Moon Square Mars: Feelings as Ammunition

With the Moon in hard aspect to Mars, finding healthy ways of expressing one’s emotional tapestry is critical. 

Moon square Mars can show someone very much in touch with their emotional sensitivities, but very much demanding that others be in touch with them as well. This can serve as a beautiful springboard to understanding oneself and others. On the other hand, this can cause interpersonal problems as well.

The Moon in the birth chart represents your emotional nature, as well as your natural emotional responses to external or internal stimuli - that is, how you process your feelings, how you think about your feelings, and how you share (or don’t share) those feelings with others. 

Mars, on the other hand, represents physical and energetic movement. Directed energy. Passion, Aggression. Mars wants to get things done, without understanding the feeling or sensitivity around the action in question. 

When the Moon squares Mars, one’s emotions can become misconstrued or misrepresented in a practical sense. Think emotional manipulation and outbursts stemming from hurt feelings, or a desire to remain overly passive in situations that require directness or more swift action. This placement is representative of behavior that can seem shocking, both to the person showing the behavior and those on the receiving end. 

Impulsivity and emotional turbulence are common with this placement. Emotions exist at the forefront of behaviors; it can be easy to overstep boundaries, act on impulse then regret what was said or done later, or move forward in a situation without fully understanding the emotional context involved. 

People with this placement may have had frustrating episodes during childhood where they felt that their needs were not being met. This could have been a physical need (Mars) or an emotional need (Moon); when the Moon harshly aspects Mars, typically this can indicate potential issues with lack of care, or perceived lack of care, from the mother (Moon).  

Depending on the planetary placements of Mars and the Moon, the square can also indicate intense difficulties with self-criticism. Again, a healthy outlet for this emotional tension is critical.

This placement can indicate someone very much in touch with their emotional presentation. Actors, musicians and entertainers can rely on the strength of this square to channel their emotionally impulsive energy into more constructive outlets. The body (Mars) is driven by emotional undercurrents (Moon), which can create beautiful expressions of feeling if used positively. This is the person who has learned how to cry on command, tell a gut-busting joke out of thin air just to break the ice, or play the most deliciously improvised riff on the guitar during a powerful solo performance. 

It’s important to understand the unconscious levels of emotional reactivity present with this placement. Understand that your impulses are there to guide you to more emotional clarity, without feeling the need to simply react to them. This is true even in moments of high emotional sensitivity. 

Themes to focus on

Emotional fearlessness, interpersonal connection, humor, sharing your authentic sensitivity

Areas for growth

Avoiding impulsivity, situational awareness, harsh self-criticism