be a hard worker, although you appreciate the process and might be slower than some as you focus on the method and tend to each step deliberately and carefully. You love to produce things of practical value. With making money and acquiring possessions, you are ambitious but you might be impatient or impulsive when it comes to spending. You can be quite possessive, both of material things and of people.
You like a physical challenge, and your physical abilities and energy make up a strong part of your sense of self-worth. Working independently is most appealing, or you value things most when you have achieved something on your own. The world of the five senses is most important to you on sensual and sexual levels. You have a hearty appetite with strong stamina. You defend your values fervently.
Sample from the KidZone report: “This child with Mars in the second house will be of the slow and steady variety. He/she will not like to be rushed. However, the attention span will be good and this child will plod through and produce good, solid results.
This child will be very interested in amassing as much as possible. When these children see something that they want, they will want it very much. And they will work hard to get it. He/she will probably be great at saving pocket money, and will then buy their goodies independently. This child may insist on having complete control over their spending power. They need to be taught early on to reject a sudden impulse to just go and get whatever it is that they want.
The “solid and steady” tag does not apply to acquiring assets. It should be suggested that this child think things through, and to decide whether they truly do want something. Any interference will be met with disdain, because he/she will have very set views. But because of the compulsive nature of Mars, these kids are quite likely to be careless with money. This impulsiveness to “own” can become a big problem. This child will have a very strong sense of ownership and anyone who challenges this will stir up a real anger. This is a lesson better learned while young.
These children may not be absolutely selfish, but they will want to share only on their own terms, not because they have to. If a brother or sister takes something without asking, this youngster will really blow up. And there will be real fireworks if someone damages something of theirs. He/she may be careless, but no one else can be! This will particularly apply to personal belongings. Help this child to learn to be less possessive. A possessive attitude can cause toys and belongings to bring more pain than pleasure, keeping him/her from fully enjoying them.”
Mars in the 3rd House
You speak your mind quite readily, sometimes shooting from the hip when it comes to expressing your ideas and opinions. You tend to know a lot about a variety of subjects, and like to share that knowledge with others (sometimes too forcefully!). When communicating, you are generally very direct and clear. You can easily get worked up about what others might think are trivial matters.
You love a good debate. Whether you know it or not, or no matter your intentions, you can be provocative in your communication style. You are likely gifted with manual dexterity, although you might easily become impatient with tasks. At your best, you are enthusiastic, animated, and lively in the way you express yourself, and this can inspire others. You will fervently defend your opinions and beliefs, as well as your family and childhood.
Sample from the Spirit Success report: You will have a lot to say on almost any subject, and can be really informative, or merely disruptive. You may take a difference of opinion as a personal affront because of your strong beliefs, but remember that someone else may have something important to contribute, so is worth listening to. No one is better than you at presenting your ideas. As long as you remain confident, rather than “cocky,” you’ll always find an audience to share your store of knowledge.
Mars in the 4th House
You are fiercely protective of your close friends and family. Anger may be deeply felt and possibly deeply buried, and it can be very hard for others to uncover your true motives. You might be passive-aggressive in your approach, which could lead to resentments if you are not careful or confident enough to take a more direct approach to getting what you want.
Family dynamics are lively and often intense. Regarding family members, you may frequently have arguments with them, about them, or on their behalf! You’re likely to possess much energy for domestic projects or activities. Your actions are often governed by your instincts, and you don’t appreciate being manipulated or forced into doing something that doesn’t come from your gut. You might attempt to rule the roost on the home front, or you often take on a leadership role at home and with family.
Sample from the Merlin Report: “It is not easy for you to show the world at large your angry or competitive side, but your family sees this side of you more often. Temper tantrums, tumultuous family relationships, or a great deal of competition between you and one or more of your relations is likely. You like to be the one in charge in your home and you put a lot of energy into making it the way you want it.”
Mars in the 5th House
You have a strong love of pleasure, and you tend to directly and perhaps impulsively pursue romance. Many of you are sports lovers, and anything with an element of risk appeals to you or entertains you. You put a lot of energy into the pursuit of entertainment, satisfaction, games, and pleasure.
Possibly a very active hobbyist, you want a passion project that excites you. You tend to be very playful and demonstrative, and you could really enjoy putting on a show. In truth, you can be very competitive. Your children, and especially a first child, may be especially active and boisterous.
Sample from the Spirit Success report: You are openly affectionate. Like an engaging puppy, you wheedle to get your way. If an old slipper is torn in the process, you know you’ll be forgiven. You shine in physical contact sports. Your many friends admire you, but relationships suffer because you change partners often. Discipline is a hard, but necessary task-master, if you are to grow beyond the child that is no longer charming, but becomes a foolish adult, clinging to childish ways.
Mars in the 6th House
You tend to work hard, sometimes to the point of exhaustion! You put a lot of energy into your work, and would do best working for yourself or for someone else but independently, as you can quickly become impatient if other members of a team are not working as fast as you. You are also easily upset with procrastination. You can be very skilled at organizing and re-organizing, sorting, classifying, and analyzing. You put a lot of energy into any job you do, and you can easily become riled up or defensive if someone criticizes or intrudes upon the work that you do.
Sample from the Spirit Success report: You are impatient to achieve success. You identify with any project personally, so always do your best. As a team member, you may become frustrated if things don’t go your way. In charge, you expect your workers to share your enthusiasm and put forth the same effort you expend, but will demand the lion’s share of credit. Add the respect of your followers to your laurels by sharing the rewards of your labor. A demanding employer may also be a generous friend.
Mars in the 7th House
With Mars in the seventh house of your natal chart, you need a partner who challenges you, and your close personal relationships can be especially passionate, active, or physical. You may be drawn to people who are more assertive or aggressive than you. Alternatively, you find/discover your own assertiveness through a special someone. There can be a marked impulsive tendency in your one-to-one relationships. Certainly, you need your connections to maintain a high level of passion and energy. You can be particularly good at mediating, counseling, troubleshooting, debate, politics, or working with the law.
Sample from our LoveStyles report: You have tremendous sexual energy–like the Energizer bunny, you keep going and going…! You need a partner who challenges you. In fact, someone who holds their own in an argument turns you on.
Your close personal relationships are a source of conflict in your life, and you tend to pick partners who bring out the most aggressive side of your nature. In order for your love life to be more peaceful and satisfying, you will need to cultivate the art of compromise. Avoid a tendency to jump into altercations with others without first making a genuine effort to understand their point of view.
Mars in the 8th House
With Mars in the eighth house, shades of the sign Scorpio can be found in your desire nature. You may not experience true passion until later in life, but when you do, it is magical and infectious. You have some fears of betrayal and loss that compromise your trust from time to time. You can be extremely hard-working on projects that interest you, and you make a fabulous researcher, investigator, or psychologist. Passion projects are vital–they can get you out of bed in the morning!
Your intuition is powerful, although it can take some time, experience, and psychological work to overcome a vague sense/feeling of guilt, fear, or doom. Your survival instinct is powerful. There is a tendency to bury things or to keep many of your troubles to yourself. Learning to express your anger more directly can improve your health and well-being.
Sample from our LoveStyles report: With your very strong desires, once you decide to possess something, you usually succeed in doing so. You may experience shortages of love and money to encourage you to be less possessive in these areas of your life. You have the ability to see through the false pretenses of others.
On the level of karma, you can make up for past lives of greed and abuse by sharing your resources with others in need. There may be some sexual trauma in your early life that you struggle with as an adult.
Mars in the 9th House
You enjoy a healthy sense of adventure and adore a rousing debate or the challenge of learning new things with your Mars in the ninth house. This position has a Sagittarian flavor. Watch for a tendency to become angry or hurt if others disagree with you, as it can be all too easy to take differences of opinion very personally. As well, in your enthusiasm to uncover truths, you may be a little too pushy.
You are sexually playful and energetic, and you may approach sex as a sport at times. Honest and sometimes downright blunt, others find your sense of humor and direct approach attractive. Your hearty laugh is appealing, and your zest for life is unmistakable. You can be mentally restless, and at times, physically too, as you seek new horizons to explore and experience.
Sample from our LoveStyles report: You are open-minded and love the challenge of a debate. Avoid a tendency to become self-righteous and to disregard the opinions of others in your enthusiasm to uncover truths. You are sexually playful and energetic. Sex is somewhat of a sport for you.
Honest and sometimes downright blunt, others find your sense of humor and direct approach attractive. Your hearty laugh is attractive to others, and your zest for life is unmistakable. You love a partner who makes you laugh, and one who has something interesting to say about life.
Mars in the 10th House
An urge to organize and to be practical can amount to a minor obsession with this position! Your career motivation is constant and relentless, and people in your life need to respect your independent drive and focus. You are task-oriented, and you are at your best and most effective when you are in control of your time. In your relationships, you may often take the lead when it comes to organizing activities.
With Mars in the tenth house, you can be quite driven, goal-oriented, and competitive. You thrive in careers in which you can pioneer, take the lead, or enjoy a certain amount of freedom or independence. You’re a self-starter! You also need to be active and dominant in your field or profession. More interested in pursuing your goals than gaining others’ approval, you can certainly create some waves in your life from time to time.
Sample from the KidZone report: “This child has Mars in the 10th House. These little ones will not need any coaxing. They are born wanting to succeed. And success should come to them easily and from quite a young age. They will know that in order to get to where they want to be, they will have to work hard, and they will do just that. These youngsters set goals early on. They will then push to reach those goals, or even push the boundaries further. This child will always want to get ahead in life. The father figure could be a problem for this child in some way.
This child will be more serious than most. Although there will be a strong need to be respected by peers, it is only those people that are considered important that will count. These youngsters will discriminate, and generally, they are not concerned with the opinions of others. Even while young, the eye will be on the future. The stakes of popularity will not matter to this little one. He/she will want to be recognized as being smart, not cute.
These kids can have quite the superior air about them. If this is not recognized and addressed, the child can go out into the workforce with that same attitude. An attitude of superiority can work against this child. He/she will need to learn to be more compromising, to accept that no man is an island.
The child has a need for appraisal and approval, but to achieve this, he/she must learn to be more human and less mechanical. Failing this, he/she should probably look for a career that is basically some type of self-employment. The other avenue is to seek work where there is a great deal of freedom. This position of Mars suggests several kinds of jobs, especially those that require a lot of physical energy or hard work. This would be advantageous in any field requiring independent and original work.
Mars here will give the child the courage to act quite independently, and to be a self-starter that can make decisions. The ambition that he/she feels will carry this child far. But they should learn to develop some “people” skills as well. It is then that their choices will be without limit.”
Mars in the 11th House
With Mars in the 11th house of your natal chart, you like to organize events and activities, and sometimes take the lead a little too often! However, for the most part, you’re an engaging, helpful friend who is ready to jump in and take action when need be, and this is a wonderful, rare quality.
Your mind needs to be engaged in order for you to be at your most passionate, and for this reason, you can seem a little detached or impersonal in close personal relationships. You’re not afraid to be different or to march to the beat of a different drummer. It’s likely that you enjoy working towards an important cause, and you can be quite a crusader!
You may be attracted to intense, passionate, or energetic people, and your friendships can be quite colorful and possibly strife-ridden at times.
Sample from the Spirit Success report: You will use your ability to work with people to achieve your personal goals. You may have only a few close friends, because you are too busy enlarging your circle to establish many permanent relationships. You weren’t born to be a team-player, but will find that support is necessary< to further your ambitions. Cooperation and coordination should be your key words for success and play a major part in your life-pattern of expansion.
Mars in the 12th House
With Mars in the twelfth house of the natal chart, you can struggle with asserting yourself in direct, natural ways in your youth, but with time and experience (and perhaps some hard work), you’re likely to learn to work with this energy rather than allow it to work against you. Watch for a tendency to feel defeated before you’ve given something a real shot. You are extraordinarily resourceful, and you can handle many things on your own or in uniquely creative ways.
Though you may have a great deal of energy and drive, you lack confidence or the desire to put yourself and your interests first. Positively you can be very unselfish, working more on behalf of others than for yourself. You deny your own desires and needs too much, however, and you are likely to secretly become very angry, which can sabotage your finest efforts.
There is a touch of the incurable romantic in your nature. Your daydreaming and fantasizing world is rich and precious to you. You also bring imagination into your sexual relationships, although you can take a bit of time to feel comfortable and to warm up to a new person in your life. Overcoming a vague and persistent feeling of guilt or doom can go a long way towards a healthier, happier approach to the pursuit of your desires.
Sample from the KidZone report: “This child has Mars in the 12th House, which is not an easy placement for Mars. The energy can be stifled in this house. These children may often be afraid to assert themselves. They can feel defeated before they start, convinced that making any efforts to be seen, or heard, would be futile. The child could express this by being tired all the time. This attitude may have resulted from being with people who have not encouraged him or her very much. Somehow the self-confidence needs to be built and the courage instilled to disregard anyone that tries to inflict negativity.
These children tend to work in secret and to act behind people’s backs. They should try to avoid this. Unfortunately, this child can possibly be blamed for things for which they are not responsible, so always check the facts. A total lack of self-confidence can make him/her so afraid of direct action that the natural course is to do everything indirectly. But deep down, this can be a very strong little person. He or she will just need to get over these hang-ups. Or the child will need to be fortunate enough that someone recognizes early to start building up that confidence. Many athletes and surgeons have this placement.
These children can work very well on their own, as they do not need supervision. They just do not need anyone to discourage them or to put them down. As they mature, these kids will come to believe in themselves naturally. The child with Mars in the twelfth House has a tendency to “think” about what they want to do, rather than just getting on and doing it. This can cause some frustration. These youngsters “know” but they are reluctant to push themselves, or their efforts, or their ideas. Again, this is a lack of confidence.
The sensitivities in this child can run deep through to the psychic nature of things. He/she is likely to have very vivid dreams. These youngsters will stand firm on principles, but may not openly express or explain where the ideas are coming from. He/she can find it easier to project an attitude or a mood to make a point rather than openly express the true feelings within.”
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Interpretations are written by Annie Heese, unless otherwise noted.
Don’t know the house position of your Mars? Find out how you can get your astrology chart positions free with our simple steps. Or, calculate your birth chart and receive a free report, including the position of your Mars by sign and house, as well as other planets here: Free Astrology Reports.