mars retrograde, fall 2020

The planet Mars is retrograde from September 9 to November 13. During this time, Mars wants to know what we’ve been holding onto that might be crumbling between our fingers. It wants us to check how we wield our personal power with or over others, and how we give our power away in order to hold on to how we think that things should be.

As Mars moves through this transit, the planet Saturn bumps heads with this energy. Mars is all about heat, passion, and “burn it down now, ask questions later”. Saturn as a planet is cold, slow-moving, and demands strategy and structure before taking action. Mars represents our ego, our drive, and the short-term. When retrograde, that ego can be used for messiness, that drive can be used to win at all costs, and a lack of patience can cause short-sightedness in places where we need to step back and see the bigger picture. THAT is what Saturn wants us to do. 

Saturn is wrapping up its time in Capricorn, so whatever lessons and rewards you have learned and earned over the past three years will be tested by Mars’s unruliness. But Saturn knows what it is doing. It is here to end the things that need to end so that we can move forward and develop as we are meant to. 

Saturn also rules karma. It is begging us to sit down and listen so that it doesn’t have to make these lessons any harder for us. Because it will. Saturn specializes in hard lessons, hard falls, a hard “no”, and punishing us for not listening the first time. 

Do yourself a favor. Let Saturn win.

Use Mars to your advantage. Look at the ways that you can channel, heal, and burn the extra fire that might be building in you right now. It’s a time to review our anger, to breathe into it, to embrace it in a way that doesn’t burn ourselves and others, but that allows us to get deeply familiar with what triggers us and who we become when we are held to the fire. 

These horoscopes are meant as a general guidepost through the fall of 2020. Read both your sun and rising sign, if you know it. You can book a personal reading for more detailed information on how the Mars retrograde shows up in your natal chart.

Aries + Aries Rising

Tensions may show up in how you’re perceived in your career and your community, Aries. You’ve seen a lot of hard lessons and rewards for solid work over the past few years in this area. During this retrograde, your desires to push forward might be interrupted by feeling like you can’t effectively assert or defend yourself in the midst of shakeups. 

Mars asks you to review your usual means of moving through the world. In what ways does pushing too hard harm you and your relationships? This month might have revealed the  truth about things in your life that have been working against you — whether forces and people around you, or your own habits. If you can’t push forward in the heat of this retrograde, let yourself melt into the larger lessons at hand. It’s a beautiful time to own and empathize with all of you, especially the parts you’re least proud of. Channel your frustrations through physical activity and messy creative play that makes you feel like a kid again. 

As things fall away, reflect on what you want in your life, and who you need to be in order to call in those blessings. The moves you’ve been making in your career are moving forward, and that hard work can pay off this season. Once Mars goes direct, you might feel a bit worn-down, but much more able to recuperate.

Taurus & Taurus Rising

Mars has been charging through the part of your chart that rules all things behind-the-scenes. You may have some long-term goals to set in motion, but right now you’re being asked to tread lightly. You may have to test the waters before pushing yourself at full-speed, as this retrograde is asking you to get intimate with your fears, hang-ups, your triggers, and the impulsive moves that undermine your progress. Use the retrograde to clear out the fog that makes it hard for you to keep your purpose front and center. 

Be gentle with yourself and carve out time to get quiet in the places and connections that feel like home, the creative projects and playfulness that let you burn off energy, and the acts of service that remind you that there is something bigger than what irks you. The Pisces full moon this month might have delivered a breakthrough in friendships and connections, but not without demanding a sacrifice of some sort. 

As you lay your new foundations, don’t let your doubts get in the way. Balance time by saying “no”, taking time to rest, and clearly communicating your needs, expectations, and capacity to loved ones. This is an excellent time for diving back into a goal that you might have let go of this year. If you do, take meaningful baby steps toward it. You have Saturn’s blessing.

Gemini & Gemini Rising

Last month’s full moon might have shown you the potential of how far you can go, but also unearthed the shaky foundation that certain ideas or relationships were built on. The summer might have given you the energy you needed to broaden your friend circle and get clear about your dreams, but also brought a great deal of tensions and misunderstandings both in person and online. 

Take a break. The past few years have been showing you just how independent you can be, as you felt some key forms of emotional, financial, and social support stripped away. The Mars retrograde is asking you not to push it too much to make sure that everyone understands you, is on your side, or is actually your friend. The next month and a half might rub up against your desire to be nurtured, making you realize that not everyone can support you the way that you want. That doesn’t mean they don’t love you. 

Your best bet right now is to get clear about your needs and desires, and first identify which of them you can actually fulfill yourself. Carefully listen to the people in your life, and practice diplomacy when setting boundaries and expectations. Once you do, let people be people. You’re learning how to stand your ground and regain your inner power. The connections you’re meant to have will stick around for the ride. 

Cancer & Cancer Rising

You’ll be pushed to cope with delays and tensions in your career over the next month and a half, Cancer. This month’s full moon in Pisces might have forced you to figure whether your immediate environment and the people in it are truly a fit for where your life is going, or into a new environment altogether. You might still be overwhelmed with crossing things off your to-do lists, and noticing which of your own habits and beliefs would be best left behind permanently. Be practical about what is yours to take on and what you can delegate or just let go of for now. 

You’ve come a long way in manifesting your dreams and getting clear on what you want to achieve in this lifetime. Use this retrograde as a pitstop to figure out the best course of action based on the options available to you. Jupiter is bringing some much-needed light to your intimate relationships and closest bonds—an area of your chart that’s been getting a workout over the past few years. 

Lean into this time to reconnect with yourself, to create home with what you have, and to open up to the new connections that are seeking your company and collaboration. Come December, you’re more likely to have the energy, support, and clarity needed to achieve your ambitions. 

Leo & Leo Rising

Leo, you’ve been driven — or forced — to take on new perspectives and expand your worldview over the summer. You might feel like your hands are tied as you start to feel harsh limits around where you can go and what you can do. This doesn’t mean you have to stop altogether, but take time to reflect on how far you’ve gotten and what worries get in your way. 

The Pisces full moon likely brought up some painful reality checks in your collaborations and those you share resources, contracts, and creative projects with. While you figure out which way to go, it’s okay that not everyone is going to think like you. The next month and a half can bring heated debates if you’re thrown into a place of defending your beliefs. Instead of pressing with your words, now is the time to lead by example. 

Every action that you take and every new practice that you adopt  is a chance to practice  what you’ve been preaching. Instead of focusing on getting others to see things your way, push yourself to create the structure, habits, and discipline that empower you to live your developing truths. As you do this, you have new chances to create the stability and work environments you’re craving with people who vibe the same way you do.

Virgo & Virgo Rising

The full moon energy over the summer may have triggered old wounds in partnerships and personal relationships that have come up to be healed. The illusions that you had about a partner, or even a perceived enemy, could  have become very clear for you, Virgo. You might be learning not to put people on pedestals or to underestimate those near you. These are patterns will continue throughout the fall. When you learn a new truth, adjust your thoughts, actions, and boundaries accordingly. 

This is a time where your sense of personal power will be tested, and you may feel power struggles with others get tough, particularly in areas of shared resources and collaborations. The key here is to stand your ground, speak your truth, and know when to walk away with your dignity and integrity intact. 

These aren’t the easiest energies to move through, but your demons might not be as big as you think they are. The past few years have pushed you to expand your self-awareness, your authentic self-expression and your ability to be your own cheerleader when you felt like love was lacking. This fall will kick up some things for you to clean up, but lean into your ability to nurture your body and show yourself compassion, and to get creative with the things you can control. The more graceful you are in letting go, the easier it will be to start anew.

Libra & Libra Rising

Libra, you’ve been stepping up a lot in your home life over the past three years, learning how your upbringing has shaped you and how your foundations impact your relationships. While this may have been a struggle at times, you now have a chance to put new traditions and value systems in place that genuinely reflect the love you want to have, the intimacy you allow yourself to experience, and the legacy you want to leave. 

As you move through potentially awkward terrain, take. your. time. What is meant for you will be there if you take care to let it breathe. If tensions come up, take note of what is a trigger, and what is genuinely intolerable. Right now isn’t the time to lay it all on the table, but to take note of what shakes you, and what these tensions teach you about yourself. 

This summer may have pushed you to sacrifice some aspect of your daily life in order to show up for the collective or for yourself. Lean on your intuition and your trusted friends, and get the rest that your body demands over the next month and a half. Give yourself time to get clear about what you want before you fight against what is. Your perspectives and your relationships just might come around in surprising ways.

Scorpio & Scorpio Rising

Saturn has been teaching you that your words matter, Scorp. And in a sign like yours, they carry a distinct weight and power. Over the past three years you’ve been pushed to maintain integrity even — and especially — when others don’t hold up their end of the deal. Some old shadows might pop up for you if you’ve left any loose ends around. Calmly and honestly lay things to rest once and for all so that you can move forward with a clear mind.

New beginnings are wanting to come through for you this fall. It could be an exciting time, and you might want to charge forward with everything (and everyone) being thrown at you. Take care to finish all that you’ve started before you take on more than you can promise or more than your body can handle. If you find yourself in the spotlight, be discerning about who has access to you, your information, and your ideas. 

You’re a natural leader, and you shine brightest when you master the art of holding power with others. You have a chance now to expand on both of these by clearing your head and your heart of old hurts, fears, and insecurities that you’ve been harboring. While you might not be able to escape your obligations and go off on your own, let everyone know that you’re a team player, that you are listening, and that you care.

Sagittarius & Sagittarius Rising

Sag, you might feel some confusion and resistance around the beautiful things you’re bringing into the world. Tension is growing between your desire to creatively express yourself and the tangible limitations you live within. The past few years have been pushing you to figure out ways to be responsible with your resources, to take calculated risks and get real about what is really important to you. 

While these challenges might not disappear overnight, you have an opportunity for the rest of this year to reap the rewards of everything you’ve learned in this area of your life. Retrograde season is a good one for reflecting on your personal values, and how you embody those values through your creative voice. You could feel pulled between following your heart’s desire and paying your bills on time, but if you think long-term, you might not have to choose between the two.

Use the next month and a half to zoom out farther, research how the people in your field got to where you want to be, and uncover solutions that you didn’t know were within your reach. You can leave 2020 with much more than you started it with. Begin with what you have and actively work with what feels stifling. It will strengthen you, sharpen your creativity, and could push you right into the breakthroughs, connections, and opportunities you’ve been wanting.

Capricorn & Capricorn Rising

You might feel some delays in your efforts to set new roots and create stability on your own terms, Cap. Saturn and Pluto have been actively transforming who you are and how you present yourself over the past three years. This could leave you feeling like you’ve outgrown your shell, your home, and some of the lessons you grew up with. It is exhausting, but you’re almost there. Keep breathing.

Instead of feeling trapped, review your foundations to make sure they’re rock solid, and that you aren’t overlooking important details before you charge forward. This fall, it’s likely that these details are just as emotional as they are tangible. What has your upbringing taught you about your ability to express anger, hurt, grief, and love? Your progress this season depends on putting the final touches on this particular stage of your personal growth. It’s not the most glamorous, but can leave you feeling much more at peace.

The Pisces full moon likely brought up tensions in your communication and community that forced you to re-adjust or question your personal views. The next month opens space for you to dive into these lessons and put them to work for you. As you loosen up your idea of how things should be, you can open yourself up to exciting new experiences and people.

Aquarius & Aquarius Rising

Long story short, Aqua, it’s time to slow down. Yes, the entire theme of Mars retrograde is slowing down, but for you, this is all taking place in your area of daily activity, communications, errands, and contracts. As much as you want to get it all done, listen to your body (and likely, your anxiety) when it asks you to take a nap. The people around you are moving through overwhelming changes and challenges, so embrace the delays as opportunities to let yourself and others off the hook a little bit. While you may have found yourself stepping it up lately with neighbors, friends, and community, get comfortable with offering a listening ear and a helpful hand instead of rushed words and actions. 

You’re wrapping up a years-long process of saying goodbye to relationships, identities, and pieces of your past that have overstayed their welcome. As you move forward, Saturn is still asking you to make space to build up your inner life. 

This season could present some angst and confusion as you build new skills and step into new territories. If you don’t understand what someone is saying or what something means, ask. Don’t feel ashamed about taking a day off, asking for assistance, or telling your besties when you need a hug. If you ask for what you need, you might be surprised at the amount of support you receive.

Pisces & Pisces Rising

Mars is asking you to clarify your definition of abundance and figure out how you navigate scarcity, Pisces. Take stock of what happens when you don’t feel like you’re doing or being enough, or if you realize that you don’t have what you need to do what you want. Some forms of scarcity and insecurity may be very real. Others may be more in your mind than your reality. 

Blessings could be showing up in work and your closest relationships, leaving you feeling more understanding, amicable, and ready to help. Let Mars do its thing and dive into this positive energy. Throw your weight behind calling in what you want, planting your feet on the ground, and trusting that abundance and support will follow. 

Saturn’s been working hard on your friendships and alliances for the past few years. You might have had to let go of some people, or just learn that not everyone is meant to share every part of your life with you. The beauty of this process is that it makes space for those who you are meant to share your time and your dreams with. If your doubts get the best of you, take stock of what you have internally and externally. Check in with your ride-or-dies so they can remind you how dope you are.