by Robert Wilkinson
In case you didn’t notice, Mars has been in late Cancer a LONG time with a stop in Leo late late year! Since Mars entered its shadow zone in early October, we’ve been in a time of decreased momentum, deconstruction of some ways of doing things, and a time of preparing, training, taking care of things as prelude to future constructions, and on the whole a slow-mo time. That changes now!
After 80 days retrograde, Mars is finally going stationary direct at 18 Cancer at 6 pm PST February 23. This marks a point where Mars accelerates its pace relative to the Sun, where what we thought we began in October 2024 resumes its development.
It is a platform from which many new activities and projects leap forward after these months of waiting, preparing, and planning. We will finally begin to move forward in very definitive ways, now that we've undone or redone something, or had to wait for something else to be done before we could pick up on whatever we've had to postpone since Mars began to slow down radically in November.
So all things in the areas where we have late Cancer and early Leo now begin to move forward anew. We began to move into this energy when Mars entered its Shadow Zone in early October, and hit a threshold at the retrograde station in early December at 7 Leo
Since then, during the retrograde period, we've been seeing patterns, both changing and permanent, withdrawing or reconsidering how we want to be creative, playful, or expressive. We’ve gotten glimpses of internal processes which may be getting in the way of us putting our full effort into something.
We have become more aware that we need to do some things a different way, or at a different pace. AND we can expect a lot that has happened in the past two months to be undone, redone, or reversed in some way so they can move forward, perhaps in a different direction or with a different methodology.
So before we take a look forward, let’s take a look back at what has been a HUGE influence since early October. From the article I gave you when Mars went stationary retrograde at 7 Leo,
The Sabian Symbol for the 7th degree of Leo is “The constellations in the sky.” In the original notes from Mark Edmund Jones’ classes published in The Astrology of Personality, Rudhyar says this is a degree of the “sense of primordial wonder and awe before life,” “unquenchable faith in a spiritual being complementing our own,” and “realization.”We are told in the Astrological Mandala that this degree symbolizes “the power of basic human values which refer to (our) common humanity and to all enduring archetypes.”We are told it’s about the patterns of stars in the night sky giving humanity “as basic and archetypal an experience as that of sunrise, full moon, and seasonal changes.“ He continues “Every people on this Earth ahs developed the concept of constellations, probably because of a need to find order in existence and to personalize everything that could be given a permanent form.”
He offers that these personalizations could be “psychic projections,” but also offers that “if (we) project our nature on the star-filled night sky, is it not just as logical to say that the universe projects its own forever-evolving patterns of order upon human nature?” He states these are “archetypal factors which endure through a long series of generations.” He offers the keyword is “permanence,” and says this degree falls in the Span of Assurance, Act of Stabilization, and Scene of Combustion on the Emotional-cultural level.
Dr. Jones says this is a degree of “the infinite regression in all universal reality, not as a fact of some unreachable end in knowledge but rather as a demonstration that any abandonment of the known for the sake of the unknown is fruitless. The cosmos is illimitable in the sense that (our) questing may ramify in time and space to the extent of any given pertinence, but (our) assurance lies within (our) own being and experience.”
He continues “the stars are (our) confirmation, never (our) explanation.” He gives us the keyword SURETY, and says when operating in a positive way, this degree is “consistent effectiveness in understanding and self-ordering.”
From this symbol it seems the review of all thing related to Mars and Leo/Cancer in our lives is so we may find a new approach to seeing the permanent patterns in our lives, or the archetypal factors which show us how our own experience has fulfilled the patterns of our birth chart. This is a degree of emotional and/or social “combustion” helping us see the more permanent patterns in our lives by looking back on our early Cancer/Leo experiences. Much of what we’re about to review won’t really get into motion until late April and early May when Mars returns to early Leo and then leaves its shadow zone.
Keep In Mind…
Mars retrograde usually indicates there will be some things that must occur before other things can be done. Now that it’s going direct, get clear about the priority of things, pay attention to the rhythm of unfolding events, and see much of what's come down the past few weeks as undoing, redoing, or reworking some things. Now the pace begins to quicken. All of this relates to the life areas (houses) where we have late Cancer, Aries and Scorpio.
Remember that sometimes a delay is the best thing that could happen as other things develop on their own, since I've found life is sometimes like a Charles Dickens novel. There are many chapters, many players, and some things cannot be known and/or acted upon until the plot develops.
But rest assured, that at the end of the play, all will be seen in proper perspective, the unknowns between the players become clear, and things have developed so that "the hero's journey" is perfectly completed. Now that we’ve adapted our plans, reworking some things, we have a different perspective and can take aim at our goals, since we’re already familiar with the Gemini factors we’ve encountered.
Please consider what’s come down in December, January, and February as something everyone has been going through related to 7 Leo. We now have a new ways to express Mars, and many are not so hassled by old ways as they were before this period. We’ve all found a new perspective on early Leo and late Cancer affairs in the house(s) in our chart where Mars has been retrograde, and are now ready to new experiences, new things and people to like and appreciate, and new ways of doing whatever we have to do.
We now stand on the threshold of a new life chapter wherever we have Cancer and Leo, and now have “a constellation to guide us” related to the emotional and social “combustions” which have come forth. We now have an identification with our “cosmic pattern,” knowing what’s relatively permanent and what is transitory, and stand on a platform which requires us to go through a period of “self-gathering.”
In part 2, we’ll go into what this stationary direct degree is about, and what we can reasonably expect as Mars now moves forward. From here it gets faster and faster for many months, so things will again seem to be moving, if not very quickly through mid-April.
Feel the sense of relief, get focused, get ready, and see how you have found new ways to deal with hassles, or alternative ways to “tackle the problems of life.” In some way, we’ve all glimpsed something about our patterns of expression, and are now rested and ready to take what we’ve discovered and use it to achieve some goal. Find a way to integrate what’s happened these past 2+ months so you feel more secure, or able to take care of those people and things which require your care.
Copyright © 2025 Robert Wilkinson
Comments