On Wednesday September 9 at 11.23 pm British Summer Time Mars went retrograde. This means, from the Earth’s perspective, that it is moving backwards. It stays retrograde until November 14, at 0.35 am GMT.
Traditionally there are certain things you are not supposed to do when Mars is retrograde. As Mars is a planet connected with sex and passion, you’re not supposed to consummate a relationship while it’s retrograde. If you did, it would in someway jinx the relationship’s future. Also, you should never take aggressive action during this period. So avoid initiating lawsuits, fights and wars.
Retrogrades can also be seen in terms of intensity. I think it was the astrologer Stephen Arroyo who used the analogy of a candle flame to describe the impact of retrogrades. A planet’s regular motion is likely passing your finger through the flame. Your finger keeps moving, and there’s warmth without pain. However, when a planet goes stationary retrograde or direct it is as if your finger has stopped, in the middle of the flame. You certainly feel it!
Mars went retrograde at 28 8 Aries, in square aspect to Saturn at 25 40 Capricorn. Mars makes the exact aspect to Saturn on September 29, and the aspect remains strong through to mid-October. This means that the finger is in the Mars-Saturn squre for a long time. It is a time of extreme negativity, when our thoughts will be focused on death and destruction. Whether Mars is retrograde or not doesn’t matter – it’s moving slowly, and that’s enough. We’re not living in a good times, and mid-October is particularly horrible. But that’s another story.
It is probably worth noting that the Mars-Saturn square on September 29 makes a direct hit on Donald Trump’s Venus in Cancer. His Venus has been under a lot of pressure recently, and there have been some seriously damaging revelations about his attitudes and thought processes. We should expect more revelations about his past, which might well have a sexual nature.