A Mars retrograde this month means a timeout.
As the Red Planet shifts into reverse, take any opportunity to rest, regroup, and rethink your strategy.
Every two years or so, the God of War appears to move backward in the sky, stopping forward motion and turning our desires (and rage) in on themselves. With Mars grinding to a halt and then slowly rolling backwards in September (from the 9th to November 13th) we will all face challenges maintaining an even keel on the turbulent seas. We may witness others not following the rules or get the urge to go rogue ourselves. Frustration will abound and sparks are surely going to fly. Mars is indeed where we find our courage. And perhaps our principles. A dreamy, if not psychic, Pisces full moon on the 2nd in a congenial relationship with revolutionary Uranus calls for an awakening to greater compassion and making strides in selfless action for the greater good. While sitting out may seem antithetical in September, normally a productive time when we head back to work, to school, and begin the harvest, truly this month sitting down is productive. Leave your weapons at home, please. As we have already experienced, some of us for our whole lives, fighting for justice wears a body down. Don’t forget to take ample time for rest this month. We’re going to need it for the long haul ahead.
VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Your birthday month starts with an emotional full moon illuminating an aspect of your relationship that may need a little room to breath. Many of you have been cooped up and it’s an understatement to say the walls might feel like they are closing in. If you’re feeling squeezed, it may be time to take a break from the squabbling before things reach a boiling point. To dodge butting heads this month, especially around joint finances, waiting for that mortgage approval or second round of stimulus relief, employ your no-nonsense reliability toward yourself. Grow your garden (literal and figurative)! Step into your sovereignty. A little “me” time will allow more space to open up in your closest relationships. Any nitpicking urges can be transformed into a more productive instinct to connect and nurture. A practical chore like lining the family up for haircuts in the kitchen can turn into a sweet bonding experience, which goes a long way toward maintaining the peace. By the end of the month, you have renewed enthusiasm to revisit a creative project that’s been on hold.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) A legendary people pleaser, your sense of balance gets put to the test this month as you try to set some boundaries between how much you give and asking for what you need. Sometimes less scrupulous cohorts try to take advantage of your amiable nature, so a judicious accounting of the give and take at your workplace may be in order with the full moon on the 2nd. As you embrace your sterling people skills and apply your natural charm, just watch how new, like-minded people circle into your orbit offering some overdue reciprocity. There’s something, dare we say magical, about your voice this month. You have the ability to get what you want all while cleverly making others think that it was their idea. Only a smooth Libra can pull off this move. And somehow we love you for it; insert starry-eyed emoji here. If this wasn’t enough, you’re also shining behind the scenes, coming up with new ideas for your thesis, collaborating on the inception of multiple projects and readying a big reveal around your birthday. At that time, you’ll be fired up to set fresh goals as you start to see financial evidence from all the background work. Grab your coolest shades (and face mask) as that project you’ve been busy bringing forth all summer may just put you in the limelight.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) As your co-ruler, racey Mars shifts into reverse in your house of health and daily habits, it’s time to take your foot off the accelerator and coast for a stretch. Any tensions involving siblings or neighbors could be remedied by simply slowing down and practicing mindfulness. Apply the same thoughtfulness to any frustrations that come up with your commute. And if you’ve been thinking about augmenting your workout regimen with an online meditation or yoga class…Do it! The more you’re able to quiet your mind and remain in the moment, the better you might be of service in the outerworld. Favorable cosmic omens related to your career this month provide opportunities for you to do what you love. You just have to choose it and the money will follow. As you find yourself more fulfilled careerwise, a new chapter begins around friends and groups. You’re connecting with allies on the same wavelength, all supporting a larger goal for the greater good. At the very end of the month, vocal Mercury moves into your sign and you’re ready to express with eloquence and depth, insights you’ve been keeping underwraps. There’s also considerable potential for flexing your political power. Are you ready? The heavens say, yes.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Archer’s widely known restlessness may surface at the start of the month with a full moon in your house of home and family. It may be time to shake up the feng shui and make a move as conditions in your domestic situation have grown stale. From rearranging the furniture to moving the whole house to a new neighborhood or state, channel that edgy energy toward a habitation transformation. Mid-month your ruler, expansive Jupiter comes out of retirement in your money house, letting in some much needed financial prospects and energizing you to turn circumstantial restrictions pertaining to your income into money-making opportunities. As a side note: should you need to dish out dollars to help bail your kid out of a pecuniary predicament, don’t let it get your goat. You’ll be able to cover extra expenditures now as the impetus to restabilize your finances increases. For most of the month, the Red Planet backpedals in your house of fun and creativity. As you slow your roll, you may find time to resurrect a project that’s been collecting cobwebs in the basement. Time to dust off your fiddle, and get back to the music. In any case, you’re drawn toward a new adventure and falling in love with learning new things along the way. A new moon in your career house on the 17th urges you to carve out a fresh trail professionally. Why not? Imagine what you can do now that you’re standing on a new foundation.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) As the month begins, neighbors of persistent Goats are feeling grateful for all the ingenious solutions you’re dreaming up. As you share your views the word could spread, catapulting you into the blogosphere or the local newspaper. While some of you might be out canvassing for your favorite politician, others can’t stomach anyone in the field of candidates. If that’s the case, you have the right stuff to take charge and run for office yourself. The starry firmament is on your side for attracting the support of big backers. Meanwhile, usually swift planet Mars grinds to a halt in your house of home and hearth, putting any home improvement projects on hold. Some may need to move back in with parents for the rest of the year. This regression puts a damper on all the progress you’ve made towards building an identity separate from the constraints of your origins. Instead of pushing against the ties that bind you, give yourself a minute or two to exhale. As you relax into the here and now, the space for contemplation allows for a broadening view. As you visualize the details of your sparkly future, the Virgo new moon mid-month helps you birth a whole new philosophy. It’s just the revitalizing air that you’ve been needing for your professional ambitions. We know that you know that this little slow down is in no way giving up. In fact, the mountain top is so close, you can see it.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) A full moon at the beginning of this month asks you to work out the kinks in your income stream. Such due diligence now helps you down the road with major wardrobe changes once your birthday rolls around in early 2021. In the meantime, get-up-and-go planet Mars shifts into low gear in your house of communications. A prudent place to focus your buzzing mind will be on all things intended to destress. Listening to relaxation podcasts, taking meditative walks, and simply operating at a slower pace allows you to do some necessary rethinking. This whole process could prove useful in the near future. At the same time, take extra care when driving and for goodness sake, avoid verbal altercations with the obnoxious guy in the Beamer who grabbed the parking spot you were waiting for. Yeah, we know, it’s the principle of the matter but such slights are just not worth it in the long run. Let it go and remember, you are an air sign afterall, so breathe! Meanwhile, lovely Venus glides into your partnership house where she’ll be for most of the month, sweetening relations with your boo or, if you’re single, attracting a shiny new penny. Nice. Just in time for the new moon on the 17th in your house of shared resources and intimacy to support the deepening of your relationship or open the door to a financial investor keen on soon assisting one of your more dazzling enterprises. We won’t be at all surprised if by month’s end we start hearing more about your latest innovation and fresh perspective. Step up to the podium! We are all ears.
PISCES (Feb. 19–March 20) The month begins with a bright and kinda psychic full moon casting its light on you. The time is ripe for illusive fishes to utilize their powers of intuition on the big questions regarding your biggest dreams. What do you truly want from this amazingly profound and gorgeous life of yours? You’ve been narrowing the pools you swim in for a while and now your focus turns to your deepest desires. How are you going to show up for your vision? On the 9th of the month, Mars, the planet that usually motivates us to do all the things we do, gets lost down a dusty backroad in your money house. This puts the brakes on spending. Don’t fret, by tightening the purse strings, you have the opportunity to revisit a forgotten or maybe overlooked talent that could truly be a proper source of income. You’re reassessing your values to determine what’s really important. Perhaps earning money is no longer a driving force. Your circle of friends are beginning to reflect it, too. You may be noticing friction between themes of superficiality and true thoughtfulness as your redesign has everything to do with your innate gifts of compassion and sensitivity. It’s an inclusive universe that mirrors your shimmering spirit. Meanwhile, the new moon breathes vitality into a longstanding relationship. Though the month is no piece of cake, it really is about letting it all unfold and joining the stream of life.
ARIES (March 21–April 19) As your ruling planet Mars screeches to a halt this month, you may be the first to holler, “get me off this planet!” Even for the Rams who proudly wear the adrenaline-junkie crown, the demands of work and the tumult of the last six months have taken a toll. This month is a good time to change the strategy that usually involves some kind of extreme sport toward mending your body (and soul), recouping your energy and conserving your vitality for the marathon yet to come. With pleasure-loving Venus gracing your house of fun and creativity, not to mention romance , indulging in activities you enjoy that nourish your heart and feed your sense of beauty will help to recharge your battery pack. Later in the month, a new moon in your house of health, habits, and service introduces a new, more measured exercise regimen, attuning you to the little things, like adjustments in your diet or replacing worn out gear. This gets your operating system running smoothly again.
TAURUS (April 20–May 20) An emotional full moon in your house of friends and groups at the beginning of the month bumps up the feels around who’s in and who’s out, leaving you with a sense of loss as friends move away and organizations you were once a part of dissolve. Nobody likes to feel left out, but there’s something in this process that is opening up important questions for you around who you are. Identity work is hard. Add on top of it a serious pandemic and a world turned upside down, it’s really no wonder you’ve been encountering your share of lethargy. Give yourself a big ol’ break. Under normal circumstances, you’d probably refresh yourself with a vacay–arrange a roadtrip to the desert or jet off to the healing waters of a far-flung spa, but with travel restrictrictions, even mini-breaks are limited. What’s a poor, penned-in Bull to do? Your lovely ruler Venus comes to the rescue! As she strolls through your house of home and family, embody her aesthetics and polish up your living space. Even a bouquet of fresh flowers in the home office goes a long way. Set an intention at the new moon on the 17th to surround yourself with beauty every day. It’s time to nourish your soul.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) A silvery full moon will shine in your career house at the start of the month, igniting greater clarity around your life purpose. What’s the thing that’s been missing in your professional sphere? Extreme times call for a reckoning with self-awareness. Be honest with yourselves, Twins. Consider how you really want to show up and with whom you really want to do the work. Get to it! In doing so you may be able to evade some of the difficulty that Mars is bringing your way on the 9th as that planet of passionate debates awkwardly back-steps in your house of social groups. Picture the elephant in the room trying to back out the door. Mars is looking to set off a psychic landmine or two and create friction in your friendscape. We suggest taking a little break from feeling like you always have to address certain types who can really push your buttons. Instead, focus on reconnecting with friends whom you’ve lost touch and have loads of common ground. If any of your everlasting, yet lapsed chums lives nearby, all the better! Love goddess Venus graces your house of everything local this month, bestowing you with harmonious connections closer to home. Who knows, you could even meet a sweet new someone while walking your dog. A new moon in your house of home and family invites you to fluff up the pillows and refresh your space. If your kid has recently flown off to faraway lands, it’s time to reclaim your nest and juice up the feng shui.
CANCER (June 21–July 22) Crabs have been putting a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into their work for much of 2020. This fall, motivating Mars will at best take a breather in your career house and at worst throw a monkey wrench into your forward motion. Needless to say, frustrations on the workfront are like a struck match lighting up friction in your closest relationships. Working from home doesn’t help matters. It could be useful to create a simple ritual for clocking in and out of the home office to help you delineate the boundaries between work life and home life. And may we just remind you that what’s definitely not a part of your job description is tinkering with trying to fix your partner. Just don’t do it. They’re not broken. To stave off the mounting pressure, you may find the release valve this month in shifting your focus toward valuing your talents that don’t often see the light of day. Shed the reticence, you’ve got skills for days and the change could open up a whole new business opportunity for you. A new moon cresting in your house of communications on the 17th encourages you to make a new commitment to a writing project or to jump into a teaching opportunity. Either way, sharing fresh ideas is your ticket to shining in the coming months. Let your next steps be guided by what really revs your engine and not about checking off to-do lists.
LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Look that boogie man in the face, Lions, and say, buh-bye! With a full moon beaming a light in your house of death and deep psychology–aka fears–at the start of the month, thank them for having kept you safe, and then banish them for good. Kittys have bigger fish to fry this month. It’s time for your light to shine. With lovely Venus waltzing into your sign this month, cue your charisma and bask in the limelight. At least for a little while. There’s nothing more gorgeous than a sunshiny Leo. Go on now, we love to see you beam. Since forward-ho planet Mars is shut down in your house of travel and exploration, planes have grounded for the near future on your aspirations for world travel. Add that aggravation to the pressures of growing responsibilities at work and it can bring out your snarl. But for now, tame your roar and stick to armchair travels. Trick out the details for an even bigger plan for a dream trip next fall. In the meantime, a new moon later in the month in your money house inspires you to develop a latent talent, turned money-making endeavor. At the end of the month, tend to your heart and book some zoom calls to connect with family and friends you’ve been missing.
If you know your rising sign, read that too; it’s often more relevant.
By Lisa Lisa and the Star Jam*