Mars retrograde in Leo 2024-2025: it's cold backstage
Forecast, horoscopes, how to make the best of it
Mars will be retrograde in Leo and then Cancer from December 6th, 2024 through February 23rd, 2025. In this article I’m focusing on the first leg of this journey, Mars retrograde in Leo, from December 6th through January 6th. Check back in early January for a second piece on Mars’ time retrograde in Cancer.
In this article you’ll find:
☆ What does Mars retrograde mean?
☆ Main characters (which zodiac signs and other groups will feel Mars retrograde in Leo the most?)
☆ Mars retrograde in Leo 2024-2025 (an extensive rundown of this transit)
☆ Practical remediation (how to make the best of Mars rx in Leo)
☆ Questions to reflect on
☆ Mars retrograde in Leo horoscopes for all the signs, including what to expect & lots of practical remediations specifically tailored to your sign
What does Mars retrograde mean? (the basics)
Mars is the planet of action, activity, conflict, vitality, zest for life, anger, aggression, passion, personal power, leadership, discomfort, stress, impulse, sex (sex acts in particular), and more. Mars is fast, hot, and sharp.
While Mars is retrograde, all things in Mars’ domain are turned inside out, turned inward, reassessed, deepened, and approached from different angles. Old Mars-related things (like past conflicts, passion projects, and sexual desires or connections) often re-materialize during these times. Martial things can become messy, unpredictable, and sometimes quite stressful during this time.
It’s always worth noting that when any planet is retrograde, it is the closest to the Earth that it can physically be. This tells us that the idea that a retrograde planet is somehow weak, like a cell signal getting weaker as we move away from the tower, is wrong and illogical. If anything, planets feel so strong while retrograde that their influence is overwhelming. Sometimes I describe this as being closer to a fire: the closer we are, the more we can feel the heat. When a planet is retrograde it’s as if we are (or are at least much closer to being) deeply immersed in the energy of that planet rather than being able to observe it only from the outside. We are going deeper into them, seeing them from a different perspective, swimming in their depths, and even bringing them inside of us like we are breathing them in.
Normally, Mars spends about a month and a half in a sign on average, but because of this retrograde, this time Mars will be spending 125 days in Leo between November 3rd, 2024 and June 17th, 2025. That’s almost 6 times the length of time Mars spent in Leo the last time around, in 2023. We’ll definitely be learning a lot about the Leo area of our charts, and about the nature of both Leo and Mars.
Mars goes retrograde once every two years for three months at a time. The last few Mars retrogrades were:
October 30th, 2022 through January 12th, 2023, in Gemini, from 25º to 8º
September 9th, 2020 through November 14th, 2020, in Aries, from 28º to 15º
June 26th, 2018 through August 27th, 2018, from 9º Aquarius to 28º Capricorn
What came up for you during these times? This Mars retrograde will be in a different place in your chart and therefore is likely to show up in different ways and in different areas of life, but reflecting on past Mars retrogrades can at least help you feel into what Mars retrograde feels like for you in general. Were these pivotal times in your life when you were suddenly able to do something differently, or where you changed something about your life or your approach to something? These are some common ways that Mars retrograde shows up.
Main characters for Mars retrograde in Leo (who will feel it the most?)
☆ Aries & Scorpio (the Mars-ruled signs)
☆ Fixed risings (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius)
☆ Fixed signs with placements between 9º and 0º
☆ Anyone in a Mars profection year
☆ Anyone in a Leo profection year
Mars retrograde in Leo 2024-2025
Mars will be retrograde in Leo from December 6th through January 6th. On January 6th Mars will retrograde back into Cancer, where it will spend the last two months of its retrograde before stationing direct on February 23rd. It will station retrograde at 6º Leo and station direct at 17º Cancer.
Mars retrogrades feel like the winter: quiet, dark, more still, like the day of the winter solstice (though this stillness can also result in unexpected burns and heatwaves). These are times when energy is lower and the earth is turning inward, shrinking back in the absence of the sun. Now is for rest, recharging and recuperation, not charging forth against the current of the setting sun. During this time, many people will begin to recognize how burnt out they are, how much more rest we all need, and what rest actually consists of. If you are able to give yourself more rest and more space to drift in and out of different types of rest, do it. Keep in mind: ‘rest’ does not only mean sleeping more and lounging about, though that is an important part of it too. Rest is also play, joy, fun. Especially in this case, with Mars retrograde in Leo. What feels light, bright and joyful to you? That’s a big part of what Mars retrograde in Leo’s month is about. During this time, the outside lights dim and we to return to our own inner light, cupping it in our hands like the sacred beast that it is.
Because Mars is traveling in a different direction (or appears to be from our position on Earth anyway), it may be easier to approach Martial and Solar things from different perspectives right now. While Mars is retrograde it’s often much easier to resolve old conflicts, right old wrongs, change directions, alter the ways we deal with conflict, take action in ways that are out of the ordinary, approach sex differently, and make notable changes in life & to how we navigate life. We can also make changes to how we express ourselves, work on maintaining individual integrity and authenticity (even if a torch-wielding mob is breathing down your neck), and choose to share more or less of ourselves as we are metering out how much light is for us and how much is for all. At some of its best, this is a time to remember who we truly are and reevaluate the way we show up and how we want to be seen, especially in the Leo area of our own charts.
On the more negative side, on personal and collective levels this Mars retrograde may coincide with a rise in conflict, violence, stress, anger, scary world events, upper back pain, and generally feeling down, like the light has simply left us. There will likely be conflict between the people higher up in the hierarchy and people at the bottom, threats to core structures, and celebrities will probably not have a great month either. However, when navigated with intention, Mars rx can also be about calming and soothing these Martial topics, resolving conflicts, and getting creative with how to do better. We may also want more privacy during this time and feel less comfortable with being visible or out in the world. I suspect many people will want to get away from social media, reevaluate the way that we use social media, and maybe even spend more time at home (or have to, for one reason or another).
Fire is the element that brings friction, activity, and visibility to the world. Leo is a fixed fire sign that is ruled by the sun — its warmth and luminosity is steady, unwavering, seemingly inextinguishably; it is the light that never goes out. Leo illuminates. It warms every room it enters. It clarifies what is unclear and brightens what is dark. The sun is also associated with the eye (usually the right eye); the tie to vision is strong.
While retrograde, all of these things may feel more uncertain or up for review. Things may feel darker because this time period is one of inner light, inner fight, personal vigor kept private, our internal guiding lights. Gentle flame > roaring fire. Some of us need more darkness in order to balance out the brightness of all the screens and all the flashy advertisements. In a literal sense, bright lights may be exhausting during this time, especially if one’s inner light is feeling weak; maybe you literally need close your eyes or sit in the dark more often. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, we’re re-evaluating our relationship to light.
Leo can too easily make light of their pain, finishing up a moment of vulnerability with a laugh or a “but everything’s great!” and never letting others see that they are truly aching and in need support and care.
[…]
It’s warm in the spotlight and then it’s awfully cold backstage.
Leo can sometimes be too attached to lightness, always wanting to make light of every situation, bring hope and inspiration to dark places and heavy hearts, spotlight others’ great qualities and accomplishments, and ‘save’ anyone in trouble. It feels good to be loved by a Leo; they often genuinely just want to make life better and will do a lot for the people they love. But Leo can take their connection to light too far, forever avoiding the darker, heavy parts of life until those parts have consumed them, or trying to ‘save’ someone from their own heavy heart, forcing them into (faux) positivity before they’re ready. Leo can live life searching for spotlights of recognition and validation big and small, hoping that something or someone will make the growling reality of our human mortality quieter, or quiet the gnawing burn of the innate internal human darkness that the world shames all of us for having. Leo can too easily make light of their pain, finishing up a moment of vulnerability with a laugh or a “but everything’s great!” and never letting others see that they are truly aching and in need support and care. They can appear to be inhumanly glistening, golden and joyous all the time to the point that other people struggle to relate.
It’s warm in the spotlight and then it’s awfully cold backstage.
This Mars retrograde will emphasize this. It will bring the darker dimensions of Leo out — hierarchy, untouchability, overconfidence, ego, deep insecurity, judgment, bending over backwards in hopes of being ‘liked,’ intense anger and even bitterness, fear of being seen in one’s wholeness (the good and the bad), concepts of royalty and celebrity, and the hidden shards of broken glass inside that golden heart. Mars retrograde in Leo brings us backstage, and back there, it can be cold and dark.
But during this time we are also seeking fiery, solar clarity, contemplating our inextinguishable desires (what can’t you let go of? do you want to?), and reconsidering what we authentically want to do — not what we are “supposed” to do or are expected to do by society, but what actually lights us up and makes us want to live. This is a time of returning to expression for the sake of expression - not for approval, validation, love, or any result, but for the pure sake of expression. Doesn’t that feel good enough on its own? Give it a taste. What would you do if no one was watching? What would you say if nothing you said could threaten your validity or how lovable you are as a human being?
Leo is associated with the heart. Mars in Leo acts from the heart, fights from the heart, fucks from the heart, and wants to live because the heart wants to keep beating. Literally and figuratively, both the heart and Leo are the steady, reliable pump that keeps the life flowing through us. It is warm and active. It has a forcefield all its own, an electromagnetic aura that pulses with each beat of the heart. Leo is a powerful, influential sign, and it is alive. What makes you want to actually live while you can? Is that thing part of your life? Mars in Leo is incredible at keeping the beat going no matter how dire the moment of reality, and keeping the lights turned on no matter how dismal things look. During this first month of Mars retrograde, we will be considering what keeps our fire lit, what we’re passionate about, and what makes us want to live. WHAT FUELS YOU? That is the big question of Mars retrograde.
And finally, Leo’s symbol is the Lion, but Leo’s animalistic qualities are rarely represented in descriptions of Leo. This makes sense: the sun, Leo’s ruler, has traditionally been associated with intellect and even godliness and that seems antithetical to what we see as animal nature in the (colonized, whitewashed and utterly fucked) modern world that fancies itself so separate from “nature,” who has created the separative nature of the word “nature” to begin with. But it’s unavoidable: Leo is also a Lion. It’s an animal. At its best it’s raw, passionate, and embodied. Eating a rare steak with your hands, growling in bed, glowing from the inside out, drinking water from your human hands. This period of time can also be a time to reconnect to our inner animal, and to our most primal desires.
Practical remediation for Mars retrograde in Leo (how to make the best of this time)
All planets just want a way to express themselves. When we’re faced with a potentially challenging transit like Mars retrograde, we can intentionally do things to help Mars to express itself positively. If you’re able to give Mars retrograde in Leo a pleasant way to show up, it may not feel the need to show up in a more negative way. This is called remediation. I like to be relatively practical but also creative with how I approach remediation. Here are some ideas:
☆ Be mindful of your/others' energy levels
☆ Resolve old conflicts
☆ Find the right balance of warmth/light and cold/darkness - spend time in both. I mean this literally and figuratively.
☆ Move slower, reevaluate, be patient
☆ Return to a hobby, game or sport that you haven't done in a long time. A personal example: the last Mars retrograde had the potential to be quite challenging for me, so I spent those months playing video games I played when I was a kid (Pokemon Stadium and Mario 64, to be specific), got roller-skates for the first time since childhood, and reconnected with my siblings.
☆ Eat solar foods & herbs like citrus fruits, chamomile, rosemary, saffron, chrysanthemum, etc. If you are feeling an overabundance of Martial energy right now, citrus, chamomile, and chrysanthemum may be particularly good, as they are also cooling per TCM, and we are looking to balance the flame right now. Of course, I am not a doctor and take no responsibility for your choices; make sure any herbs or foods are safe before use.
☆ Wear gold/orange/ yellow with black. Again, strike a balance between the warmth of Mars & Leo and the cold and dark.
☆ Keep carnations, sunflowers, marigolds (solar flowers; keep the sun going)
☆ Tend to your heart - what does it need?
☆ Heart-opening visualizations
☆ Upper back massages (Leo is associated with the upper back & spine)
☆ Handle conflict slowly + gently (Mars moves slow while retrograde)
☆ Revisit abandoned plans / reformulate these plans with the long-term goals in mind (no impulsivity)
☆ Slow, animalistic, experimental sex
☆ Get some gentle exercise (bonus points for returning to a form of exercise you haven't done in a while)
☆ Rest more
Next, below the cut you’ll find:
☆ What each sign may be feeling during Mars retrograde in Leo
☆ An extensive list of remediation suggestions specific to each sign to help you improve your experience of the next month
☆ General reflective questions for us all to consider or journal/talk about during this time.