12/12/2024
Mars just went retrograde. It will be retrograde until February 24, 2024.
Strap in folks! It’s going to be a long 11 weeks..
So here’s the thing about Mars Retrograde. It’s not bad. None of the retrogrades are. Retrogrades encourage us to slow down, disengage autopilot, and live moments more mindfully, which forces us to spend more of our time being in the moment. When a planet is in retrograde, it revisits the same placements it was last in. So in a sense, retrogrades are kind of like getting a do-over. While not exactly a do-over, it’s an opportune time to address any actions or non-action taken while Mars was in the same astrological position when it was direct. These dates would be October 5, 2024-December 6. 2024.
Mars is named after the Roman counterpart to the Greek God Ares. Mars is the ruler of the cardinal, fire sign of Aries and also traditionally rules the s*xy fixed, water sign of Scorpio. Mars is associated with motivation, reactive behaviors, anger, arguments, violence, s*x, and the libido.
As some of you may have noticed, Mars being in retrograde sort of takes the steam out of our sails. Our motivation loses it's fire. Mars retrograde only happens once every 2 years, so how can we turn it around and see it as a positive astrological placement?
One thing that comes to mind is that many of us do our best work and have boosted inspiration when we are well-rested. And let’s face it; sometimes there is such a thing as being over-productive. Being productive can be a good distraction from our emotions, whatever it is we don’t want to think about, or other tasks we are avoiding, but it’s only a temporary distraction. We have to sit down sometime. Mars Retrograde is the perfect opportunity to explore our personal relationships with productivity. In 20 years, how many of you are going to look back and reminisce about how productive you were on December 15th? Sometimes, we just need to slow down and enjoy some quality time with family, good friends, and ourselves. This may spur laughter or a meaningful moment, and these are the times that we look back on fondly in 20 years.
So rarely do we ever live in the “now.” So many of us, myself included, spend so much time and energy inside of our heads that it reduces our actions to reactions. If not in the head, then in some distraction like staying busy, always requiring background noise, shopping, social media, television, etc. You get the picture. By no means am I suggesting anyone stop being productive altogether. I am suggesting finding a balanced sense of productivity. I am also suggesting that it may be a waste of time and energy to feel anxiety or guilt over being temporarily less productive. Slowing down can help us to foster our own inner growth and self-awareness. One way we can do this is by exploring our personal relationships with being reactive. When we slow down, we can more easily notice when we get reactive before it manifests outwardly. This is a perfect opportunity to ask ourselves why we reacted a certain way and where it came from deep down. Are we listening to our bodies? Our soul?.
