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This rare retrograde won't happen again until 2067.
By Kate Rose — Written on Sep 07, 2020
We get a lesson in why certain paths of growth aren’t easy, but they are necessary, as Mars turns retrograde in Aries on September 9th.
In astrology, Mars is the planet of ambition, drive, passion and sex, so when this planet turns retrograde, appearing to slow down in the sky while beginning a new cycle, it affects those areas of our lives.
This particular Mars retrograde is incredibly rare, last occurring in 1988 and not occurring again until 2067! Because of this, what we choose and what we learn from won’t only have lasting impact on our lives, but it’s also incredibly important to our soul path as well.
The Significance & Meaning of Mars Retrograde in Aries
Mars is the planet that rules the masculine, so under this aspect we can see that energy within all of us being activated and possibly triggered.
Mars also rules our ability to manifest and create our dreams and destiny; it's our energy to be able to make things happen, also ruling passion in the fuel that we have for life, as well as intimacy.
Depending upon which sign this planet is moving through, we will be affected in different ways.
Already we are in an unheard of time with Mars, as this fast-moving planet generally changes signs every three to four weeks; however, this year he will spend six months in his home sign of Aries. This is also known as being exalted, as in it’s the best placement for this planet and also when he's at his strongest.
This is a time we’re going to be making big decisions and big movements in our lives. To do so, we need some of that Mars in Aries energy. But now we’re entering a retrograde period for about two months in which we might be feeling like we aren’t moving as quickly as we would like.
A Mars retrograde is one of the rarest retrogrades that we see, occurring approximately every two years and lasting about 80 days.
Mars in retrograde only occurs nine percent of the time, meaning that because his retrogrades happen less often, they also have a bigger affect on our lives. Add into the mix that we haven’t seen a Mars retrograde since the eighties and won’t again for another 40+ years, and it means this is the only time as adults we will have the chance to use this energy to make changes in our lives and find the courage to move forward.
It might seem like a lot of pressure, but the thing with astrology is that it only helps what is already happening.
For all of us, if we pause for a moment and think of an area of our lives where we know there will be changes occurring, likely home/family, we can see how necessary this energy of determination would be in manifesting the new reality we’re hoping to create.
But as we know with anything, it doesn’t mean this gift from the universe will be easy.
Challenges of the Mars Retrograde
While this is a helpful retrograde, it will come with some challenges — the most major being that, since August, Mars and Saturn have been dancing in and out of a perfect square and will continue this until November.
Saturn is currently in Capricorn, almost direct and moving through the last degrees of Capricorn before moving into his new phase of Aquarius, which means he’s in his cleaning house phase.
This is the time when we're asked to clean up the messes from our lives before moving forward so we don’t ruin this bright and beautiful future we’re hoping to build. But it also means we’re asked to walk our talk and incorporate the hard lessons centered around boundaries, timing and karma that we’ve been learning with Saturn.
In astrology, a square is represented by two planets that are within 90 degrees of one another, which creates a point of stress. In traditional astrology, this was seen as a negative or hard aspect, but in this case, it’s actually beneficial, even if challenging.
Think of a square as the climax in your favorite movie — something has to change in order to keep moving forward. This is the magic of the square.
It may mean that we are feeling blocks at incorporating our individuality into our lives, also known as living and speaking our truth. We may feel frustrated, especially sexually, if we can’t express ourselves or be with the person we feel drawn to be with.
There may be confusion or anger at obstacles that come up, or just the prevalence of delays that we could be experiencing during this transit.
However, we also have to realize that there is no mistake for anything in life. No matter what challenges we experience in the coming weeks, there is a purpose to it.
Adding to the sense of delays is that from September 9th to 12th, there will be six planets retrograde, which happens less than one percent of the time!
Another sign from the universe, in case we hadn’t gotten it clearly already, is that we need to pay attention now. We might feel out of place and slowed down during this time, like we’re not sure who we are, where we are, or if we belong at all.
Use this out of body feeling to incorporate more reflection into your daily practice with the reminder that this will pass, and then the moment of action will arrive.
Purpose & Benefits of Mars Retrograde in Aries
The reason we’re going through all of this is so that, once November hits (as will another Eclipse Season), we’ll be in the place to move forward and be clear on what direction that will be in.
This is also about that time of the internal pressure of limitations we may feel towards being our true selves, and how sometimes we need to experience it so we find the courage to own who we are.
This Mars retrograde will make or break — not just ourselves, but many areas of our lives, including relationships and career paths.
As we progress through these lessons and the Saturn-Mars square, which will make us painfully aware of what we want by not letting us have it immediately, we're transforming into new people. New ways of being, living and even dreaming.
This is the time for us to focus and get clear on the truths that we feel, or our non-negotiables, so that once Mars turns direct, we won’t have any problem following through on exactly what we know we have to do, even if it undoes our entire life.
Kate Rose is an artist, writer, passionate yogi, spiritual astrologist, relationship and life coach, and motivational speaker. As a spiritual intuitive, she practices the religion of astrology and love. For more of her work, visit her website.