Martin Gansten wrote:Perhaps the problem lies in the assumption that the sign placement/essential dignity of Mars should affect the likelihood of someone becoming a boxer.
I agree with Martin's pushback here. I think what's very easy to do is to sit back and think, "ah, this person is a boxer. boxing is a form of fighting, which is a Mars thing.. I should look at this person's Mars. oh! look at that -- it's in debility. that's odd!" there's a tendency to jump straight to the planet that would more or less naturally signify the behavior we're observing, and assume that planet's natal placement is "responsible" for a native's behavior. so we look to Mars for people's relationship to sport and fighting, Venus perhaps to love and attraction, etc.
trouble is, that method of interrogation isn't very productive and will only get you so far. to a certain extent, yes, we are all typified by all our natal placements, and a person's Mars placement will certainly give us insight into how they tap into (and/or out of) Martial energy.
but historically, that wasn't how you'd approach a chart. Mars takes, on average, 2 months to move through a sign. we wouldn't expect everyone born with that Mars -- even a Mars in the same degree, if we wanted to get down to it -- to demonstrate their Mars the same way. in fact, when looking at Ali's nativity, Mars has more to say about 4th & 9th house affairs in his life than it does about Ali himself, even though -- in our own way -- we become walking, breathing talismans for all parts of what makes us up.
when looking at a nativity, this is how you might approach it:
- take a look at the rising sign. what does that say about this personal physical constitution, their behavior and attitudes, values and goals?
- how about the ruler of that rising sign. what planet is it? what kind of energy does that planet emit? what sign is that planet in, and in what house? what phase do we find it in, what aspects does it make/receive? how does that modify expression?
- what planets are angular, thereby contributing more of their influence in a native's life than planets that are cadent?
- what is the relationship that the luminaries have to each other? what signs are they in, and how do they relate to their dispositors?
- how are the Moon and Mercury positioned -- sign, house, aspect -- and what does that say about the development of the animal and rational minds?
- and how about temperament -- is this person leaning choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic, sanguine?
if we take Ali's chart, for example (not replicated in this post, but available to view here:
http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Ali,_Muhammad), there's a lot more contributing to his career as a boxer -- and a prominent one at that -- than his Mars placement.
Ali has Leo rising, a bestial fiery sign that is known for operating a sole unit. there's heat to this sign rising, and amongst other things, a stubbornness and a tendency to attack and prowl.
the Sun is in Capricorn. might not strike you immediately as a sign that would contribute to boxing, but Capricorn is a particularly violent sign. it's the domicile of Saturn, the most elevated planet in the chart, and the exaltation of Mars. what's more, the Sun is in the terms of Mars, which contributes to the type of mentality we're dealing with here. the Sun is separating from a trine to Saturn (TKO, anyone?), applying to a square to a peregrine, debilitated Mars. when that square perfects, the Sun will be in Aquarius, so we have two hot, choleric planets (Sun & Mars) in debility, in square. looks to me like someone who will find a natural outlet in aggressive sports.
we have two focally angular planets: Saturn, retrograde in Taurus, and Venus separating from his received square in Aquarius. notice Venus rules the 10th house, and Saturn rules the 6th and 7th. there's a mixture of energy here where these two planets, recently in aspect, are separating but separating whilst retrograde. Venus tends to soften, especially when setting in the west, but here she contributes to delays and false starts. this double retrogradation between her and Saturn speaks volumes, I think, about the battling of others for sport, and the volatile ups-and-downs Ali experienced in his life. Venus is also in the terms of Mars.
ascendant: Leo [+1 hot, +1 dry]
ruling planet: Sun [+1 hot, +1 dry]
planet in ascendant: none
planet aspecting ascendant: Saturn [+1 cold, +1 dry], Venus [+1 warm, +1 wet]
lunar phase: 1st quarter [+1 hot, +1 wet]
lunar sign: Aquarius [+1 hot, +1 wet]
season: winter [+1 cold, +1 wet]
depends on how you choose to calculate temperament, of course, but using some basic approaches as outlined above, we have +5 hot, +2 cold, +3 dry, +3 wet. essentially what we're left with here is an abundance of heat. it takes both heat and dryness together to create the choleric temperament, but surely heat alone can contribute to the life path that you've assessed is more Mars' responsibility.
we could go on and look layer after layer in this nativity to evaluate exactly what part of this nativity gave Ali a proclivity toward boxing and every holon the idea of boxing belongs to, but it probably isn't that helpful. the point is, it's never as simple as saying, "but these boxers' Mars placements are debilitated."
