That's right, Mars finally gets its ass in gear and is ready to move forward after nearly three months of being in retrograde.
I don't know about you, but Mars is stationing direct not a moment too soon. (Tonight at 11:53 p.m. EDT, to be precise.) Mars retrograde in Virgo, in my 12th house since last November, has been the absolute pits: bad dreams, overwork, work instability, anxiety, low energy, minor but annoying health issues.
Wherever Mars has been retrograde in your chart, I cannot imagine it's been a picnic for you, either. This is because Mars retrograde is never fun; Mars, of all the planets in our solar system, is the most about full-throttle forward motion. Plus, Mars is not very comfortable in cautious, detail-oriented Virgo anyway (though it's by no means the worst sign for the red planet -- that honor goes to Cancer, a moody-blues placement that I myself have and can therefore vouch for its, um, issues).
Mars turning direct should make us all breathe a collective sigh of relief, but please take note that all those irritating Mars-in-Virgo issues that we have been haunted by since late January will need to be dealt with once again -- more accurately, for a third time, since Mars whipped through the first 24 degrees of Virgo between last November and this January before turning retrograde.
In other words, in terms of energy and motivation (Mars) as well as work, health, and anything involving detail (Virgo), we are back in mid-November. You can look at this as a do-over, a chance to rectify wrongdoings and take more responsibility for both your physical and mental well-being. The time is right to refine your self-identity so that by early July, you will be ready and able to celebrate your own personal harvest. Or you can be a scared little brat and resolve to avoid reality. The choice is yours.
I have Mars in cancer, too, and feel like it makes me conflict-avoidant and passive aggressive. Like I would almost rather live a life of solitude than deal with interacting with people most days. I don't even want to open emails because I always think it's going to be bad news. How do you manage this placement?
ReplyDeleteI also have both pluto and saturn in my rising sign libra and as you might have guessed it's my saturn return and pluto is in capricorn right now so that is my dreaded square, right? Is a person supposed to get all these crappy placements at once? I thought saturn in my sun sign leo a couple years ago was bad, but lately I want to build a rocket and blow saturn up so it will stop screwing my life up. October 5 can't come quickly enough.
Hi "Anonymous," thanks for writing in. About Mars in Cancer: its explosive sensitivity and mood swings can really be the pits, but find the best aspect it makes to another of your planets (preferably approaching, not separating) and consciously cultivate that exchange of energy. E.g., my Mars closely trines my Neptune so I attempt to channel that pissy Mars placement into such Neptune areas as creative projects, lucid dreaming, mysticism, and yoga.
DeleteNot sure what exact degrees in Libra you have Pluto and Saturn in, but Pluto is now retrograde at 9 Libra, and as you are not yet in your mid-30s, Pluto squaring your Pluto is yet to come. (Check out my post of 3/29 for advice on how to handle the Pluto square.) Even if your Saturn and Pluto are *not* conjunct, it's still quite a challenge to have both in your 1st house of self-identity. Far from viewing the world as a safe place, it resembles a mine field from your perspective, and you never leave home without your coat of armor. Relationships are all-or-nothing propositions for you.
It's also possible that Pluto or Saturn is squaring your Mars. Saturn squared (squore?) my Mars earlier this month and on the exact day of the square, I came down with a nasty stomach flu.
I myself am sick of Saturn in Libra but I don't think Saturn in Scorpio will be a picnic either.
Thanks for responding! I always enjoy your posts and feel like they're right on. I'd come to you for a reading if I lived in New York but we're in L.A.
ReplyDeleteThe world does often feel like my personal minefield, especially lately. I feel like I'm getting stronger, but yes, relationships are difficult. I have my north node in the 8th house and my husband, an aries sun with a libra moon and sag rising, has stage 4 cancer so my main worry right now is he's fated to die before this saturn return ends. If he does pass I worry I'll never find a man as great as him again. Our daughter just turned six months old so she's a libra sun with saturn in libra, too. We might experience our next saturn returns together. Hopefully I'll be around to help her through it.
The only good aspect I have with mars is my moon in Taurus, so a sextile. It squares my saturn, pluto, and ascendent. My mars is 22 cancer, ascendent is 25 libra, saturn is 28 libra, and pluto is 26 libra. Born 8/2/83 at 11:43 a.m. in Kansas City.
"Anonymous," I won't give you the "whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" spiel, though a Saturn-Pluto conjunction on the Ascendant is a calling card for exactly that ability. I am truly sorry for what you and yours are going through, and right now feel pretty embarrassed to be so troubled by my relatively small-potato problems.
DeleteA decade ago my father went through two bouts of stage-4 melanoma. He was given something like an 8% chance of survival, and he is still alive, cancer-free. He is living proof that although statistics are comprised of people, people are not statistics.
Try to call upon your Moon in Taurus. It is your true refuge and strength. A sextile between Moon and Mars in Taurus and Cancer excels in the home, from cooking to caretaking to creating a beautiful, safe haven, no matter how difficult Mars in Cancer can be.
I do long-distance chart readings. In fact, the first reference listed on the My References section on the right was a phone session. Please contact me at plutorisingastrologer@gmail.com if you would like to discuss this possibility further. I find it interesting and auspicious that my Jupiter is conjunct your Pluto, in a criticial degree. (Also, my Sun is 20 Cancer, so no wonder I can shed some light on your Mars).