℞ Retrograde guidance
Mars retrograde
About every two years, for roughly two to two and a half months.
Mars is drive, temper and the direction you push in. Its retrograde is the longest of the three and the most physical. Energy that normally goes outward turns inward, and things that were moving under their own momentum start needing to be pushed. It is a frustrating transit to fight and a useful one to work with.
What helps
- Train, rest and recover rather than chasing a personal best.
- Rework a plan that has been quietly failing.
- Deal with the anger you have been storing, not just the argument in front of you.
- Repair and maintain what you already own.
- Take the slower route if it is the one you can sustain.
What to hold off on
- Starting a fight you are not prepared to finish.
- Launching a venture that needs early momentum to survive.
- Major surgery you can reasonably schedule for later.
- Buying tools or machinery in a hurry.
- Pushing harder at something that has stopped responding.
When it turns direct
Mars turning direct usually feels like a handbrake coming off. Whatever you rebuilt during the retrograde is what moves fastest afterwards.
Retrograde motion is apparent, not actual. No planet reverses course. It is the view from a moving Earth, and it is that shift in perspective the tradition reads.