Mars Retrograde: Yoda?

“Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.”

Yoda

 

…Mars, being a traditional “Malefic,” tends to get a bad rap.  Relating to all Yoda wisely ties together in his famous quote; when Mars (our Will) is thwarted, we become frustrated, when we become frustrated, we become angry, once angry, indeed, hate blossoms.  Starting now and remaining till the Spring, Mars–our inner Warrior–will be in deep meditation. May we come to a better understanding of our anger and transmute it into the Divine Will moving through us all.

 

Traditionally, Mars rules over both Aries and Scorpio.  Two signs which relating to great strength in their Archetypal operation.  Within Aries we are faced with the basic instinctual survival pressures in our predator eat prey world; in Scorpio, we are faced with all of our deepest fears–which most likely began in Aries, when our lives where threatened in some way, creating the fear of phobia. When Mars turns inwards, we are given the opportunity to face all of our fears, revisiting our anger and frustration, and hopefully better understanding all of our actions which lead us away from further suffering.

 

Martian logistics;

On January 23rd, 2012, Mars reached his Retrograde station at 23°06′ Virgo just after the New Moon in Aquarius. This Retro period will last until April 14th, 2012. The effects of the retrograde period will continue to be felt until he returns in direct motion on June 19th, 2012 to the degree where he first made his station (23° Virgo 06). The first beginnings of the effect took place from November 16, 2011, as Mars entered his Shadow of this cycle.  Being that this cycle is in the Mutable sing of Virgo, it means all the Mutable signs you have planets in (Gemini, Virgo, Sag, and Pisces) will be greatly affected.

Mars turns retrograde only once every two years and two months, but the effects of each period differ, according to the sign in which it happens.  This time, being in Virgo, the main concern is health, rhythm, routine, and service.

A planet is described as retrograde when it appears to be moving backwards through the zodiac. This traditional concept arises in the illusory planetary motion created by the orbital movement of the Earth, with relation to other planets in our solar system. It’s an optical illusion. Mars isn’t truly moving backwards, it just appears this way. Retrograde periods, although often problematic for us earthlings, are not particularly uncommon. Each planet retrogrades, except the Sun and Moon, when the time is ripe for deep reflection!

Manifestations:

Not unlike a Mercury retrograde period, we are forced into a meditative state where we get to relive, rethink, and reorient certain areas of our lives.  The only difference is that it’s not Mercury, it’s Mars.  So instead of Mercurial things being put in check (technology, thoughts, communication, etc…) it is Martian things (will, energy, muscle, sweat, and purpose).  It’s not uncommon during Mars Retrograde to feel a state of apathy.  When our energy is turned inwards, we tend to doubt how we have been using it in the world.  An apathetic stance can then enter.  It’s perfect though, because it allows for a deep reflection of our intentions in the world, so that we can reorient how we are using our bodies and our will to create our realities.

Being that this particular cycle is in Virgo, it has a careful and meticulous quality to it.  It is looking deeply into our daily routines, our diets, and personal practices.  Ultimately, Mars wants us to be healthy and in alignment with Divine Will.  When we can fuse our Personal Will with Divine Will, there is an immense power and purpose that can propagate.  Practices like yoga, qi gong, martial arts, or massage are all examples which can align us beautifully to this.  I feel this cycle is right on time for this New year.  Happening side by side with the Aquarian New moon, at the beginning of the Chinese New year (the year of the Water Dragon), we have entered 2o12, and it’s paramount that we are in tip top shape for the changes to come.

Depending on where this is happening in your chart–house and aspect–this Mars cycle will be manifesting differently for everyone.  As an example, if Mars is going retrograde in your 8th house, he is asking you to refine all of your abilities and practices which allow you to look deeply into your shadowy unconscious mind; If in the 5th house, the question relates to healthy ways of having fun; If in the the 2nd, it relates to stuck ways and values which are potentially stagnant and need some adjustment.  It is vitally important to understand where this is happening for you, so that you can best utilize this Martian energy for your evolution within the year to come.

Don’t be afraid. Yes, Mars does relate to anger, violence, fear, and hatred, but those are only the “Dark side” manifestations of the energy.  When used properly, we get to experience peak states, perfect health, Divine purpose, and the strength of the Sacred Warrior.  It is the Path of the Hero.  May we learn when to show our talons, our strength, and our Will in only the perfect moments. When understood fully, Mars becomes aligned with the subtle and gentle energies moving through us. We become Master of our form.  Much like Yoda or Oh Sensei!

…May the Force be with you!

 

sOMa

You can contact me at KOSMOGNOSIS@GMAIL.COM if you have any questions or if you would like to inquire about my services…..

www.Holestoheavens.com


  • jp

    Wow. Mars is transiting my natal Mars and I’ve had difficulty understanding the meaning of its retrograde until reading this article. Excellent. Funnily, I’ve been thinking about Yoda lately and sending his image to others. It seems that Refinement is key to Mars RX whereas Chaos relate to Mercury RX.
    Where did Mars last RX 26 months ago and what were the effects?
    Thanks so much for this.

    • Anonymous

      Hey Jp….I would say all retrograde periods have something to do with “refinement.” This “refinement” comes from the chaos experienced.  As I posted about in response to Sha’s comment, I find myself doing pointless projects, starting and stopping tons, during these cycles.  To me, that is chaotic!  By the time it goes Direct, hopefully we have “refined” something!”.  ………and the last cycle was in Leo.  It had lots to do with our relationship to the Creative Muse.  What did I do during this period? I bought Logic Pro and a Midi board and taught myself how to record and create electronic music.  Havent really played since! lol….

  • Sha

    On spot Rx on my Solar return + opp to my natal Mars by dgree .. I was beginning to wonder what’s happening with me dirung this stationary period of his, i do often go under ‘episodes’ of spontaneous meditative retreat, but this one was quite commanding …. Now i see.

    Somewhere i found that Mars Rx periods help us disengage from the previous, and engage in the next cycles .. it’s quite a handful to collect oneself accordingly and enable oneself to make that ‘jump’ correctly .. so we can move forward. In this respect, retro Mars trully shines from it’s more refined spectrum, and has much to gain from this Virgo mold backing him up ! Having no markers in this sign, but i’ve began to grow in respect before this constellation energy, as Edison said, “10%inspiration, 90% perspiration”, in the human world, it works this way  ^  ^

    Great parallel with Yoda Soma ! ^  ^  I could + the reference to the tolteq teachings too ?

    Namaste } ¤ { 

    • Anonymous

      I like what you said: “Mars Rx periods help us disengage from the previous, and engage in the next cycles .” Indeed.  It’s a strange fatigue that seems toenvolope us.   I usually find myself doing pointless things, like watching more moviesro starting and not finishing projects during the cycle.  Frustrating yet enlightening! lol…..Thanks for posting Sha!

      • Sha

        No prob Soma  ^   *  ~ I did promise to drop by and crosswise your blog and now that i’m back on tracks, i can do ^  ^/  Btw, i tryed to log in with my Fb acc but cant do (i disabled the pop-up blocker, still nada  o.O(?)

        Gionng i circles untill you practically “run out of batteries”, yeah we all’ve been feeling that we are doing that from time to time . . Thruth is, once we engage with our passions, it’s fairly hard to see the head and the tail of it untill the rocks keep rollin . . Our passions proove to be blinding many times.

        Our western cultural circumference plays itself heavily on the Mars exposition, that is what we percieve and choose as purposeful, meaningful, life-as-it-should-be-to-be. “Express yourself!” “Make some noise!”, like that /Harder Better Faster Stronger/ song of Daft Punk, just dont stand still, “Where is your youth?!” ” Go! Go!”  You must be “visible” “noticed” and “felt” within the social tapestry, else “the Sun goes obscured”, mind you .. An it’s important to understand to which extent this undercloth liling belif affects us, because that’s exactly the Martian layer of expertise, all the energy that we transfer beyond our physical confines, that is tangible – but lacks bodily strata, all that about us that “sparkles” and makes us “unique” .. it’s our life energy, and we are puting it on display before the world, without much depth consideration or meaning, to be noticed and accepted ultimatively, our very own life drive.

        All this can be fun too, sure, but it can be very tiring too …. and because neither one of us is a “bottomless pot of gold” despite the main premise been saying otherwise, we can fairly soon run short on our credits, and then, what ? We look at eachother and ourself, and wonder, “Why is this happening ? Life is unfair!” We have that sort of a collective ideal that makes us simply toying with ourselves .. we dont honor the mechanisms of our nature anymore, which has it’s limits, it does. We’ll not be able to outgrow them “that one day” as we wish, because “that day” will never come for us if we dont take them into consideration first.

        Today as never before in history, the human kind has grown hopelessly weak before sickness and one more sad thing, we age prematurely too. Sure, we could name many reasons, our air isnt pure anymore, same our water, soil, food or living environments where we dwell, but biology is known as a flexible mechanism able to adapt it’self acoordingly within circumstances …. So what’s with all that inbuilt weaknesses system that we started displaying reccently ?  If we put things i perspective, what we are getting going in spite of our selves is “life happening to us”, not we “happening to life”. Does that not shake up a little our pride as “beings of reason” at least ?

        Having a back wind to contain and (re)measure oneself correctly sure comes handy …. It deserves to be payed respect to, especially in such culture as ours.  Eaven if nobody else “see’s” it, your little Sun still shines in your belly …. it does  ^   ^

        Namaste } ¤ {  ~

        • Anonymous

          LIl”’Sun in belly constantly shines.  Thanks for your words of wisdom.  

          …..what is your avatar? coffee? coke? lol…

          • Sha

            Lol,

            it’s not an avavatar, try to click on it   ^   *  ~

          • Anonymous

            Nice…..Do you live by this motto?

          • Sha

            Lol, no, the pic was put there for the sake of it’s irony ^  ^”  Nah, my Saturn SN/Cap Mercury keeps a firm prohibition policy on that matter ..  Where i tend to get fired up,is when it comes to getting a better future – out of the past we have .. There’s so much to learn just getting our heads around history a bit.

            This should be such a good time to review where all we do invest ourselves. Virgo is often denounced to subdue frustration, but more that any other energy matrix Virgo would know it’s the worst frame through which to approach, confront and execute “your work”, getting the results YOU would LIKE to get while at it. So, priorities straight, as it seems, time dosent give much place to rampant passionate drives now …. I can clearly feel how now, how the nerves in my stomach ‘bubble’ ad ‘vibrate’ whenever my willfulness switch’s on into motion .. It’s pretty interesting observing that, this is how it happens all the time, it’s just that my attention wasnt brought before to this phenomenon .. o.O  It can be very helpful just observing things from time to time, and not engaging, such a calm modus keeps your head cool, and pretty much i think it’s the main kudo we could expect to gain from this transit ? A crystal cool head.

            Next month, when Venus slides in opp, we could somehow expect a glimpse of how much our actions ‘ring’ true to our heart longings .. If chances are, a harvest of very valuable personal knowledge could come our way  ^   ^

            Love  } ¤ {  ~

          • Anonymous

            …..i appreciate your words.  They build to the database well! lol…..It’s gonna be so interesting when Mars stations in opp to Chiron and Neptune (kinda).  Moment of truth for sure….

            Thank you for your time Sha

          • Sha

            You’re welcome dear  .. thank you for writing good stuff !  ^°^/

            The Nept/Chiro treats are something to look out to, for sure !

            Meantime, Venus return incoming here on the Mars to Mars natal opp ..
            what’s happening, i think i’m “cracking” the code of the “afterlife” at
            the time O.O ….Hardly seems connected, but it’s Pisces, still .. It’s
            not in the prime of my concerns in life, “eternal life”  that is, lol,
            but this …. Think tr Moon was over tr Uranus at the exact time of the
            insight assemblage, any ideas ?  Under careful examination in any
            way,

            } ¤ {  ~

          • Anonymous

            Venus returns are fun.  In fact, I love all returns.  Probably because I appreciate novelty and new starts.  May this cycle be a juicy one…

            ….Moon transiting with Uranus always brings some sort of quickening I feel.  An insight, an strange sycro experience, something.  Hard to stay grounded on those days though, yet they are amazing all the same.

            ~*~

          • Sha

            I dont know ..  much insight do, but no much fun here at the moment, in fact a mild chrisis lurking ’round the corner  :/  I think that’s what you get with the same bodies cracking a 180° separation tr right above your nataly conjuncted ones .. 20°53′ Venus and 22°35′ Mars in Pisces here ..
            At least, a bit of fiction is to be expected, so it seems.

            Yes, you cant miss a planet’s return, eaven if you want  XD It’s as if – in an instant – you become aware of the extent to which the last “growth spurt” has taken you  :)   Very dynamic internally.

            As far the insight goes, scruting the chart cant atribute them to others than Venus rt seems …. But it’s vexing as Venus alone cant voucher for the kind of nature they carry …. The only (other) tr substantially applyable (and very much so) is Pluto to nt Mercury i’m expecting, but there’s still 8°43′ dgrees to go, and that’s allot  .. Hm, must check the declinations ..

            ~

          • Anonymous

            …something is always lurking.  So this mars/venus transit is a mutual reception in a sense to your natal planets? Perfect fiction. Pulp fiction.  How is love life?

  • Sha

    The comment section is geting so narrow i cant eaven post anymore lol, we’ll have to open a new window  ^  ^

    Something is always lurking ? Yes, but this one has some big jaws ! XD And i’m feeling fairly shaken here ….

    I have Venus/Mars cj on those respective dgrees in Pisces, so by transit, they are gaping wide over themselves ! I’ve found a way to put them into perspective with what’s going in my head at the time, but better we resume on that in your Venus in Pisces entry ..  :)

    On the other hand, if i go down by the rullers, that could opt too .. Mercury through Mars (Virgo) with Neptune through Venus (Pisces) .. 11′th vs. 5′th here .. so collective journing vs. one-man spotlight show, and the karma of respective decisions.

    You know – sort to stay on the topic of Mars retro Virgo here ^  ^ – in the mayan system, the 6th solar seal, the skull, the World Bridger, rapresent’s gaining opportunity in being non-relative to diferent layers of manifestation and those who inhabit them. In the same fashion, the Cosmic Tonality offers a momentum with the 6th tone to get eaven, with everything and with our selves, so things can be kept in balance. This “getting eaven” and giving everything it’s due respect is pure Virgin pedagogy  ^  ^  For spiritual wariors of this legacy, it was pivotal getting consulence from – their own – death, as to harvest as much they can before factual dying .. I see very much precious parallels with the Virgo operandi there. One more interesting thing to note, Mars is actually atributed as the ruller to this Solar Seal  ^  ^ .. Keeping busy, i guess,

    ~

    • Anonymous

      It was getting narrow.  What was the deal with that?…….lol…..Thanks for sharing the World Bridger info.  I know nothing of Mayan Astrology except for the fact that I’m a Blue Rhythmic MOnkey! lol……Good luck with the Mars/Venus.  I just posted a new blog on it.  Maybe there will be some insight in there for ya.

      ~*~

      • Sha

        I dont know, i really couldnt type anything anymore in the box anymore, not see – type ! o.O

        The mayan system isn exactly speaking abut the same layers as classic astro so it’s fun to make an overlaping comparision  :)   It makes too some interesting points on some issues i was always wondering with classic astro .. like planetary octaves fex.

        New blog, great, heading there  ^  ^/

        ~

        • Anonymous

          I love overlap also.  I used to print out peoples Mayan reading (even though I knew nothing of it) just to see how well it overlapped with what I was seeing.  So interesting…

          • Sha

            That’s so cool !  ^°^  Not all things get learned just by brain, lol  ^  ^

            I was first hooked on this system by pure inspiration, while much was speaking to me “on the soul level” i couldnt afford to disregard logic .. Merc Cap  ^  ^ .. I’m not inherently pro-sceptical though, but i lerned to believe in solid argumentation. With such fields as astro, you can afford yourself to be without them, for sake of both sides.

            With a deeper bite i was able to understand, the Tonality part can be fairly well integrated within the classic system pretty directly, i found the 6th, 8th and 12th tone to be especially helpfull in getting more clarity on the respective constellations and houses in the classic system .. but the Solar Seals .. /-:  ..  :-/  .. simple mathematics, 20 to 12, no way to get eaven. Then, after strugling a fair amount alone to ge the common denominator, i had a chance to talk with one genuine astral traveler who spoke to me about having seen each of our planets having two chakras …. woa. He gave me an epiphany ^°^  So, 20 SS by rullership are in fact dividen in 10 pairs, two for each planet. Studing each planet through the SS is another very interesting mind strecher .. but back on track, that info was a fairly solid congruence for me to bite harder into it …. The Mayan system doesnt count luminaries, but it counts the Earth and so does the fanthomatic planet Tiamat or Mechinzedec, duno by which name you know it, if you’ve read any of the Sitchin’s works fex you’ll know what i’m referring too .. the one that gave birth to the asteroid belt inbetween Mars/Jupiter, the for major asteroids we use in modern astro, and, supposedly, our very home planet and it’s sattelite too ..

            The premise of the “seal” matching a planet’s chakra gave me an interesting basis to question the nature of the chakras itself .. they are in fact, seals, seals of cosciousness, or, consciousness seized into a stabile “form” under a seal. You could call it a “safety” kinda design too .. So, i had to wonder too, with that disintegrated and shattered planet in matter, what is the aspect or layer of consciousness this planet anchored within the conscious life of our Solar System, and we lost ? We have the Wizzard and the Serpent there, no much need to think before recalling the kundalini issues ..

            So, a bit of brainstormed rambling on my part  ^  ^ ….

            I had a chance to stumble uppon a work of one astrologer in the end that aligned the two systems propperly .. i just seem cant find the link to her site and am perplexed because i would like to put the refference .. maybe it’ll pop later, i’ll add then. So, token you’re a 6th Monkey, what you do is count backwards the seals till you reach tone 1, in your case it would be, the World Bridger 1st (lol) ^  ^ .. That’s your 1′st house .. so next is 2nd Hand, your 2nd house and so on, till you reach the 13th, in your case the Mirror, and you place it in the centre of your chart, as it’s exponential value. Hope i was able to convey it propperly ..

            About the 13/20 count, i would have a word of theory too, but that another time  ^  ^

            Love,

            } ¤ {  ~

          • Anonymous

            Lol….that stuff confuses the hell out of me. No I don’t understand.

          • Sha

            Hm, well it sure isnt easy .. but it tricks you to think it is at first  ^°^  ~ I myself needed a good period of gestation before getting to digest everything propperly. I think it would be reasonable to assume you’ll need the right kind of pre/side/info to back you up before finding your way around this system .. and i did have that, or rather, i deweloped it along the way. Square one, this is mesoamerican cosmology, and getting enough clarity here i found relatively impossible without insight into tolteq schamanism i was mentioning in my first post on the blog, that knowledge happened to be pivotal, at least for me. And this legacy has no “sacred books” nor “prophets” so it’s pretty screwed up to study, and i fear just to mention the name it brought it to west, because you cant rarely get more controversal than that, ugh. Last, if we take that you forged your frame drawing from the opposite side of the globe well, /India and China mostly if i’m not wrong/ it would explain why is hard or needlessly to adhere for you to such a foreigin system as this  :)    ~

            Worth mentoining too at this point is that this one we are offered to play with is a contemporary “polished” version of the old calendar, and though i personally dont find any substantial deformations the system skeleton, the upgradings are somewhat too much of a strech .. something like with the Human Design system, the more you get into detail, the lower the ratio of inherent logic ..  it’s hard to me to buy those bits ..

            Now, the main concern with this system is global synchronisation and global-not-only, it streches on the whole Solar System in fact .. Was i able to convey any sense to you this time ? Lol, i hope  ^  ^ .. Or just simply frame your questions, i’ll be happy to add if i can,

            namaste  } ¤ {  ~

          • Anonymous

            Gotcha.  Nicely articulated…..

            I like how you spell Shamanism (“Scham”) lol….I’m gonna start!

            `*~

          • Sha

            Ups  o.O”  I slipped there into transliteration mode, it wasnt really intentional .. ^°^//

            Literate creativity keep’s the rust off our minds, lol, fell free to share yours too anytime   *  ^

            ~

          • Anonymous

            Don’t I?

          • Sha

            ¸Hehe  <3  ^  ^

            ~

  • http://gneissmoonastrology.net/ Gneiss Moon

    Hello ~
    Love your posts, and of course the use of Yoda for Mars Rx.  My natal Pluto is feeling Mars again and again and again.  Fun times !  I have natal Mars in 11, in Sag – my 12th house sign.  I refer to it as sleath in the 12th and it has a Jedi feel to me.  Great posts, nice to meet you. 

    • http://gneissmoonastrology.net/ Gneiss Moon

      * stealth

      • Anonymous

        Stealth.  Like hidden talons of magical potency? Like a spiritual warrior not easily seen by others? Like pierce shamanic wisdom to be found at the bottom of the ocean? Something like that?