Mars in Aquarius: Saturn's second sign, neutral by nature, bleak in Saravali

Mars in Aquarius puts Mars in the fixed air sign of Saturn, the sign right after its exaltation. Aquarius holds no special dignity for Mars, and its lord, Saturn, is neutral to Mars in the classical tables, so by nature the sign sits mid-scale. As with the other neutral signs, the engine decides the label in a real chart by asking where Saturn is.

The step from Capricorn to Aquarius is one of the sharpest in Saravali's chapter: from one of its best lines for Mars to one of its worst, between two signs with the same lord. That alone is a good reason to read the dignity and the character line as separate things.

This page covers only the combination. For Mars as a graha - its significations, aspects, strength and dashas - see Mars in Vedic astrology. For the sign itself - its element, its nakshatras and what a rising Aquarius means - see Aquarius, Kumbha Rashi. This page is a map of rules, not a forecast about anyone.

Mars in Aquarius: dignity, and how this app decides it

BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 49-50 sets Mars's exaltation in Capricorn, the sign before, and its debilitation in Cancer; Sl. 51-54 gives its Moolatrikona as Aries 0-12, and its own signs are Aries and Scorpio. The same sloka gives Saturn its Moolatrikona in Aquarius, but that band is Saturn's and has no bearing on Mars. See Mars in Capricorn and Mars in Cancer for Mars's extremes.

Bhrigu Sutras' Mars chapter lists Venus and Saturn as neutral to Mars, and this app's table agrees, so with no chart the engine marks every degree of Aquarius Neutral - one eighth of the good effects on BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 59-60's scale. See dignity for the scale.

How the engine decides

The function that labels every planet in your chart, dignityOf, runs its tests in a fixed order: exaltation first, then Moolatrikona, then debilitation, then own sign, and only then the relation between the planet and the sign's lord. Aquarius is not Mars's exaltation, Moolatrikona, debilitation or own sign, so every degree of it falls through to the last test: the relation between Mars and Saturn, the lord of Aquarius. Saturn is neutral to Mars by nature, so with no chart every degree of Aquarius reads Neutral, and Saturn's own bands inside the sign play no part.

Why the label can differ from chart to chart

The table above is the natural relation alone, which is what the engine uses when it has no chart. In a real chart it uses the fivefold relation of BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 57-58: the natural relation (naisargika maitri) combined with a temporary one (tatkalika maitri). BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 56 makes two grahas temporary friends when one sits in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th or 12th sign from the other, and temporary enemies otherwise. So the question for Mars in Aquarius is simply where Saturn sits, counted from Aquarius.

Neutral by nature plus friend by position gives Friend; neutral plus enemy gives Enemy. So in a real chart Mars in Aquarius is never shown as Neutral: it reads Friendly sign when Saturn is in Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Scorpio, Sagittarius or Capricorn (the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th or 12th from Aquarius), and Enemy sign when Saturn is in Aquarius itself or in Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo or Libra.

The nakshatras Mars moves through in Aquarius

Aquarius holds the last two padas of Dhanishta, all four of Shatabhisha and the first three of Purva Bhadrapada. The label is the same in each. The nakshatra pages go further: Dhanishta, Shatabhisha and Purva Bhadrapada.

What the classical texts say about Mars in Aquarius

Saravali Ch. 25 Sl. 21-22

Saravali's line for Mars in Aquarius is bleak. In paraphrase: lacking affection and purity, spiteful, jealous and untruthful, harsh in speech, losing wealth (including through gambling), with an unhappy occupation and a fondness for drink, and generally unfortunate. It adds clauses about appearance and the manner of death that are not repeated here. All of it is the text's statement, not this app's reading of anyone.

The contrast with the previous sign is the sharpest in the chapter. Sl. 19-20 gives Mars in Capricorn wealth, fame, a good spouse and virtue; the lord is the same, Saturn, yet Sl. 21-22 reverses nearly every point. The difference in dignity - exalted against neutral - is real, but the text does not give it as the reason. The next sign, Sl. 23-24, is little kinder; see Mars in Pisces.

Saravali Ch. 25 Sl. 61-66: the aspect lines

Saravali reads Mars in either Saturn sign under each aspect, so Aquarius shares these lines with Capricorn. In brief:

• Sun: courage, sharpness, a large family and abundant wealth.
• Moon: wealth and generosity, with a fickle mind and unsteady friendships.
• Mercury: little wealth, strength or occupation, in the text's words.
• Jupiter: good looks, a regal manner, success, long life and many relatives.
• Venus: many pleasures and a combative streak.
• Saturn: a ruler's standing, wealth, children and learning, with little happiness.

For Aquarius these lines do most of the qualifying the text allows: a Sun, Jupiter or Saturn aspect reads very differently from the bare sign line. Saturn, the lord, can aspect Aquarius from Leo, Sagittarius or Taurus. From Leo (the 7th) it is a temporary enemy and the label becomes Enemy sign; from Sagittarius or Taurus (the 11th and 4th) it is a temporary friend and the label becomes Friendly sign.

BPHS and Bhrigu Sutras

BPHS has no character line for Mars in Aquarius. Its rules make the label, and its ratio (Ch. 3 Sl. 59-60) gives a quarter of the good effects in a friend's sign, an eighth in an equal's and nil in an enemy's.

Bhrigu Sutras' Mars chapter, searched for a case of Mars in Aquarius in its house-by-house commentary, gives none; its examples concern Mars in its own signs, its exaltation, its debilitation, and Taurus and Sagittarius. So this page adds no Bhrigu Sutras reading for the placement.

Where the texts agree, and where they part

• Agreed: Aquarius is not a special dignity for Mars, and Saturn is neutral to Mars by nature.
• Apart: Saravali's Capricorn and Aquarius lines, for two signs of the same lord, are nearly opposite.
• Silent: BPHS has no sign-by-sign character line for Mars, and Bhrigu Sutras gives no Aquarius case.

How Aquarius changes the houses Mars rules and sits in

The Lagna decides which house Aquarius is and which two houses Mars rules. Whole-sign houses make the mapping exact:

For a Scorpio Lagna, as in the example below, Mars is the Lagna lord sitting in the 4th, a Kendra. For an Aquarius Lagna, Mars sits in the 1st as lord of the 3rd and 10th. For a Sagittarius Lagna, Mars sits in the 3rd as lord of the 5th and 12th. The house pages, such as Mars in the 4th house and Mars in the 3rd house, go further.

Worked example: 1 January 1985, 06:00 IST, New Delhi

An illustrative birth, not a real person, computed in this app's engine. Scorpio rises at 28.81 degrees. Mars is at 11.51 degrees of Aquarius, in Shatabhisha pada 2, in the 4th house, neither retrograde nor combust. The engine labels it a Friendly sign.

Dignity. Saturn, the lord of Aquarius, is at 1.09 degrees of Scorpio. Counted from Aquarius, Scorpio is the 10th sign, a temporary-friend position under BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 56. Neutral by nature plus friend by position gives Friend under Sl. 57-58, shown as Friendly sign.

Lordship. For a Scorpio Lagna, Mars rules the 1st (Scorpio) and the 6th (Aries) and sits in the 4th, a Kendra. Ruchaka does not form: BPHS ties it to Mars in its own or exaltation sign.

Company. Venus shares Aquarius with Mars, at 2.74 degrees. Saravali's Sl. 61-66 lines are for aspects, so the Venus line does not apply to a Venus in the same sign.

Aspects. Using this engine's aspect rule, none of the seven grahas reaches the 4th here: Mercury and Saturn in the 1st aspect the 7th (Saturn also the 3rd and 10th); the Sun and Jupiter in the 2nd aspect the 8th (Jupiter also the 6th and 10th); the Moon in the 6th aspects the 12th. Saturn would need to be in Leo, Sagittarius or Taurus to aspect Aquarius. So only the bare sign line of Sl. 21-22 applies to this chart.

How often Mars is in Aquarius

Across 3,000 sampled birth moments 1985-2060, Mars was in Aquarius in 204 of them, 6.8 per cent. That is a property of the sky in the sample, not a count of people. The share differs from sign to sign because Mars moves unevenly - a retrograde loop can hold it in one sign for months - and the sample years decide where those loops fall.

Checking Mars in Aquarius in your own chart

1. 1.Cast your chart with the Birth Chart calculator. Confirm Mars is in Aquarius and read the dignity label in its row.
2. 2.Note where Saturn sits, counted from Aquarius. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th or 12th sign gives Friendly sign; any other gives Enemy sign.
3. 3.Note the houses Aries and Scorpio occupy: what Mars rules from your Lagna.
4. 4.List any planet in Leo (the 7th from Aquarius), Jupiter in Libra or Gemini, and Saturn in Sagittarius or Taurus (or Leo). Only those bring a Saravali Ch. 25 Sl. 61-66 line into play.
5. 5.Look at strength with the Shad Bala calculator, and timing with the Vimshottari Dasha calculator and the Mars Mahadasha page.

Is Mars weak in Aquarius?

Not by the dignity rules. It is not debilitated (Cancer). By nature Aquarius is an equal's sign, one eighth of the good effects in BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 59-60; in a real chart this app shows it as Friendly or Enemy depending on Saturn.

Why does my chart show Mars in Aquarius as Friendly sign?

Because Saturn sits in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th or 12th from Aquarius, a temporary-friend position, and neutral plus friend gives Friend (BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 57-58).

Why is Saravali so harsh about Mars in Aquarius?

It does not say. Ch. 25 Sl. 21-22 is one of the bleakest lines in the chapter; Sl. 61-66 then reads a Sun, Jupiter or Saturn aspect favourably.

Does Saturn's Moolatrikona in Aquarius affect Mars?

No. That band belongs to Saturn. Mars's label depends only on its relation with Saturn.

How common is Mars in Aquarius?

In this app's sample Mars was in Aquarius in 204 of 3,000 sampled birth moments 1985-2060, 6.8 per cent.