At 12:56 am PDT August 20, Mars enters Gemini for its 7 month stay in that sign thanks to its coming retrograde between late October and mid-January. What does this mean for all of us?

It means that how we generally “attack the problems of life,” or how we “take the initiative” leaves the Fixed Earth of Taurus and now expresses it through the Mutable Air of Gemini. Having adapted to a “slow and steady” pace in Taurus, the sign of its “exile,” Mars now learns to multi-task in a huge way!

When Mars was in Aries from late May through late July, we were exposed to developments which will take off like wildfire in the first part of 2023 when Jupiter transits its conjunction point with Mars at 4 Aries. Now it’s been through Taurus, where what it initiated will develop after Jupiter enters Taurus in mid-May 2023. In Aries and Taurus, the two “primal signs,” Mars was acting on its own initiative, doing its own thing in its own way. Now it’s in Gemini, a sign which is more responsive to externals in its environment and interactions with others.

Mars is now moving around 35 minutes per day while beginning to slow for its coming retrograde in late Gemini. We are approaching the end of Mars’ cycle as we revisited its last retrograde zone from early September to mid-November 2020 between 18-28 Aries, and now approach the next one coming between 9-26 Gemini from late October 2022 to mid-January 2023. While Mars direct helps us get a lot done, Mars retrograde requires us to slow down and undo, re-do, or re-plan our lives with an eye to making things more efficient during the direct motion periods.

Mars’ Path To Where We Are Now

We’ll begin with Mars’ transit of Aquarius on March 30, 2020. It immediately made a conjunction with Saturn at 1 Aquarius, thereby jumpstarting the new 20 year Aquarian era launched globally at the Grand Mutation conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn at 1 Aquarius at the December 2020 Solstice. During April and early May 2020, we saw the future, and ways to make a greater contribution to our greater good, as well as ways to cooperate through managing energy and things with an eye to the future. All of that has renewed since its conjunction with Venus at 1 Aquarius in early March 2022.

Mars was in Pisces from mid-May through late June 2020. In Pisces Mars learns to flow, bless, and forgive much. As Pisces is the sign of seclusion, it’s no wonder that fiery and aggressive Mars inflamed many passions of those who were quarantined at that time.

Then Mars entered Aries at the end of June 2020, where it remained until it finally entered Taurus in early January 2021. That 6 month transit of Mars in Aries was long and tough! It was a time of testing and trials, conflicts and turning points, wherever we have late Aries, late Cancer, late Libra, and late Capricorn in our charts. We were all tested to protect what we cared about while maintaining inner equilibrium and a balanced sense of perspective and proportion.

Mars in Aries brought a period of open aggression and conflict between entrenched authority (Capricorn) and a future oriented impulse to move humanity in new directions (Aries). That was a time when planets or angles we have in Aries or Scorpio moved out of a watery expression (Pisces) into a fiery expression (Aries).

We then saw Mars’ entry into Taurus in early January 2021, moving the natural fire of Mars in Aries into one of the signs of its “exile,” meaning it’s in a sign opposite one it rules. When it entered Taurus, it immediately made major squares to Jupiter and Saturn, and received squares from the Sun, Mercury, and Venus! These tested us to stay focused, see what we want and why we want it, and be more heartfelt in our lives. Those were the squares in play at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration, and we’ve certainly had a lot of conflict since then!

Mars moved into Gemini in early March 2021, where its Aries side found productivity, and its Scorpio side found regeneration. March and April were about discovering and externalizing information which naturally led to the shifts in allegiance and direction while Mars was Cancer, as well as the need to integrate these new directives in our lives to make us more secure.

It then moved through Leo between mid-June and late July 2021. Fiery Leo is another element Mars is familiar with. Mars in Leo offered new initiatives wherever we have Leo in our charts, allowing us to know what our hearts were into. Mars in Leo is a time to show style in whatever we do, as well as playfulness.

As Water (Cancer) and Fire (Leo) are elements integral to Mars’ nature, Mars is comfortable in those signs, even if it doesn’t grow that much in Cancer. Mars does very well in the Fixed Fire of Leo, as the Aries part of Mars is Fiery, and the Scorpio part of Mars is Fixed. Mars in Virgo was also favorable, since the Earthy Virgo is related to its exaltation Earth sign of Capricorn.

Between mid-September through late October 2021 we experienced another transit of Mars through the idealistic Cardinal Air sign of Libra, shifting the ruler of the houses and planets we have in Aries and Scorpio from Virgo Earth to Libra Air. After that period of it not “being at home,” it then moved from the idealistic Air of Libra to its natural Water element in Scorpio where it stayed all of November and the first half of December. This affected planets and houses where we have Aries and Scorpio, shifting the emphasis from Air to Water.

Mars was in Sag from mid-December through late January 2022, and was in Capricorn from then to early March, when it entered Aquarius. Mars in Capricorn is in its sign of “exaltation,” helping whatever we have in Aries or Scorpio to become more efficient and practical. Mars was in the Air sign of Aquarius from early March to mid-April, and returned to Watery Pisces between mid-April and late May.

In Pisces, especially during the time it was conjunct Neptune, was a time to flow, bless, and forgive much, since we were dealing with the vast ocean of Neptunian collective consciousness. When it left the Water of Pisces and entered the Fire of Aries, it transitioned to an inspirational emphasis and moved our Aries and Scorpio planets and sectors into a Fiery expression. Now that we’ve completed Mars in Taurus, our Aries and Scorpio sectors will have a Gemini emphasis.

Mars’ entry into Gemini throws the primary focus of activity in the house where we have the first 10 degrees of Gemini from now through September 7. From September 7 through September 30 the focus of activity will be in the house where we have the second 10 degrees of Gemini, with the focus on 21-26 Gemini from September 30 through its retrograde station at 26 Gemini on October 30.

It then retrogrades back over the degree spans it already transited, re-entering the second decan of Gemini on November 27, and re-entering the first decan of Gemini on December 27. It then goes stationary direct on January 11/12, and begins its third transit of its shadow zone. It re-enters the second decan of Gemini on January 30, re-enters the third decan on March 3, leaves its shadow zone on March 16, and eventually enters Cancer on March 25, 2023.

The Mars Challenge For All Signs

When Mars was in Aries, it brought new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Aries, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Capricorn. It puts the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Libra, and fulfillment to those with Sun or Ascendant in Cancer. (This last happened between July 2020 and January 2021. This cycle was re-set most recently from late May to July 4.)

While Mars was in Taurus, it brought new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Taurus, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Aquarius. It puts the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Scorpio, and fulfillment or public activity to those with Sun or Ascendant in Leo. (This last happened January and February 2021. This cycle was re-set from July 4 to now.)

While Mars is in Gemini, it brought new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Gemini, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Pisces. It puts the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Sagittarius, and fulfillment to those with Sun or Ascendant in Virgo. (This happened between early March and late April 2021, and the current transit of Gemini will re-set the energy anew between now and late March 2023.)

While Mars was in Cancer, it brought new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Cancer, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Aries. It puts the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Capricorn, and fulfillment or public activity to those with Sun or Ascendant in Libra. (This cycle was re-set between late April and mid-June 2021 and won’t renew until March/April 2023.)

While Mars is in Leo, it brings new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Leo, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Taurus. It puts the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Aquarius, and fulfillment or public activity to those with Sun or Ascendant in Scorpio. (This cycle was re-set between mid-June and late July 2021.)

While Mars is in Virgo, it brings new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Virgo, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Gemini. It puts the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Pisces, and fulfillment or public activity to those with Sun or Ascendant in Sagittarius. This cycle was re-set between late July and mid-September 2021.)

While Mars is in Libra, it brings new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Libra, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Cancer. It put the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Aries, and fulfillment or public activity to those with Sun or Ascendant in Capricorn. (This cycle was re-set between mid-September and late October 2021.)

While Mars is in Scorpio, it brings new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Scorpio, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Leo. It put the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Taurus, and fulfillment or public activity to those with Sun or Ascendant in Aquarius. (This cycle was re-set from November through mid-December 2021.)

While Mars was in Sagittarius, it brought new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Sagittarius, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Virgo. It put the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Gemini, and fulfillment or public activity to those with Sun or Ascendant in Pisces. (This cycle was re-set from December through late January 2022.)

While Mars was in Capricorn, it brought new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Capricorn, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Libra. It put the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Cancer, and fulfillment or public activity to those with Sun or Ascendant in Aries. (This cycle was re-set from late January through early March 2022)

While Mars was in Aquarius, it brought new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Aquarius, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Scorpio. It put the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Leo, and fulfillment or public activity to those with Sun or Ascendant in Taurus. (This cycle was re-set from early March through mid-April 2022.)

While Mars was in Pisces, it brought new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Pisces, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Sagittarius. It put the focus on relationships to those with Sun or Ascendant in Virgo, and fulfillment or public activity to those with Sun or Ascendant in Gemini. (This last happened from mid-May through late June 2020. This cycle was re-set from mid-April to late May 2022 .)

Obviously within these transit spans there are other “phase relationships” between transiting Mars and all the planets in our charts, but to go into all of them would make this article a book. For example, Mars makes aspects to your other planets which are different than aspects to your Sun and Ascendant. All aspects, waxing and waning, fall within “The Whole Cycle” of each planet to every other planets and our Ascendant. You can find out more about the Whole Cycle in my book Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend. where I explain the various phases in the planetary cycles in terms of the Whole Cycle for various generations.

Mars Links to the Past, Present, and Future

While Mars now initiates a new time of activity wherever we have Gemini, it activates the information Mercury brought us, the Sun vitalized, and Venus confirmed when they all transited Gemini in May, June, and July. Mars activates what the other planets have set into play with their transits, which in turn affects what springs forth when Jupiter subsequently transits those points.

When Mars conjuncted Jupiter in Aries on May 29 at 4 Aries, it began a new two year cycle of opportunity and expansion wherever that falls in our charts. That sets the pace for the rapidly unfolding developments of Jupiter in Aries, which is active from late May through late October, with a rapid return between late December and mid-May 2023.

Mars Set the Pattern of the New Age in 2020

Mars conjunction with Saturn at 1 Aquarius in March 2020 launched a totally future oriented period of human existence which began to take shape in a new 20 year Aquarian Era with Jupiter’s conjunction with Saturn on that same degree in December 2020. And here it’s important to note that this is the last transit of Saturn through Aquarius before we “slip across the edge of the Age” after 2050.

I explained how various Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto transits over the past 3 centuries each strengthened the advent of the Age of Aquarius in the article Uranus Awakened the Age of Aquarius, Neptune Dreamed It Into Collective Consciousness, and Pluto Will Sprout It Into Life, as well as why we are not yet fully into the Age of Aquarius yet, but will be in the third quarter of this century. Of course, living on the cusp of a Great Age means we will be dealing with the dying echoes of the Age of Pisces for some time to come, since many who were born under those dying assumptions will try to perpetuate them as long as they can.

Just remember that the Capricorn cycles set into motion by Mars in March 2020 will have far reaching implications, some of which won’t be completed until 2053! We won’t have another Saturn conjunct Pluto for over 30 years, nor another Jupiter conjunct Pluto until early 2033. These Capricorn cycles will play out until the next transit of the outer planets over the conjunction points as a finish to what just began, and as prelude to the next cycles beginning then. (There will be an exact Sun conjunct Jupiter as both conjunct Pluto in February 2033 at the Angel Point at 15 Aquarius. That promises to be a much happier cycle than the current one!)

Aspects in Play

We’re now going to experience a renewed multi-faceted Gemini experience in the house(s) where we have that sign in our charts. During Mars’ transit of Gemini, it will make many aspects during its direct period which will be revisited, reworked, or re-done during its retrograde in November and December. Then when it transits its shadow zone a third time between January and March, we’ll be much more familiar and skilled with those aspect phase relationships.

Because it will receive every possible aspect from the inner planets between now and next March, I won’t go into detail here. The main aspects from Mars to the outer planets show Mars sextile, then quintile, then binovile Jupiter before “frustrating” the square by retreating from it in late October. Mars now makes a biseptile and tredecile to Saturn in late August and early September, and then stays in trine from early September through early December. Mars makes only a decile to Uranus in the coming months, while making a quintile to Neptune in late August and early September, a binovile in September, and a square between late September and early December. It makes a sesquisquare to Pluto in September and a biquintile in October before refraining from the quincunx in late October.

As I see it, we’re now beginning a series of frictional aspects to Mars, with the Sun leading the way with a square in the last week of August. Venus squares Mars in mid-September, and Mars squares Mercury’s direct station in October and the first half of November. We also have a major storm zone in late November and early December when Mercury and Venus both oppose Mars retrograde! Keep cool, stay oriented and show heart. The retrograde Mars effect will begin to cool off after the Sun opposes Mars on December 8, and Mars will gradually speed up after that, with planets in Capricorn moving through the triseptile, quincunx, biquintile, and sesquisquare and then making trines in Aquarius.

As I’ve offered before, when Mars is within a degree of forming or separating while making a hard aspect with a planet, slow down and show deliberation and caution in how you use force. Hard aspects to/from Mars always require that we moderate or antidote impulsiveness and impatience.

What Do Mars Oppositions Teach Us?

At this point in its cycle, Mars is done with being the nozzle of “focused activity” for all the other planetary energies which it was between April and November of 2021. It made its opposition from Cancer to Pluto in June, and from Leo to Saturn in early July. Those months also featured oppositions from Venus, the Sun, and Mercury to Pluto, as well as oppositions to Saturn by Venus, the Sun, and Mercury.

We received Neptunian realizations when Mars opposed Neptune in September, and finished the last major spiritual Mars test of the year with the Mars opposition Uranus in mid-November. Different Mars oppositions require different skills, since the “Tension of Opposites” between the planetary expressions in the signs they’re in entirely determines the spiritual tests to learn and demonstrate.

As I noted in Chapter 2 in my book Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend,

Mars' duality is Grace/Sin. This is the aspect of consciousness that shows whether our responses are manifesting error or truth, maladjustment or beauty. By our Martian function we force things before their time or confront abrasive, aggressive, or hostile energies in ourselves and others, and thus we learn how to sever what must be severed, and further what must be furthered, quickly and directly. (As an aside, the original meaning of “sin” had nothing to do with moral failure. It was an archery term meaning “to miss the mark,” or not hitting the center of a target. I use it here in that sense.)

So from June through November 2021, we all went through “tests of skill” in expressing the realizations which surface at Mars oppositions. June and July gave realizations about Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto. August and September gave us realizations about Neptune, and September through November gave us realizations about Uranus.

Mars renewed its cycle with Saturn in April, Neptune in May, and began a new cycle with Jupiter in late May at 4 Aries. It then made a conjunction with Uranus on August 1. This was the focus of our activity in late July and early August, and increased tensions, eccentricity, and genius wherever we have 19 Taurus. However, because Mars will go retrograde in late Gemini, we won’t have another Mars opposition until May 2023 from 1 Leo to Pluto at 1 Aquarius!

Into The Future

During this time of Mars in Gemini, open to discovering different ways to approach and utilize what began in Aries and was secured in Taurus. Be adaptable, follow your curiosity into new discoveries, methods, and views. This helps us renew our Gemini skills, where we can take the enthusiasm and power generated in Aries and grounded in Taurus to expand our skill set or ability to communicate from a variety of approach.

What We Experience When Mars is in Each Sign

Mars in Aries teaches us how to act on our own initiative, not defer so much to others, and “working half-heartedly is not the way to accomplish much.” Mars in Taurus teaches us to “take pleasure in our work” as we learn to keep it simple and steady despite crosswinds, and Mars in Gemini teaches us adaptability because “there are many ways to get things done.” Mars in Cancer teaches us to “be watchful as we work,” acting with sensitivity, care, and caution.

Mars in Leo teaches us to “work with flair and style,” putting on the show as we accomplish things in inspired ways. This is a time to show our power and style when opportunities present themselves, and see how our command of energy can be expressed in creative ways. Mars in Virgo taught us “All play and no work make for an ungrounded life.” Mars in Libra taught us “All work with no socializing makes for an unsustainable life.” Mars in Scorpio taught us “doing the wrong thing in the wrong way with the wrong people will never make us happy, so do the right thing and be happy!”

Mars in Sagittarius teaches us how to be a “stylish and bold Archer riding our Sacred Arrows to our dream,” as well as “scattered effort leaves us frustrated.” Mars in Capricorn teaches us “Work for the now, work for the future, work for all time.” Mars in Aquarius teaches us “As you strive for greater things, you make manifest a future ideal which will outlive you.” Mars in Pisces teaches us “to witness our common humanity as we struggle for clarity in a murky collective environment.”

We got a sense of the promise of things to come when Mars transited Sagittarius, got a new look at what we are to do and how we are to do it during Mars in Capricorn, and a new engagement with multiple long wave Aquarian cycles. We moved through vast fogs of the collective consciousness where we had to bless a lot to move down the time stream in Pisces so we could embrace the important new initiatives of Mars conjunct Jupiter in Aries! Now that we’ve secured the momentum in Taurus, we get to find there are many ways to do most things, with the most enjoyment when we share those activities with our Spiritual Brothers and Sisters.

Reprinted on crystalwind.ca with written permission from Robert Wilkinson. Copying this article to other blogs is strictly prohibited. It is copyright protected. 

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