Agreement with Daimons of Creativity, The Hero’s Quest, Mediumship Through Movement, Transformation by Exploration, Paladins of Philosophy, and Walking Through Fire

Preface

Before reading on, I just want to clarify that I am not a professional spiritualist or astrologer. I am an artist. If you asked me to explain magic in my own way, you would get an explanation in some sort of abstract art form. However, just like art, magic has become another expression of self. It is my genuine nature to look at things, dissect them, and form lyrical opinions that resemble art projects. This is not an act of rebellion to religion, astrology, any magical practice, or even to the occult. The magic that I’ve cultivated may not be as impressive as the magic within your favorite grimoire, but my spiritual work and accrued ideologies have come from a place of expression and experience, not tradition.

I’m also not a licensed professional. Do not use any blog you read about astrology and spirituality (like this one) as means to heal your body and mind. Astrology isn’t meant to replace therapy or medicine. Although it can act as a reprieve for some people, it should not be the only practice you engage with to heal yourself. I will always encourage you to research on your own, and as always, please seek a licensed professional before making any changes that involve mental health and your body.

For more information, please see my Terms & Conditions page.

Lastly, always be careful when handling fire.

Natal Mars

Recently, I have been trying to come to terms with my Mars placement, which is Mars in 8th House Sagittarius. The significations of this placement has always eluded me. The 8th house isn’t truly understood. We know that Sex, Death, Rebirth, Transformation, Inheritance, Therapy, Loss, Joint Resources, Collaborations, Taboo, Power, Secrets, Mysteries, Waste, The Occult and the occulted are all characteristics of this house. I’ve jokingly said that the 8th house is the Prog Rock Album of Life. Before I wrote this post, I created an altar for Mars, adorned it with everything that represented Mars for me, and meditated by this altar for months. I carefully dotted some Sphere + Sundry / Black Alchemy Phoenix Lab’s Fame and Glory materia on my wrists and neck, and I asked Mars to guide me to what I need to know about working with my Mars placement.

Let’s break it down, so we can get a better understanding of it all when we connect it together.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter and co-ruled by Neptune. Jupiter, the Greater Benefic, is the planet of growth, abundance, spirituality, teachers, guides, and wealth. Neptune is the planet of dreams, escapism, fantasy, illusion, and deceit. Sagittarius rules the hips and thighs. It is a mutable fire sign, meaning it exchanges energy in inspired and enthusiastic ways. It is changeable, malleable, and adaptable. Sagittarius is the sign of freedom, philosophy, spirituality, learning, wisdom, inspiration, and opportunity. It has its domain in the 9th house, the House of Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality, Law, Foreign Lands, and Higher Education. Sagittarius is depicted as a centaur, which is a mystical creature from Greek Mythology, who has the upper body of a man, and the back legs of a horse. Chiron, who has an asteroid named after him, was said to also be part of the centaur race. Chiron was lauded as the wisest teacher among the centaurs. He represents the bleeding wound within us that we eventually learn to understand, and then help others heal from that same wound. So, where Chiron is the Wise Teacher of the Centaurs, Sagittarius is the Wandering Quester of the Centaurs. In the tarot, fire is represented by the suit of wands, which hold similar meanings and keywords to the fire signs in the zodiac. Fire is said to hold intuitive and divine powers, and Jim Morrison, who was also a Sagittarius, once said that Sagittarius is the “the most Philosophical of all the signs.”

Mars

Mars, the Lesser Malefic in astrology, is the planet of energy, drive, passion, sex, desire, war, power, and assertiveness. It exalts in Capricorn, has its detriment in Libra and Taurus, and its fall in Cancer. Mars scratches, stabs, cuts, burns, and separates. It rules over blood and iron, and its day is Tuesday (Thor’s Day). Since Mars rules over Aries and Scorpio, Mars’ domain is the 1st house, the House of Body and Self, and also the 8th house, the House of Things That Are Occulted. Mars is said to cause accidents, bestow courage, and bring a quickening to life’s natural rhythm. Mars is the warrior or soldier who defends the King, who is represented by the Sun in astrology.

Mars wearing Jupiter’s Robes + The Hero’s Quest

With this placement, we have the planet of fire in a sign that is ruled by fire. Sagittarius is a friendly sign for Mars, as it is familiar with the fire. Even though Mars can represent baleful energy, in the sign of the centaur, he becomes philosophical. His perspectives and actions come from profound reflection through the wisdom of experiencing life. Sagittarius is forever on the Hero’s Quest, and always searching for their own personal truth and wisdom from their strange and special adventure.

Sagittarius is the Wayfaring Journeyman, and Mars is the Warrior. If we mesh these two together, a concept Sagittarius is acquainted with, we have the Champion of the Hero’s Quest. Mars becomes the courageous and unrelenting warrior who fights with wisdom, power, and courage. For the video game nerds out there: yes, I am referencing The Triforce from The Legend of Zelda. Link, the protagonist from The Legend of Zelda, is the ultimate Mars in Eighth House Sagittarius Archetype. Although every game has different iterations of Link and their backstory, Link is the Hero who saves Princess Zelda. Princess Zelda is from a family of royals (Mars protecting the Sun). Link uses magic swords, bows, arrows, and bombs- all ruled by Mars. In Ocarina of Time, he uses Deku Sticks (King of Wands, anyone?). His quests are filled with puzzles to solve, combat, exploring lands, and defending different realms- both spiritual and physical. Each quest has an element of preserving some sort of arcane and sacred knowledge, while destroying monsters and ghosts. Link is also sometimes caught between saving various worlds from destruction. Other times, he is simply caught in between two worlds, where one of those worlds is just a hidden, scary, and more darkened version of his reality. Depending on which version you play, Link is either followed by a fairy, granted another chance of life by releasing fairies from a bottle, or is bestowed new powers and magically imbued weapons from The Great Fairy who resides in her fountain.

In this placement, Mars, The Warrior, wears the clothes of Jupiter, the teacher of the gods, making these clothes look more like a traveling battle mage’s armor. It absolutely has to be light armor because you don’t want to wear heavy attire to hinder or restrict your questing. This placement gives Sagittarius even more courage to travel, to experience, to wander, or to seek higher education. It is the archetype of someone who treks land while seeking philosophical fulfillment, or gnosis. This everlasting “questing” doesn’t even necessarily have to be present in the physical realm. The Quest could certainly manifest as a symbolic and spiritual pursuit that lives and breathes within you.

In the last degrees of Sagittarius, just about 26-27 degrees, is the “Galactic Center”, which is essentially a massive black hole in the heart of the Milky Way. It is said to be connected to the source of all creation, as well as other divine dimensions and realms. With Mars in 8th house Sagittarius, the Sagittarian fire is attuned to this celestial source of information and creation. If you’ve watched Sailor Moon, you might remember Rei Hino (Sailor Mars) practicing fire-scrying, or using fire for protection.

Rei is definitely a Solar Aries, but her fire isn’t exclusively used for war and conflict. She uses fire as a tool for intuition, divination, and spiritual armor. With this placement, there is some resonance in that, and it makes me perceive her as a Mars in Sagittarius Archetype. It is fire from a higher realm, or A Fire of Unknown Origin. Sagittarius is a sign of freedom, and Mars is quick. Mars can sever, or untether, and this can make it hard to anchor yourself in reality with so much fantastical flame near this “Galactic Center”. However, fire spreads and destroys very quickly, and Jupiter expands and grows indiscriminately. With this placement being in the 8th house, which can speak about loss, I think it is more befitting to use energetic fire as an elemental device for perseverance, endurance, and clairvoyance. Using inner-fire for aggression, retaliation, and revenge in this house seems like it could come at a loss to the person that holds this natal placement. In a sense, they could be engulfed by their own allegorical fire, and from experience, this checks out!

Personally, when I’ve witnessed an 8th House Sagittarian Mars unsatisfied, I’ve seen it present itself through an energy that I like to call The Great Gambler in the Casino of Life. Coincidentally, the ruler of Sagittarius is Jupiter, and it represents gambling. Mars, wearing Jupiter’s disposition, takes chances and bets on things where they should otherwise remain steadfast, while stoking flames for everlasting endurance. Other times, they miss out on opportunities and let luck pass them by when they should be taking courageous action instead. It becomes reckless, and assumes the universe will provide in collaboration with the native of this placement. It is impulsive, careless, charismatic, and boisterous. It wants to look death in the face, and be transformed by it. This is especially so, since the 8th house is the domain of Pluto, who brings death, rebirth, and transformation.

Daimons of Creative Genius + Link’s Fairy Guides

Another Mars in Sagittarius native, writer and author Elizabeth Gilbert once spoke about daimons and creativity. In Gilbert’s TED Talk, called Your Elusive Creative Genius, she discusses the “The Creative Person”, and how the creative person is in a vulnerable position. When an artist releases their creativity into the world, there is a risk that this piece of art can either succeed or fail. Both outcomes are scary for different reasons. After that, artists are “doomed” to top their last piece of genius work with another even greater work. Gilbert mentions how artists can start to fear becoming a one-hit wonder. To reconcile this fear, she said she “looked across time” to see how our ancestors dealt with artists. The ancient Greeks and Romans thought that creative geniuses were possessed by daimons. A daimon is a minor spirit or deity. They were most likely revered by the ancient Greek people as their ancestors, or possibly even the souls of great and influential figures who provide fortune or destiny after their death. Moreover, they were said to be the guardians of the living mortals. They held the belief that every person is born with a daimon who guides them. I recognize fairies and daimons are two totally different types of spirits, but there is a scene in Ocarina of Time where Link is referred to as “the boy without a fairy”. A fairy-guide called Navi flies to his side, and advises him for the remainder of the game. After that, he springs into action with newfound purpose, and becomes the Hero. In the game, Navi even flies towards mysterious areas while you are exploring, alluding to the fact that there are hidden caves, dungeons, or treasure hiding beneath or beyond [ more 8th House keywords ].

Daimons would influence the art that came from a person. In this way, the pressure was off of the creative, and more on the spirit and its influence. In that case, the person is just the vessel transcribing the daimon’s command. Gilbert says that since the artist could not take all of the credit for the work, they were protected from the glorification of their work, as well as the negativity that it may get. Then, she says it was the Renaissance Era that brought “rational thought.” After that, as a society, we didn’t believe in muses and daimons anymore. The artist was then referred to as being a genius, instead of having a genius. Originally, the genius was the influence of the spirit.

She also went on to talk about a time when she interviewed American poet Ruth Stone, who said that she could feel a poem coming towards her from across the land, and if she ran home in time to grab a paper and pen, then she could catch the poem, and write it down. Unfortunately, sometimes she would not run home in time. If she wasn’t able to write down the poem fast enough, she would feel the poem go through her body, and then sadly continue on to find another poet who would bring it to life. Notice how the poem is a spirit on its own, and is looking for a host to bring it life.

Gilbert also speaks about an interview with musician Tom Waits, who virtually said the same thing. He recalls an instance where he was driving by himself on a highway, and at this most inconvenient time, he could feel a song come to him from the skies. He had no paper or pen to bring life to this song, and he felt anxious and upset. If you are a musician you know the feeling of hearing a song in the air, and not being able to record or write it down so you don’t forget it. Finally, he looked up at the sky and said to the energy coming towards him, “Can’t you see that I am driving? Can’t you come at a better time when I can take care of you?” Again, we see an artist speaking to the art as if it is an entity lingering in the air, waiting for the gift of life.

Having learned this, Gilbert sat down to write Eat, Pray, Love, but before she did, she spoke to her daimon who might be lurking around her office, and asked it to “show up” for their job as the elusive creative genius and influencer. She asked it to use her as a vessel to create this wonderful memoir. She jokingly told the spirit that if it would fail, it falls on its conscience. I thought that it was very profound to recognize the creation of art as symbiotic, with one half creative influence from a daimon. The other half, however, is having to put the work in.

The 8th House, Agreements With Spirit, and Alchemy Boxes

When watching the movie adaptation of Gilbert’s book Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth, played by Julia Roberts, was asking her friend who had just given birth, at what moment did she know she was ready to have children. Her friend showed her a box hidden under the bed filled with baby clothes and toys, and said that she was collecting them in hopes she would become pregnant, and then she did. New Age magicians would recognize this box as an alchemy box. A mysterious occulted treasure chest filled with secret desires and wishes to petition the universe to collaborate with you to graciously receive those ambitions and aspirations? Suddenly, I realized I was looking at a Sagittarian 8th House. The 8th house represents things in life that are concealed. So, in a way, I see creating an alchemy box as one way to work this Mars placement.

I enjoy creating alchemy boxes. I take my time with it, and cut out phrases and pictures from magazines and newspapers that represent my highest wishes for the coming year. I wrap it in tissue paper with colors that symbolically mean something to me. I glue images and quotes inside and outside of the box. I look at each piece, and carefully find a place for it in, on, or around the box. I ask myself what it all means to me, and I speak it out loud into the energy around me. It is my favorite end of the year ritual. However, without carefully crafting, and putting the work in, the Alchemy Box becomes Pandora’s Box. Mars is passion, drive, and energy. When that energy isn’t fed, it won’t ask for your permission, and it will secrete itself in any way it finds the easiest and fastest. Mars likes fast and immediate, which is contradictory to all of this “slowly and steadily putting the work in” talk I am trying to get across. Consider again Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for N64. It is the moment when you realize that if Link hops on Epona’s back, they can both jump across the broken bridge, and finally land on the other side into Gerudo Valley without using cheats or shortcuts. With one quest leading to another, you progress further into the game until you learn Epona’s song, beat Ingo in the horse race, and leave Lon Lon Ranch on Epona’s back. It’s collaborating with the universe [ in this case it is a horse, which is very Sagittarian ], and using its resources to be the master of your unique cultivated adventure. It’s the moment when, after a billion times trying to use the hook shot to fly across the broken bridge, you realize the only way over is to learn a song to befriend a horse, learn how to ride that horse, and then trust it’ll jump far enough to advance you further in the game. Sure, it takes you some time to ride Epona in the game, but once you do, you ride the horse as fast as you can, pressing “A” rapidly, and then fly across that broken bridge that had no way across to begin with.

Where Jupiter energy is about luck, chance, and gambling, Mars, at the Helm of the Ship of Exploration, is destined to create its own luck. Mars energy needs to be initiated in order to access it. Which means, unfortunately, you cannot let the universe always work on its own. Your daimons might find other artists to influence. Use your daimons, and catch your own fortune.

Mars in Sagittarius 8th House Energies and Mars Remediation

The 8th House is the domain of Scorpio [ Mars and Pluto ]. It rules all things occulted (secrets, mysteries, spirituality, and esoteric knowledge), exchange between energies from one person to another (sex and collaborations), fusing of money from person to person [ inheritance and joint bank accounts ], as well as money between state/country and person [ taxes ]. I have heard that this house also rules over therapy and mental health in some ways, although it can be argued that therapy could be a 7th, 9th, 11th, or 12th house manifestation. In the 8th house, Mars has the courage to work with energies unseen, and can become a fierce advocate and ally for mental health issues.

One way to remediate Mars energy is through daily cardio and walks. For people who cannot sit still, I recommend cardio for meditation, or stim-dancing to release tension in the body. I found this article titled Dancing is Existing, and if you are autistic or have PTSD/c-PTSD, I eagerly recommend this article to you. The article is published by Florence Neville who interviewed Riah Person, an aspiring Dance Movement Therapist. You can find a video of them stim-dancing at the bottom of the article. I couldn’t agree more with this article, and stimming, dancing, and stim-dancing are all cathartic ways to release Mars energy from the body when it builds up. I find myself stim-dancing when trauma resurfaces for me, when I am overstimulated, or when restless. Remember, the body holds memory. I wrote a blog post detailing how cardio, stim-dancing, and “shaking” are all significant ways to bring mental clarity and peace to otherwise inflamed minds and nervous systems. I find working with the stress hormone called Cortisol to relieve inflammation and anger. I believe cortisol is a hormone ruled by Mars, and I wrote a bit about that here.  It is one of my personal opinions and experiences that when we tend to our stress, we remediate Mars.

The Sportsperson and The Dancer are other archetypes of this placement, as fire lives in the hips and thighs for this combination. It can be someone who takes up Fencing, Fire Dancing, or as my Astrologer friend Natalie once said, “archery on horseback.” I can’t think of a more precise archetype for this placement.

Lastly, there is a special gift that Mars in 8th house Sagittarius bestows. I don’t have a word to call it, but I have personally felt it. It is the gift of hearing inspiration from the universe (or maybe it's those daimons!), and having revelation move through you, as long as you are also moving. Having 8th house intuitive fire in the legs suggests that it needs to be exorcized in order to access it. Manifestation work can be done while doing cardio [ trust me on this ! ]. By stimulating the hidden fire, you are “waking it up” to cooperate with the forces of the universe. It is a medium-ship that isn’t done in an idle position. It is connected to spirit through motion. If you live in an area with busy streets, I would recommend finding a gym or treadmill to practice this. You can even dance in your own room, letting your spirit move through you. Just be free, and have fun with it. Don’t take it too seriously- it’s just not the Sagittarian way!

Mars brings the ability to be intuitive in collaborative situations, natural medium-ship, and innately working with unseen forces/energies. Because this placement is intuitive with energies in group settings, you may have difficulty when working with others. Transformation through romantic and platonic relationships can play out with this placement, as well. These situations strengthen your intuition involving other people. With this natal placement, Mars rules the 12th and 7th houses, and sits in the 8th house, which means that Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto energies are at play. Mars with Pluto energy makes you a Conqueror of the Inferno because of the growth you may have had from trauma and deceit from relationships. This growth could even make you a guide, ally, and teacher for others who have gone through similar traumatic experiences.

Final Thoughts and More Obscure Parallels

In the end, how you work with planetary energy is up to you. The Astrology Podcast, hosted by Chris Brennan, has some amazing content for people who want to begin astrology as a practice. In fact, Chris teamed up with Sylvi Osland for an episode dedicated to Mars. I highly recommend sitting with this episode and taking notes. Brennan has episodes dedicated to each planet, as well as both luminary rulers. These episodes can be really helpful to listen to or watch if you want to become more acquainted with the stars. Set up an altar, and tune in with Mars. Feel out what Deities of Fire feel right to you. Stick with what you know, and what feels more gentle- especially when working with the element of fire. Take the time to research this element before jumping in.

I will leave you with a poem featured in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me written by David Lynch. Lynch also has Mars in his 8th House, if you use Placidus System. This piece reverberates with me on a soul-level. For a poem that talks about longing to see through the darkness, chanting magicians, and walking with fire [ or perhaps through fire or firewalking ], I feel at its core, it is a poem written to sum up Mars in a Sagittarian 8th house. Oddly enough, it has been argued that the third line of the poem “one chants out between two worlds” could either contain the word “chants” or “chance”, and the word “chance” is so Sagittarius:

Through the darkness of futures past

The magician longs to see

One chants out between two worlds,

“Fire walk with me”

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