"Mr. McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." From anyone else, these words might be an empty threat. But when spoken by Dr. David Bruce Banner, they're an important warning. When you make Dr. Banner angry, he transforms into The Incredible Hulk. We've all got an inner Hulk that takes over when we get angry: Mars, the Archetype of the Warrior.

Mars is your ego, and your "little s" self. It's who you think you are, rather than who you truly are. Mars' job is to protect and defend, and when you are threatened or under attack, Mars takes over. The sign of your Mars determines the things that get you angry, how you fight, and how you know when you've beaten your opponent.

Mars in Aries



Trigger: "No." Mars in Aries wants what it wants when it wants it. Even instant gratification takes too long. Weapon of Choice: Whatever's at hand. Mars in Aries is impulsive and improvises in the moment. Victory: When you get what you want or vent your frustration at not getting what you want. Once you've made your point, you can let it go.

Mars in Taurus



Trigger: Pressure to change or to make a hasty decision. Mars in Taurus can put up with a lot before it gets angry, but when the fuse finally burns out, take cover. Weapon of Choice: Time. Mars in Taurus prepares for a siege. Victory: Whenever your opponent gives up. You're never going to change your position. They'll either get tired and stop or eventually crumble to dust. You can wait.

Mars in Gemini

Trigger: Being told to grow up, settle down, pick a single path, or take responsibility. Mars in Gemini does not like being forced to take anything seriously. Weapon of Choice: Words, intellect, and scathing wit. Victory: When your opponent has been schooled so badly they need a tutor to explain how beaten they are.

Mars in Cancer

Trigger: Insensitivity, rudeness, pain, or emotional distress of any kind. Feelings are extremely important to Mars in Cancer. Weapon of Choice: Guilt. Mars in Cancer prefers emotional warfare to physical attacks: it's less messy and takes longer to heal. Victory: When your opponent runs home to mommy (and then crawls back to beg your forgiveness).

Mars in Leo

Trigger: Being disrespected, overlooked, or challenged in any way. Pride is both the strength and the weakness of Mars in Leo. Weapon of Choice: Pride and ego, which fuel Mars in Leo's competitive nature. Mars in Leo will do whatever it takes to prove it's the best and deserves respect. Victory: When your opponent kneels down and admits they're not worthy of being in your magnificent presence.

Mars in Virgo

Trigger: Errors, mistakes, imprecision, inaccuracy, and lack of specificity. Mars in Virgo needs clear metrics to analyze and measure its performance. Weapon of Choice: Criticism. Mars in Virgo won't just point out your flaws. Mars in Virgo will provide an itemized, indexed, cross-referenced list of your flaws, complete with citations and footnotes. Victory: When the problem has been fixed and everything is in its place.

Mars in Libra

Trigger: Direct conflict or confrontation. Mars in Libra prefers to play both sides of the fence. When cornered or reduced to a single option, it will attack. Weapon of Choice: Diplomacy. Mars in Libra seeks the quickest, simplest way to restore balance and the appearance of harmony. Victory: Detente. Everyone agrees to play nicely with each other and keep any hostility or resentment to themselves.

Mars in Scorpio

Trigger: The last straw. Mars in Scorpio will put up with a lot of abuse before retaliating. It catalogs and stores resentments and emotional wounds until they can no longer be ignored. Weapon of Choice: Blackmail and psychological warfare. The reason that Mars in Scorpio is so slow to react is that it doesn't fire a warning shot. Mars in Scorpio shoots to kill. Victory: When you're certain no one will ever find the body.

Mars in Sagittarius

Trigger: When someone doesn't agree with you and yet insists they're correct. Anything that implies that your point of view is not universally true will trigger Mars in Sagittarius. Weapon of Choice: Brutal honesty. Because the truth really does hurt. Victory: When your opponent has seen the error of his ways and accepts your version of the truth as the only truth.

Mars in Capricorn



Trigger: Frivolity, disrespect, glibness, and general incompetence. Mars in Capricorn expects everyone to do his or her job with a minimum degree of competence. Weapon of Choice: Status, influence, and power. Mars in Capricorn respects the system, and knows how to use the system as a weapon. Victory: When you've lost your job, your savings, your credit rating, and you will never work in this town again.

Mars in Aquarius

Trigger: When you're made aware of the possibility that your personal freedom might be restricted or limited because of a real or imagined injustice. Weapon of Choice: Social media. Mars in Aquarius attacks your reputation and challenges your right to be an accepted member of any group, but it's not personal. It's for the good of society. Victory: When your reputation is so trashed that your mom unfriends you on Facebook.

Mars in Pisces

Trigger: Amassed unconscious resentment. Mars in Pisces senses even the slightest negativity or hostility but doesn't keep track of the specifics. Weapon of Choice: Passive-aggression. Victory: When you know what it is that you did wrong and make it all up to me even though I keep insisting that I'm fine and there's nothing wrong.

What’s Your Experience of Mars?

Do I have you dead to rights? Or do you suddenly feel the need to defend yourself? Share your experience of Mars, and what makes you angry in the comments!