On December 7th, 2024, Mars goes retrograde at 6° Leo. Mars stays retrograde for nearly 3 months, with its retrograde motion concluding on February 24th, 2025, at 17° Cancer.
Mars only goes retrograde once every 2 years, so when it does, that’s quite a big deal.
This is a significant astrological event because it’s so rare. Mercury goes retrograde three times a year, the outer planets once a year. Mars goes retrograde only every 26 months.
Mars doesn’t go retrograde often… but when it does, you can bet it comes with important changes and developments.
This is important!
Mars Retrograde – What Does It Mean
When Mars goes retrograde, what used to feel like your default way of being suddenly shifts.
Mars retrograde brings a wake-up call or a strong need to reexamine your goals and motivations.
These retrograde cycle periods tend to be highly eventful.
While some astrologers recommend avoiding bold actions or major decisions during this time – on the premise that ‘retrograde’ equals ‘bad timing’ – people often feel compelled to act anyway because the transit creates such a strong sense of urgency.
Why is that?
Unlike Mercury and Venus retrograde, which fade into the Sun’s glare, Mars remains fully visible and shines at its brightest in the night sky. Instead of retreating, Mars intensifies.
Mars retrograde works differently – it’s not about ‘DON’T,’ as Mercury retrograde often is, but rather ‘DO – with intention.’ Its commanding presence is impossible to ignore.
Mars retrograde is Mars on steroids – it amplifies and brings to culmination whatever Mars symbolizes.
When Mars is retrograde, you will embody Mars, you will act like Mars – you will be Mars. And finally, through this intense period, your true motivations and desires will be revealed.
While certain things may slow down, these obstacles won’t deter you. Instead, they will drive you to take action more forcefully than usual, and from a more authentic place.
Mars Retrograde is NOT a time to ignore your instincts. Instead, it’s an opportunity to tune into them deeply and act with heightened awareness and purpose.
Mars retrograde’s ultimate goal is to help you uncover what really drives you – what makes you say, “I want this so badly, I’ll do anything to get it.”
Taking action in such a highly charged period may feel unwise, but avoiding it entirely will often be just as challenging. Mars retrograde has a way of confronting you with your deepest desires and pushing you to act, even if you’d rather hold back.
Rather than resist it, use this period to deeply connect with your inner drives and motivations. What truly drives you?
There’s something profoundly important about your true wants and desires, and the Mars retrograde cycle will help you discover what fuels your passion and compels you to act.
Mars Retrograde In Leo-Cancer 2024-2025 Timeline
Before we dive into the details, let’s take a look at the transit’s timeline – when Mars goes retrograde, when it goes direct, when it leaves its shadow, and the key aspects it makes with other planets.
This particular Mars retrograde cycle is marked by the intense opposition to Pluto, which begins on November 3rd, 2024, and will only conclude by late April 2025.
- October 5th, 2024: Mars enters shadow at 17° Cancer
- November 3rd, 2024: Mars opposite Pluto at 29° Cancer/Capricorn
- December 7th, 2024: Mars goes retrograde at 6° Leo
- January 3rd, 2025: Mars opposite Pluto at 1° Leo/Aquarius
- January 6th, 2025: Mars re-enters Cancer
- January 15th, 2025: Mars opposite Sun
- February 24th, 2025: Mars goes direct at 17° Cancer
- April 27th, 2025: Mars opposite Pluto at 3° Leo/Aquarius
- May 2d, 2025: Mars leaves shadow at 6° Leo
Pay attention to these dates and note any shifts, urges, breakthroughs, or events.
Usually, these phases are interconnected. There’s an overarching theme that typically begins when Mars enters shadow, becomes clearer when Mars goes retrograde, intensifies with key planetary aspects, starts finding resolution when Mars goes direct, and wraps up once Mars exits its shadow phase.
All these transits and phases tell a story – one that reveals itself gradually, one step at a time, like following a breadcrumb trail through the forest.
Mars Opposite Pluto – The Impossible Situation
One key feature of this Mars retrograde cycle is the unusually long, 6-month Mars-opposite-Pluto transit.
Mars and Pluto will be locked in opposition for a record 6 months. The first exact aspect happens on November 3rd, 2024, the second on January 3rd, 2025, and the final one on April 27th, 2025.
It’s Mars vs. Pluto.
Mars is our instinct to act, assert, and pursue what we desire. Mars wants to get its own way – directly, decisively, and often without compromise.
What about Pluto? Pluto is the higher octave of Mars, so if Mars is our personal will, Pluto is the collective will. Think of Pluto as nature, or the universe – it’s how everything is orchestrated on a grand scale.
At a psychological level, Pluto represents what’s hidden and unacknowledged, and because it’s hidden and unacknowledged, it holds power over us.
Our ‘unowned’ Pluto may manifest as a fear of being weak, disguised by a defensive or controlling attitude. Or it could be a fear of our own power, causing us to overcompensate by shrinking back or playing small.
Mars opposite Pluto means we have Mars (raw energy, the drive to assert oneself) vs. Pluto (power, control, and transformation). This dynamic often leads to a battle of wills, testing our boundaries, determination, and ability to navigate power struggles.
During a Mars-Pluto opposition, we attract – consciously or unconsciously – the “impossible situation.” The “impossible situation” is a scenario so dramatic and intense that it tests our relationship with power, control, and the world at large.
The “impossible situation” usually reflects a deeply unconscious dynamic from our childhood.
If we were to analyze most of our life choices – like the people we surround ourselves with, our relationship patterns, career paths, or belief systems – they often trace back to early childhood or parental influences.
These formative experiences become embedded in our psychological wiring, shaping how we think, feel, and act, and influencing the beliefs we carry and the outcomes we experience.
Perhaps the ‘impossible situation’ is an adult version of a deeply rooted childhood frustration – perhaps something as simple as being a baby and not being fed at the exact time you wanted to be.
Or it could stem from a parental dynamic, where one caregiver held all the ‘control’ while the other felt dominated, leaving you with a sense of powerlessness and limited options.
Until we fully understand what this impossible situation is rooted in, we tend to repeat it in different shapes and forms throughout our lives- again and again.
Given that this is Mars retrograde, and coupled with the intense Mars-Pluto opposition, this breakthrough will likely NOT come from simply doing some love-and-kindness meditation.
We will likely feel compelled to put up a fight, because Mars and Pluto represent forces of will and power, and the opposition aspect symbolizes conflict and tension.
The opposition aspect is our psyche’s way of surfacing unconscious conflicts by projecting them onto others or external situations.
Whatever triggers us – whatever makes us angry, whatever stirs up deep emotions—is a clue to what lies beneath the surface.
Perhaps it’s about not being seen for who you truly are. Not being validated or appreciated for your unique identity (Leo). Or maybe it’s about not being cared for emotionally, being overlooked, or constantly putting your own needs last (Cancer).
Ultimately, these emotions – whether pain, anger, or resentment – need to find a way to surface and release.
But this Mars retrograde is about much more than simply lashing out or making “listen to me” cries for attention.
With Mars opposite Pluto, this is not about ‘getting our way’ under the guise of self-expression or healing work.
The world isn’t a place where everyone’s needs are met all the time. It’s a place of conflicting and competing priorities, where we must learn to assert ourselves when needed, while also recognizing and adapting to larger forces beyond our control.
Mars retrograde opposite Pluto teaches us to find the fine line between standing our ground and learning to navigate the greater dynamics at play.
The goal? To learn how to swim with the tide rather than against it. To stay true to ourselves while understanding the power of surrender and adaptability in the face of larger forces.
Mars Retrograde – Leo Vs. Cancer
Mars starts its retrograde journey in Leo (at 6°) and ends it in Cancer (at 17°).
Archetypally, Cancer represents the infant in need of nurturing and support, while Leo symbolizes the empowered child who has become an individual, no longer requiring constant supervision.
The 12 signs have a natural evolutionary succession. We move from Aries to Taurus, to Gemini, and so on.
A safe, well-cared-for child (Cancer) eventually grows into a confident and expressive Leo. When we come to terms with our vulnerability (Cancer), we naturally find the courage to reveal our true selves to the world (Leo).
This is the way archetypal evolution works; this is how individuation unfolds. However, when a planet is retrograde, it appears to move backwards (as seen from Earth). Archetypally, this represents a regression into the previous archetype. In this case, Mars ‘regresses’ from Leo to Cancer.
This suggests there are lessons to be learned around the transition from Cancer to Leo.
Behaviors like selfishness, arrogance, or standoffishness – traits associated with an overemphasized Leo – may actually stem from unresolved Cancer wounds, such as deep-seated insecurity, unmet emotional needs, or a lack of foundational nurturing
To truly shine your light (Leo), what foundations do you need in place? When we hesitate to go for what we want or feel uncomfortable stepping into our full potential (Leo), it’s often because we don’t feel safe or supported (Cancer).
Sometimes, this dynamic doesn’t just apply to how we treat ourselves – it shows up in how we interact with others. For example, when we put others down, it may come from unconscious envy or unresolved feelings of inadequacy.
Not having strong Cancerian foundations can create hidden vulnerabilities that sabotage us in ways we may not even recognize.
When Mars retrograde moves back into Cancer, it gives us an opportunity to revisit and address unresolved nurturing and caregiving dynamics.
This is an invitation to explore where we feel weak, overly dependent on others, or emotionally vulnerable – to go to the root of these patterns, and understand how they influence our lives.
Mars And The Hero’s Journey: The Hero vs. The Villain
Mars’ journey around the Sun is a metaphor for the Hero’s journey – the initiatic journey of self-discovery and character formation.
The Hero’s Journey is a narrative template developed by the mythologist Joseph Campbell to describe the universal path every hero takes in stories across cultures.
In fact, nearly all Hollywood blockbusters follow Campbell’s Hero’s Journey: the story begins when the hero is presented with a great challenge – “fight the dragon,” “save the princess,” etc.
Ultimately, the goal of this journey is transformation: to evolve from a prince into a king, or from a hero into a true guide.
Mars’ journey – or the Hero’s Journey – takes approximately two years and starts when Mars is conjunct the Sun (the last conjunction was November 18th, 2023).
Mars always goes retrograde at the midpoint of its cycle – and that’s where we are now. We’re essentially halfway through Mars’ two-year cycle. In the Hero’s Journey, this midpoint corresponds to the phase where the hero confronts the villain.
Fighting the villain is a necessary part of the hero’s process of individuation – the journey to becoming a whole, integrated self.
That’s why people tend to feel more “angry” or aggressive when Mars is retrograde. Facing the villain is no easy task!
But who is this villain? Your neighbor? Your boss? The state? Someone with a different opinion?
The villain is a metaphor for our shadow side – the unintegrated parts of our psyche that we disown and project onto others..
To successfully complete the journey, the inner villain must be embraced. When we learn to establish healthy relationships with others and see them for who they are – without projecting our shadow onto them – when we learn to accept differing points of view without anger or defensiveness, we achieve a sense of inner wholeness.
This is what the Hero’s Journey is ultimately about: integrating our shadow, finding peace within, and becoming a true guide for others.
Mars Retrograde Reflection
To align yourself with the energy of Mars retrograde, do this exercise:
- Write down your intentions for this Mars retrograde. Don’t overthink the astrology – just write down whatever feels relevant to you at the moment, your key priorities:
……..
……..
……..
- Now choose the most important one. Circle it.
……..
- Now – pay attention to this – answer the following question: What fear hides behind this goal? This question might sound strange, but take your time. You don’t have to stick with your first answer. Dig deeper: Why did you choose this goal? What are you really afraid of?
You’ll know you’ve found the answer if it surprises you. If you still don’t have a satisfying answer, keep asking yourself: “What fear hides behind me choosing this goal?”
Here are some additional questions to reflect on during Mars retrograde:
- Where am I meeting resistance, and why? What is it about my approach that isn’t working?
- Which areas of my life need honest, decisive action?
- How can I channel Mars’ energy to find solutions to long-standing problems?
- What foundations or safety nets (Cancer) do I need to have in place to shine my light (Leo)?
- What battle am I fighting? What am I really trying to achieve?
Ultimately, Mars retrograde invites you to face the hidden fears that drive your goals, recognize patterns of resistance in your life, and recalibrate your actions.
By the end of this transit, you’ll have a clearer understanding of where you’ve been holding back, where you’ve been pushing too hard, and what authentic, purposeful action looks like.
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