Yes, Mars is already very slow in speed, preparing to go retrograde in late Gemini. What does this mean?

Mars will go stationary retrograde 6:26 am PDT, 1:26 pm GMT on October 30, 2022, at 26 Gemini. I'll be posting more articles about Mars retrograde in the near future. For now, remember that a retrograde doesn't necessarily mean something bad. Let's review some things to remember about Mars retrograde.

The Retrograde Phenomenon

First, there are many things that move forward exactly as they should during Mars retrograde periods. Though there may seem to be less momentum to some things, even delays and the need to rework some things, or wait for other things to develop before picking up the original intention, there are ways to navigate these recurring periods and keep everything on track quite nicely. It doesn't have to be much of a problem if we position ourselves correctly given the shift in the pace and unfolding of events.

Also, please remember that the planets do not "cause" anything. Whether and how things happen or don't during a retrograde period has everything to do with us and others' actions and reactions to things, both past and present. The free will of human beings has far more power than a planetary retrograde!

As I wrote in A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. Chapter 1, "What Is Mercury Retrograde and Why Does It Seem to Cause So Many Hassles?"

Throughout the year, all the planets go retrograde at some point. Usually one or more planets are retrograde simultaneously. Sometimes there are as many as four to six retrogrades occurring simultaneously... A planet, when retrograde, simply indicates a slowing of its orbital speed relative to the Sun from the perspective of the Earth.

Some planets slow for a few weeks; some for a few months.... In our Solar system, the motion of the planets and the "lights" (the Sun and Moon) symbolize the ebb and flow of the universal life that we all live within.

This is why it is inappropriate to attribute a problem to a retrograde; though there may be some apparent correlation, a retrograde cannot "cause" anything. This may be the most commonly held misunderstanding about astrology and how it works. Any astrological configuration simply symbolizes a state of time within which life manifests.

It is true that many things seem to happen because of an astrological association. However, the cause of all that happens (if and when there is a concrete cause at all) is a prior action, or inaction. All that is, all that occurs, is a part of a larger natural process of unfoldment. All our experiences give us opportunities to be led out of ignorance and fear of the unknown into a greater awareness of the interrelationships between all things.

Mars Retrograde – Past, Present, and Future

Mars retrograde represents a period where the timing and coordination of things, as well as how fast or slow things seem to be happening, take on a different pace and rhythm of development. At this time in history, with Saturn square Uranus and Mars square Neptune and both Venus and the Sun about to square Saturn and oppose Uranus, slowing things down a bit might be exactly what’s needed!

Mars retrograde at 26 Gemini will give us ways to rework or redo our plans relative to the Ageless Wisdom we all began to embrace in June 2019 at that year’s “World Teacher Festival” which happened at the Full Moon of 26 Gemini/Sagittarius. That one illuminated “essential forms,” so we may have a chance to revisit how we interpret and/or express that Wisdom during November and December so we can find a new way to express it beginning in March 2023.

Mars retrograde is good for “reverse engineering” many things, or decreasing recent friction or hostilities, or slowing many things down during a time of chaos and upheaval. Much will begin to “return to normalcy” by mid-January when Mars goes direct.

Often stationary retrograde points make significant angles to previous retrograde stations. This one makes a waxing sextile to the October 2020 Mars retrograde station at 29 Aries and a waxing sesquisquare to the June 2018 Mars’ retrograde station at 10 Aquarius. That implies an agitation of the Aquarius station, with a productivity related to its Aries station. Obviously this is some sort of larger cycle emergent waxing nergy related to Mars cycles across time!

The June 2018 Mars SRX degree was sextile the previous April 2016 SRX degree of Mars at 9 Sagittarius, and quintile its June 2016 SD point at 24 Scorpio. The October 2020 SRX degree at 29 Aries was opposed the March 2014 Mars SRX degree at 28 Libra, showing that the review and reworking done in 2014 somehow was related to the emergent lower square of the SD degree of 2018 and the SRX degree of 2020.

By studying how different planetary stationary degrees relate to previous stationary degrees, we get a sense of the larger “pulse” of that planet in our lives across time. Look at the houses these occupied, and the aspects they made to your planets if you want to know how your response to your Mars function has evolved over time.

The Sabian Symbol for Mars’ Stationary Retrograde degree

The Sabian Symbol for the 26th degree of Gemini is “Winter frost in the woods.” In the original Jones notes published in The Astrology of Personality, Rudhyar says this is a degree of the “creative bestowal of significance upon all things," "the transforming power of beauty," and "keen appreciation of natural processes."

We are told in the Astrological Mandala that this degree of the Global Wisdom Teaching for the rest of the year symbolizes “the revelation of archetypal form and essential rhythm of existence.” We are told it’s about “archetypes and pure forms of individual selfhood,” as well as “the characteristic images of the culture.” He says “Externals are left behind. This is a step beyond ‘pruning’; it is rather a process of removal of all superficialities of existence.”

He states that this symbol shows us the way to “the essence of our individual being,” where we can see pure selfhood through a process of essentialization. He says this degree falls in the Span of Restlessness, Act of Differentiation, and Scene of Exteriorization on the Individual-Mental level.

Dr. Jones says this is a degree of “the cosmic significance in any momentary cancellation of (our) immediate interests and private concerns,” where Nature’s “needs and powers” have supremacy over our “aspirations and conveniences.” He states this is a “call for a reorientation in (our) individual point of view, and for some further discovery of the self’s potentials.”

He offers “Normal life is brought to a point of sharp suspension so that the larger magic may be manifest.” He gives us the keyword SPLENDOR. He states that when operating in a positive manner, this degree is “the creative transformation by which older cycles give way to newer ones.”

From this symbol it seems the review of all thing related to Mars and Gemini in our lives is so we may find a new approach to seeing new forms of beauty and self-expression taking shape in focused efforts to achieve mental movement toward a new or renewed potential. So this is a degree of individual-mental activity externalizing an honest picture of things are they are behind their appearance. Because of the retrograde, it won’t really get into motion until next March when Mars returns to 26 Gemini and then leaves its shadow zone.

Keep In Mind…

Mars retrograde usually indicates there will be some things that must occur before other things can be done. Get clear about the priority of things, pay attention to the rhythm of unfolding events, and see much of what's come down the past few weeks as prelude to undoing, redoing, or reworking some things in November, December, and early January before picking the pace back up in mid-January. All of this relates to the life areas (houses) where we have Aries, Gemini, and Scorpio.

Remember that sometimes a delay is the best thing that could happen as other things develop on their own, since I've found life is sometimes like a Charles Dickens novel. There are many chapters, many players, and some things cannot be known and/or acted upon until the plot develops.

But rest assured, that at the end of the play, all will be seen in proper perspective, the unknowns between the players become clear, and things have developed so that "the hero's journey" is perfectly completed. So during this Mars retrograde, do what you must, work and/or adapt the plan, don't fret at the apparent delays or slowness, and fit things into a long range perspective with an eye to the radical quickening to come in November.

If you want to know more about the Global Wisdom poured out into our world in 2019 through early 2020 which is about to be revisited in some way, please take a new look here.

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

© Copyright 2022 Robert Wilkinson

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