MARS IN RETROGRADE 2020 FULL
MARS IN RETROGRADE 2020 SERIES

Jupiter in Capricorn has the upper hand over Mars in Aries (because Capricorn rises first), meaning that this specific set up is actually quite beneficial amidst a series of more serious conflicts that Mars gets into. Since Jupiter wants bounty and Mars wants victory, this combination generally helps to either spur on greed or the desire to win for all. Mars and Jupiter will square each other three times, the first time on August 4th (pre-retrograde), the second time on October 18th (while retrograde), and a third time on January 23rd, 2021 (but from Taurus and Aquarius, where Jupiter still has the upper hand and after the retrograde and post-retrograde shadow is complete). In its pre-retrograde shadow phase since late July, Mars is now edging ever closer to exact squares with Jupiter, then Pluto and, most notably, Saturn – all in Capricorn. During this retrograde, we will become intimately aware of the gifts and challenges of our Mars issues.

In Aries, (where it has been since June 27th and will be until January 6th, 2021), Mars is usually swift, but since Mars will station retrograde on September 9th and not go direct until November 13th, the warrior is held in place. A square from Mars will bring trapped heat to the surface, making the irritation impossible to ignore.

MARS IN RETROGRADE 2020 FULL

After a conjunction, when two celestial bodies have separated to form a 90° angle, it’s akin to when the moon is between new and full – it’s halfway lit, halfway to becoming whatever was seeded at the beginning of the cycle. Squares cause friction, they invite us to take action, and make it far less possible to evade our own issues. If you think of a 90° angle, it’s sharp, pointed, and in tension. This is what we call a square in astrology. Mars is currently in Aries, a sign that is 90° away from Capricorn. Now, five months later, Mars has moved on while Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto are all still in roughly the same place, all back in Capricorn. Where were you when the world went into shelter in place? March and April of 2020 were months that marked us all. This was the beginning of a cycle between Mars, a faster moving planet known for its ability to cause conflict, create inflammation, and generally add insult to injury, and Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto, all slower moving planets. In late March, Mars also made conjunctions to Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn, and in early April, Mars made a conjunction with Saturn in Aquarius. These kinds of conjunctions are big chess moves in the sky, the kind that you can scan a century looking for and make a well-advised bet that they will be years that mark the record for major changes, struggles, and challenges.

Way back in the early days of 2020, we had a pileup of planets in Capricorn, followed by significant action in Aquarius there was an era-defining conjunction between Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn and a significant conjunction between Jupiter and Pluto, also in Capricorn. Some set into action sweet things and some set into action challenges for us to grow into and through. Akin to a new moon, a cycle between them is initiated. When two planets come to the same point in the sky, they begin something.

Mars in retrograde 2020