Karttikeya, god of War, is often identified as a deity of planet Mars. One story, of which there are variations, is that Kartikeya was born from the seed of Shiva, and carried by Agni (the Vedic fire god) into the wombs of the six Krittikas (the stars of the Pleiades), the wives of the Rishis, who each nursed Kartikeya. A differentiation is that the spilt seed of Shiva was too hot for even Agni to tolerate, and so he dropped it in the river Ganga, where the river deposited it into a lake and the child Kartikeya was born amongst the grasses. The six Krittika spotted the baby, and all came to nurse such a radiant child, but argued as to who should take care of him; Kartikeya responded by growing five more heads so that each could nurse him. A further story is that Kuja (Mars) was born from the sweat of Lord Shiva's brow as he was engaged in deep meditation, which dropped to the earth and formed a most beautiful child.
The various myths conclude with Mars/Kuja and Kartikeya (other names including Skanda, Murugan, Kumara and Subrahmanya... yes, there are quite a few!) being the Commander in Chief of the divine army, born as the destroyer of demons. Whilst Surya (Sun) was said to have been born from Vishnu and Chandra (Moon) from Brahma, Kuja (Mars) was Shiva's essence. He is the son of the Earth, red, fiery and hot.
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, a Russian occultist, philosopher, and author, had a lot to say about the role of the Pleiades and how they are intrinsically tied to the unfolding of human destiny. She speaks about the mythology of Kartikeya and his connection to the Krittikas/Pleiades constellation in her treatise "The Secret Doctrine". She writes:
"The Pleiades (Krittika) are the nurses of Karttikeya, the God of War (Mars of the Western Pagans), who is called the Commander of the celestial armies -- or rather of the Siddhas (translated Yogis in heaven, and holy sages on the earth) -- "Siddha-sena," which would make Karttikeya identical with Michael, the "leader of the celestial hosts" and, like himself, a virgin Kumara."
Archangel Michael is considered a leader in the angelic realm, just as Mars and Kartikeya are the commanders of a divine army. In the Book of Revelation, Michael leads God's armies against Satan's forces during the war in heaven, where he defeats Satan, much like Kartikeya was born to defeat the demon Taraka. Both are symbolic for the inherent light of the creator and the vanquishing of our own ignorance as the darkness that separates us from union with Source.
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