by Robert Wilkinson
Mars is rapidly slowing, preparing to go retrograde soon! Lots of Cancer and Leo action ahead!
The shadow zone is defined by the span between where a planet goes retrograde, and where it goes direct after the retrograde period. In this case, Mars goes retrograde at 7 Leo on December 6. It will retrograde back to 18 Cancer, where it goes stationary direct on February 23/24, 2025.
That puts the shadow zone between 18 Cancer and 7 Leo, and around 9:45 pm PDT on October 4 Mars enters the degree where it’ll go SD in late February. I’ll be writing quite a few articles about the coming retrograde which will post as it comes closer.
Mars retrograde is a time when things slow down and may even be thrown into reverse. It seems that much which is initiated during the initial transit of the shadow zone gets undone, redone, or postponed while Mars is retrograde. While it can be great for reworking a plan, or focusing on other things which will support the main play after Mars goes direct, mostly Mars retrograde frustrates the ability to get things done in any sort of timely manner.
Because all retrogrades bring back things from the past, whether for review, reconsideration, or re-thinking (Mercury), re-valuing (Venus) or re-working (Mars), they often link with other celestial events in the past, giving us a new interpretation, new value, or new way of “attacking the problems of life” related to those prior events. Since Mars is the part of us which gets aggravated at things and people, a Mars retrograde period is good for looking at buried anger, or frustration at how that prior event got misdirected. It’s definitely good for slowing some things down so we can figure out how to get them on a better trajectory in the future.
This Mars retrograde period will bring up a lot related to the “permanent patterns” at work in our lives, and we’ll get a review and chance to rework our late Cancer and early Leo expression, or see new ways to “do our Being” in those areas of our charts. We may get a look back on how events in the past aggravated us in ways we buried up to now, or we may have to look back to find how to respond to something in the present.
In any case, we’ll get to slow down and redirect our efforts to different things as prelude to beginning anew in late February. This retrograde will help us take a look back as we stand on the threshold of a new Era!
Time To Adjust to A Different Pace
The Mars data you notice over the next 7 weeks will be clarified after the Sun opposes Mars on January 15/16. By the time the Sun opposes the Mars SRX degree around January 25, we’ll begin to feel things speed up a little even though the energies will still be impossibly intense due to Mercury conjunct Pluto a couple of days later. In any case, over the next few weeks adapt to the slowing pace of things, get as much done as possible with an eye to things slowing rapidly over the next few weeks, and prepare to put some things on hold for a little while by the beginning of December.
Again, take a look at what's been set into motion with an eye to building in delays and redirecting efforts to secondary things which will support the main play when Mars is again direct in late February since much will develop rapidly after that, even if Venus is slowing to go retrograde at that time. The time before Mars goes retrograde is good for doing what must be done so that other related things can be done later, as well as examining what’s working and what’s not. What is bogging down your life? That’s where to put your focus.
With Mars’ retrograde station at 7 Leo, get ready to rework how you express your eternal Self, with a “sense of primordial wonder and awe” accompanied by an “unquenchable faith in a spiritual (world) complementing our own.” This is a degree of permanence, where Rudhyar speaks of the cosmic patterns projecting their qualities upon those on Earth. Be courageous, authentic, and as playful as possible in expressing your most genuine and authentic self.
As I noted in Chapter 2 in my book Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend,
Mars' duality is Grace/Sin. This is the aspect of consciousness that shows whether our responses are manifesting error or truth, maladjustment or beauty. By our Martian function we force things before their time or confront abrasive, aggressive, or hostile energies in ourselves and others, and thus we learn how to sever what must be severed, and further what must be furthered, quickly and directly. (As an aside, the original meaning of “sin” had nothing to do with moral failure. It was an archery term meaning “to miss the mark,” or not hitting the center of a target. I use it here in that sense.)
With Cancer and Leo, the focus will be on natural self-expression and personality integration related to what nourishes us or what we need “to square ourselves with life.” Cancer is the Innocent with the wisdom of primal instincts to do right, and Leo is the ruler who has to learn generosity and integrity for its realm to prosper. When Mars transits Cancer and Leo, we are challenged to show our caring through direct actions which take us out of introversion and insecurity into extroversion and confidence in our natural self-expression. Wherever it’s happening in your chart is where these “lessons of how to do things” are playing out.
I’ll give you more in coming weeks, since we have the excellently productive Mars sextile Uranus in Taurus and trine to Neptune in Pisces before the first of the three oppositions of Mars to Pluto in effect the first week of November which will be echoed when Mars retrograde again opposes Pluto in early January. (The last opposition is in late April). Expect elements of hyper tension and polarization so learn to decrease agitation and aggression during that time.
Since we’ll be dealing with Mars in Cancer through early November and again from January through late April, if you need a reminder, please take a new look at Mars Enters Cancer – What’s Coming In September and October 2024
© Copyright 2024 Robert Wilkinson
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