Mars Retrograde

Mars, the planet of action, willpower, and motivation, stations retrograde on December 6 and will be retrograde through February 23, 2025. While Mars is retrograde, we can feel like we have less physical energy. This Mars retrograde is in Leo, a fire sign, so we can expect things to feel a little heated, a little dramatic, during this time.

About Mars

What makes us tick? What gets us all fired up? What makes us angry, and how do we express that anger? What do we desire, and how do we go about getting it? Mars reveals much about our fundamental animal nature – our aggressive instincts, our sexuality, and our drive to succeed.

Mars is the planet of energy, anger, passion, and action. While it is retrograde, it's a good time to review how we spend our energy, our motivations, and desires, our passions and aggression. Mars Retrograde is a time to take another look at your passions and desire, including what you’re actively spending your energy on.

Because Mars deals with our assertiveness, when it is retrograde, we can struggle with being straightforward and become more passive in expressing what we want and need from others. We may even second-guess ourselves and our intuition instead of trusting and taking action. The key is not to get stuck here but instead let this act as a way for you better to see the desires and motivations behind your actions before you take action. You can still take that leap, but you want to look before you do so.

Mars Retrograde

Mars Retrograde allows us to view our desires from a new perspective, lifting the veil on our actions so we can uncover if we’re truly acting in alignment with our desires or the desires to fill a role or play a part that someone else or society expects of us.

A shadow side of Mars Retrograde is the passiveness that we can use to hide behind. Instead of being direct with our feelings, we may become passive-aggressive, sneaky, or manipulative. We can also feel rash and impulsive, pushing things to where we want them instead of waiting patiently.

When it comes to doubting our own intuition and ability to take action, that can make it harder to begin new projects as well as make it more difficult to discern the motivations of others. We can question whether something is ‘too good to be true’ and if someone is being honest with us. Anger can also be overwhelming at times, especially around the dates that Mars is stationing to go retrograde and direct.

Our nervous systems can also feel overwhelmed and overstimulated during Mars Retrograde. Mars is our basic instincts, including our nervous system response, or fight or flight. This means our ability to feel safe and understand what is and isn’t safe could be off. We could find ourselves ignoring our body’s warning signs of danger or feeling an internal alarm go off when we’re actually secure.

New projects, jobs, and relationships can all begin during Mars Retrograde, but you’ll want to take things slowly and understand you may be redoing things once Mars turns direct. We naturally turn to re-working existing projects during Mars Retrograde and reviewing them.

Protect and conserve your energy by reflecting rather than reacting.

Below are Mars Retrograde horoscopes for your Rising Sign.

ARIES RISING: Your relationship with your creative muse may be a little off-balance as inspiration takes a backseat to restoration. If you’ve been working on a creative project, you could find that things come to a halt during Mars Retrograde, either because of waning interest in the project or some other type of delay.

TAURUS RISING: The focus is on the home front this retrograde, and creating spaces you can unwind is a priority. There could be changes in regards to where you live or who you live with, or there could be home renovations in store.

GEMINI RISING: This retrograde is a time to review your communications, especially regarding your sharp-tongued aggression.

CANCER RISING: You'll want to get an eye on your wallet while Mars is retrograde through your 2nd House. Something you thought would pick up steam and take off regarding money may fall flat during Mars Retrograde.

LEO RISING: While Mars is Retrograde in your 1st House, you'll want to keep an eye on how you handle your anger - do you stuff it down or deal with it directly? Mars Retrograde gives you an opportunity to really get personal with your desires and how you assert yourself in order to achieve your dreams.

VIRGO RISING: While Mars is Retrograde in your 12 House, your daily life may slow way down as your energy dips and you retreat within. Deeply buried feelings that you’ve long ignored or suppressed may come roaring to the surface now.

LIBRA RISING: This retrograde impacts your 11 House of Friendships & Groups, so you may be less social over the next couple of months or find things stalling with a collaboration.

SCORPIO RISING: This retrograde is a time to review your work/life balance and adjust accordingly so you don't burn out. This retrograde also impacts you in the areas of career, responsibilities, and reputation.

SAGITTARIUS RISING: This retrograde is happening in your 9th House of Exploration, so plans of expansion and adventure may hit a snag or be put on hold. You may not even feel like traveling or learning at this time.

CAPRICORN RISING: With this retrograde, you'll want to stay tuned in to your sense of power and shared resources. Jealousy, anger, and obsession could all pop up now for you to uncover more about your sense of power.

AQUARIUS RISING: This retrograde is in your 7th House of Relationships, so be aware of tensions and attempts to stuff feelings down to keep the peace - in the end, it won't work.

PISCES RISING: Your health and daily routines are on deck for review during this retrograde. What helps you streamline your energy and focus?