When You See Red ~ From Anger to Action, Mars Shows the Way✨

Mars: When You See Red — Living with Mars in Real Life

In this episode of Astrology with Alisa, I’m diving into Mars—
the planet of drive, anger, courage, and action—
and how it shows up in everyday life.

We’ll explore the fiery difference between Mars in Aries and Mars in Scorpio,
what it looks like in my own family stories,
and how this week’s Mars shift into Scorpio brings a wave of focus and determination for all of us.

You’ll hear:

🔥 Why Mars isn’t just about anger—it’s also your courage and motivation
 ⚖️ The difference between Mars in Aries (bold, impulsive) and Mars in Scorpio (strategic, steady)
 👩‍👦 How my Aries Mars shaped my parenting and advocacy for my son
 🎯 Why Mars as my final dispositor makes it central in my chart
 🌑 How the upcoming Virgo Solar Eclipse clears space for Mars in Scorpio to help us build what matters most

This episode isn’t just about my stories—
it’s about seeing Mars in your chart and noticing how you take action, advocate, and stand up for yourself.

✨ Curious about your own Mars story? Book a personal reading and let’s walk through it together. ✨

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Thank you for listening!

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Transcript

Astrology isn't just about signs and symbols, it's a tool for navigating real life. Hello and welcome to Astrology with Alisa. I'm your host Alisa Dixon, and I'm so glad you're here. Let's dive in. 

The last few weeks I've been out in the early mornings looking at the sky. Jupiter and Venus have been shining so brightly, like brilliant stars you can't miss. They're called the benefic planets, the ones that bring opportunity and sweetness. And honestly, seeing them daily has felt like a little gift because this Virgo season has brought its share of shakeups:  new school schedules, new family rhythms, everything in flux. 

But every morning seeing Venus and Jupiter up there, steady, unwavering, feeling them shower their goodness upon me, it's been grounding. A reminder that not everything is shifting at once. And this week, looking at them reminded me of another moment earlier this year when I saw Mars in the night sky.

We always hear that Mars is the red planet. But until that night, I had never actually seen it. Mars was right there next to the moon. The moon with its usual bright white glow. And beside it was Mars red, undeniably red, and something about that moment landed differently to me. Mars is the warrior and he carries anger.

Mars fuels conflict, and seeing that redness in the sky, Mars just looked agitated, almost like he was annoyed by the moon sitting there next to him. But Mars is more than anger. Mars gives us courage, motivation, and drive. Mars is the reason we stand up for ourselves and for others.

Mars is the reason we take action. It's our will to move, to push forward, to make things happen. And in that moment, looking at the red glow in the sky. I felt like I understood Mars in a whole new way. Which says a lot because Mars is very personal for me. Mars rules Aries. Since I'm an Aries Sun, he rules my Sun too and my natal Mars is also in Aries right next to my Sun.

So I know Mars in Aries energy very well. It's fast, impulsive, decisive, always ready to act, always ready to challenge if necessary. And this week in the current sky, Mars is shifting again. He's been in Libra, which is opposite Aries and Mars doesn't love it there. In Libra Mars hesitates, he weighs every angle. He over accommodates. It's kind of like trying to drive with the brakes on.

But now Mars is moving into Scorpio, the other place he calls home, and here the energy changes completely. Mars in Scorpio is decisive. He's piercing, exacting, like a laser beam cutting through the surface to reach the heart of the matter. Mars in Aries acts in the moment: fast, direct, and out in the open. Mars in Scorpio holds steady and waits until the strike will count, aiming for precision. 

Mars in Aries is bold and impulsive, the spark that ignites a flame, ready to begin things, Mars in Scorpio is deep and focused. The persistent burn that keeps going until the work is finished. One isn't better than the other. Both are equally strong. They just express Mars energy differently, and I saw this difference so clearly this weekend watching a silly show with my family called Destination X.

It's a reality show where players travel across Europe, but they don't know where they are. Each episode, they have to guess their location and compete in challenges. To avoid the weekly elimination in this episode, the contestants had to secretly choose who they would like to eliminate. They used little daggers to mark names in secret, and then someone had to make a choice in front of everyone about who to save.

And I thought, this is so Mars, the secret daggers behind the scenes. That's Mars in Scorpio. Strategic, precise, and quietly powerful. Then the public choice, confronting everyone right there in the open. That's Mars in Aries. Bold, direct, courageous. Two very different approaches, but both unmistakably Mars.

And it's not just on tv. I've seen this difference in my own family too. Growing up, I was the one who immediately stepped up to challenge something I thought wasn't fair. I'd push back on rules, especially with my dad, always ready to argue my case. I came in loud and direct. My brother Greg, completely different. He didn't rock the boat the way I did. From my perspective, he just seemed to go with the flow, not because he was afraid, but his Mars just fires differently. His Mars is in Scorpio, super strong, but he played it quiet, strategic. 

Okay, take our teenage years for example. I fought tooth and nail when I wanted my ears pierced a second time begging, arguing, crying, shouting about how unfair it was. A little Aries explosion. And my dad never budged. Greg meanwhile just went and got the tattoo he wanted. No fanfare, no debate. One day my parents happened to see it when his shirt was off. Too late. His mission already accomplished in his usual chill way. That's the difference. I press go in public. He makes his moves in private.

And it shows up in how we work too. Give me a quick task and I'll knock it out fast, and then I'm onto the next. You need somebody to start a project. I'll get everybody going. But then I move on. Greg is incredibly focused. He can work through deep layered problems that I simply don't have the patience for. When my mom needed help downsizing my grandmother's house, Greg was there. It was a huge project that frankly would've made me crazy within minutes, but he worked with my mom for weeks, hours at a time. That's Scorpio Mars -steady, determined and unshakeable.

And my Aries Mars shows up in my parenting too. When my son was in kindergarten, more kids were enrolled than the school had expected, so they decided to move a few children from each class into a new one. They didn't ask us our thoughts, they just moved the kids and my son struggled in the new classroom. And over the course of several weeks, things were getting progressively worse day to day. 

One day I had an interaction with his teacher that pushed me over the edge. I sat outside the principal's office for over an hour until I was heard. I was polite, but firm and direct. I was crystal clear about what I wanted. In the end, my son did not return to his original class, but he was placed in a different classroom with an amazing teacher who totally turned around the whole year. It was great. That's Aries Mars. Quick to act, quick to advocate. Not willing to let something slide when it really matters.

And I think back to summers when I was home from college, sitting at the kitchen table with my mom for hours after dinner, she'd talk for nights on end about moving furniture, changing curtains, and other little projects she wanted to get done around the house that summer.  One evening, I lost patience with all the talking. I finally said, mom, enough talking about it. Let's just go do it. And even though it was nine o'clock at night, we got up and moved furniture right then. That's Mars in Aries turning talk into action immediately. 

I know Mars has two home signs and he's about to go into the other one, Scorpio. So you all are probably wondering why does she keep talking about Mars in Aries? And the reason is we're talking about Mars! And Mars is my planet. Mars is extra important for me in my chart. Because Mars is my final dispositor. That's astrology speak for Mars is very much in charge of my chart. All the other planets in my chart, based on which signs they sit in, all funnel back to Mars. It's kind of like having a boss:  who reports to who in the sky or in a chart. Sometimes there's a clear leader, and in my case, it's Mars. So that means my drive, my motivation, the way I push through every aspect of my life, it goes through my Mars in Aries. It's not just a part of me, it's central.

And honestly, I can't believe I haven't done an episode on Mars until now. So I will go deeper into depositors sometime soon because that is a really interesting topic, and I'm sure some of you are now probably curious to see if you have a certain planet in charge like I do. Sometimes there's two planets in charge. Sometimes several are in charge or there's no clear leader. but that's why my Mars in Aries got a lot of airtime today.

Going back to the current sky, when Mars leaves Libra on Monday and heads into Scorpio, Mars is going to be very happy and his energy will be very strong and we all are going to feel a shift.

We'll probably take action a lot more like my brother Greg does. This is a time when the energy will support us in being more productive, more passionate, more focused. It's like we all get access to that piercing, exacting Mars in Scorpio drive. So think about this now. Ask yourself, what would it look like to take one step with that kind of focus?

What could you finish if you put steady, determined energy behind it? And here's the key. Look at your own Mars sign because that will tell you a story about how you take action, how you advocate, how you fight for yourself or others. And if you're curious and you'd like to go deeper into your own Mars story, you can always book a reading with me at www.astrologywithalisa.com, and we can walk through it together. When you know your chart and how you're wired to take action that's powerful and I'd love to unpack that with you. 

Now, I do want to mention that before Mars fully settles into Scorpio, we have one more thing. A solar eclipse in Virgo this Sunday. Eclipses bring endings and beginnings, and this particular eclipse is on the south node, so that means that we're leaning into release.  Virgo rules health, wellness, and daily habits. So the invitation is simple. Let go of routines that don't serve you, so your energy can go where it matters. I personally used this eclipse window to rearrange my office. A small way of saying I'm clearing space so I can focus. That's the invitation for you too. In a way, it's a perfect setup for Mars in Scorpio. Lighten the load. Whatever it is, release it so Mars and Scorpio can help you build what really matters to you.

 Thank you so much for listening, and if you've been enjoying this podcast, please take a minute to follow the show, share this episode with a friend, and leave me a review. It really helps other people find the show. And I love hearing from you! Feel free to send me a text or a DM on Instagram. Or through the contact form on my website. I'm sending you all much love, especially over the next few days as we get through this eclipse energy. And I will tell you, I'm really looking forward to Mars in Scorpio.

So thanks again for listening. Take care and I'll see you next time.