There are emerging forms of the masculine, represented by the planet Mars in Shamanic Astrology that is seen across all quarters of cultures all over the world.  These forms range from alpha-male types on one end to fully receptive and cosmically-sensitive masculine energies.  The same could be said for the feminine, but I will be focusing primarily on what Mars represents in this new age.  These emerging forms are part of a reformulation of all past masculine archetypes.  A great and profound mix is taking place and we are living in the beginning phases of this reformulation.

For starters, how does one define “masculine”?  Generations ago, western culture and others boxed them into neat, but few categories.  The masculine was generally just associated with men and those men were taught to be providers, defenders and problem-solvers or all three.  The “nuclear family”, as it was termed then showed the role of the man as head of the household and all others subordinate to that role.

Now the definition of “masculine” is truly up for debate along with the “feminine”.  Human beings are driven to bring order into their worldview as it brings in certain levels of comfort, be it illusionary or not.  The past worldview has been shattered and this has brought equal amounts of chaos and revolutions in men, women and others to discover their authentic selves.  We as a people now have an opportunity to open up to new bandwidths of possibilities.  When it comes to the masculine, we have twelve major archetypal expressions.  But it is not a simple matter of fitting people into those expressions but allowing for the expressions to be defined by the men, women and others through who they are and not how (in my line of work and personally) astrology should define them.

DEEPER ISSUES

“Unless men can emerge from darkness, we shall continue to wound women and each other, and the world can never be a safe or healthy place”

• James Hollis, Under Saturn’s Shadow(the wounding and healing of men)

Women in recent generations have made tremendous strides in being heard by the multi-millennial male-dominated cultures, especially here in the West.  These same cultures, though, have wrought havoc on men as well or more clearly-defined as “what makes us ‘men’?

The patriarchal culture in which we still inhabit has, in most cases, taken away humanity’s lineage of recognizing the authentic gifts of all genders.  In that, men, regardless of sexual orientation, were more encouraged to move into certain professions, to ascend economically and compete with one another.  Men had to really search out to find less “masculine” jobs, purpose and life paths.  Most were on their own without the real help of what was happening within their own soul.  James Hollis courageously wrote a book about the shadow of men and how centuries and even millennia have forced us away from looking at our own shadow.  In Hollis’ book, Under Saturn’s Shadow, he outlines eight secrets men carry within.

1. Men’s lives are as much governed by restrictive role expectations as are the lives of women
2. Men’s lives are essentially governed by fear
3. The power of the feminine is immense in the psychic economy of men
4. Men collude in a conspiracy of silence whose aim is to suppress their emotional truth
5. Because men must leave Mother, and transcend the mother complex, wounding is necessary
6. Men’s lives are violent because their souls have been violated
7. Every man carries a deep longing for his father and for his tribal Fathers
8. If men are to heal, they must activate within what did not receive from without

These are all very true and I’ve certainly identified with them at one time or another.  I will also say that this holds some truth to the inner masculine in women as well, especially in their relationships with men.

One of the things that has been missing in the lives of most men and boys (also the masculine energy in general as well as women and other genders) are authentic rites or ceremonies when growing up or reaching a certain plateau in life.  There is very little that is taught about our ancient ancestors in the Western Culture that can help youth understand their nature and path.  In Jungian thought, rites or personal ceremonies are discussed as part of what is missing in men’s lives.  Daniel Giamario, originator of Shamanic Astrology, also discusses men’s issues in his various workshops at the Shamanic Astrology Mystery School.

Emerging from the darkness, as Hollis, puts it, will require us to re-contextualize what rites and ceremony mean to us and how we can work with it in the modern sense without judgment or fear of what others think of it.  In Shamanic Astrology, I mentioned there are 12 archetypes of the masculine and each one has an essence and authenticity in genders.  This is not in any way dogma of how men or other should be but more a broad stroke of archetypes common in all of us.  In addition, these archetypes are evolving and not statically set, though they derive from a very ancient source.

Presented below, each of these 12 archetypes can provide enormous clues to how we can be of support to ourselves and each other.  For men, these Mars archetypes represent who they are as a “man”.  For women, it is generally their initial longing for what they want in the masculine, but also their animus or inner masculine to discover within instead of searching outside themselves for it.

From Page 96 of the Shamanic Astrology Handbook by Daniel Giamario (2012/2014 editions) abbreviated versions of the Mars archetypes shown below (my words in parentheses)

• ARIES – The Rugged Individualist
• TAURUS – The Lover
• GEMINI – The Entertainer and Eternal Youth (Puer)
• CANCER – The “Good Father” ( “responsible nurturer or caretaker”) intent is to demonstrate qualities of love and nurturing so it safe for the children (or family)
• LEO – The King archetype, the highest qualities of self-love and to fulfill the mantra, “I will, my will, be thy will” (mantra shared with Scorpio)
• VIRGO – is The Priest (or Druid); finding the sacred work
• LIBRA – the Husband or Partner; relationship as a path to God (or the Divine / Universe)
• SCORPIO – The Sorcerer / Shaman; mastering the most powerful and deepest emotional and physical realms
• SAGITTARIUS – the Heroic Adventurer; the quest for consciousness and the discovery of the meaning of life
• CAPRICORN – the Elder or Lawgiver (Wise Administrator, Manager and/or Teacher)
• AQUARIUS – The Scientist or Cosmic Visionary; attainment of cosmic consciousness through detachment and pure spirit
• PISCES – the Empath; live a life of compassion and service to all sentient beings; unconditional, transpersonal love

The archetypes shown above show a wide range of how the masculine is expressed in the world.  In between, there are countless others or shades of each of the twelve.  The intent to show these in this article is help understand who men (and other related genders) are on a personal, intimate level and for women to understand a part of themselves in route to wholeness.

THE SHIFTING AT THE TURNING OF THE AGES

The masculine, like the feminine, is in a state of revolution and will likely be for many years to come.  In Shamanic Astrology, we recognize this revolution, encouraging all to explore their authentic selves and paths in life.  Some of how we as human being can honor the real qualities within ourselves is through our connection and relationship with the stars, planets and Earth itself.

Photo of Mars courtesy of NASA

There is a patterning and order within the chaos of skies day and night.  This patterning of the planets, Sun, Moon and stars represent a major part of humanity’s psychic force and unconscious energies.  Astrology is almost as old as humanity itself in one form or another and the mainstream in the West has only a cursory awareness of it, at best.  In case of the masculine, we look to the planet Mars, known by ancient cultures from many different names with a deep relationship with the masculine.

In Shamanic Astrology, we look at the patterning of Mars and how this shows up in people’s lives.  When a person is born, the planets and stars are aligned in specific way and when planets come back around and return to the same spot in the sky in relation to the birth (with the same aspect to the Sun on or very close to the person’s birthday) then we have what is called a return to original intent.  For Mars, this happens every 15 or 17 years, which is one example of a time period a person can do the inner work necessary to connect with who they are men or for others how they better understand the masculine within.

See Daniel Giamario’s article on Mars Cycles here

With the knowledge of the movement of the planet Mars as we see it here from Earth, a person can tap into the genuine mysteries and uncover the truth of that part of their life, regardless of gender.  Ancient Mesopotamians and many other cultures knew of the patterning of Mars’ orbit and dance with the Earth and other planets.  We are only now beginning to uncover some of those truths from ancient stories, written or otherwise.  That long-ago past can help us understand the role that men, and more specifically the masculine, played in everyday life.  While this requires more research, it is there for all to inquire and question the roles we are playing today.

We are at a precipice of a new identity for humanity and understanding the authentic expressions of the masculine/feminine is an enormous part of that new identity.  While there has been an assortment of good books written about masculine archetypes and some even pondering what the new masculine will look like, I believe it to be not just one type or two or three (as David Deita has written in his book, The Way of the Superior Man) but many.

The twelve archetypes I’ve listed above provide a wide range of expressions, but the reformulation includes perhaps dozens of varieties for each of those masculine archetypes.  I would ask any who read this to not limit ourselves in what to expect and allow the people to define the archetypes and not the other way around.  There is still a great amount of healing the masculine and men as well must do around the 8 points that James Hollis identified before we can really step into the full potential of humanity’s evolving consciousness.

-Erik M Roth, Shamanic Astrologer