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Mars retrogrades every 2 years or so, and the previous one took place in October 2022 in Gemini.
It’s always an opportunity to put the forces of action in brackets and perhaps leave more space for the forces of reflection, analysis, read what I can evoke here on the way of living the Martian retrograde on a daily basis by touching on some very useful generalities on it.
Main signs impacted during this Mars retrograde:
The 3rd decans of the Cardinal signs and the 1st decans of the Fixed signs.
Power struggles
This Martian retrograde motion begins on December 07, 2024, early in the day and in the 1st decan of Leo (6°), as Mars insists on opposition to Pluto from its stationary phase, which has been in place even since the 3rd dekad of October, and is clearly the major aspect of the retrograde motion.
It’s an aspect that can more strongly indicate a power struggle, or the fact of having to deal with someone’s domination, a person who may seek to control, to materialize possessiveness, jealousy, to impose himself.
It’s possible, moreover, that this more strongly concerns an emotional, family and relational setting, where these power relationships can be more important and sensitive in this kind of configuration.
Hence the importance of carefully analyzing what may happen from October 06, 2024 onwards, as the planet Mars is already beginning to enter its retrograde loop, and from that point onwards, it will travel a path it will be obliged to return to, which means that the issues raised may need several more months to bounce back or be finalized (not even before spring 2025 for some).
It’s especially the 3rd decans of the Cardinal signs who are sensitized until early November 2024, and who risk experiencing some “confusion in action”, with greater difficulty in putting their will into action.
Don’t forget that Cancer is a fall position for Martian energies, so where this planetary function is really not at ease, where it can be more defensive, or in search of security, stability, but where this can also be thwarted for a time.
It may also be that in this position, certain changes will have to be imposed, but that there will be resistance on the part of the personality, which clings to the old, more conservative foundations, including through fear of change, novelty, etc., depending of course very much on each person’s chart.
From the beginning of November (the 4th), it’s the 1st decans of Fixed signs that will be the most sensitized, as Mars moves into Leo, a sign that is a priori much more conducive to externalizing your Fire, your assertiveness and your combativeness, and the notion of confronting an authority person will obviously not be to be neglected in this position, including when seeking to emancipate yourself.
However, as the stationary phase sets in until December, it’s not advisable to make firm decisions or sign anything with this type of force, even if you’re provoked or pushed to the fault, irritated, you need to think things through over a longer period of time, patient and persevering.
It may be that we need to revisit things started earlier in the year, in spring or summer, perhaps because we have to go back on a job, or on a decision taken too hastily, or on a latent conflict that finds new embers to rekindle itself, even in the background.
From January 06, Mars retrograde returns to the sign of Cancer and will insist for several weeks on the 3rd decan, sensitizing all the Cardinal signs again, and this may be part of the most “sticky” phase of the retrograde motion.
In this respect, I would probably say that you have to “be patient”, because the forces of action can be much more complicated at this time, and you can find yourself pedaling in the sand, as they say, and having to deal with delays, setbacks, cancellations, ill-will, etc…
This won’t affect everyone in the same way, of course, but if you have a lot of Fire in your theme, the beginning of 2025 is likely to put a lot of strain on your spleen, make you work on your patience, and make you bite the brake, even by force of circumstance.
If, on the other hand, you have a more passive/receptive birth chart, with aquatic forces, or a retrograde Mars in your birth chart, this could be very useful for you to exploit, with an increase in sensitivity and inspiration (we can see that Mars retrograde will also be insisting quite a lot at this time at the trine of Neptune’s transit, so it’s still interesting to externalize these forces).
Direct resumption of Mars is scheduled for February 24, 2025 at 17° Cancer, and this will always be good to take, as it can lift some of the forces of introversion!
That said, we mustn’t be too quick to declare victory, as Venus is also retrograding from Aries, and I’ll come back to this later, but once again we’re up against something that can lead to introversion, withdrawal and confrontations in relationships and emotions, so we’re not out of the woods yet.
And we’ll have to wait until April/May 2025 in particular to see some interesting forces unblock these medium-term retrograde configurations! (the definitive and complete release of the Mars and Venus retrograde loops).
In any case, as far as this Mars retrograde specifically is concerned, if you have things that require a fully active dynamic, try to initiate them before October 2024, and for everything that happens from October onwards, make sure you start with the idea that things are likely to last much longer than expected…