Mars Retrograde in Gemini Dates and Degrees
Mars will retrograde in the sign of Gemini ranging from twenty-five (25) back to eight (8) degrees.
Pre-shadow: Sunday 4 September 2022
Retrograde: Sunday 30 October 2022
Direct: Thursday 12 January 2023
Post-Shadow: Thursday 16 March 2023
Mars Retrograde Video
If you prefer to learn about Mars retrograde in Gemini through a video, you can watch my video called ‘Navigating Mars Retrograde’ on my Youtube channel. Please subscribe to my channel while you are there. I appreciate the support. Here’s the link:
Mars Retrograde and the Big Picture
To best understand Mars retrograde, it’s important to consider Mars and the relationship between the planets and sensitive points making up each individual’s astrology chart at birth.
Mars represents how we go about taking action in life. It describes our physical action, our inner drives, and helps carry out activity related to fulfilling our meaning and purpose in life. Mars is about how we get things done. The underlying needs, desires, and self-development all unfold into action through our Mars. Our Mars expresses action, motivation, and determination through the sign it occupies. It is under the influence of our sun, moon, and ascendant.
Sun
The sun, moon, and ascendant represent our main personality and character. Our planetary combinations in an astrology chart are complex, just like human beings are complex with many dimensions, contradictions, and quirks that make us each unique and individual.
The Sun represents our nature, our essence, our vitality, and the development of our character over a lifetime. Our sun sign has a core nature and traits that all individuals born in the same sign share. However, the many other astrological factors blend together and form a completely varied combination for each of us, which cannot be generalized.
Moon
The Moon represents our intuition, perception, emotions, feelings, our physical body, and defines what security means to us and how we give and experience nurture.The Moon and Sun together represent our receptive and active natures.
Ascendant
Our ascendant is like a filter that our personality, character, and emotions go through out into the world and reflects internally how we experience the world. It colors our entire life experience and can add a character dimension similar, diffuse, or very different from our Sun and our Moon depending on the mix of signs that they are in when you were born.
Synthesis
The synthesis of the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant is further filtered through our personal planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars. The personal planets each represent an important life domain.
Mercury
Mercury represents our communication and learning style, our level of curiosity, how we go about making transactions with others, and can greatly color, stifle, or enhance how we express our emotions, personality, and character out in the world.
Venus
Venus represents our relational style. It modifies our Sun, Moon, and Ascendant expression when relating to others, defining our personal value, and how we perceive the way other people value us.
The expression of Venus in your chart synthesizes with your Sun, Moon, and Ascendant to give you your own unique expression of self and how you connect with others and how you hold your personal value as you engage in different relationships.
Mars
Mars is the expression of how you get things done. The expression of your Mars in your chart is going to depend on the sign it is traveling in, and how it blends with all the other planets and sensitive points in your chart.
The sign, the house location, the relationships it has with other planets, and what factors may be activating it by the current moving sky will all be important during the retrograde cycle.
Mars carries out the desires of your Sun, Moon, and Ascendant and works in tandem with your Venusian relating style and Mercurial thinking and communication style. This mix of planets, Sun, Moon, and Ascendant in different signs and relationships, and with differing focus points depending on which houses they occupy create many variables.
The many variables in a chart are why astrology is about synthesis and astrologers must learn the language and the art of synthesis in order to practice astrology. This is an important foundation to understand when you are working with a specific astrological event like Mars retrograde. If you would like to take a deeper look at your chart, and how it is activated under the Mars retrograde, click here to schedule a consultation with me.
Mars Retrograde in Your Astrology Chart
There are twelve houses in an astrology chart that represent the different people, topics, and events as they pertain to life. Mars is traveling through the Gemini part of your chart, through one, or more, of these houses. Look at your natal chart to find Gemini, the sign Mars is traveling through during the retrograde. You can get a free copy of your chart using a free online natal chart generator like this one.
The house(s) that Gemini occupies will be activated by Mars as it retrogrades through that part of your chart. You may not have any planets occupying the sign of Gemini when you were born, but we all have Gemini somewhere in our chart, and that is what Mars is activating as it travels through that part of your chart. Also be sure to look at any sensitive points like your ascendance, midheaven, and nodes.
The best way to work with Mars retrograde in Gemini over the next months is to find out what your ascendant or rising sign is, and where Gemini is in your chart. This will inform you of the people, topics, or events most likely to be activated by the Mars retrograde. Here is more information on Houses and your Ascendant.
With this information, you will be able to proactively go deeper into your personal experience of Mars retrograde as it relates to current events in your life. The things you will want to be aware of are:
Gemini occupies which house(s)?
Does Mars make a relationship to other planets or points in your chart between the degrees of 25-8?
Does your natal Mercury make a relationship with the current movement of Mars retrograde in Gemini?
Working with Mars Retrograde in Gemini
In general, we all may feel a slow down in our energy. The slow down started back in early September. When Mars went retrograde at the end of October, the intensity of fatigue may have increased. You may feel like you are just too tired to do your normal routine, and now you know why. Though annoying and frustrating, there are some very productive messages Mars retrograde is sending us.
Slow Down and Smell the Roses
The first big message that Mars retrograde brings us is to slow down. Mars retrograde is a time where you may want to relax your body more, work it in a more gentle manner, or cut back on activities if you are feeling overly stretched. Gemini is a Mercury sign and associated with our nervous system. You may become aware of your stress levels and do things to cut out stressful things. Calming your nervous system more often under Mars retrograde in Gemini is a good idea.
Stop and smell the roses and enjoy the beauty in life. Small pauses to stop and appreciate the beauty in life can reduce stress, increase inspiration, and help you get perspective on how you expend your daily energy. Cut through the webs of distraction during Mars retrograde in Gemini and clean up your energetic overgrowth in how you prioritize your time.
Trim Overgrowth
Mars retrograde in Gemini is a good time to cut out things that are keeping you from taking action on the most important things in life. Since it’s in Gemini, the sign of the twins, or two things, you may have to cut back to two things, or find that two things need your attention and you have to prioritize one over the other. You may even have to make the choice of one thing over another.
You have the opportunity to trim down some things in your life that are holding you back from getting what you want or keeping you from working on the things that have meaning and purpose for you in life. Take a pause and think about whether you are truly living the life you want to live or if you keep putting that in the future.
Simplify as much as you can, and focus on completion over perfection. Gemini is an air sign that is social, inquisitive, good with details, and prefers quick and simple solutions. Gemini is adaptable, and likes constant mental stimulation. Mars retrograde is about slowing down. Mars retrograde in Gemini, it is about refining, trimming, being clever, doing less and relaxing more.
How do you get things done faster and smarter by doing less and relaxing more? It’s about balance. It’s about noticing what you can cut out and still have a similar result. It’s about recognizing where you have overcommitted and eliminating things to free up what is needed for the most important priorities.
Though you may feel more physically tired, do take care of your body. Keep on exercising, just take it down a notch or do something more gentle than usual. If you usually jog, take brisk walks. If you usually do hardcore aerobics, do yoga. If you usually work out for two hours, work out for one. You get my drift. Take it easy!
Take this opportunity to physically slow down. Slow down and smell the roses, go to the beach, schedule more massages, take more early days, say no to overtime, take more breaks, get out and breathe fresh air, open your windows, ride your bike. Get out there and do nothing! Invite the universe to help you see where to make some cuts of things no longer useful for your mission in life.
Mars retrograde ends January 12, 2023, and goes through a post-retrograde shadow until mid-March 2023. Over the next months, until March, work through the process of cutting out the web of distractions and non-priorities so you come out of the retrograde period with a trimmed up calendar. You want to have more time to exert energy to the important things in life. Set yourself up for success. When Mars goes direct, you want clear the docks so you can go full speed ahead.
Mars and Neptune Square
The Mars retrograde is flavored by a challenging relationship to Neptune. It can mean more fatigue or physical disorientation than usual, or like you are on a boat rather than solid ground. Things can take longer than usual leaving you mystified as to what happened with the time.
There can be a benefit to trusting that the universe is taking you in the right direction. You can get swept up in the wave feeling your way through things you would normally rationalize.
Be aware that over the full moon and continuing on through the Mars retrograde cycle, there is a chance you could be more sensitive to the effects of drugs and alcohol. If you experience addictive behaviors, take proactive measures for your well-being.
During Mars Retrograde Let your Curious Inner Child out to Play
It is time to let your inner youth out and remember what it’s like to be a little carefree. It’s in those carefree moments that you get that lightning bolt of a brilliant idea for how you can trim something away, get where you want to go faster and smarter, and relax more.
Gemini is about curiosity and learning. You may benefit by slowing down and allowing yourself more time to follow your curiosity. If you can let your childlike wonder take control of your keyboard, what would your inner child search for?
Play time may be the last thing you think you need or have time for. But it may be just the thing you need. The caution is if you refuse to heed the signs and push harder. Mars can be quite aggressive and you find that the harder the push, the longer it takes.
When you go into a cycle like a Mars retrograde with the purpose and intention to go with the flow of the energy, you have a much greater chance of experiencing the growth and opportunity it brings.
It’s when we are working too many hours, are too focused, or spread in too many directions, that we feel like we can’t take a break. Turns out, that is exactly the best time to step away and get some perspective.
This Mars retrograde in Gemini is beaming down the vibration letting us know that this is a good time to do that. Collectively we will all experience the Mars retrograde, asking us to take a universal pause. It comes around every two years, each time a different flavor based on the sign it travels through.
Will most people heed the message of slowing down that Mars retrograde brings? Probably not. But you, my friend, have the information. You know why you may feel more tired than usual, and can plan ahead.
If you want to know where the Mars retrograde will be active in your chart, schedule a consultation with me.
Activities Recap Mars Retrograde in Gemini
Make cut backs and focus on two priorities. Two things may need realigned. Or you may need to make a choice as to what to focus on between two things.
Be curious about your action and efforts, Gemini and Mercury are known for youth like traits. Play more like a child and let your inner child out to play more often. Discover that childlike, carefree wonder and curiosity.
Research solutions that help you do things faster and smarter, cut away what isn’t necessary.
Simplify. Invite the universe to help you see where to make cuts of things no longer useful for your mission in life. Cut out the overgrowth on your time and energy. What extra weight are you carrying? How can you lighten your load, leaving you feeling lighter, more free to move forward, and more productive?
Take care of your body, decrease anything taxing, and increase gentleness. Do less and relax more.
Gemini is a Mercury sign giving this retrograde a mental and physical quality. Notice how your nervous system is feeling, are you more anxious than usual? Sleeping normally? Watch your intake of caffeine and any other supplement that may stimulate your nervous system.
If you are spread out in too many directions and feel like you can’t take a break, it’s probably the best time to step away and get perspective.
Slow down and smell the roses. Stop and look at something beautiful rather than just moving by it.
Mars last retrograde periods
Look back on these time periods to get a feel for what the last two Mars retrograde periods were like. If you kept a journal for that time period, review it and see if you noted any feelings of fatigue, overwhelm, or generally having more difficulty doing the things that you normally did on a daily basis. Remember that the sign will flavor the retrograde differently.
September – November 2020 in Aries
June – August 2018 mostly in Aquarius and a few weeks in late Capricorn
The NEXT Mars retrograde will be December 2024 – February 2025 in signs Leo and Cancer
If you want to go deeper into how your chart is activated by Mars retrograde in Gemini:
Get a free copy of your chart
Find out where Gemini is in your chart
Consider what relationships Mars retrograde in Gemini makes in your chart, if any
Take special notice of what happens during the retrograde in those areas
Journal about them
When Mars Retrograde turns Direct
It will become more clear what to do when Mars goes direct
It will travel over the same part of your chart 3 times
The third time will open the door to implement what you discovered
This will be during the post-shadow time period
Don’t pressure yourself to do everything now, take the full Mars retrograde cycle to trim up things so when Mars is direct you are ready to move full speed ahead
Mars Retrograde and Mercury Retrograde Overlap
Mercury will go retrograde December 29, we will start feeling it in pre-shadow starting December 3
Mercury will go direct January 18, 2023, and end the post-shadow period ends on February 7
The Mercury retrograde time period will represent an increased intensity on the reflective quality of Mars retrograde
February and March of 2023 will be a time of moving forward
Take advantage of this time period to clarify where you will benefit from cutting out activities that are holding you back. Review, realign, and re-evaluate will be helpful ways to approach life in general. Give yourself time to go through the process between now and the end of the Mars retrograde post-shadow in March. By March of 2023, forward movement will be much easier.
The next Mercury retrograde will be in April of 2023. At that point you will have another opportunity to evaluate your progress and correct course as needed. The ebb and flow of forward motion, pause, reflection, correct course and move forward again is a fantastic way to work with the rhythm of retrograde motion.
Mars Retrograde by House
Find which house(s) Gemini is on the cusp. Then look at the house description below. This will help you understand the focus area(s) of life that are activated and highlighted during this retrograde. Apply what you have learned from above to these particular life areas during Mars retrograde.
The house of you. Your image, appearance, body, personality and how it is projected in the world.
The house of what is yours. Your resources, earned income, money, possessions, self-worth, and security.
Your siblings, what is local and your community, neighbors, near journeys, education and learning style.
Your home, family, roots, tradition, land and real estate.
What pleases you and experiencing pleasure, your creativity, kids, your passions, sport, where you take risk, sex, passion, love affairs, and luck.
The domain of hard-work, service, employees if you have them, anyone who provides a service to you, health problems, domestic animals, and those you are responsible for (not your children). This area highlights providing service to others. From social services to the President or military.
Your committed relationships, marriage, contracts, business partners, clients for freelancers (not employees). This is the house of others and can also represent the competition or adversaries.
Shared resources, creditors, inheritances, others possessions, death, psychology and depth work, experience of grief and loss as part of the human condition.
Your faith and belief system, how you seek higher knowledge, religion, advanced education, long-distance travel, foreign affairs, travel, and journeys.
Your profession, where you find meaning and purpose in life, your direction in life, public life, reputation, authority, your boss (if employed), your highest potential, where you stake your claim in the world, and success.
Your friends, network, colleagues, hopes and aspirations or ideals, good fortune, and how you receive love.
A mystical house, the collective unconscious, hidden places, institutions of containment like hospitals and prisons, potential for self-sabotage, secrets, profound mystical experiences, being part of a mystical group, and loss and sorrow.
Mars Retrograde Wrap Up
Mars retrograde in Gemini is happening now. It is a time to take the opportunity to evaluate where you may be carrying too much of a burden or wasting your energy. Make cuts over the next few months and start moving forward faster as we move out of Mars retrograde by March of 2023.