How to interpret this Mars Retrograde FOR YOU, specifically (step by step) video + text

by Aleena Glinski

We are in the throes of a Mars retrograde right now.

Mars is our planet of aggression war violence, splitting, action, getting things done, and can also sometimes be sexual energy. 

A Mars retrograde is when Mars starts to move backwards in the sky [from our perspective; of course he's not actually moving backwards in his orbit around the sun, it just looks like that from Earth.]

So now [this retrograde started 12/6/24] he's going backwards from Leo, into Cancer, and then he's going to start to move forward back into Leo in February. 

Normally, Mars wants to get things done. His energy is pretty fast moving and energetic, but during a retrograde, Mars is moving as slow as he ever does [it will take him 7 months to get through a region of the zodiac that he would normally blast through in ~ 5 weeks], which is not really the best energy for getting things done, per say, so it may be to be kind of a challenging time, especially if you have placements in Cancer and Leo, but this Mars retrograde moment can also signify a major turning point in your life, especially regarding topics that Mars is moving through- those houses there - sometimes. 

Sometimes Mars retrogrades actually are actually very effective and efficient and powerful, potent times for people who were born with Mars retrograde, so you might want to check and see if there's a little R next to Mars in your chart, or a little line, sometimes that can indicate that a planet is retrograde as well.

Mars retrogrades can be a great time to let go of things, because Mars is our planet of severing, however because it's happening so slowly and there's an opposition to Pluto in combination with this Mars retrograde, there might be a lot of intensity around the feelings of the things that you may need to let go of, and you may be feeling like taking extreme action. Sometimes Pluto also makes things very extreme and kind of blows things out of proportion, so just be careful with that energy, be conscientious, be mindful and make sure you're not severing anything that, you know, if it can't be undone… just really think about it before you do that.

Another thing that can happen sometimes is that men from the past can show up in your life. Mars is also very masculine, so sometimes when he's going backwards and returning to points in the past, that can be literally bringing up a man from your past, so if this is happening, particularly in a romantic context, be wary of that because people usually don't necessarily… people often regret when they engage this invitation from Mars to reconnect with men from the past.

So here is how you figure out what this might mean for you, specifically in your life, in the way that it's played out.  

1. First of all you're gonna wanna see what house topics this is going to affect; what house is cancer and Leo for you? I've got a chart right here so you can work out what house Mars is moving through for you and therefore what topics Maras may be affecting in your life.

Your Rising sign	House # that Mars is retrograding through for you (leo → cancer)	Significations to look out for: Have you been experiencing challenges, difficulty getting things doing, trouble initiating something in one of these areas of life?
Aries	5 →4	children, fertility, creativity, pleasure, sex → parents, ancestry, home/property/house, private, hidden, or secret parts of life
Taurus	4 → 3	parents, ancestry, home/property/house, private, hidden, or secret parts of life → siblings/extended family, pets, short trips, communication, daily routines
Gemini	3 → 2	siblings/extended family, pets, short trips, communication, daily routines → finances, possessions, income, food, values
Cancer	2 → 1	finances, possessions, income, food, values →  self, mind body, character, appearance
Leo	1 → 12	self, mind body, character, appearance → enemies, sickness, loss, seclusion, self-undoing, addiction, mental health, spirituality
Virgo	12 → 11	enemies, sickness, loss, seclusion, self-undoing, addiction, mental health, spirituality → friends, groups, alliances, hopes, dreams
Libra	11 → 10	friends, groups, alliances, hopes, dreams → career, actions, reputation, public image.
Scorpio	10 → 9	career, actions, reputation, public image → travel, foreign things, education, philosophy, religion, the occult
Sag	9 → 8	travel, foreign things, education, philosophy, religion, the occult → death, inheritance, taxes, assets of others
Cap	8 → 7	death, inheritance, taxes, assets of others → relationships, partnership, marriage
Aquarius	7 → 6	relationships, partnership, marriage → illness, injuries, accidents, work, pets, subordinates
Pisces	6 → 5	illness, injuries, accidents, work, pets, subordinates   →  children, fertility, creativity, pleasure, sex

2. And then number two you're going to want to look at your chart and see, "Do I have any planets from the degrees of 17 to 30 cancer or 0 to 6 Leo?” That's where Mars is going to be going back and forth, hitting three times, so if there's a planetary energy there, you're going to want to look out for themes related to that planet's energy in addition to the house topics. Ask yourself, "Am having difficulties or rethinking my relationship to this part of myself/my life?" if you do have a planet in this region of your chart.

Moon ☽: (feminine) emotional body, physical body, subconscious, the mother (sign placement can indicate qualities about your mother)

Sun ☉: (masculine) the ego, intellect, the father (sign placement can indicate qualities of your father)

Mercury ☿: (neither feminine nor masculine) your style of communication, the trickster, technical ability and skill, critical thinking, working with the hands 

Venus  ♀: (feminine, benefic) your style of love, romance, beauty, aesthetic, music, art, desire, attraction, harmony, sensuality (aphrodite)

Mars ♂: (masculine, malefic) how you get things done, style of self assertion, the planet of war, anger, aggression, energy, passion, violence

Jupiter  ♃: (masculine, benefic), luck, abundance, where your gifts are, big picture thinking, growth and expansion, faith, philosophy, optimism, joy

Saturn ♄: (masculine, malefic) structure, boundaries, limitation, constraint, discipline, restraint, time, loss, suffering, reality, mastery, archetype of the stern father, house placement may indicate an area of life where you experienced some core wounding as a child or experienced challenges

1. And then lastly you're going to want to think about your life from December 2009 to March 2010, because at that point Mars was going retrograde through cancer and Leo again,  so there may be a call back from something that happened during that point in your life, so look back, see if whatever was happening during those 4 months matches these themes [house topic and/or planetary energy that you just figured out], during that point in your life, and then see if there might be any call back to that sort of thing that's happening right now

Leave me a comment if you have any questions about this, or if you want me to help you figure out how to interpret this Mars retrograde for you, book a mini-reading with me!