On Thursday, 11/05, Mars enters his pre-retrograde shadow at 20° Leo. This means that it’s been 26 months, and we’re in for the least-frequent planetary retrograde at the beginning of next year. This is a complicated retrograde: Mars will move between two planets (Leo and Virgo), closely interact with the Sun, Mercury, and Venus, and square Uranus three times. All personal planet retrogrades are the real deal; they affect everyone, not just those whose natal birth charts interact closely with this retrograde. Mars also enters his pre-retrograde shadow during Venus’s (and Mercury’s) retrograde cycles; we will be in a personal-planet retrograde season from 8/31 (when Venus enters her pre-retrograde shadow) until 6/7, when Mars exits his post-retrograde shadow. Mars’s retrograde is but one part of a larger story that is already unfolding.

The Set Up

Due to its position in our solar system (close to Earth but past Earth’s orbit relative to the Sun), Mars is the planet that goes retrograde the least frequently, roughly every 26 months. Although we know that its backward motion is an illusion, astrology always views planets in relation to our home, the Earth. When a planet moves in retrograde motion, it retraces its steps through the horoscope wheel, repeating degrees that it has recently passed through. This creates an opportunity for a cosmic do-over as the world experiences these repeating degrees thrice: once when the planet enters its pre-retrograde shadow, a second time during the retrograde, and a third time after it stations direct once more in its post-retrograde shadow. This places intense emphasis on these areas of life, both on where they fall in the horoscope wheel and on how they interact with every person’s natal birth chart.

Mars is our planet of action. It is the planet that governs our drive and our energy levels. It rules the sign of Aries and the 1st house, and co-rules the sign of Scorpio and the 8th house, along with Pluto. We all have Mars placed somewhere in our charts. This placement shows what motivates us and how we go out and get what we want. Mars is also considered to be the Lesser Malefic in Traditional Astrology because it governs anger and strife. Mars needs a purpose – generally to move forward and accomplish a goal – or else he can easily become a bad actor.

When Mars moves in retrograde, it appears to move backward through the horoscope wheel. This is unfortunate as Mars prefers to gain and improve constantly. Retrograde planetary motion is all about looking back over the path traveled and making the necessary changes to correct course. Some Mars placements (Virgo, for example) tend to be more comfortable with this than others. The big flex is to lean into the energy of this retrograde and work with it rather than against it.

As this Mars retrograde stretches from 10° Virgo back to 20° Leo, it crosses from a mutable, earth sign back into a fixed, fire sign. Mixed sign retrogrades are more challenging to understand until you have a good grasp of astrology. Normally we move from fixity into mutability, so this disrupts the natural order of things. This may make us want to hold on to things that are past their time, represented by the South Node in Leo. Mars in Virgo is highly flexible, and Mars in Leo feels like the sword in the stone (the right king of kings might be able to pull it free, but for most, it might as well be a sword made of stone).

This Mars retrograde will most strongly affect the following groups in the order written. Remembering, this is a compounding effect; the more categories you meet, the stronger the retrograde will be.

• Those born with Mars from 00-10° Virgo or 20-29° Leo, and all Aries and Scorpio Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or Mars types
• Those with Mars in Virgo or Leo that do not meet the above degrees
• Anyone with a personal planet (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) from 00-10° Gemini or Sagittarius (square) or Pisces (opposition), or 20-29° Taurus and Scorpio (square) or Aquarius (opposition)
• Anyone with a personal planet from 00-10° Taurus or Capricorn, or 20-29° Aries or Sagittarius (trine)
• Anyone with Mars in the 1st or 8th House or Mars conjunct their Natal Sun, as well as anyone born during a Mars retrograde
• Anyone who works with Mars or has a job in a martial field (military for sure, protection of all kinds, construction, but also probs sex work)

Keep in mind that, as a personal planet, Mars’ retrograde will affect everyone to varying degrees, and it will also impact our daily lives as a collective. Even if you don’t have any major planetary interactions with this retrograde, you almost certainly know somebody who does. You can determine what area of life Mars will impact by looking at the retrograde and how it relates to your chart by sign, house, aspect, and degree.

The Nitty Gritty

I want to reiterate from the start that although traditional astrology says that retrogrades are Bad and Mars retrogrades, in particular, are bad, this is not a foregone conclusion. Retrogrades are a change in the energy output of a planet in motion, and it takes clever awareness to adapt to and work with this energy rather than against it. Mars retrogrades tend to be the most challenging for humans for one simple reason – humans are, on average, very averse and reactive to change. Mars wants to charge forth and exert his will upon the world, whereas Mars’s retrograde moments tend to call for pauses and reflection before action. This is very in line with the season we are in, both because this retrograde begins during the winter, but also astrologically (it follows a poignant Venus retrograde in Scorpio/Libra from October-November) and sociologically (we are experiencing a deep winter, political regression, etc.)

There are some almost inevitable truths about a Mars retrograde cycle: anything that requires action (be it your job, physical exertion of all kinds, the court system, etc.) will move much more slowly than average. There will inevitably be people who can’t handle this slowdown and will lean into emotional reactivity and violence. Along with Venus, Mars is one of our relationship planets, so its retrograde can lead to relationship issues and breakups. If Venus’s 2026 retrograde allowed us to see where we were unhappy, uneasy/unfulfilled in our personal lives, Mars retrograde will be about picking it apart and figuring out why it doesn’t work, whether we can fix it, and, probably, even whether it’s worth fixing.

While Mars retrogrades in Virgo, we have the cosmic opportunity to dig in and really understand the problem. It will be in our best interest to do this thoroughly early in the retrograde because retrograde Mars in Leo is likely to get all lordly and demand that the problem is below him and definitely somebody else’s problem. Of course, if we dig deep into the psychology of Mars in Leo, we can see that the Lord is responsible for all of the problems in his domain, whether he caused them or not.

Fuck. I just gave Virgo the benefit of the doubt that they would act maturely during a retrograde Mars in Virgo moment, but not Leo. What can I say, I moonlight as a Virgo. (Mars in Virgo to be exact)

So let’s reverse it. Some Leos types will see the problem and see how their reach, their connections, their Sun-infused wonderfulness can make it go away. (Did I do it right, Leo bestie?) Some Virgo types will just nitpick at the problem, tearing it apart just to say they can. We’ll all play all of these parts – on the microscale (especially if, like me, you have planets in Virgo) or macro scale. We can hope for more constructive criticism and fewer blowouts, but there will be blowouts.

I repeat, there will be blowouts. That is guaranteed during a Mars retrograde season.

Mars retrograde cycles tend to illuminate the areas of our lives where we are not getting what we want. This may be due to misaligned goals or poorly thought-through strategies. Or, quite simply, life isn’t fair, and effort rarely equals payout. Mars retrogrades show us how we and our Others react when we are stymied. It may lead to pessimism or depression in those prone, especially as this cycle coincides with our dark season, so stay aware and practice the self-care necessary to weather this rough transit if necessary.

As mentioned above, retrogrades all happen in three phases: the pre-retrograde shadow, the retrograde proper, and the post-retrograde shadow. This can be explained through the silly analogy of falling in a hole:

1. Oh no, I fell into this hole! I didn’t know that it was there. There was no way of avoiding it! (pre-retrograde shadow)
2. Oh SHIT! Did I just fall into that same fucking hole? I should learn to avoid that. (retrograde)
3. (and hopefully) Oh hey – look at that hole! I don’t need to fall in that – I can walk around it. (post-retrograde shadow)

In this way, many people will face a lesson at some point in their lives on the themes of the retrograde in question. Of course, whether they learn from it depends on many factors, such as general awareness, critical thinking ability, and overall maturity level. A person who isn’t willing to change will never get much from a retrograde cycle; on the other hand, someone who is open and willing to look critically at themselves and their own actions may gain a great deal.

Quite literally: some people will never learn. Some people don’t want to learn because it would mean taking responsibility or accountability for their own lives.

And we can’t make them, no matter how well we explain what they aren’t doing, how they could do better (Mars in Virgo), or attempt to lead by example or Lord it over them (Mars in Leo).

Fuck, babes, you probably cannot even control your own path through a Mars retrograde; why the fuck are you trying to control somebody else’s? You have GOT to let go of the illusion that anyone else is ever going to do what you want, not really, not to your satisfaction. That’s going to be difficult for our fixed sign types who are getting railed by the current transits (Mercury and Venus both retrograde in Scorpio, fixed water in October and November of 2026).

This is the astrological weather – we still need to live in it – and this is a ten-month storm.

We note here the times that Mars connects to the Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Venus, as these will dictate the most extreme times of dis ease.

The Sun squares Mars twice, on 11/19 in the pre-retrograde shadow and on 5/25 in the post-retrograde shadow, and opposes Mars on 2/19 during the retrograde proper.

The Moon conjuncts Mars on 11//30, 12/28, 1/24, 2/20, 3/19, 4/15, and 5/13.

Mercury squares Mars twice, on 12/04 and 5/7, during the pre- and post-retrograde shadows and opposes Mars three times as a part of their own retrograde (2/7, 2/16, and 3/11). The middle of these dates, 2/16, is a mutable t-square between retrograde Mercury in Pisces, retrograde Mars in Virgo, and Uranus in Gemini.

Venus squares retrograde Mars on 1/16 and opposes retrograde Mars on 3/19.

These are likely to be the harder days, at least from a domestic perspective.

We also note the two eclipses (Solar Eclipse in Aquarius and Lunar Eclipse in Virgo) that occur during Mars’s retrograde and our two lunations in April (Full Moon in Scorpio and New Moon in Aries) and the Blue Moon in May (also in Scorpio) that are all ruled by Mars. These will all be highly charged lunations.

In other words, pack your very best patience because we are in for a wild (but very slow) ride.

Remember, this is a long haul aspect – although Mars’s retrograde doesn’t start until January, it is carrying on energy that started back in September – we are already deep in this bullshit. We won’t get a real break from this until at least 4/1, when Mars stations direct, but maybe not until Mars leaves his post-retrograde shadow.

Putting it all together: How the fuck do I magic about this shit?

If you have something Mars-related to protect, do so before 1/10 when Mars retrogrades. Remember, Mars rules over all martial magic – both offensive and defensive – so it wouldn’t hurt to make sure your protection magic is up to date before this point. This could also look like protecting your energy levels, motivation, forward momentum, or gains (take that as you will). Mars is magic is best cast on a Tuesday, in his planetary hour, and when he is well aligned with other planets that may support your goals. Mars is best aligned with Aries and Scorpio (his domains) and Capricorn (his exaltation); he is weakest in Taurus, Cancer, and Leo.

I don’t generally recommend doing magic to work with the energy of Mars’s retrograde unless you are highly Martian (by job, temperament, or chart alignment) and/or already have a strong working relationship with the planet. There is an exception for those born while Mars was retrograde or out of bounds, as this suggests an unusual relationship with Mars that can be explored during the retrograde period.

That said, if Mars is kicking your ass, planetary remediation is always on the table.

Mars retrogrades favor baneful magic, overall, but that should always come with adequate warnings. Take extra steps to protect yourself and cleanse thoroughly afterward. Expect to overheat, maybe even to the point of feverishness, if you are not well aligned with Martian energy and you attempt this during this time. The best days for remediation might be monthly, when the Moon transits Mars, or when the Moon crosses your natal Mars.

Road openers, blockbusters, and generalized success or movement spells can help alleviate the worst of Mars retrograde stagnation, but again, this should come with some level of caution. Do not attempt to blaze through this energy without giving Mars his due; it is unlikely to go well for you.

Or fuck around and find out. I’m not your Mom or your boss.

Further Reading:

Working With Personal Planet Retrogrades

The Details

11/05/26 – Mars enters his pre-retrograde shadow 20° Leo.
11/14 – Mars conjunct South Node 25° Leo
11/16 – Mars conjunct Jupiter 25° Leo
11/19 – Sun in Scorpio square Mars in Leo (1)
11/25 – Mars enters Virgo
12/04 – Mars in Virgo square Uranus in Gemini (1)
12/09 – Mercury in Sagittarius square Mars in Virgo (1)
12/31 – Sun in Capricorn trine Mars in Virgo, Mercury in Capricorn trine Mars in Virgo
1/10 – Mars retrogrades 10° Virgo
1/16 – Venus in Sagittarius square retrograde Mars in Virgo
1/25 – Mercury enters their pre-retrograde shadow 20° Aquarius
2/17 – Solar eclipse 17° Aquarius
2/7 – Mercury in Pisces opposed retrograde Mars in Virgo (1)
2/8 – Venus in Capricorn trine retrograde Mars in Virgo
2/9 – Mercury retrogrades 05° Pisces
2/16 – retrograde Mercury in Pisces opposed retrograde Mars in Virgo (2), retrograde Mercury in Pisces squares Uranus in Gemini
2/17 – retrograde Mars in Virgo square Uranus in Gemini (2)
2/19 – Sun in Pisces opposed retrograde Mars in Virgo
2/20 – Lunar eclipse 02° Virgo
2/21 – retrograde Mars enters Leo
3/3 – Mercury stations direct 20° Aquarius
3/11 – Mercury in Aquarius opposed retrograde Mars in Leo (3)
3/19 – Venus in Aquarius opposed retrograde Mars in Leo
4/1 – Mars stations direct 20° Leo
4/6 – New Moon 16° Aries (ruled by Mars)
4/11 – Sun in Aries trine Mars in Leo
4/20 – Full Moon 00° Scorpio (ruled by Mars)
5/7 – Mercury in Taurus square Mars in Leo (2)
5/14 – Mars enters Virgo, Venus in Taurus trine Mars in Virgo
5/20 – Blue Moon 29° Scorpio (ruled by Mars)
5/25 – Sun in Gemini square Mars in Virgo (2)
5/28 – Mars in Virgo square Uranus in Gemini (3)
6/7 – Mars exits his post-retrograde shadow 10° Virgo