Mars’ Retrograde motion occurs once every two years and a few months (about every 27 months), and lasts for around 65 days. It represents a rather complicated period of time in more ways than one, and it inevitably affects the year when it occurs because the things that it emphasizes are quite “tense”…
To truly understand what makes this phase complex, we need first and foremost to understand what Martian energies represent.
The planet Mars represents the “armed wing” of the Sun; if the Sun represents “willpower”, then Mars is volition. It’s the spark of action that turns on the entire motor, accomplishes things, and takes action !
It truly represents a catalytic force, our capacity for initiative, assertiveness, and audacity, all the Cardinal Fire that allows us to defend ourselves and to exist. It’s truly linked to the “Word”, which describes the means of expression behind the tonality of the planetary energies, which means that it’s extremely central and is a “root” process (meaning that it’s connected to the root of things).
So then inevitably Mars’ retrogradation is likely to make these forces more introverted, inhibit them, make it harder for them to be expressed, and confront them with obstacles and limitations, and thus tremendously increases one’s internal nervous energy…
For example, we may be more likely to feel like we are stepping on the accelerator and the brakes at the same time, like our engine is slipping up, or like we are unable to take action in the ways we want to, accomplish what we intend to, or really translate all of our powers of action into actual actions.
Our anger may be extremely heightened during this period of time, yet remain quite internal, hidden and we may not easily use it, express it, or calmly channel it in a really productive way, though this also depends on which part of the sky (the chart) the retrograde motion is occurring in…
In the same way, Mars may represent an inflammatory process or various “crises”, not only socially but also in terms of health, so obviously this should be directly monitored if you are susceptible to this sort of thing.
I remember Mars retrograde in 2016 in Sagittarius, which I really personally experienced from this perspective, and in a very unpleasant way.
Help ! Mars is going retrograde : what do I do ?
The difficulty thus lies very much in successfully channeling these forces of action, rather than simply treading water or even regressing (which is a significant risk), and there are also several others key things to make use of and keep an eye on…
First of all, determine how strong Mars is in your birth chart; the planet’s retrograde motion may be experienced very differently depending on whether our Martian energies are particularly dignified in terms of their Rulerships or rather debilitated because of where Mars is…
And there are not really any fixed rules, since, for example, Mars in Aries can get very thrown off balance while Mars in Libra may be more comfortable. It depends on all of the various forces acting overall.
By extension, the strength of your Fire is determined by your elemental energies, and a person who is greatly influenced by this forces is likely to be particularly destabilized by Mars going retrograde, while for people who have a birth chart that makes them fundamentally more introverted this may allow them to externalize things in a helpful way.
In addition, it may be a good idea to lean into the various activations of Fire, from either Progressions or Transits, that you are experiencing at the time of Mars’ retrograde motion, the idea being that if the Martian engine “comes to a halt”, other forces can at least partially compensate for Mars, if, for example, your 1st House or 5th House is activated, or even in certain cases a transit of Uranus which will be able to bring a very “electric” Fire energy to the forefront during this period of time.
Finally, your relationship with Saturn may also be an important thing to monitor (see my article on the pairing of Mars and Saturn) and will also help you to structure things over time, to be more patient in the long term, and to determine which strategy to use… Saturn’s energies do not represent an engine, strictly speaking, but they do help you to hold and bear with through the hard times, to find some use for any delays that occur ! (rather than pointlessly running in circles like a caged lion)
In this respect, Mars’ retrograde period can thus be a catalyst for “taking a step back in order to take a bigger leap forward”, almost as though these planetary energies need to symbolically retreat and retrace their steps in order to gather momentum and overcome an obstacle later on !
And just like for an athlete before a match, this requires preparation and an analysis of the logistical, practical, and pragmatic constraints…
Integrating the perspective of time
Patience is key for “survival” during this period of time (and God knows that this is coming from a fundamentally impatient person 🙂 )…
Living life as a human being inevitably forces us to learn patience : we are constantly confronted with series of frustrations, like tests to see what we have inside of us, what really matters to us, and what lies beyond our “superficial vagaries”, at our fundamental core !
And this period of time is a direct reminder of all of that… Something doesn’t work, we start things and don’t end up finishing them because they seem like an endless mountain, we feel the weight of sluggishness, obstacles in our way, and the energy that would be required of us in order to get what we want, and inevitably this is all very demoralizing, tends to become incapacitating or crippling, so we give up.
As the Chinese proverb goes, “a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step”, but the cleverest people are those who are able to say at the beginning, while taking this first step, that it will indeed be a 1000 miles journey !? (impossible) And Mars’ retrograde motion confronts us with the perspective of this fundamental objective.
Calculating risks
In theory, Mars is the symbol of spontaneity and impulsiveness, but here it can reveal another side of itself, one that is more cerebral and safety-oriented : what if I reconfigured my actions, my goals, and my strengths in an intelligent way so as to be more efficient ?
The changes that we need to make may be approached differently with Mars retrograde, because our Martian capacities are different, and the actions that we can take may therefore be different as well.
Thus, this period of time is not favorable for “initiating” something, but more likely favors getting in touch with and applying the virtues of “inaction”, which may in some cases take the form of a “forced” break, and in particular a change of pace, where we need to break with our usual routine in order to start off on the right foot.
Indeed, this is even more true if you generally have a rather excitable temperament under normal circumstances ! Stress and hyperactivity can also be a kind of “drug” or addiction, allowing us to feel alive and present (this is actually the consequence of having a “fear of emptiness”), and this Martian time period may require us to harness all of this differently, take our time to breath, listen better to our intuition and inner emotions, and sing the praises of a certain degree of slowness (if you have any Taureans in your entourage, you ought to understand what I mean 🙂 ).
What is the impact on affectivity ?
As a planet of the Animus, Mars inevitably tends to very easily get involved in one’s various Projections, especially those that are affective in nature.
In addition, it’s quite common to see Mars’ retrograde period get mixed up in certain emotional crises, especially if Venus’ cycle also lends itself to this situation at the same time, as we can see in the year 2020, where these two planets are somewhat “synchronized” in their retrograde periods, and together activate quite a few quadratures…
How does Mars’ retrograde motion relate to our natal Mars ?
One important thing is to really understand the meaning of Mars in our birth chart. This planet is very much connected to our desires, but while Venus represents the magnetic forces of these desires, the forces of Mars actually respond to them, and are thus the receptive polarity which reacts to these energies.
Does our natal Mars have social ambitions ? Personal ambitions ? Professional ambitions ? Do we tend to be “subjected to” its energies, or rather use them ? Are we able to easily understand these planetary forces, or are they more obscure ? Do they give rise to fear, hurt, and introversion ?
Mars’ Retrograde motion may require us to accept all of this in a different way and give it shape.
If you already have Mars retrograde in your birth chart or in your Secondary Progressions, you may be more comfortable with these energies during this period of time : you will understand them better and will be more capable of using and accepting them, and it may be very helpful for you to take advantage of this fact for these few weeks.
Perform a global analysis of the aspects that this planet forms as well as what is happening in your 1st House, because these factors may readily be activated and come to the forefront during this period of time.
A few pointers for managing this retrograde transit
Watch out for Mars’ stationary phases; i.e. the period of time when the planet slows down when it’s about to change its state, both as it goes retrograde and when it shifts back into direct motion. This is a period of time that can easily last for four months out of the year (!) if we really analyze the planet’s entire retrograde loop, and it’s important to analyze these periods to see what points they are emphasizing because these points are what will be the most sensitive ! more than the period of retrograde motion itself…
Analyze Mars’ retrograde motions from the past, especially if you are just getting started with astrology ! It’s a fairly common phenomenon in the realm of planetary transits, so you are sure to have already lived through a good number of Martian retrograde motions even if you are young, and by diving into the past, you can better understand what you are experiencing in the present, even though it’s not necessarily very easy to remember everything that happened in your life during such a time period, especially for a quick transit like this one.
Just like for all periods of retrograde motion, try to plan and anticipate things as much as possible ! If a retrograde motion is likely to create a delay, try to get a head start early on !
Try to get organized as much as possible and apply the Pareto principle in advance in order to maximize the efficiency of the time and energy that you invest : it’s really essential to understand this principle.
Steer clear of the desire to compensate for what is “lost”… As the saying goes, you can’t make up for lost time, and if you hope to be able to compensate by jacking up on caffeine and other stimulants, not sleeping, or doubling the pace of your work, you run the risk of going down the wrong path, creating even more stress and anxiety for yourself, and sprinting towards an eventual burnout, with huge disappointments… which I hope that this article will save you from ! 🙂