Mars goes retrograde about every two years for about 10 weeks. He will be retrograde (moving backward from our perspective) from this Sunday until the end of June.
Mars entered his "shadow period" (the degrees he will 'retrace' beginning on Sunday) back in mid February and he won't be covering completely fresh ground until August.
What does this mean for us - well, first of all, in a way, this transit's lessons have already started. The stuff we will be dealing with (and reworking) over the next couple months is already in play (it can connect back to the spring equinox happenings, too).
Mars will begin his retrograde in Sagittarius and move back through Scorpio - so these are the houses in our natal (and progressed) charts we will be dealing with. Since this is the same slice of sky Saturn worked through (in a slower and more thorough fashion) from 2014/2015 - this could be about something we were dealing with then. It's one more chance to work with the themes related to these houses - to get it right, to take action on it, to put it to bed.
What does this mean for us - well, first of all, in a way, this transit's lessons have already started. The stuff we will be dealing with (and reworking) over the next couple months is already in play (it can connect back to the spring equinox happenings, too).
Mars will begin his retrograde in Sagittarius and move back through Scorpio - so these are the houses in our natal (and progressed) charts we will be dealing with. Since this is the same slice of sky Saturn worked through (in a slower and more thorough fashion) from 2014/2015 - this could be about something we were dealing with then. It's one more chance to work with the themes related to these houses - to get it right, to take action on it, to put it to bed.
If this was the olden days, our ancestors would be sacrificing a goat right about now. They knew from experience Mars' movements (easy to track since he is that red spot in the night sky) often brought aggression, hostility and war.
Now (although Mars is still the planet of war), we look at him and his movements a bit less malefically. Mars is our will, our initiative, our energy. He is also our passion, our anger, our courage.
With Mars outside his 'normal flow' we can expect our energy to be lower. We can expect less to come of things we 'initiate' during this period. Romances started now could fizzle out when he moves direct next summer. Projects will face delays and disruptions. We will be rethinking and reworking our actions. Anger can come out in ways inappropriate to the situation and will backfire on us.
There are astrologers who believe whoever starts a fight (action against a rival, lawsuit, war, etc) or "fires the first shot" when Mars is retrograde will always lose. Keep this in mind.
Since Mars rules Aries - Aries Suns and risings are strongly affected (although for particularly assertive/aggressive Aries, this could bring a period of calm and peace). Since Mars is the ancient ruler of Scorpio - Scorpio Suns and risings are strongly affected, too - although Scorpion manipulation may work better for most people now (as opposed to overt action), it may not work so well for Scorpios.
I was born with Mars retrograde (and if you have a natal Mars retrograde or even Mars in the water ruled houses - 4th, 8th, 12th houses, Mars retrograde can be a good transit for you and almost the reverse of other people's experiences) and see this in my natal chart as one, of multiple, indicators that willful action often backfires for me. If I start the fight, I lose. Actively going after what I want either doesn't work or when I get what I want I realize it's not what I really want. I think this is how willful action will work for most people during this transit (April 17th - June 29th). We may also find, if we are more naturally passive, we will be forced to stand up for ourselves now.
Now (although Mars is still the planet of war), we look at him and his movements a bit less malefically. Mars is our will, our initiative, our energy. He is also our passion, our anger, our courage.
With Mars outside his 'normal flow' we can expect our energy to be lower. We can expect less to come of things we 'initiate' during this period. Romances started now could fizzle out when he moves direct next summer. Projects will face delays and disruptions. We will be rethinking and reworking our actions. Anger can come out in ways inappropriate to the situation and will backfire on us.
There are astrologers who believe whoever starts a fight (action against a rival, lawsuit, war, etc) or "fires the first shot" when Mars is retrograde will always lose. Keep this in mind.
Since Mars rules Aries - Aries Suns and risings are strongly affected (although for particularly assertive/aggressive Aries, this could bring a period of calm and peace). Since Mars is the ancient ruler of Scorpio - Scorpio Suns and risings are strongly affected, too - although Scorpion manipulation may work better for most people now (as opposed to overt action), it may not work so well for Scorpios.
I was born with Mars retrograde (and if you have a natal Mars retrograde or even Mars in the water ruled houses - 4th, 8th, 12th houses, Mars retrograde can be a good transit for you and almost the reverse of other people's experiences) and see this in my natal chart as one, of multiple, indicators that willful action often backfires for me. If I start the fight, I lose. Actively going after what I want either doesn't work or when I get what I want I realize it's not what I really want. I think this is how willful action will work for most people during this transit (April 17th - June 29th). We may also find, if we are more naturally passive, we will be forced to stand up for ourselves now.
One of the things Mars represents in our natal chart is the kind of emotions we got used to feeling when we were very, very young (pre-speech). This is partly because of our earliest environment and our parents or caregivers but also because of the energy we carried into that environment and the way those energies interacted.
Since Mars represents passion and desire - these emotions are the ones we grow to associate with those things (passion, desire, love) and those are the emotions, when triggered by other people and situations, that we move toward as we go through life.
(this is an unconscious process and yes, we can consciously decide that passion and desire will feel differently and move toward something else, but it is the energy we will naturally feel passion and desire for)
With Mars retrograde (especially in the deep waters of Scorpio) we will be relooking at what we are passionate about and what we really desire. It's also a chance to regroup and try a new way to "attack" (not overtly) the challenges in our life.
It's a time to re-examine and rework the way we express, experience and integrate Mars energy (masculine, assertive) in our life. It will also allow us a pause between - what happens and what we do about it, putting ourselves in the other person's shoes, etc - that can make all the difference!
We will talk about this as we move through the transit.
Pluto (in Capricorn) is also going retrograde and both these planets (Mars and Pluto) are the rulers of Scorpio - which is about getting to the real truth of the matter, the truth about power and seeing through the illusion of life on planet Earth.
And we are leading up to the Scorpio Full Moon on the 22nd - the truth is coming out people! xo all
