Mars and Venus in a Planetary War

We have Mars and Venus traveling together, side by side, for the next three months – but they’re not exactly the best travel companions – and that’s going to make the journey a little bumpy along the way, not only for them, but for us too.

When two planets are conjoined within one degree of each other for a long time, this is called a Graha Yuddha (planetary war) – this is when the two planets are invading each other’s space and fighting against each other.

The conjoining itself is not unusual, planets come together within one degree of each other all the time, it happens regularly, Mars and Venus were together last at one degree of each other in July 2021. It’s the long conjunction and the planetary war between fiery Mars and peaceful Venus which is rare.

Why are Mars and Venus together at this time?

It is a rare occurrence for Mars to be in line with or overtake Venus, because Venus usually travels faster. Venus just came out of retrograde and as a result is moving slower (about half its usual speed and at a similar rate to the speed of Mars).

This gives slower moving Mars a chance to hustle and overtake on February 16th, after which Venus overtakes on March 6th, with both remaining 1 degree of each other until 12th March.

So, for the next few months, they will be traveling on top of each other at pretty much the same degree.

They’ll be traveling in Sagittarius / Purva Ashadha nakshatra until around February 27th when they exactly conjoin in Capricorn in Uttara Ashadha nakshatra and continue their journey together until around 27th April.

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What does this mean for us?

Mars and Venus are opposing – Mars rules male energy and Venus rules female energy, Mars is the planet of war and Venus the planet of peace and balance – they couldn’t be any more different if they tried.

On 11th February both the planets start in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is about finding the truth, abiding by the law and the need for justice – with all that is happening in the world, people will be seeking the truth, seeking justice and there will be a need for the truth to be known.

On February 26th Mars moves to Capricorn and Venus does also the next day on the 27th. Mars will be exalted here in Capricorn until April 7th. This means we might experience an indestructible energy, we’ll be efficient and responsive, but we could creep into a militant and over-bearing mode, so keep a check on that.

We may feel more impatient with others especially if they do things their own way and not yours. You may also sense some frustration or have confrontational interactions with others, so be aware.

What can you do?

Here are rituals you can do during this time period to leverage off the energies this planetary war brings.

Agni is connected to both Mars and Venus so chant the mantra ‘Om Agnaye Namah’ 108 times to honor Lord Agni.
This planetary war between Mars and Venus signifies burning, so sacrifice your favorite food even just for a few days as a form of tapasya (penance) to honor this energy. The word Tapas means warmth, heat, fire and is based on the root Tap meaning “to heat, to give out warmth, to shine, to burn”. The term evolves to also mean “to undergo penance” in order to “burn away past karma” and to liberate oneself.
When this conjunction happens in Sagittarius you can chant the mantra for Sagittarius – “Aum Ghrini Amshuman Aditya” 108 times and when it happens in Capricorn you can chant the mantra for Capricorn – “Aum Ghrini Bhaga Aditya” 108 times.
The combined energies of Mars and Venus can bring about a lot of passion – but not necessarily positive passion – it could instigate passion for things that are not conducive for you. Instead, direct this passionate energy by combining the creative (Venus) with the energetic (Mars) and listen to music, do some physical exercise, get out and about and move, dance even. Do something extremely creative according to your usual standards. Go beyond your norm of creativity and throw yourself into it fully.