What does it mean when Mars is in retrograde?
05/12/25 5:19pm
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According to astrologer Mechila Blake, you may feel like you don't have the same energy and passion that you usually do when Mars is in retrograde. Mars is the planet of action and direction, and is also one of the malefic planets, so it’s there to teach you lessons. When it's in retrograde, revist your work ethic and reevaluate the conditions in your environment that either help or hinder you from achieving your goals. Mars retrograde lasts about 3 months and occurs about every 2 years.
It typically means that we have to do stuff again. Maybe something didn't work the first time, or you didn't quite get it done, or you didn't do something in the first place, and now you really have to do it! It can be similar to Mercury retrograde. Mercury retrograde is a little bit more focused on specific details, like paperwork, phone calls, etc. Mars is about grander action, so it's finishing a big project or getting something started, but there's a sense of redoing stuff.
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Mars retrograde is the rarest retrograde as it happens just every two years, and most people would say it’s the most difficult one. Mars is the war planet, so this planet in retrograde creates conflict and strife, or the breakdown in a certain area of your life.
When Mars goes retrograde, a lot of times we feel slowed down by some sort of external force because the things that we are trying to do feel blocked for some reason. It can also be a time when we are just feeling really inflamed and angry, and there's all of this rage that has nowhere to go. It's a time when, on one hand, we are not able to really move forward in our lives the way that we want to. At the same time, there's just a higher level of conflict, anger, and volatility in a certain area of your life.
Mars retrograde is unique because it's physically closest to us on Earth. So in some ways, it feels like an intensification of Mars, and there's just more of that heat.
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When Mars goes retrograde, a lot of times we feel slowed down by some sort of external force because the things that we are trying to do feel blocked for some reason. It can also be a time when we are just feeling really inflamed and angry, and there's all of this rage that has nowhere to go. It's a time when, on one hand, we are not able to really move forward in our lives the way that we want to. At the same time, there's just a higher level of conflict, anger, and volatility in a certain area of your life.
Mars retrograde is unique because it's physically closest to us on Earth. So in some ways, it feels like an intensification of Mars, and there's just more of that heat.
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