The Lessons of Mars Retrograde

How have the themes of anger, assertion and power been showing up in your life of late?

I hope that question strikes a chord for you.  It should.  We've been covering some bumpy territory, and although your first take may be that your friends and family have been replaced by a gang of low-blood sugar two year olds that have missed their nap, remember that those around us are mirrors, we all have shadows and we all have blind spots.  It's a definite possibility your dark side may have made an appearance as well.

​Mars has been teaching us powerful lessons, if we've been willing to pay attention.  

Mars has just moved forward after a retrograde in Scorpio.  There are a couple of things that make this particular cycle unique.  Mars is a fast mover and typically spends about one and a half months in each sign.  This year, however, he is in his own sign of Scorpio (making this even more powerful) for the better part of the year.  On top of that he is tracking the path Saturn, the teacher and planet of karma, took from late 2012 to late 2015 through Scorpio.  Whatever Saturn turned up, Mars is calling for action on.  

Mars is the warrior and the pioneer.  He is the energy that helps us create boundaries and stand up for ourselves and find the drive and courage to move forward.  He is our assertion and our motivation.  He is also our anger and violence.  Mars energy needs to be consciously managed and directed.  He is like a fire.  We can use a fire to do many things - provide warmth and light, use it to cook food...but a fire we turn our backs on and allow to burn out of control is extremely destructive.  If we ignore the hurts, the fears, and the resulting rage within us, we run the risk of allowing the Mars energy that is there to get our needs met and keep us safe to be misdirected and misused.  

Mars turned retrograde in April and although he turned direct at the end of June, he spent the last two weeks of June and first two weeks of July just sitting on the 23rd degree of Scorpio, which intensifies the energy, before moving on into the 24th degree on July 12th.  You may have had opportunity to really gain the full insight the Mars retrograde has to offer this week.

Have you noticed any patterns in others or yourself around the themes of assertion, power and anger?  Have you been able to see, even if it is just the tiniest glimpse, how our worst behavior comes from our deepest wounds and fears?  Have you noticed how our focus on our hurt and protecting ourselves can escalate a situation and how direct and honest communication based in a desire to share personal truth and be vulnerable and compassionate can diffuse and even  heal it?

Here a few questions to think about as Mars completes this transformative cycle and heads toward Sagittarius.  (He will be in the 29th degree (karmic degree) of Scorpio, where Saturn was in mid-September last year around August 1st and 2nd, so be aware of what's happening on those days.)

• What is your relationship to anger?
  
• Do you feel like it is OK to be angry, or that it is wrong and unacceptable?  
  
• Can you express your anger in a way that still is respectful to others?  Is your anger so powerful that it takes you over and you do or say things you regret later?  
  
• Do you repress your anger only for it to come out inappropriately?
  
• Do you find yourself blaming and saying hurtful things to others rather than truly expressing your feelings? 
  
• Do you have a story that goes along with your anger, like being unloved or unimportant?  
  
• Do you have a behavior pattern that goes along with your anger?  
  
• All of our emotions have a message for us.  What is your anger trying to tell you?  What could you do differently to alleviate the anger?
• How do you assert yourself, or not assert yourself?  (Assertion is being direct about your wants and needs while still being sensitive to others feelings, wants and needs.  It is not emotionalized, and it is not manipulative, and asserting yourself does not necessarily mean getting your way.)
• How do you go after what you want?  Do you honor your desires or deny  them?  Do you feel comfortable going directly after your desires?  Do you even give yourself permission to have desires and know what you want?
• What are you fighting and why?
• If you had a choice, how would you direct this powerful energy in your life?
• Can you see how anger can be a cover for fear and a method of protection?  
• If there is a pattern you have noticed in yourself that you want to change, what could you do differently to start acting in a more conscious way that better serves you and what you really desire in life?