Mars Retrograde Halfway Point

We are at the halfway point in the apparent Mars retrograde cycle as the Earth in its orbit around the Sun is passing in front of Mars, which because it is moving at a slower speed, outside our orbit, is appearing to go backwards.  The phenomenon is very like two trains passing.  You are in one train that is moving quickly,  the one in the next track is moving more slowly and appears to be going backwards.  The Sun and Mars are in opposition, with the Earth in between. Mars is closer to us than in any other time in its orbit. This occurred Saturday at 3:10 PM.

We should be now having some sense of what this Mars cycle is about.  Of course for each of us it will be slightly different and affect different areas of our life, depending on which house or department of life is the Virgo house in our natal chart. If you happen to know that you will have an easier time reflecting.  You have until the July 4^th weekend to figure it out though, when Mars finally finishes with Virgo and moves into Libra.  By then it should be abundantly clear what area of your life has been reworked, even if you do not know what house is Virgo natally.  Frustrations, false starts and recommitments to doing things better will be noticeable after the almost 8 month sojourn (November 12^th-July 4^th) of Mars in Virgo.

The position of Mars helps us to understand what we should be noticing.  We have been talking about Mars and how our activities are in slow motion or so it seems. If the Sun represents our purpose, our goals and what we want to accomplish and Mars represents the will force that is needed to actualize that purpose then when Sun and Mars are in relationship, the job is easier.  If we feel like we have only been treading water since the end of January, that our actions were feeling fruitless, then this weekend is the time to begin to get clarity.  The time to actually move forward is not until after April 14^th, but realization of what the issues  are what it is we want to do about it should be coming now.

Mars rules our efforts and work, where we put our energy, and in Virgo demands that we are healthy and have integrity . We might be feeling that there is a new exercise, diet or health regime that we want to start but the will to go forward is lacking.  We will spend lots of time in the strategizing stage before actually committing, figuring the best way to make it work.  This is appropriate for this time.   Or we can be moving too aggressively in some direction and either our physical body is reacting or we are not getting a desired outcome. It is very unwise to initiate anything new now, as those affairs are likely to bring obstacles and challenges too great to overcome.  (The talk this weekend about Israel bombing Iran’s nuclear sites comes to mind-whoever initiates during a Mars retrograde cycle LOSES). But recommitting to projects already begun and editing them or revising them is appropriate.

The other situation which could arise now is being forced to rework some aggressive action that we took and that is coming back to haunt us so to speak.  We question..was that the best way to handle that situation? Is there another way to assert myself? Maybe a friend or colleague has reminded you of an old situation which is still not resolved satisfactorily.   Or you might become aware that you are still angry at someone and by becoming aware of it now can bring it to the surface and with some emotional detachment resolve it more satisfactorily. Mars retrograde periods can bring back these uncomfortable relationship issues and are excellent times for resolving longstanding disputes. Reviewing our behavior is called for now, our own actions, motivations or those with our sexual partners, fathers, husbands and all other males.