Mars in Leo: Horoscopes for Aries through Virgo
Fire planet Mars moves into fire sign Leo this month on October 16, 2009. It remains in Leo until June 7, 2010. That’s a long time, almost 8 months. Mars usually remains in a sign for about 6 weeks, but approximately every two years retrograde motion means it stays in a single sign for longer than usual.
We haven’t had Mars spend a long time in a fire sign since 2001, when it spent almost 7 months in Sagittarius, starting in February of that year. During the rest of the decade, we’ve seen Mars retrograde in water signs and the earth sign of Taurus.
So…what will a double dose of fire energy to mean to us? I’m going to a put positive spin on this transit, because I’m hoping/thinking that having Mars in a fire sign like Leo will help us out. For one thing, Mars in Leo is in a nice sextile by sign to Saturn in Libra until April. In April, Saturn retrogrades back into Virgo.
Saturn in Libra has a tendency to reveal problems in relationships, but Leo is such a warm-hearted sign that the sextile with Saturn has the possibility of showing us all a way out of our difficulties. It makes harmony and sympathy a bit more realistic as a way of negotiating through our conflicts. Now admittedly, it is possible that Mars in Leo will turn some susceptible folks into raging egomaniacs. Double fire can do that. But Saturn will hopefully help put a bit of a brake on that tendency as well.
What does the Mars/Saturn sextile mean for each of the signs? Read on for some possibilities.These are based on sun signs, but if you know your natal chart, you can look at the forecasts for your rising sign as well. For more articles on Mars and keywords for the houses and signs, you can visit my other site Practical Astrology.
Aries: Mars will be spending its long sojourn in your happy 5th house, a good spot for your ruler. It should energize your sun. It may also energize your love life, your dealings with children, and any creative projects you have in the works or that you undertake at this time. The sextile with Saturn in Libra puts the emphasis squarely on relationships. In some ways, it’s an odd mix of energies. Theoretically, it should bring any conflicts in relationships (of any sort) to the fore, but it should also give you the tools to deal with them in good faith and with good will. For example, if you’ve recently begun a romantic relationship, then the inevitable differences of opinion will probably arise. The relationship negotiating period should begin. But the combined energy of Mars and Saturn should hold the relationship together while you work things through and display what a good person you are at heart. The same dynamic would apply to dealing with problems that surface in a long-standing relationship.
Taurus: Mars in Leo will inhabit the part of your chart that deals with family matters. This could be your family of origin or a family you have started yourself. Dealing with other types of domestic matters (home repair, etc.) are also covered by this house. The idea would be that you would expend a lot of energy dealing with this area of your life, but that things would hopefully work out well in the end. Saturn in Libra deals with, among other things, relationships with co-workers and people you employ. A sample combination of Mars and Saturn energies in these houses would be hiring contractors to work on your house. Having the work done would be challenging (it usually is), but you would be able to work things out to a satisfactory conclusion. Other possibilities would include doing more work from home for some reason. Again, potentially challenging but successful if you put your mind to it.
Gemini: Mars in Leo will be in your 3rd house of mental work. This is an ideal combination for getting intellectual work done because your thinking is energetic but not cold or unmindful of other people’s input. It’s great for devoting yourself to a sustained project that requires a lot of thinking. Combine this with Saturn in Libra and you potentially get an opportunity for a meaningful collaboration with someone else on such a project. There would undoubtedly be disagreements with your collaborator if you are doing things right, but the disagreements could allow you to produce a better product than you could on your own. Collaborators could include lovers or children, but any creative person with whom you have a basic amount of simpatico could prove to be very helpful.
Cancer: Mars in Leo will be in the sector of your chart that deals with possessions and income. Traditionally, Mars in the second house can be considered a recipe for laying down big bucks. With Mars in Leo it could be considered a recipe for laying down big bucks on the kind of luxury items Leo loves. The combination of Mars and Saturn could indicate things like spending a lot of money on redoing your home, decorating it up in a grand style. There could be conflict with the people you live with over how much you want to spend. If so, if you’ve got someone riding your butt about your proposed expenses, consider that person a friend who could help you make wiser purchases. If you’re constitutionally opposed to spending money for 8 months straight, then you could use Mars in Leo to amp up your efforts to bring home more dough. Again, this could cause conflict with family members who want you at home instead of burning the midnight oil to bring in the cash. You’d probably end up having to compromise, which again would not necessarily be a bad thing.
Leo: Mars in your sign for 8 months! What could be better! It could be so nice to have energy in your sign instead of having all your energy drained by Neptune in the sign opposite yours. This is really a time to put yourself out there and pursue your own agenda for awhile. Whatever creative Leo project you have in the works, pursue it with gusto. The combination with Saturn in your 3rd house of mental work could indicate that you need to put some serious brainpower into making the most of your creative opportunity. It could also indicate that it would be to your benefit to collaborate with others who have different ideas. A little constructive disagreement could be just what you need to take yourself to the next level.
Virgo: Mars will be in your 12th house, an odd place to host Mars for a long time. The 12th house likes to withdraw and contemplate the universe or your own psyche. It’s not an especially sociable house. Mars here could be uncomfortable but also potentially useful if it helps you do things like forgive yourself for grudges your self-critical sign has been holding against you. The most useful thing I can see from the combination of Mars and Saturn is the potential to let things go. Literally, let things go in a material sense. Get rid of a bunch of your possessions, strip down your life, and free yourself up to travel leaner. Mars in the 12th actually loves to root through your closets, sort through your memories and get things all organized. Since many of us can spend decades pretending we’ll clean out our closets and never getting to it, this may be an opportunity not to be missed.
