Two armies line up on a hill. The warriors look at each other from the opposing sides. Silence reigns supreme, and only the rattle of metal resounds in the valley. Suddenly a roar, screams release the tension. The warrior frenzy flares up and the order is given. It’s war.
The battle begins, the clash is a massacre. The energy runs out, the pain and the wounds squeeze the warriors as in a vise. Who is winning? Who is losing? Nothing is understood anymore. They desperately need a truce from all this.
And you? What about you? How are you?
So here we are. One of the most import transits of 2020 has begun. What will it bring us? What are the main significations of Mars retrograde in Aries? Since the shadow period has started more than a month ago I think most of you already know the answer.
Mars Retrograde 2020 Meaning
When a planet is retrograde, its energies goes against the natural flow of things. Usually the astral forces of nature streams from within towards the outside world. But when a planet is retrograde it goes the other way around: from outside toward the within.
So what does it mean when Mars in Aries is retrograde? It means that a large amount of energy is directed from the external world towards us, causing mainly two things. First of all, we feel overwhelmed by confronting all this energy all at once. Trying to handle it, or holding it back is too much for us. Secondly, we will be dealing with situations from the past that literally come back, following the retrograde movement of the planet.
Let’s make some examples. A situation that we had successfully overcome, and that we thought forever gone, might come back questioning us again. People we had hurt might retaliate or suddenly fight back. We were struggling with a fight, and even though we were in a strong position things turned against us and now we are in retreat. It’s a kind of backfire: what goes around comes around.
An Opportunity for Growth
On the positive side, Mars retrograde may also be an opportunity for growth. The warriors stop fighting each other and retreat. The truce allows them to rest and recover. And as they take care of their wounds they can also think about what they’ve done and process.
It’s difficult to do it when we are in the middle of the fight. But when we stop we might also understand better the situation. The bigger picture begins to take shape. And we may even realize that it was us who started all this—even if we didn’t want to.
How do we use our strength and energy? How is it received by others? Do we push it too much? Or are we inadvertently aggressive, maybe? Mars retrograde can be the opportunity to become more aware of our relationship with fire energy.
Mars Retrograde 2020 Dates and Degrees
Let’s take a look at the calendar to outline the key dates and degrees of Mars Retrograde 2020.
Sun 28-06-2020 Mars (29Pis59) --> Aries Sun 28-06-2020 Mars ( 0Ari13) Sex [ 0Aqu13] Saturn Tue 4-08-2020 Mars (19Ari44) Squ [19Cap44] Jupiter Thu 13-08-2020 Mars (23Ari04) Squ [23Cap04] Pluto Mon 24-08-2020 Mars (26Ari19) Squ [26Cap19] Saturn Thu 10-09-2020 Mars <28Ari08> Station/Retrograde Tue 29-09-2020 Mars [25Ari20] Squ (25Cap20) Saturn Fri 9-10-2020 Mars [22Ari29] Squ (22Cap29) Pluto Mon 19-10-2020 Mars [19Ari26] Squ (19Cap26) Jupiter Sat 14-11-2020 Mars <15Ari14> Station/Direct Wed 23-12-2020 Mars (23Ari55) Squ (23Cap55) Pluto Thu 7-01-2021 Mars (29Ari59) --> Taurus
How long is Mars in retrograde?
Usually Mars is retrograde for about 70 days. Specifically, Mars in Aries is going to be retrograde from September 10th 2020 at 28° Aries to November 14th 2020 at 15° Aries. These dates don’t take into account the shadow period.
When is Mars retrograde in the Shadow Period?
Mars was in the pre-shadow period from July 27th 2020 to September 10th 2020. And it is going to be in its post-shadow period from November 14th 2020 to January 3rd 2021. Mars is going to definitely leave Aries on January 7th 2021.
What are the most important Mars retrograde dates?
The most important Mars retrograde dates are going to be September 29th, October 9th and October 19th. On these dates Mars is going to make a square with Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter respectively, increasing the tension of the transit.
How Mars Retrograde in Aries is going to affect you
In order to see whether and how Mars retrograde is going to affect you, you need to check your Natal Chart. Specifically, you want to look at 28° and 15° Aries. Where are they? In which astrological house do they fall? Astrological houses gives us context.
They represent the areas of life such as family, career, relationships and so on. So by looking at the house we can know exactly which area of life is going to be affected.
If you are an Aries, this means that most likely your natal Sun is going to be involved. But in which house is it? If you don’t know that, you can’t understand where in your life this energy is going to show up.
This also applies to any planet at 15 or 28 degrees, forming an aspect with Mars in Aries. Libras are going to receive an opposition, for example. Capricorns and Cancers, a square. But we are blind if we do not check in which astrological house our sun is.
Of course, this applies not only to the Sun, but also to any other planet of the chart. If none of your natal planets is involved (nor the ascendant and medium coeli), you are going to experience this transit lightly or indirectly through people around you. But if one or more of your natal planets are triggered, things are definitely going to heat up.
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I consider myself a free researcher in western spiritual disciplines, in particular Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy and the Neoplatonic Hermetic tradition. I have a three-year training in Astrology at the CIDA delegation of Trieste, the Italian Center for Astrological Disciplines. I graduated in Computer Engineering from the University of Trieste.
