Mars Retrograde...the Quest for Truth

Mars in Sagittarius just turned retrograde on April 17th, just ahead of the Scorpio Full Moon on the 22nd.

Mars is a planet of action, of desire, drive and aspiration...what we want and how we go after it. With Mars in Sagittarius, there is a tendency to want to do more.

A healthy Mars energy can express as assertiveness, leadership, clarity of purpose, getting things done. If expressed negatively there is the potential for aggressiveness, bullying, domination as our own desires can blind us to the needs of others. That is why Mars is associated with conflict.

The 'red planet' is named after the Roman god of war and, if exaggerated, this energy has the potential to be expressed as violence.

When a planet retrogrades, it appears to move backwards in the heavens, from our Earthbound perspective and the expression of that planet's energy tends to be more inward.

So, with Mars, we may be questioning our desires..... "what do I want?". “is that what I really want?” or “what do I have to do to get what I want?”

Mars retrograde is a time to take a step back, review past actions, not start something new.

But perhaps we really need to question all the doing. We seem to have become a society of 'human doings' instead of human beings.

What if the first question we asked when meeting someone new was not "what do you do?", but "who are you?" Ask yourself, "if I take away all that I do, who am I?"...."is it okay just to be?"

Sagittarius is about our quest for truth. This is why it is associated with the law, philosophy, religion, foreign travel....those things that expand our perspective, our awareness, our understanding and our beliefs about right and wrong, morality, honesty, integrity.

As Mars retrogrades in Sagittarius we would all benefit from a re-evaluation of whether our actions are in alignment with our own inner truth. We need to ask "how am I being?", not "what do I want or need to do?"

Actions during this period that are not aligned with honesty, truth, morality will backfire. The truth will out, if not while Mars is retrograde, then once it is direct again and returning through this part of Sagittarius. In the meantime, if you are feeling impatient, irritated, frustrated when things aren't working as you want them to..........perhaps that isn't what you are meant to do.

How this retrograde affects each of us, individually, will depend on where Mars is in our own chart and whether it is interacting with any of our natal planets (in the context of all the other planetary factors). For those with Mars prominent in their birth chart, or strong planetary placements in Aries, the Mars retrograde may be felt more intensely.

I began writing this on the eve of the New York primaries, just four days before the Scorpio Full Moon. With Mars retrograde, it is not surprising to see that there have been questions raised following the primary and that there have been lawsuits filed by people whose names were purged from the voters' list without their awareness or whose party affiliation was mysteriously changed.

Whatever the result of an investigation into the causes...what was done, why, and by whom...the questions about the voting process simply serve to fuel the fires of those who want change in the political process.

As the US election continues to unfold, I think many of us have a sense of just how historically significant it is, how it is just a part of something larger that is happening globally, and that the outcome will affect all of us, not just the States. It is a particularly significant time in that nation's history, as I explain in my earlier blog post)

There are three candidates who seem to be the leading contenders in this year's US election, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. All have Mars prominent in their birth charts. This is probably not surprising, given Mars is associated with leadership.

In his birth chart, Mr. Trump's Mars is perched right on his Leo Ascendant, which explains his extremely aggressive approach, his overwhelming focus on competition and “winning” as well as his famous hair (Leo mane) and rather odd, orange hue. His rallies have become famous for the violence that he seems to incite in his supporters.

For Mr. Trump, Mars retrograde suggests to me that he is losing his momentum and he will not get the prize he so wants to win, as Mars will back up to square his natal Mars. It looks to me like his enormous desire to reign supreme (Leo represents royalty) will be blocked. However, in true Leo style, he has sought and won the most media coverage. (As a Gemini, he will also be particularly affected by the upcoming Mercury retrograde)

In Senator Sanders birth chart, Mars is strong in its own sign, Aries. It is conjunct his Moon, with both opposing his Venus in her own sign, Libra. Libra seeks justice, equality, fairness, balance. Those Aries-Libra planets form harmonious aspects to Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius. The Moon represents our emotional needs, and for Sanders this seems to explain his strong desire, drive and fight for justice, equality and fairness, as Venus and Jupiter both offer a focus for the emotionally-driven action. Fiery Mars in fiery Aries seems to be rather appropriate for his campaign slogan, 'feel the Bern'.

In addition to all that, as Mars stations retrograde, Venus, Uranus (planet of revolution) and the Sun are all in Aries, near his natal Moon-Mars indicating a strong boost of energy from people responding to his passionate call to action. Since last September, Jupiter has been hanging out over his natal Sun in Virgo and will still be there during the convention in July. (I have explained in another post why I believe he is destined to win the nomination and the Presidency).

This brings us to former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

Secretary Clinton's natal chart contains the planetary equivalent of a nuclear bomb. Her Mars is at the exact same degree as her Pluto...the 'god of war' and 'lord of the underworld' together in dramatic, fiery Leo.

Those are just two of the planets in the very challenging square between her Venus-Chiron-Mercury in Scorpio and her Mars-Pluto-Saturn in Leo.

The only way this pattern can become an asset instead of the seed of one's own destruction is if that individual is acting with the highest degree of integrity, for the benefit of humanity rather than the aggrandizement of their own ego. Otherwise, this planetary pattern indicates an individual who is extremely ambitious and whose desire for power is so overwhelming that they will say and do anything to achieve their goals.

Unfortunately, such a pattern indicates very powerful lessons that the individual must learn and generally, particularly with the involvement of Pluto, the individual is often not consciously aware of the deep psychological issues that need to be resolved. Thus, the lessons most often will come to light through major conflict and some sort of 'trial by fire'.

To me, it looks like this current Mars retrograde is part of a planetary 'perfect storm' as a confluence of energies seem to be focusing on uncovering any secrets the former Secretary may have. After all, retrograde Mars focuses on our past actions, and in Sagittarius, the truth of what inspired those actions.

Given that the former Secretary of State is under investigation by the FBI for her past actions, this seems particularly significant.

As it retrogrades, Mars will back up over Clinton's Jupiter in Sagittarius before the end of May. Jupiter is the ruler of Sagittarius and so its placement here amplifies the themes of the sign described above (quest for truth, honesty, morality).

In the meantime, Mercury will turn retrograde on April 28th.

Mercury has to do with any dealings with communications, information, documents.

As it turns retrograde in Taurus, Mercury will oppose Secretary Clinton's natal Mercury. Again, Mercury retrograde raises questions, looking for answers about what we were thinking, planning, communicating in the past. With an opposition, the energy generally seems to be coming at us from outside, which certainly seems to fit in light of the current FBI investigation into her emails.

The Full Moon on April 22nd will be right on Clinton's Scorpio Sun while Mercury, nearing its retrograde, will be exactly opposite her natal Mercury, also in Scorpio, square her natal Saturn in Leo, triggering that potentially explosive natal pattern.

On May 21st, the Full Moon and retrograde Mars will be conjunct her Jupiter just as Mercury is turning direct. As it turns direct, Mercury will be exactly squaring the most potentially destructive energy in Clinton's natal chart, her exact Mars-Pluto conjunction in Leo. This pattern also involves her natal Venus-Chiron in Scorpio. Chiron symbolizes where we most need healing of our deepest wounds, where the toxins must be released in order for healing to occur.

With the FBI investigations already under way, it looks like the Full Moons of April and May should provide considerably more illumination as to the former Secretary of State's state of mind, intentions, motivations and actions regarding her private email server and her handling of government documents.

Given the way retrograde Mars, Mercury and these Full Moons are highlighting this nuclear-charged pattern in her natal chart, I do believe that it is about to blow up in a very big way.

Of course, if the former Secretary of State is as honest, transparent and selfless as she tells us, she will have nothing to worry about and it will all just blow over.