Amidst the levity of Gemini season, the focus shifts back to Taurus as Mars, newly ingressed to the fixed earth sign, forms a square to Pluto, which is currently retrograde in Aquarius (6/11 at 9:21 am ET, 1º).
Mars represents our outward drive and actions; Pluto represents, among other things, our unconscious motivators — that which is deeply buried within us.
Squares are aspects of friction: a tension between two energies that can be combative. One of the most basic keywords for a Mars/Pluto square is that this is an aspect of war.
In fact, the last time these two planets formed a square was on October 8, 2023 — with Mars in late Libra and Pluto in late Capricorn. A literal war started.
It’s not always so literal: “war” can come in the form of self-sabotage. Mars square Pluto can help us see where — and why — we are fighting ourselves.
If we work with it consciously, it can be an aspect under which we heal our self-sabotage.
First, we need to understand it.
What Precipitates “War”?
The impulse to label Mars square Pluto as an aspect of war strikes only the surface level.
What’s beneath that? Why do wars even occur?
We often speak about “ending war” like war is a disease or illness. This is par for the course in how our culture seeks to solve effects rather than causes.
War isn’t the disease, it’s the symptom. It’s the effect of some other cause.
Mars is the Warrior planet, named after the Roman god of war. Pluto represents our deepest existential fears.
War it the effect of these types of fears.
A fear that some other entity will take what you have or desire.
Alternatively, it’s a fear that you won’t have what you desire because it was already taken from you wrongly by another entity and you must get it back.
That fear, unexpressed, turns into anger, which, left unexpressed, boils over into rage, which eventually erupts in acts of war.
This can happen between countries on the scale of “global war,” but it’s not restricted to actual war fought with guns and bombs.,
It can happen on the individual level as big arguments that erupt between two people in a relationship, when the suppressed fears and anger finally boil to the surface and erupt.
“War” in any form, when seen through this lens, is an act of survival.
Mars Square Pluto: A Signature of Resistance
On the individual, or personal level, we can see Mars square Pluto as a signature of Resistance.
In this context I’m using Resistance not in the political meaning, but in the creative meaning.
Resistance is the force at play when you say:
I know what I should be doing, but I’m not doing it.
Stephen Pressfield is [credited with defining this concept of Resistance](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistance_(creativity) in The War of Art, his book about the creative process. He defined Resistance a universal force that keeps us from our creative work by any means necessary. It shows up as the inner critic, procrastination, rationalization, distraction, and so on.
In his approach, the Resistance is the enemy, and the best way to deal with it is to fight it.
As Critics of Pressfield have noted, fighting the Resistance generally seems to strengthen the resistance, and therefore isn’t the best approach.
A Different View of Resistance
My coaching mentor Joanna Lindenbaum takes a more nuanced view. She defines Resistance as a way of being that arises in order to protect us from a core fear or limiting belief — and that fear or belief is really what’s in our way.
When we know what the fear is, we can work with the fear directly.
But when the fear is so deeply buried, or it would not feel safe to the nervous system to to address it head-on, Resistance arises.
In this view, Resistance is not an enemy, but a protector of the fear or belief that is really in the way.
I like to imagine the fear or belief as a core nugget, with a layer (or more) of padding around it. The thing that is keeping us stuck is the core nugget inside the package.
When Resistance Gets Sneaky: Diverting Attention
In its most simple configuration, unraveling self-sabotage involves first creating awareness around the ways Resistance shows up. Once we’ve identified the “package” we can unwrap it— loosening the Resistance enough to see the fears. Then we can work with the fears directly.
Resistance, however, is rarely so simple. In my personal experience and in my work with clients, I’ve noticed that our fears, and the Resistance that arises to protect them, can be very clever and manipulative.
Often what happens is that Resistance arises in one area not to protect us from a fear in that area, but to protect us from a fear related to something completely different.
This is where most advice regarding working with “procrastination” or other forms of Resistance falls flat. You can spend a lot of effort unwrapping the wrong package.
For example, if you’re procrastinating on Project A, you might assume that you are harboring a fear related to that project. You’ll spend time an effort to unravel the fears around Project A, only to continue to be stuck in the same patterns because you don’t realize that the real fear relates to Project B.
How to Identify the Right Resistance “Package”
If you’ve been swimming in the waters of personal development for any amount of time, you likely know that if you’re feeling stuck or prone to self sabotage that there’s fear lurking.
You’ve probably identified “surface” fears like “fear of failure” or “fear of success” or “fear of being too much.” To be clear, these fears can also stop us in our tracks, and it’s important to work with them. But they are the “default” fears. These are fears we usually can look at directly.
This is where the Mars/Pluto square comes in.
Pluto represents our deepest, most existential fears:
- what if I never find my purpose?
- what if I don’t find the thing that fulfills me?
- what if I die before I share my best work?
- will I find love?
- will I die alone?
These are the kind of fears we don’t want to look at. These are the kind of fears that get protected by Resistance, that send us off into rabbit trails of distraction and unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Mars represents our will and determination, our drive to action. It’s the part of us that is determined to get around the obstacle. Our inner Mars might be quick to attack, to fight the Resistance. In a less combative state, but still with its impulsiveness, our inner Mars might be quick to target the “obvious” Resistance the fears it protects, like procrastinating on Project A.
In a square with Pluto, an impulsive Mars might end up fighting the wrong war or unpacking the wrong “Resistance package” to get to the fear that really isn’t the fear at issue.
Use Mars Square Pluto to Unpack the Right Package
Mars in Taurus is not an impulsive Mars. Nor is it very combative. In many ways, having Mars in the sign of its “detriment” works well for us in this square to Pluto.
This Mars is slow and plodding. It takes its time. When Mars in Taurus gets triggered, it grounds its nervous system with a walk in the park and some breathwork. It does yoga.
That gives us the opening we need to take a different approach.
Instead of rushing to work with the Resistance, we can take time to sit in the friction of it. Mars in Taurus encourages us to first explore whether what’s arising is really related to something other than the context in which its arising.
When you notice Resistance arise, use the Mars in Taurus energy to hold your ground until you assure that you’re unpacking the correct Resistance package.
That can lead you to find the core nuggets that offer the key to ending self-sabotage.
Need support through this process? I help high-achieving women unpack their Resistance so they can live their true purpose in the world. Contact me to learn how I can help you.
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