Libran Archetypes in Fighting Games

The Polite Invasion

The Arena. The place for warriors to display their strength and skill to the masses - to prove how much effort they've put into their training by testing themselves against one another. The arena is where Aries feels at home. His force of will empowering him, he smashes through all competition, so that he alone may raise his fist in glorious victory, as the throngs of onlookers praise his might.

But, hark! Who's that on the other side of the battlefield? He certainly seems well-mannered. Waitasec...Libra?! What are YOU doing here?

If Aries is The Warrior, then Libra is The Diplomat - certainly not someone you expect to pick a fight with you. After all, Libra is ruled by Venus, the love planet. Libra likes everything to be balanced and beautiful, functioning in harmony. Libra doesn't usually care about testing its might – it charms, it flirts, it jokes. It doesn't fight. Or does it?

Libra has little resonance with Mars, the planet that rules bloody, digitized strife as found in games like Street Fighter II, Fatal Fury, Soul Calibur, or the like. In fact, Libra is one of the detriments of Mars – it just doesn't understand fighting. And yet, Libran figures abound in these games. Why?

In order to assess what Libra is doing in Aries' realm, we have to examine the things that would drive a Libra to fight.

Justice Fixation

In almost every fighting game, there is at least one character associated with a law-enforcement unit, whose goal is to root out the corruption from the tournament by force. This denotes a bond with Saturn's energies, which point to a sense of duty, and an upholding of the rules which govern society.

Libra has a special connection with Saturn, as this is the place where Saturn is exalted. Libra makes the most efficient use of Saturn's energy by bringing its detached, nearly-mechanical attitude towards balance as the linchpin of society. And Libra's strict adherence to the harmony brought by law will push them to preserve it, and thereby root out any threat to the balance. Therefore, many of these Saturn-ruled fighters are likely to be Libran.

The first fighter that springs to mind is Chun Li.

Chun Li is, of course, the very first female fighting game character, initially featured in Capcom's genre-defining Street Fighter II. She is truly the one to set the archetype both as the female fighter and as the Saturn-ruled fighter.

Her Libran qualities are evident right from the get-go. Chun-Li (or "Chunners," as she prefers to be called) fights with feminine grace, and adds balance to an otherwise male-dominated setting. Chun Li is out to avenge her father's death at the hands of M. Bison, the power-hungry Capricorn figure who runs the criminal organization known as Shadowloo. Rather than seek vengeance on her own, Chun Li joins Interpol – she doesn't want to kill Bison, but to bring him to justice. This is the mark of a woman ruled by laws of society. To pursue revenge as a personal grudge and not as a function of the law would be in violation of Saturn's ways, and would threaten position in the world.

Other fighters echo these sentiments, but may actually have more do to with Capricorn, who is ruled by Saturn. Capricorn's methods are more methodical, structured, and can be afflicted with a devilish tinge. A few that spring to mind: Mortal Kombat's Sonia Blade, who has no problem issuing fatalities, and Fatal Fury's Kim Kap Hwan, whose enforcement of the popular view of morality borders on insane fanaticism. He'll go so far as to call out those who he considers to be evildoers in the opening animation before the fight, issuing a cry of "Aku wa yurusan!" ("Evil is unforgivable!") before busting out the Taekwondo fury. Kim seems to take a nigh-demonic joy in smashing the skulls of those he considers to be villainous. Not so Libran.

So, who else smacks of Libra? Certainly Ky Kiske, of Sammy's Guilty Gear series. A bland pretty-boy who fights with flourish, Ky is the leader of The Sacred Order of Holy Knights, which seems to be the singular law-enforcement agency operating in this post-apocalyptic setting. Like the others, Ky is obsessed with justice. But as he delves deeper into the dirty laundry behind his own agency, he discovers that what is considered "just" on the books may not be the TRUE justice – there are people pulling strings behind the scenes, and right under his nose, no less. This is Saturn's guidance, calling on the Libra to bring balance and order to the world. Libra is disgusted with any system that skews law to accommodate those that have money or power; might does not make right when dealing with exalted Saturn.

Ky Kiske

Social Dynamo

Libra is one of the two signs ruled by Venus, the planet of pleasure. While Taurus, the other Venus-ruled sign, is concerned primarily with physical pleasure and comfort, Libra thrives on the pleasures of harmony, curiosity, and societal connections. It is more aesthetically driven.

With Libra referring back to the planet of love, it's no wonder that a few of our Libra fighters seem to be following their hearts, or manipulating the hearts of others.

From the Fatal Fury series, we have Mai Shiranui, the large-chested, fan-wielding kunoichi who's been giving SNK fanboys stiffies with her digital funbags ever since the early 90's. Mai was designed to compete with Chun Li, and fills the same role as a Libran, balancing force. Like Chun Li, she was the only female playable character in the roster when introduced, and dressed with the same measure of brevity and elegance. Unlike Chun Li, however, Mai's motives are much more Venusian: the only reason she's fighting at all is because of her schoolgirl crush on Andy Bogard, the main character's brother. Mai seems concerned with little else; she never makes much of a fuss about wanting to be the strongest or with taking revenge on anyone. She fights because it's fun, and because she wants Andy to acknowledge her. Libra has the strongest resonance with the 7^th House, the place where long-term partnerships (and relationships) are formed. To Mai, world-level martial arts tournaments are something she and Andy can do together!

Venus much, Mai?

Similarly, we have Elena from Street Fighter 3. A Capoeirista from Kenya, Elena seems to have no motive for participation other than to travel the world and meet new people. She experiences each fight as an amusement, each new opponent as a new friend.

Uh. I'll be your friend, Elena!

But there's also the badguy Libras, the ones that understand Venus as a weapon – seduction. Momo is from Capcom's Project Justice, the sequel to Rival Schools. In this series, the warriors are all high schoolers, each hailing from a different social strata of the educational environs. Momo is a tennis player who is secretly in league with the villains of the game. Fully aware of her charms, she employs them to lead Shoma, the hot-headed baseball player, to turn against his friends and do her dirty work. When Libra is spoken ill of, it's usually with regard to their laziness, and because they get others to take responsibility for their work. Momo personifies this, and does so intentionally, calculating the implications of her saccharine machinations. Why do all the fighting if someone else is willing to do so?

Traitorous whore!

There's also Kyosuke Kagami, from the same Rival Schools series, who allows himself to be manipulated by his brother because of family loyalty. In Chinese Astrology, Libra is represented by The Dog, mankind's faithful servant. Therefore, Libras can often end up on the other side of manipulation, because it would be socially unacceptable to deny their "master." Only when Kyosuke's devotion to justice kicks in does he decide to rally against his brother's designs and fight on his friends' side.

"I am Jack's Fallen Luminary"

Libra is the Fall of The Sun, the sign which makes the worst possible use of the energy of the ego, the conscious self. More to the point, Libra doesn't understand how to have an ego - it thinks that it does, but what it is really doing is building an identity based on who it interacts with in society. "I am this person's daughter. I am this person's lover. I am this person's subordinate. I must act accordingly." This robotic adherence to social obligations leaves many Libras without a true sense of self.

When they notice this, Libras will often try to compensate with a search for the self-belief that signs like Aries and Leo display so effortlessly.

One such Libra is Xianghua, from Namco's Soul Calibur games. Xianghua wields the eponymous sword, an ancient treasure handed down from her mother, which is the antithesis to the evil sword, Soul Edge.

Xianghua. And her sword. And her butt.

Xianghua seems as much motivated by Venus as she is by a Saturnine drive to balance. On one level, she is motivated by her attraction to the staff-wielding fighter named Kilik, who has a vendetta against Soul Edge. But the reason she embarked on this quest in the first place was due to orders from her King, orders to retrieve Soul Edge's power. While this is already in Saturn's realm, the King's influence ends up being overriden by a Saturn in Libra commitment to balance and order - Xianghua knows that no one must own the sword, that it must be destroyed in order for harmony to be restored.

For as much bluster as these actions seem to convey, Xianghua still defines herself by her connections. She is there on her King's orders. She is joining Kilik's quest. She does so wielding her mother's sword. And although she was the one to defeat the menace of Nightmare in Soul Calibur, she considers herself less skilled than Kilik, and strives to catch up to him. At the close of the third and most recent game, Soul Calibur III, Xianghua's ending has her struggling with the self-belief required to smash the evil blade out of existence once and for all.

The truth hurts, bitch.

As represented in the court cards of the Tarot, Libra is The Queen of Swords. Accordingly, Libra fighters tend to present an image of feminine elegance - even the guys. They also tend to have a penchant for edged weapons. Why?

The Tarot's Swords represent the Zodiac's Air, and are synonymous with truth. If Libran fighters are The Queen of Swords, then they are bound to the blade. Even Libra's Major Arcana card, Justice, holds a sword o' truth at the ready.

This is evident in the fighting styles of most of our Libras so far. Xianghua and Ky both wield swords. Kyosuke's strikes are never done with closed fists, but with palm strikes and chopping strikes, which are the "blades" of empty-hand fighting. As for Chun-Li...y'know that move where you mash the K button, causing her to launch a blinding barrage of kicks? Its Japanese name is "Hyaku Retsu Kyaku," or "One Hundred Tearing Kicks."

Incidentally, the super version of this move - which can be seen in the Street Fighter Alpha games, or the Marvel Versus series - is called "Sen Retsu Kyaku," or "One Thousand Tearing Kicks." I mention this because, well, I think it's pretty fuckin' sweet.

Mash K.

Another interesting note on swords – Libras tend to be the "foil" characters, who either end up being the polarizing second-banana to the main character, usually a strong-willed Aries-type. And of course, a foil is also a type of sword, used in fencing.

Specific examples:

- In Guilty Gear, Ky Kiske is the opposite of Sol-Badguy, an Aries-type anti-hero.

- In The King of Fighters, the foppish Benimaru Nikkaido is a foil to the hot-headed Kyo Kusanagi.

- In Rival Schools, the cool and collected Kyosuke Kagami is a foil to the quick-tempered Batsu Ichimonji.

- Rather than being opposites, Xianghua and Kilik are really pretty similar. An inversion of the prior examples, their foil is the cocky, nunchaku-using, Elvis-lookin' Karate-Pirate called Maxi.

- In some incarnations, Chun Li can be seen as a compliment to Guile and/or Charlie, the two military operatives who share in her dream of bringing down Shadowloo, and getting revenge against M. Bison. However, she is not dependent on either of them, and seems like a character comfortable with operating on her own. Out of all our little Libran fighters, Chunners seems to be the one who's done the best job of integrating her Aries shadow side.

The God of War grants you power...!!! (...somewhat grudgingly...)

Whether or not Mars likes it, all Libras make use of his gifts. (Cheer up, big guy. At least they aren't Cancers.) Since we're playing in Mars' world, let's take a look at some specific fighting types manifesting through these Libran blades.

Mars in Leo: A Libran fighter with Mars in Leo is going to create a beautiful spectacle in their fighting style. Leo's ample martial prowess, which takes pleasure in the glory of the battle, is funneled through Libra's need to create beauty and harmony. While Mars in Leo can have a lot of rough edges manifesting in other signs, Libra takes makes it pretty and entrancing – the fight becomes a choreographed performance. These qualities are evident in the graceful sword dance of Xianghua.

Mars in Scorpio: One thing I immediately noticed is that a lot of these fighters utilize electricity and lightning. With the way it snakes around, destroying from the inside out, Scorpio shares resonance with electricity. This is only heightened when we consider that Scorpionic energy is being conducted through metal – the blade of Libra. Ky, for example, literally uses a lightning sword. Benimaru and Kyosuke also utilize electricity in their signature attacks.

Mars in Sagittarius: Mai Shiranui does wield blades of a sort, as her fans are meant to cut. However, she primarily throws them – long-range attacks are very Sagittarian. Sagittarius is Mutable Fire, the purest incarnation of flame. Mai has a number of moves that involve the use of fire, including one called "Kagerou no Mai," where she is fully engulfed in flames. Sagittarian energy is also personified in the ultra-cartoony, way-too-cute-and-colorful attitude of a lot of Japan's media. This is the way Momo fights, leaving bright pink trails of cartoon hearts in the wake of each swing of her tennis racquet, as she lets out a squeal of a battlecry and throws her whole body into each attack.

Mars in Pisces: Pisces rules the feet, so fighters with Mars in Pisces like to kick things. Elena, our Capoeira gal, has a movelist that is entirely kick-based. Chun Li is primarily a kicker, too. However, Mars in Pisces means more than just planting a heel in someone's jaw. Pisces is a water sign – water can be collected in order to nurture and heal. Elena's third super art, which is simply called "Healing," allows her to regain a significant portion of her lifebar. Pisces is Mutable Water, and the final sign of the zodiac.

Having cycled through the rest of the wheel, Mars in Pisces understands how to take any shape and use it martially. In Chun-Li's first incarnation, she only had her Hyaku Retsu Kyaku (the K mash move,) and the Spinning Bird Kick. But as the Street Fighter series continued, Chun-Li adapted – soon, she had her own projectile move, the Kikouken, to compete with Ken and Ryu. She also gained an anti-air move, the Ten Shou Kyaku. These are attack structures which were present in other characters, but which Mars in Pisces copied and adapted to suit its needs.


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Though geared towards the martial, fighting games are still games. Air signs are curious and fun-loving by nature, and are drawn towards games of any stripe. Given the martial arts' reputation for providing a healthy life and internal harmony, it would make a good amount of sense to see Libras in the dojo – even if they're more involved cognitively than competitively. In the end, that drive to understand rather than to dominate may even make them superior fighters. And if it does, they will taunt the shit out of you after putting you down. Trust me, I know all about it.

Copyright Nerdcore Astrotypes, 2007.

Mars in Gemini = Wutang

Mad Different Methods

Mars is the planet of war, animosity, separation. Of tearing down obstacles and getting shit done. Of general manliness. In Gemini, the mutable air sign, it indicates a rapid and aggressive disbursement of information. Being ruled by Mercury, this placement is less likely to physically enact conflict, though it may lead to a lot of arguing. Mars in Gemini is a communication of aggression, a indication of action on an intellectual level.

People with strong Mars indicators are often at a loss with finding their place in society, shunned by the ruling class just as the Roman God of War was disparaged by the bulk of the Pantheon. People don't like wrathful words and actions rocking their peaceful little boats. Mars types are often beaten down into a lower position in the world; either that, or their wrath is born from the realization of their inability to change their social position.

Thus, rap music – especially gangsta rap – is much aligned with the Mars archetype. Rappers say things that rich white people don't want to hear about, and things that disturb those who are sickened by violence and debauchery. Some of them fall further into the Mars archetype by actually doing the things they rap about – drive-bys, drug deals, and so on. But for most rappers, the wrath resides in the words, and goes no further.

Given Gemini's tendency for speed, and for horizontal expansion in the realm of the written and spoken word, its association with any and all styles of rap music is a given.

Gemini is also the sign most associated with separate identities, multiple personalities. There are a lot of rap groups out there, and even more instances of songs featuring friends of the top-billed rapper.

Furthermore, Gemini is the zodiac's jack of all trades, the sign that knows just enough about everything. When filtered through Gemini's lens, Mars might be inclined to choose one of those realms of knowledge, one particularly interesting realm of knowledge through which to manifest.

Nothing to Fuck With

Adding this all together, ipso facto, abra cadabra...The Wu-Tang Clan is a sterling example of Mars in Gemini.

Wu-Tang is a group of gangsta rappers who met with only marginal success individually. It wasn't until they banded together that they blew up large. In falling in line with multiple identities, the nine members of the Wu-Tang – RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon the Chef, Ol' Dirty Bastard, U-God, Ghostface Killa, Masta Killer, and The Method Man – have all retained a personalized style. While there group is strong, there isn't as much uniformity as a group like Jurassic 5, there is still solidarity when the group performs optimally. However, still a clear indicator of multiple personalities.

Their music is laden with typical gang-banger terminology, but it also manifests in a culturally interesting and unmistakably war-like way: through Kung Fu film and martial arts imagery. They talk a little bit about gunning people down, but they're way more into fatal flying guillotines and liquid swords.

Enter the 36 Chambers

Mars in Gemini's strength lies in that previously mentioned horizontal expansion – in other words, instead of one strong sword thrust, it's more like a large number of arrows flying towards the same target. However, as the arrows fly, their courses diverge: not all of them hit the mark, and some of them end up in a very different place than intended. It has been thus with our intrepid young rap stars, no longer so young.

Though the Wu-Tang clan still exists in name, their efforts have more recently been concentrated on solo careers. Some have been successful. Some have not. The GZA and RZA have advanced themselves both as artists and producers, and RZA has most notably been indispensable to the soundtracks for martial arts films like Ghost Dog and Kill Bill. The group's most visible member, Method Man, has had a reasonably well solo career, and later branched out into film and television. ODB died of a drug overdose in 2004. U-God left the group over a dispute only to reconcile and return a few years later. While I'm not certain what his level of financial and critical success has been relative to the other members, Masta Killer, my personal favorite of the Wu-Tang, has released two very good solo projects.

Masta Killer, about to drop science.

The group's breakthrough effort is titled "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers,)" and takes its name from the a Shaw Bros. Classic starring Gordon Liu, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Gemini is in a constant process of binary division. So check this out: 36 divided by two is 18. 18 divided by two is 9. There are nine members of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Coincidence?! Totally. But it makes for a nice little capper on this piece about the Wu, one of the greatest rap groups of all time and space, and a model of Mars in Gemini if I ever heard of one.

Copyright 2007, Nerdcore Astrotypes

DDR & The Mutable Cross

Nicky Boom Boom's Nerdcore Astrotypes
Dance Dance Revolution: Exploring the Mutable Signs through
Irritating Euro-Pop

Fallen Saturn has rhythm?

It was1997, and Uranus had just been joined by Jupiter in Aquarius. With Uranus in its dignity, conjunct to the bounty of innovative wisdom inherent in Jupiter, it seemed to be time for an exciting technological marvel to be unveiled. However, the Aquarian conjunction was co-ruled by Saturn, which was Fallen in Aries. Combined with the new arrival of Pluto in Sagittarius, which kicked a can of lighter fluid into Saturn's fiery Fall, we had a recipe for a really loud, gaudy technological advancement.

Thus, Bemani took the video game industry by storm.

Bemani is a branch of Konami which was responsible for the huge influx of rhythm games that flooded arcades and game centers worldwide at this time. Their first success was a title called Beatmania, which put players into the role of a virtual DJ.

In Beatmania, you're given five keys and a turntable. Notes scroll from the top of the screen to the bottom, at the tempo of whichever song you've selected. When the notes - in this case, denoted by records - reach a designated area at the bottom of the screen, you tap the corresponding keys in the proper sequence, thereby playing the song. If you miss too many notes, your life bar depletes, and you die. Just like a real DJ!

Now, if you've ever seen one of these games in the arcade, you know the result of this Arien-Sag fire squeezed through Aquarius design. Other arcade games keep their volume to a dull roar, loud enough for players to enjoy the experience without disturbing the rest of the scene. Not so with Bemani games. They command your attention, with Eurobeat and J-Pop tunes blasting at a deafening level. Neon lights and shiny bric-a-brac flash as cartoon wombats try to kill in the background. If you start to lose too much health, the AI gently encourages you to try your best by way of flashing red skulls screaming "DANGER!!! DANGER!!!" as the smarmy Engrish-speaking announcer taunts you with cries of "You're sweatin', huh?!"

For those who don't know, Saturn in Aries is a position ripe for dictatorial designs - Saddam Hussein had this in his natal chart, f'r instance. Saturn denotes position in the world, the structure of society you've been placed in and must navigate through. But Aries doesn't want to bother with that shit - Aries believes that society should conform to his childish whims, regardless of how these rules effect others.

Now, these are games where you are supposed to be making music. When you think of making music, free-form artistic expression springs to mind. But in this setting, you CANNOT diverge from the musical pattern in question, or else you fucking die.

In addition, the structure of these games is such that it allows for a challenger to try and take you down - you battle for dominance through musical aptitude, in the coliseum that is the arcade. How Saturn in Aries is that?

Dance Dance Revolution and The Mutable Cross

The template set by Beatmania may be characterized by Fallen Saturn, but the experience of playing rhythm games shares more with the Mutable signs of the zodiac. This applies to just about all the rhythm games I've played: Beatmania IIDX, Guitar Freaks, Guitar Hero, Drummania, Pop n' Music, Pump It Up, In the Groove, Ouendan, Gitaroo Man, Dance Freaks, you name it. I'll be focusing on my favorite of the lot, Dance Dance Revolution.

Dance Dance Revolution (which I shall heretofore refer to as DDR,) follows the same basic format as Beatmania - there are four note positions, represented by arrows which face up, down, left, and right, and scroll from the bottom of the screen to the top. However, instead of keys at your hands, they're at your feet, forcing you to step, jump, and dance to the music.

This represented a bastion of hope to rotund gamers like myself, who used the game as a vehicle to sort-of kind-of almost physical fitness.

"You mean I can lose weight...and I don't have to stop playing video games?!"

And hell, it works. If you can hang with a high enough skill level in the game, it becomes a challenging cardio set, although the songs only usually last for about two minutes. These short-but-intense bursts of exertion are characteristic of the energy shared between the Gemini-Sagittarius opposition.

"When I shut my eyes, I only see arrows."

Gemini is all about fast interchange of ideas into action. It is also about versatility, variety, and adaptability through cleverness. DDR has all of these qualities.

As far as speed goes, the music is usually pretty fast-paced, and the durations of playtime are brief. The song selection runs the gamut from ska to J-Pop to Eurobeat to techno remixes of classical scores; there is a wealth of variety. Though there are only four keys used to play the game, the varying arrangements and tempo changes one is expected to follow definitely call for a degree of adaptability, and fast interchange of idea into action via twin feet. Gemini in action.

Dancing? In my DDR? It's more likely than you think...

Likewise, the game has ample Sagittarian qualities. Sagittarius, Gemini's opposite, is not concerned with speed or adaptability, but with mastery of one thing through the forces of vision and enthusiasm. Because of this earnest enthusiasm, Sag tends to be loud, colorful, and fantastical.

While I've not known anyone to experience seizures from a bout of DDR, I wouldn't write off the possibility - like most avatars of Japanese culture, DDR is stuffed to the brim with loud, flashing, Sagittarian madness. Regardless of the speed or genre of music, it all tends to be poppy and outlandish - larger than life and, often, charmingly obnoxious. While your eyes and ears are bursting from overstimulation, you're trying hard to just keep doing this ONE thing over and over again. Also falling into Sag's realm, fans of the game often become obsessive converts, rallying away at songs until they have them fully memorized. I've seen people who know a song so well that they can play it facing backwards, or with the arrows completely turned off.

Accordingly, there are two different ways to play (outside of "ineptly.") The first is the aforementioned Sagittarian path - ardent dedication to the path of DDR to the point where you have to modify the highest levels of play so that they'll be somewhat of a challenge. These players usually only know a small set of show-off songs, but they know those songs through-and-through. If asked why they don't try a song outside of their skillset, they'll refuse to play it because, to them, it sucks and is unworthy of effort. Sagittarius likes what it likes, and it doesn't like anything else.

The problem with the Sag player is this: when you play DDR correctly, it doesn't look anything like dancing. It's a kind of spastic thrashing of the legs that doesn't quite look artistic, even in its most elegant refinement. In fact, many Sag players won't even try to dance; they often rest their hands on the rear restraining bar so they can flail their feet in the most efficient way possible.

Sag style.

In contrast, there's the Gemini player, who has a good enough base knowledge to play most of the songs in the game, and who likes to switch it up. These are the players - the few, the proud - who can reconcile the worlds of dance and DDR. These are the guys who can actually dance on the pads and make it look good - the naturals, who never felt the need to put a ton of effort into this. After all, Gemini is the master of games, and DDR is just another game.

The Gemini players are doing it right because they draw the bigger crowds of non-players, impressed with flashy moves - they really make the game look fun and natural. But the Sag players are the ones who garner crowds of fellow players, hanging on their every step to see if they can really get another perfect score on MAX 300.

Perfect Timing, Transcended

On another level, the Virgo-Pisces axis is extremely important to the DDR player.

Virgo is a sign steeped in perfectionist, OCD tendencies. When dealing with this framework handed down from Saturn in Aries, (and when dealing in any musical framework, really) timing is very important. It takes people a while to get the hang of how much Virgo they need to throw into this game - of just how much timing is involved in stepping at the correct time, at the correct place, in the correct way to set up for the next sequence of steps.

However, once you get the hang of this process, you really start to tune out. You can just go on autopilot, daydream, space out, and have accidentally a completed an entire song while your brain was out to lunch.

Oftentimes, players discover this ability under extreme duress. You'll be desperately trying to pass a song that you've failed three times already that day. Here comes that really hard sequence of arrows, the one you can never quite pick apart - you have no hope of consciously discerning all those steps, of commanding your feet to hit everything in that precise order. And in that moment where you unfocus and prepare for the worst, that's when you go into a trance state, where your feet seem to act of their own accord, where you finally blow through that super-difficult section of the song.

It's also worth noting that Pisces rules the feet. Since Pisces rules our interface with the game, it would seem logical that a high-level skill in the game would be of a Piscean nature. Yes? Yes.

Next time you sidle up to a DDR pad, take a look down. There are four arrows, respectively pointing North, East, South, and West. They're letting you know that you're about to be pulled in four different directions, and that if you want to win, it's going to take a lot of compromises with your normal way of doing things.

Welcome to your Mutable Grand Cross - that'll be four tokens.

And now...!

Thank you for that, Japan. Thank you.

Copyright 2007, Nerdcore Astrotypes

Wolverine, The War God's Poster Boy

War is hell. It is neither pretty nor kind, and it is bringing lamentation and death to innocents somewhere in the world right at this very moment. People have hated war ever since there was war to be hated. It shouldn't be terribly surprising then, that Mars - the God of War - was not well-liked around Mt. Olympus. He was much maligned by his father, Zeus, his sister, Athena, and all others who preferred peace and order to wanton savagery.

But if Mars is so easy to hate, then why is our media saturated with iconic characters that are clearly born under the influence his planet? Let's see: off the top of my head, we've got ninjas, samurai, marines, Navy SEALs, Jedi, medeival warriors, Roman gladiators, cowboys, hitmen, gangsters, secret agents, martial artists, renegade cops, and (wait for it...!) super heroes.

Like it or not (and some of us love it,) the red planet of Mars' namesake is present in all of our birth charts. However, the negative attributes ascribed to the Greco-Roman War God are usually found in individuals who have an afflicted Mars. Being a malefic force, a stressed Mars can lead to a very unstable person. Someone who throws a punch where diplomacy is called for, who screams at loved ones against their own heart's wishes.

A healthy Mars, however, will usually lead to the qualities we revere in our action heroes - men of will, vision, courage. Our Clint Eastwoods, John Waynes, Bruce Lees, our Scharzeneggers, Stallones, Bruce Willises (Willii?,) our Steve McQueens, Jackie Chans, and various James Bonds; these are the guys who put a presentable face on wrathful action.

Turning our attention to the higher echelons of geekdom, there is only one comic book character I can think of who so singularly personifies the Mars archetype. Love him or hate him, Wolverine is about as Mars as you can get as one of the good guys.

Anti-Hero

When we think of the word "hero," Wolverine's not really the first image conjured up. The heroes of myth are usually Mars archetypes who have received Jupiter's blessing and been given a task from a Saturnine figure. Jupiter is the planet of growth and expansion, whereas Saturn is a force of restriction and discipline. Usually, both of these energies figure into the making of a classical hero.

Take for example, Perseus, who decapitated Medusa and destroyed the sea-monster called Kraken. He wouldn't have done so if he had not been given marching orders from Zeus (his father,) and Athena, who charged him with a mythic quest. And while they're the ones who ordered him around, they're also the ones that gave him the gifts he needed to succeed. His heroism was bestowed on him by providence.

A modern parallel might be a character like Captain America. The US government granted Jupitarian blessings on mild-mannered Steve Rogers, but they only did it so they could make him into a weapon. Spider-Man is another example: he was granted amazing powers by a freak accident, but was tasked to responsible use of those powers by the words of his late Uncle Ben.

Wolverine was born a mutant; he was born with his healing factor, his heightened senses, and his bone claws. There was no divine hand to guide him along a quest - he was simply thrown out into the world with the ability to go rip-shit crazy.

Wolverine was bestowed with his adamantium skeleton by the Weapon X program, but there's nothing much Jupitarian about having metal surgically bonded to your skeleton. No, this transformation seems much more like Pluto's work, especially if we consider that the Lord of the Underworld is often known as Lord Pluton, God of Hidden Riches. Adamantium is, after all, a very rare and sought-after metal.

As for Saturn, well, it's pretty plain to see that Wolverine has serious authority issues.

For these reasons, Wolverine is what we call an "anti-hero." While there's less glory and bluster in his story, and while he doesn't always behave in a manner that society would condone, there is a primal element that we can all relate to. He is human because he is animalistic, and is possessed of a brutality that many of us hide away deep within ourselves.

We relate to his pain, too. Though our own personal torments are not usually quite on par with his, his suffering and frustration are familiar.

His image has been somewhat softened since his early days, but as much as he as labeled as a "super hero," his anti-hero nature remains at the core of his character. Which is fine - most of the people he eviscerates have it coming.

Exalted

Aries is the exultation of the Sun, the placement that makes most efficient use of identity. Logan has a shit-ton of Aries signatures, and if we were to assemble a fictional chart for him, it'd probably be where his Sun, Mercury, and Mars all reside. He acts like an Aries, he talks like an Aries, and he sure as hell fights like one.

Aries is Cardinal Fire, represented by the ram in the West and as the dragon in the East. It is the first emergence of divinity, sustained by self-belief and through conflict with others - creating "sparks" with which it can add fuel to its fire.

Like the ram, Aries often seeks out esteem through dominance of others - think of that Aries asshole who just savors the experience of butting heads with you. And like a dragon, Aries is a paragon of willpower. Though it is but a mythical beast, I think we can safely imagine that there's not much stopping a dragon from doing what the hell it wants. And being possessed of bestial super powers, soaring through the air and affecting the weather, the dragon (like Aries) probably had little regard for the affairs of the other animals down on Earth's surface.

Wolverine is relatively self-centered. Always standing slightly apart from the rest of the X-Men, always taking off at the drop of the hat to explore a lead in the search for his lost past - shit, he's basically commandeered the entire franchise. There was a period where you couldn't pick up an X-title without seeing his face on the cover.

It's not that he doesn't care about others. It's just that he's the center of his own universe.

Aries is the both the first sign of the zodiac, as well as the eternal child. In a sense, Wolverine is "first" among the X-Men, being far older than almost any living mutant, but kept relatively young by his mutant healing factor. Despite his age and inflated attitude, his stature ensures that he'll always have the nickname of "runt," another obvious indicator of his eternal childhood. Also like a child, and like a certain other "first man," Wolverine has a habit of assigning nicknames, himself - "bub" and "darlin' " are his basic means for designations for male and female.

In addition, Wolverine has a tendency to group himself with younger people. Even in a group of young people like the X-Men, he seeks out the youngest as his pseudo-sidekicks. First it was Kitty Pryde. When she grew out of it, there was Jubilee. For a time, even Cannonball seemed to be Wolverine's shadow.

Kitty's recent homage panel

Jubilation Lee

What's more, straddling the line between totally childish and completely badass, Wolverine is world-famous for his berserker rage, a homicidal battle frenzy that overtakes him whenever the shit hits the fan. While it's cool to see our angst-ridden anti-hero flip out and kill things, it should also be noted, in correlation with the notion of Aries-as-child, that his berserker rage is also a glorified temper tantrum. This is why I've never really bought Wolverine as a ninja/samurai/master of Japanese martial arts. Because seriously, when do you ever see him fight in a way possessed of any discipline? And while one of Aries' innate qualities is betterment by way of self-mastery, it seems pretty clear that Logan missed a memo somewhere and skipped over all his training to get to the bloodlust.

A final evidence of Aries lies in Wolverine's most-used mutant ability: his healing factor. Unlike Leo, whose fire is sustained by social approval, or Sagittarius, whose fire is simply fueled by excitement and vision, Aries' runs on self-belief. This can translate into a stubborn "never say die" sort of attitude, so it is appropriate that Logan's mutation keeps him alive through incredibly traumatic situations. It used to be considered impressive that he could sustain a bullet to the head (not that it could penetrate his adamantium-laced skull.) Since then, Wolverine has survived the horror of having that same adamantium lacing ripped completely from his system by Magneto, only to be replaced once more by Apocolypse. Most recently, in the Civil War crossover series, an explosion triggered by Nitro left Wolverine reduced to little else but his metallic skeleton and a bit of tissue, and he still managed to regenerate fully.

Fallen

While Aries' signature is certainly the largest zodiacal signature on Wolverine, the War God's other half, Scorpio, also seems to have a marked presence. Though I believe Logan's Sun would have its exaltation in Aries, I'd also believe his second luminary, the Moon, to be fallen in Scorpio.

The Moon is the mysterious foundation of our souls – a bundle of intrinsic needs and desires which we are often unconscious of. And while a good understanding of one's emotional base is healthy, the Moon often contains mysteries that we have unconsciously locked away from ourselves, truths that we cannot deal with. Dredging up painful psychological complexes can be most unsettling, and the Moon – being the foundational structure of the psyche - should not be unsettled.

At first glance, watery Scorpio, notorious for its connection to stories of intrigue, should be right at home in the mysterious structure of the Moon. The problem is that in all those detective or spy stories, the Scorpionic character is the one who works toward unraveling the mystery – in short, Scorpio doesn't like any mystery that it isn't at the center of. And so, a Scorpio Moon relentlessly tries to solve itself, which is equal to a drilling of, and eventual negation of this all-important emotional base.

This circumstance is pretty easy to apply to Wolverine. If the Moon is a mysterious foundation, it can also be a person's past. A different man might be content to let sleeping dogs lie, and get on with enjoying his new family with the X-Men and finding gratification in super-heroics. Not Wolverine. No matter how excruciating the truth is, Wolverine cannot help but delve into his past at every possible opportunity. And this is a past that is most painful to relive, and was probably buried for a good reason. Though he's lived for ten lifetimes, he's seen nearly all his loved ones cut down at the start of their lives.

Wolverine also has very clear connections to the Death card, Scorpio's representation in the Tarot. Like the black-clad horseman, Wolverine has been known to indiscriminately mow down whatever's in his path. In fact, recent events had him playing the role of Death after he was brainwashed by Apocolypse and converted into the leader of the Four Horsemen. But even when he doesn't carry the title so obviously, he still lives it. One of the first tests of his ability as Weapon X was to exterminate an entire midwestern town called Roanoke, a memory that had been suppressed until his recent investigations finally yielded results.

Death

Considering his mass appeal, rich characterization, and constant involvement, it seems odd that Wolverine doesn't get a lot of glory. There's not too many major villains that he's toppled – sure, he'll get a good cut in on Magneto every now and then, but that's usually only after he's been nailed by Cyclops, punched by Rogue, and has been mind-raped by Professor Xavier. And even then, he only really tags the super villains when he sneaks up on them. Most of the time, Wolverine's the guy who's ripping through henchmen while others rumble with the big fish.

Again, this is an echo of the the Greek God, Ares. Ares was bested by Athena, defeated twice by Hephaestus, and was injured by mortals on two separate occasions. There aren't very many stories about the War God winning important battles. Those big victories usually rely more on clever thinking (Hermes,) a brilliant strategy (Athena,) or raw power (Zeus.) Battle frenzy has its place, but that place is usually reserved for chewing through the ranks of foot soldiers. That's what Ares was good at, and that's what Wolverine's good at.

And if we think about it, who's are his archenemies? He only really has Sabretooth, who's just a representation of his shadow side, and the things about his bestial nature that he refuses to accept. Sabretooth enjoys being an animal and a death-machine, and his purpose in Wolverine's story is mostly to remind him that they are the same thing, like it or not.

A Venusian Menagerie

He's no Remy LeBeau, but Wolverine does get some bitches. He usually ends up with long-standing relationships that are ultimately doomed, but which carry explosive emotional weight for him until they disintegrate.

Many of the Gods, following Zeus' example, would just fuck whoever they pleased with little regard for the consequences. But Ares, despite his gruff function, would have relatively consistent and consensual consorts. The most notable, of course, being with Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty.

Venus is represented in the Tarot as The Empress, and Wolverine tends to attract women in that sort of role. His late lover, Silverfox, ended up being the leader of a terrorist organization known as HYDRA. He was betrothed to Mariko Yashida for years, before the yakuza princess was tricked into an untimely death. He had a relationship with another beautiful crime-lordess in Madripoor, Tigerlily. His most well-known romance, of course, is his unconditional (yet unconsummated) love for Jean Grey, who was in many ways the "Empress" de facto of the X-Men. And while she eventually married the philanderous and totally lame-ass Cyclops, the geeky little pervert inside of me likes to believe that she flicked the bean to Wolverine. And that rhymes.

Sup, Darlin

Logan as Death

Copyright 2006, Nerdcore Astrotypes