Saturn and Mars, or the Sickle and the Hammer

-CREATIVE WRITING-

Despite the tendency to see the planets Mars and Saturn as malevolent and harmful, there is another story. Saturn and Mars have positive manifestations. Though they deal with matters that might not always be characterized as fun, bright, and pleasant, both planets are useful, productive, and advantageous. The hammer and sickle are both symbols of Mars and Saturn, respectively. They are constructive symbols. Saturn was often seen as an agricultural deity and the sickle is tied to it. The sickle was used in agricultural societies to harvest grains or to cut grasses to feed livestock. Saturn’s symbolism with the sickle is evident. The sickle is able to sever a part of a plant so it can be eaten. It extracts and cuts the useful part for greater benefit. The sickle acts in a similar way to Saturn in its beneficial manifestations. Further, more generally, Saturn cuts out unnecessary, extraneous, or harmful parts of life, including people, habits, and environmental factors. The hammer likewise belongs to Mars. It applies force to various heads to fuse materials together. It can be used for cooking and preparing food, construction of shelter and buildings, tool creation, and working wood, metal, and physical materials. Mars likewise can be used to build and construct anything. It provides the energy, the grit, and the skill with building tools, whatever they may be. The hammer points to mastery of tools, as it is arguably the first tool humans constructed. Interestingly, Saturn can help with building any system or structure with types of logic, knowledge, and the like. It can help the martial component, which provides the energy and craftsmanship, to build a building, system, or pretty much anything that requires structure. Accordingly, the hammer and the sickle are positive symbols of Mars and Saturn working constructively.  They both vary in the way they are applied as the two planets work quite differently. The following lines have been written with the particular traits of Mars and Saturn in mind, and how they differ. 

Mars says do it now,

Saturn says do nothing and think about the present and the future.

Mars says to act,

Saturn says prepare before doing it.

Mars says ignore, shape, and overcome the environment,

Saturn says let the conditions guide you.

Mars champions impulse,

Saturn argues for waiting.

Mars believes initiative can overcome odds,

Saturn maintains careful actions are the only way.

Mars says taking chances leads to victory, 

Saturn says to limit risk is best.

Mars has no room for fear,

Saturn is often mistaken for fear, he’s so close with it.

Mars thrives on the attack,

Saturn sits unmoved until the opportune time.

Mars says planning hinders,

Saturn says plans are essential.

Mars can’t help but make mistakes,

Saturn’s mistakes are few and then corrected.

Mars decides in a flash,

Saturn deliberates and deliberates.

Mars doesn’t mind straying from the path and makes up for it later, 

Saturn prefers the straight road.

Mars forgives misbehavior,

Saturn demands punishment.

 

 

 

Photo Credits

1. A warhammer sits on a surface. Photo by Wolfgang Sauber.
2. Ancient representations of Saturn and Mars are displayed in a stone relief and an old coin. Ninurta, pictured in the relief, was identified with Saturn by the Babylonians. The coin depicts a Hellenized leader of Persia, Pharnabazus. Public Domain.  The cropped image of Ninurta is a monumental stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu from 883- 889 B.C. The god is Ninurta or possibly Adad and pursues a leonine monster. The images in this photo were altered.