Fire-tending
My books are open for September!
Happy Mars Day 🔥
Right now, Mars is in Libra. Traditionally, Mars is held to be in exile or detriment here in Venus' sign of sliding scales and magic mirrors because it sits on the opposite side of the zodiac from Mars’ home sign of Aries.
Many may be surprised to learn that I actually have Mars in Libra. Despite my zeal for the Red Planet, his sphere is not one that comes readily to me. Thankfully, I have had a lot of help in my own process of relating with Mars. As the Sanguine Spear returns to this slice of sky and I undergo my Mars return, I have been reflecting on key experiences that have deepened my Martial understanding.
Years ago, an ancestral spirit whispered to me: "Be a firebelly." As I have unraveled this mystery, it has yielded many fruits, but at baseline, I've learned the importance of connecting to my inner flame.
There's a source of generative heat and vital force held within the torso. Some days it burns like a furnace and others it sparks and sizzles like mere cinders. When I inquire after my inner fire, I find it in my belly, but perhaps it may reside higher in your heart or lower in your loins.
One way to attend to Mars is to tend this inner fire. As the planet of passions, virility, and bodily heat, the inner fire naturally lies within his purview. By cultivating the inner flame, by stoking it with the bellows of intention, one can embody and attune to their own unique expression of Mars.
Bear in mind that fire-tending is a skill. Like all skills, it is sharpened in practice & honed over time. To progress from journeyman to master, one must apply effort diligently with a willingness to learn from mistakes. Even when blessed with natural talents, the only way to progress in a skill is through consistent practice.
Fire-tending demands respect & a healthy fear. For in its ceaseless hunger, fire can run wild. As I write these words, wildfires burn across the West coast of Turtle Island in Oregon and California. They also rage further inland across the prairie in Montana in Wyoming. They destroy indiscriminately, threatening homes, humans, planets, and animals. In fact, to tend fire is to court danger. For fire can burn, melt, and scorch, leaving a devastating path of ashes in its wake.
However, fire is also generous. It gives heat on cold nights & light on dark days. Before the ever-present glow of electric light, fire alone could illuminate the night. Before the gas-powered furnace, only insulation and fire could heat the home.
Fire transforms meals and metals that pass through its flames. Cooks require fire to render raw flesh and vegetables into delicious meals. Blacksmiths need flame to remove impurities from ore. The combustion engine in your car harnesses tiny explosions of flame to cross vast distances.
Fire inspires stories. In fact, humanity’s acquisition of fire, whether through theft or gift, is one of the most common story tropes worldwide. Why? Perhaps because the experience of sitting around a fire with other humans is one of the oldest, bone-deep experiences we have as a species. It is around fire that countless stories have been told across millennia. In this way, fire literally centers human communities. To borrow a term from philosopher Albert Borgmann, fire is a “focal thing” and sitting around a fire with others is a “focal practice.” It provides a meaningful counterforce to the alienation to our increasingly digital, commodified world.
Ideally, a well-tended fire burns clearly & cleanly. It produces no choking smoke that blinds & obscures. It gives heat and light, asking only for a little fuel in return. To feed an inner flame, the primary fuel is your attention.
So where is your inner fire? How do you tend to it? How brightly does it burn? And when was the last time you laid fuel on that fire?
If you’re ready to focus on the fire in your own chart, my books are open now for September. And my signature reading Fire, Iron, Blood is specifically focused on examining your natal Mars placement in great detail. If like me, you have a debilitated Mars, the path to ignition may be unclear. When debilitated, Mars loses none of its edge. It simply requires more effort to achieve what an exalted or domiciled Mars can achieve efficiently.
What its like to sit beside the fire together?
If you’re curious what its like to sit in a session with me, here is a testimonial from earlier this spring:
“Caleb is so thoughtful, intelligent, and personable, and such a deep listener. He clearly digested my intake thoroughly and guided the discussion accordingly. Throughout the reading, it was abundantly evident to me that Caleb's clearly put a lot of thought into astrology education—his analogies are concrete and memorable, and he's good at rendering the more esoteric aspects of astrology accessible. Compared to some, this reading didn't feel super "predictive," but I actually valued that, as the experience felt in no way manipulative, nor guided by any motives other than truth and Caleb's knowledge. Rather, his insights and observations came from a place of deep knowledge and felt objective, and empowered me as the client to derive meaning and guidance, and to use astrological insights to my advantage as I chart my own course.”
- Katie, Lifesong: Natal Consultation
With September around the corner, that also means that eclipse season is about to rear its scaled head. Stay tuned for an update about a special offering coming just in time for that period of high strangeness and rapid change that eclipses always seem to bring. Until then, take care of yourselves and loved ones.
Ad Astra per Aspera