Elon Musk and Mars

The Man and His Accomplishments

Elon Musk was born in South Africa. He moved to Canada in the summer of 1989 and after living and working there for three years he moved to the United States. To summarize his vast achievements, he is known for his roles as a business magnate, industrial designer, and engineer. He is the founder and CEO of SpaceX, CEO of Tesla, Inc., founder of The Boring Company, co-founder of Neuralink, and co-founder of PayPal and OpenAI.

Planetary Association with Mars

Musk’s core ambition and life’s mission center on establishing a human presence on Mars, fueled by his profound commitment to ensuring humanity’s survival beyond Earth’s potential demise. His passion for multiplanetary habitation, specifically with Mars, resonates deeply with his astrological birth chart where the planet Mars prominently stands out among the other nine planets. This remote, celestial positioning of Mars brings the planet into High Focus.1 In astrological terms, this ultra focus of Mars changes its keyword from initiative, when in normal strength while located closely among the other planets, to indomitable to describe a native capable of unwavering resolve and determination.

Set apart from all other planetary influences in the Splay Temperament Type,2 Mars serves as the Reins planet in control of the two other and distinct groupings of planets. This threefold dynamic encourages a pyramiding of personality traits and talents that results in the native’s ever-increasing impact on others. The unbroken flow of energies from one segment to another fosters an accumulation of personal power and even obstinacy over time.

In a 2012 episode of the TV show 60 Minutes, Musk was asked by the interviewer why he continued to launch unmanned boosters after three had failed to reach orbit. His answer was, “To stop I would have to be dead or incapacitated, I don’t ever give up.” Here Musk expresses the indomitable and relentless force that a High Focus Mars can muster. Eight weeks after his third failure the fourth attempt achieved a successful liftoff.

The Mars Sabian Symbol

A preview of the possible outcome of the conquest of the planet Mars is aptly revealed in the planet’s Sabian symbol:

AQUARIUS 21 A woman disappointed and disillusioned This is a symbol of the inevitable distress of the human soul whenever it seeks any enduring sustainment from elements without anchorage in its own nature, dramatized in the negative symbolism by the futility of its attempted fulfillment through a capitalization on purely physical assets of self. The deeper potentials of the being afford the real possibilities of self-discovery, and personal frustrations are a challenge to a genuine self-realization rather than a denial of opportunity. The keyword is CLEARANCE. When positive, the degree is the self’s inherent gift for pressing on and gaining increased powers with every setback, and when negative, the acceptance of all defeat as final.

The prospect of ultimately colonizing human life on Mars may represent a lofty aspiration for some, but it’s unlikely to serve as the actual salvation of humanity. Mars’ atmosphere, comprised of 95% carbon dioxide3 with only traces of oxygen, prevents an easy adaptation to the red planet. Humanity is also likely to export to Mars its tendency to pollute its surroundings and may also fail to act with maturity within its new and foreign social environment. The result would be a repetition of the circumstances that led to the inhabiting of Mars in the first place. These unfortunate factors may bring about profound disappointment and disillusionment as the Sabian symbol implies for those hoping to surmount the formidable challenge of life on Mars.

Given Musk’s substantial resources, one might argue that investing billions into programs aimed at uplifting inner-city communities on earth might be a better expenditure. By fostering positive goals for youth and providing supportive parental figures would appear to be a more impactful use of funds to many observers of Musk’s ambitions. This suggestion represents just one pragmatic alternative among countless other possibilities available to any wealthy “visionary” like Musk.

The Mercury Sabian Symbol

Mercury is rising and therefore in High Focus with the following revealing Sabian symbol:

CANCER 15 A group of people who have overeaten and enjoyed it This is a symbol of the inescapable richness of life in any normal manifestation of itself, here given emphasis on the side of the rewards which come to man as a result of his own efforts. There are penalties whenever he attempts to freeze the present as a promise for the future or seeks to overindulge himself in one direction as compensation for the consequences of inadequacy in another, but individuality in its fullness has recurrent and consistent assurance that its potentials will not be dissipated. The keyword is SATIETY. When positive, the degree is an effective and smooth demonstration of human competence, and when negative, a self-disintegrating surrender to appetite.

This interpretation of this Sabian symbol suggests the potential folly of investing unlimited resources into a project that may serve as a substitute for addressing unresolved dilemmas on Earth. Viewing Mars as a safe haven could be seen as an escapist approach, deflecting attention from responsibility to our true home planet Earth.

The Sun Sabian Symbol

The Sun, symbolizes one’s fundamental role and life purpose. With the image of Game birds feathering their nest, it appears that Musk’s primary aim is to create a home base whether that be on Earth or potentially on Mars, even if his aspiration leans towards science fiction.

CANCER 6 Game birds feathering their nests This is a symbol of the unlimited degree to which the spirit of man may develop and preserve its initiative by utilizing the natural course of things in the world at large, and of the satisfaction anyone may know through his conscious participation in a group destiny. Individuality flourishes whenever it is able to establish its personal rights over some desirable segment of reality, and thereupon justify its own being by fulfilling the expectation of others. The keyword is METICULOUSNESS. When positive, the degree is high intelligence and skill in enlisting the potentials of experience for the service of self, and when negative, unnecessary concern over everyday security.

It’s intriguing to consider whether the negative aspect of the Sun’s Sabian symbol serves as a motivation in Musk’s pursuit of the transformation of Mars into a surrogate home planet for humanity. While the Sabian symbols provide symbolic imagery and insight, interpreting them directly, relative to Musk’s motivations would be speculative but revealing. The symbols are just one unique lens in which to view the horoscope and the life of this complex and controversial, public figure. The most fascinating element, in the end, is the stand-alone Mars in the horoscope of a stand-alone man obsessed with the planet’s conquest.

 

  1. Any planet situated in a special circumstance in the horoscope is High Focus. Chapter Two, pg 75, Essentials of Astrological Analysis by Marc Edmund Jones – Sabian Publishing Society, Stanwood, Washington 1970.
  2. Temperament Types define seven responses to life in general, based on the configuration of the planets in the horoscope as a whole. Chapter Two, pg 27, Essentials of Astrological Analysis by Marc Edmund Jones – Sabian Publishing Society, Stanwood, Washington 1970.
  3. Carbon Dioxide is a waste gas that moves from the blood to the lungs and is expelled through exhaled breath. Humans breath in oxygen for survival and breath out carbon dioxide necessary for plant life.