On Thursday, April 14, Mars entered Pisces. 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 cooperative vision of managed energy of Fixed Air in Aquarius and now expresses it through the mystical deep tides of Mutable Water in Pisces. Having re-activated the numerous 2020 conjunctions in Capricorn and its fateful conjunction with Saturn at 1 Aquarius which launched the initial pulse of The Grand Mutation in December 2020, it now leaves “the transfiguration zone” of late Aquarius and brings us into deep waters.

Mars in Sagittarius took the remains of the “stripping down and purifying” energy of Scorpio and moved it up and out, freed of obsolete things and considerations. Mars in Capricorn organized the Sag initiatives into practical forms of power which in Aquarius could be applied to a greater vision of a greater good for a greater number. Now that Mars has entered Pisces, we enter into a more flowing type of activity, akin to the tides of an ocean.

Mars is now at maximum cruising speed around 45 minutes of motion per day. We are in the middle of Mars’ cycle, in between the previous retrograde slowdown between 18-28 Aries from early September to mid-November 2020, and the next one coming between 9-26 Gemini from late October 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

Its last transit of Aquarius began 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.

The last time Mars was in Pisces, from mid-May through late June 2020, we learned 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. The period when Mars squared Uranus in mid-April through the various Mutable squares in June featured the beginning of the anti-mask rebellion (Pisces rules veils) as a widespread policy of mask wearing was mandated.

Then Mars entered Aries at the end of June 2020, where it remained until it finally entered Taurus in early January 2021! Mars in Aries last year 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.

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. Since early March it’s been in the Air sign of Aquarius, impacting all things Aries and Scorpio in our charts.

Now that Mars has moved from the Air of Aquarius to the Water of Pisces, it moves into a feeling emphasis and moves the Aries and Scorpio into a watery expression. There will be a primary focus of activity in the house where we have the first 10 degrees of Pisces from now through the end of April. From May 1-10 the focus of activity will be in the house where we have the second 10 degrees of Pisces, with the focus on the last 10 degrees of Pisces between May 11-24.

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.)

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.)

While Mars was 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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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)

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 now.)

While Mars is in Pisces, it brings new beginnings to those with Sun or Ascendant in Pisces, and new emergent developments to those with Sun or Ascendant in Sagittarius. It puts 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 cycle re-sets the last one from mid-May through late June 2020.)

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 Pisces, it activates the promise Jupiter set in the Summer of 2021 and began to expand in January 2022. While the Sun was first to illuminate the Piscean promise in early February, followed by Mercury bringing a new Piscean understanding in March, we found pleasing or socially relevant Piscean expression in April, This will now all be activated by Mars transiting all the Piscean conjunction points these planets made, as well as more ancient Piscean conjunction points between Jupiter and Uranus 12 years ago.

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 Piscean experience in the house(s) where we have that sign in our charts. As Mars enters Pisces, we immediately experience a Mercury conjunct Uranus with both quintile Mars, facilitating easy intuitive action. Mars then makes a decile and novile to Pluto at the end of April, finishing the month with a binovile from Mercury and a sextile from the Sun.

May brings a refrain from the Mercury binovile with Mars sextile Uranus through the first week. The second week of May shows Mars exactly sextile the Sun and septile Pluto, with Mercury quintile Mars through the middle of the month. The third week of May shows Mars conjunct Neptune and septile Uranus. After that, Mars sextiles Pluto and Mercury, leaving Pisces with an exact semisquare to Uranus. Remember transit to transit aspects are generic energies, which we can use wisely according to how they are placed in our charts.

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 now begins its trek to renew its cycle with Neptune in late Pisces and Jupiter in early Aries. It continues its forward motion in Taurus this Summer conjuncting Uranus on August 1. This will be the focus of our activity for the next few months. 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 Pisces, be open to feeling what’s ending, and what needs to be dealt with in gradual and subtle ways. This helps us renew our Piscean skills, where we can learn how to hang back a bit before making our play. Having just experienced a new Aquarian focus on a fixed larger vision of a greater good, a greater contribution, and a greater way to manage collective energies synergistically, we now have a new understanding of how the parts of a given thing cooperate together for a greater achievement than any could have done separately.

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 learned 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 now move into the vast fogs of the collective consciousness where we have to bless a lot to move down the time stream, preparing for major new initiative when Mars enters Aries.

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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