Mars drive , Specials
Mars enters Gemini on August 20, and we should all take note of it for this is not your regular Mars transit.
Right now, Mars has been spending the two last summer months “slowing down” in the sign of Taurus to allow us to regroup and replenish, inviting us to deal with our financial concerns or supply issues. In other words, secure the resources we would soon need to act and to strengthen the security and stability of all our dealings.
But also, to balance hard work with fun and pleasures, and spend a little on ourselves and our loved ones.
Mars will have been quite favourable to individuals and companies either producing concrete goods, creating prototypes, growing plants, breeding, or dealing with money but slightly less auspicious to those performing, inspiring, teaching, selling services or consulting. This is about to change.
Of course, some have been following our advice and replenished their energy. Even if some, like Sanna Marin, Finnish prime minister, are being challenged for it today.
Mars in Taurus was also expecting us to challenge the status quo (in the sector of our life it pointed to in our chart) when it crossed the path of Uranus and the Lunar North Node at the end of July, beginning of August. Either bringing the expected change we had been working hard towards or sudden dramatic events putting us back on track with our destiny (if we had resisted the necessary change and maintained a delusional stance).
Whether life brought you an opportunity, a closure, a new beginning or an earthquake, the time will now be dedicated to exploring different scenarios and sharing your ideas freely.
Mars in Gemini is about to boost our curiosity, communication, analytical skills, and dexterity.
Getting concrete things done and stopping, or mastering, the lack of focus of our brain will soon become some of the key challenges we must face over this transit.
Mars is usually spending around two months in a sign but every 26 months (2+ years) it will retrograde for 72 days (2+ months). This is the case this year and it is happening in the sign of Gemini.
Mars will consequently spend slightly more than 7 months in this sign–practically as long as the current Jupiter transits–and only leaves Gemini on March 25.
The reason why Mars spends so much time in this sign is because the planet will reverse its course just before the 26 degree, so almost at the end of its regular transit in Gemini and backtrack to the 8 degree in between October 30 and January 12.
Four main reasons
Mars will slow down and stop, burning stronger in unique parts of our life.
Mars represents our drive, our energy level, our desires, our will power, our passion and our fire.
Mars is critical to get things done, stand out and fulfil our ambitions.
We are however only really used to see this ball of fire occupying a part of our chart for a maximum of two months at a time so when it spends more than half a year searing our lives at a given spot, we will all take note of it and should try to understand what it wants to see done (or undone).
We will cover the meaning of this Mars retrograde in a separate blog very soon, but suffice to say that some of our recent choices, thoughts, ideas or scenarios will be challenged, opposed, stopped and will require a viable alternative.
Especially for a few of us
But if you have important placements such as your Sun, Moon or Rising in Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius or Pisces) in between 8 and 23 degrees, you are certainly up for an epic martial ride likely to exacerbate both the qualities and the shadows expected to emerge during this long transit and should seriously integrate what will follow.
But regardless of our placement, our capacity to carry on growing depends on how we harness this energy
Mars is the ruler of Aries and with Jupiter currently transiting retrograde in Aries for another two months, our growth and expansion will be critically influenced by the twist and turns of Mars up to Oct 28 and from Dec 20 on again.
What will happen in between?
Two things.
The two main eclipses of 2022 will take place on Oct 25 and Nov 8 bringing major crises and rapid shifts
The Mars retrograde will peak bringing the martial energy to its violent expression on Dec 8
This transit will end on March 25 at a critical astrological time in 2023:
But most importantly:
Mars transits through a sign every two years.
The last time we experienced Mars in Gemini was in March-April 2021 (we were about to finish the Delta lockdown and felt compelled to resume with our social functions despite the restrictions) and April-May 2019 (for a pre-COVID vintage).
But this time will be different since we will host a retrograde over the last two months of the year.
So, to get a hint of what is about to happen, one would have to remember what occurred in between:
But the closest period this transit will resemble is:
Nothing we can unfortunately share with you tapping into our personal experience but rich enough from an historical standpoint to give us a few pointers as to what to expect.
Interestingly 1943 comes 3 years after the 1939-40 Saturn-Pluto square, resonant of the 2020 conjunction and 1 year after the 1941-42 Saturn-Uranus conjunction, reminiscent of the 2021-22 squares we are currently navigating. 1943 marks a turning point in the Second World War as the Allied Forces have now stopped retreating and gone back on the offensive.
A Mars retrograde very often sees the belligerent forces lose their initial advantage and momentum. This fall might well be pivotal for Russia, the US, most economic, financial, and political systems, and the patriarchy at large.
First off, things will start moving much faster and will definitely get lighter, possibly much too light!
The focus of Mars moves away from the material and practical to land in the world of ideas and concepts that need to be shared, explained, and experienced.
It is no longer about indulging, relaxing, planting and harvesting
but ideating, sharing, analysing, multitasking, challenging, socializing, distributing, and learning.
Our mental functions, communications skills, agility and dexterity will all get a substantial boost over the period.
This can obviously help us with focus if we have very clearly defined objectives but is much more likely to be a source of distraction and procrastination as we will very easily get bored, have a diminishing attention span and run increasingly fidgety.
Multitasking and dexterity (our capacity to effectively manage multiple parts of our body at once and with speed) will be enhanced, allowing us to manage more things in parallel lanes, or more complex projects with multiple pieces moving at once.
With Mars in Gemini, it’s all about the words you use:
Mars is sextile Jupiter in Aries (Sep)
Words that are visionary, fair, bold, courageous, generous might be hard to find but will improve your situation, build new relationships, and unlock growth opportunities.
Mars is trine Saturn in Aquarius (end of Sep, end of Nov and end of Mar)
Words that are progressive, integrative, liberating, harmonizing, correcting will be supported and see your plans materialize.
Mars is square Neptune in Pisces (mid Oct, mid Nov, and mid Mar)
Words that are too delusional, confusing, driven by anxiety and fear, glamourous, mystic, lack of respect and cross boundaries will discourage your audience, affect your brand, and undermine your competitivity. Instead, show compassion, look for words that unite and heal, and tap into imagination and creativity to properly channel the heavy energy of the moment.
If your communication is ready, properly phasing it considering the above might be one of the many best ideas you’ll have this fall!
Our minds will be frantic for diversity, stimulation, and novelty… getting us bored much faster than usual, but if idle will quickly turn back on ourselves raising our level of stress and anxiety… knee jerks, bitten nails and all sorts of nervous mannerism will abound over the period.
Speaking is sometimes all we end up achieving with this transit, but what needs to be said and discussed will definitely be important and decisive in what emerges from this period.
In the heat of the moment, we might end up being too clever for our own good, our choice of words ending up being perceived as harmful, challenging, irreverent, or down too provocative
Frequent changes of focus will abound and Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius), the Doers of the Zodiac, most likely to be disturbed and annoyed by those, should really prepare for this.
Routines are likely to be seriously challenged but absolutely necessary if we want to see anything achieved.
Mercury in Virgo may have us being overcritical about keeping the routine to a set schedule, but Mars in Gemini invites us to take the routines we developed while it was in Taurus-you know, the ones that fill your cup–and be able to fit them in at different times of day. Or even getting curious about new ways to implement routines–how yoga fulfilled you may blossom into an aerial aerobics class, journaling may become audio recording your thoughts while taking a walk-in nature. It will be more about consistently doing than necessarily “doing it right”.
The pace will be extremely fast, our comings and goings will take considerably more time, unwanted phone calls or random texts will become legion and keeping abreast with what’s happening promises to become naturally quite challenging.
Expect to feel compelled to act on an almost ongoing basis and express yourself creatively through activities such as sport, sex, debates, or writing.
Your self-assertion will be tested, especially by your competitors but collective events too, obstacles will need to be overcome, setbacks and frustration will add to the pressure, and our impatience and irritability will bring a very fertile ground for arguments, fights and tantrums.
This transit tells us of ego-conflicts, centred on the way to act.
Be smart and do not go on the offensive. Adopting a defensive stance will go much further. Especially when your strength and willpower are about to be seriously affected by the Neptune Squares.
Resentment, anger, and sexual frustration are all likely to build up. Find constructive outlets for all of those, physical ones if possible.
Our lingering feelings of vulnerability, guilt, and shame as well as the recent reactivations of our primary wounds over the first six months of this year will play a critical role in fueling this inner violence.
Spending time talking about it, writing about it, studying it will also help to diffuse this negative energy.
With 7 months of Mars in Gemini, the energy will not flow steadily over the period but morph in parallel to Mercury transits (Gemini ruler).
The beginning of the transit is very auspicious, we are focused on fulfilling the needs of our partners, trying to please everybody and using our words to charm. Or so we think. After so much egocentric energy over the summer, we might have to mend some strained relationships and correct some wrongs. Some may continue on that road and explore alternative partners despite their commitment as novelty feels more fulfilling in the moment
On Sep 16, the everyday details, flaws and criticisms will start being sources of irritation among existing partnerships
The full moon in Pisces on Sep 23 will start raising suspicions and trigger jealousy… even though we will continue to act very nicely and diplomatically, doubts and concerns will start growing. What if everything was not as nice and perfect as what we are being told? Our mind will start stopping at every detail and poisoning the air.
Even though we might manage to remain harmonious and diplomatic for another month, the full moon in Aries on Oct 9 will trigger arguments in existing or forming partnerships. We will need to assert ourselves but may push our individual agenda a little bit too much in reaction to our wounds, seeding confusion and temporary break-ups.
By Oct 17 you might think that you have rescued the situation and found a solution, experiencing a temporary high.
But at the end of the month, with the first eclipse in Scorpio, Jupiter entering Pisces and Mars going retro, a completely different reality will suddenly emerge.
From there, our Mars (actions) will become very reactive, compulsive, obsessive, manipulative, aggressive, vindicative and we should really be extremely mindful of what we do, what we say and the tone we use and most importantly why we do/say it. Looking deep into the motive of our actions/words will be extremely beneficial and prevent crises.
Attending research, creativity and financial matters will be a much better use of this strong inner energy than engaging in interpersonal conflicts. Collaborative tasks should be strictly limited over the period and individual tasks planned for in advance.
By Nov 17, the worst will have occurred. Faith, vision, and inspiration will be required to see our difficulties through as we are back to the drawing board, but magic will also operate around Nov 21 for those who are very clear with their dreams, especially when partnerships are at stake.
Dec 1 the need for freedom, lack of long-term vision or excessive behaviours could challenge existing partnerships
Dec 7 should see us all back in action with the Full Moon in Gemini conjunct Mars, hard at work even if our initial plans will have to be adjusted over the course of the month to what can realistically be achieved in light of the available resources and current constraints.
The end of the year might bring more partnership discord but could also help both partners to more authentically be respected in the association and offer chances of success if both parties are ready to adjust and evolve, letting go some of the unacceptable behaviours.
By Jan 12/13 Mars will be stationary moving direct, focusing its energy in one part of our life but releasing the pressure and steam from there on.
By Jan 30, whatever the alternative we have finally chosen and the plan we have concocted, the energy will start flowing strongly again
By Feb 11 our hard work will finally pay off, and improvements get noticed. Collaboration will flourish again and the time for networking and sharing our innovations will have come.
Slow down and watch your words.
Rather than running the risk of running idle and thus becoming quite anxious, plan for a couple of courses or training courses over the next six months. Limit to the minimum long sessions of work and plan for diversity.
Lend time and attention to tending to the intricate details.
Work upon social media presence, advertising, website, speeches and what needs to be improved as well as the language chosen to convey your message.
Get curious around doing things in different ways. Look at doing things as discovery and not needing perfection on first try.
Work harder on constructive and conscious communication.
Bring your restless and possibly anxious energy back down to earth and bring discipline to your actions during the Saturn transits (end of Sep, end of Nov and end of Mar)
Take a creative pause (brainstorm and work on your image) during the Neptune squares
If you want to know how this may impact you more specifically, we are available for one-on-one sessions to help guide you through this transit, work with your team or company and assist if you are a spiritual, thought leader needing extra support.
In evolution,
G & J
