Rose's Astro Academy | An Astrology Podcast

E08 Why it Matters that Mars Just Entered Cancer

September 09, 2024 • Rose Potts • Episode 8

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In this episode of Rose’s Astro Academy, we take a closer look at Mars in Cancer—a significant transit that will influence us for the better part of the next eight months. We’ll discuss how Mars, a planet known for its assertiveness and drive, feels when it’s in its fall, clashing with Cancer’s nurturing and protective energy. We also break down the retrograde cycle and what it means for revisiting and reworking the patterns that are coming up with this transit. Key themes include family strife, a dip in motivation, and the urge to protect what’s vulnerable. 

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Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to episode 8 of Rose's Astro Academy, where we demystify the system of astrology piece by piece. This week, for our transit topic, we're going to take a look at Mars in Cancer. Mars entered Cancer last week, on September 4th, and will be in Cancer for quite a while. So it's worth taking a look at because this is an energy that's going to be having an influence on us for about six of the next eight months. Mars will stay in Cancer until November 4th when it moves into Leo, but then Mars will turn retrograde and re-enter Cancer at the beginning of January and finally leaves Cancer in mid-April. So Mars is in Cancer for September and October, then we'll have a break for November and December and then Mars is in Cancer again from January until April. Mars typically spends about two months per sign. So this six-month transit in a sign for Mars is a big deal.

Speaker 1:

First, let's review what we're talking about when a planet is occupying a sign. When a planet is in a sign, the archetypal energies, significations and themes of that planet are getting blended with the archetypal energies, significations and themes of that sign. That's the base level that we need to understand. There is more going on, like what the ruler of that sign is doing and saying, but at its basic level, when we're talking about planets and signs and planets changing signs, it's like their archetypal energy is getting a new spin and then we're going to see that manifesting in our lives in a different way. So when we understand what new archetypal hat Mars is putting on, that can help us flow with and make sense of these changes. Mars is signified by the god Ares, the god of war, and Mars rules conflict and strife. And Mars rules conflict and strife. Assertiveness, courage, dominance, hostility. Mars is the warrior, the fighter, the energy in us that takes action, asserts ourselves dynamically, pursues our goals and has the courage to fight through the obstacles that stand in our way.

Speaker 1:

Now let's take a look at something called the qualities. These are the four qualities of hot, cold, wet and dry, and this is a helpful way of thinking about combinations of planets and signs and how they might influence one another. Mars, on the list of qualities, was said to be excessively hot and dry, and cancer, as a sign, is said to be cold and wet. So we can see here that the natures of Mars and cancer are very opposite one another. What happens when something that is excessively hot and dry, finds itself in a place that is cold and wet, well, it loses the oomph of its archetypal qualities. It's like this Say you're excited to spend a day at the beach, it's the height of summer and you want to suntan on the beach all day and you're really looking forward to this day where it's like so hot that the sand is scorching the bottom of your feet. But when you get there, the clouds have rolled in and it's spitting rain and the sand is all wet and soggy. That's kind of the vibe when Mars goes into Cancer. These Mars qualities of action and assertion and dynamically pursuing our goals with courage, they get kind of waterlogged and mellowed out and cooled off. Mars isn't super happy in the sign of Cancer. In fact it was said to be in its fall. Now this is more or less another way of saying what I just said, that the archetypal qualities are at odds with one another. Another way to look at this is planets in their fall are dealt a bad hand and they have to rise up from their fallen state. So it's not altogether bad for a planet to be in the sign of its fall, but it tells a story of overcoming some big obstacles or defeats. Now the other thing that's important is the retrograde that Mars will have in Cancer. The Cancer retrograde goes from January to the end of February.

Speaker 1:

When a planet retrogrades back and forth over a place, like it's going to be doing, there's a process playing out. The planet is taking multiple passes at this area of our chart, which represents an area of our lives, and during the initial pass we get to see what's not working, especially with a planet in its fall. It's very likely that shit is hitting the fan on the first pass through Pardon my French. Then the retrograde motion is like an opportunity for us to revisit what's not working and do better this time. The final pass after the retrograde is like yet another opportunity to do things better. It's a learning process, a process of gradual revision and refining. Other keywords for retrogrades would be revisiting, re-evaluating, reviewing things like that.

Speaker 1:

Retrogrades also give a great opportunity for the disruption of a normal pattern. So right now, as we have our first pass at Mars in Cancer from September to October, those patterns are really being highlighted and we're going to talk more about what specific patterns we might be seeing. But then, when the retrograde goes through, it's a great opportunity for us to rework those patterns. During a retrograde, the normal forward motion of a planet gets disrupted. It looks like the planet is moving backwards in the sky. When Mars is in Leo for November and December I kind of see this as like a period of rest for Mars, where Mars can feel more at home, expressing its archetypal qualities as normal In the four qualities we were talking about hot, cold, wet and dry. Leo is also hot and dry, the same as Mars, so Mars feels a lot more at home and in its natural expression and sense of power when he's in Leo versus Cancer. So what are some significations and themes that we can watch for with Mars and Cancer?

Speaker 1:

Strife in the home and family is a big one. Last week, all of a sudden, when Mars moved into Cancer, I had some big events happen in my family. I'm talking big seismic shifts with trouble and strife at the forefront, and that's really no surprise when Mars goes into Cancer. Another example from my personal life would be my upstairs. Neighbors are doing renovations and they're drilling all day, it seems, and whenever they're not drilling they're like playing loud music, because you know what do you do when you're working and doing renovations? You're playing loud music. So it's another example of strife in the home.

Speaker 1:

It can look a lot of different ways. Cancer is so much about one's home life, one's family, one's roots, the place where we seek nourishment. So Mars, the planet of strife and hostility and unrest, moving into its fall in a sign that has so much to do with home and family. This combination is so much about family drama, family upheaval, family conflicts, health problems, coming up with relatives or, in my case, maybe your neighbors are doing construction and it's a bit disruptive and annoying. It can look a lot of different ways. Another theme which I touched on already is how Mars rules our ambition, motivation and drive and really rules the sense of confidence we feel when we're able to work through something. But with Mars in the sign of its fall, it might feel like all of a sudden that willpower is just gone, that drive is gone, that ambition is gone or our sense of confidence is gone. It's like the warrior energy in us is waterlogged, bogged down or just said you know what? I'm done fighting, I'm done pushing and persevering. I need a staycation. I'm just going to lay in my bed in my PJs, on my heat mat and read my book, book which is a very cancer energy to just want to be at home and all cozy, but remember a planet in its fall is more about a story playing out of I'm in a place that feels uncomfortable, and it might feel uncomfortable for a while, but eventually I will rise up and overcome that. And now, with the retrograde motion and the back and forth and the moving into Leo and moving out, we have a very good timeline for how that story looks like as it's playing out. Overcoming is such a Mars in Cancer situation too, because you have Mars, the warrior, the hero, in the place of its fall. So what does a warrior or hero do when they're dealt a bad hand or face difficult circumstances? They rise up and overcome it.

Speaker 1:

I was listening to another astrology podcast, nightlight Astrology, adam Ellenbos. Many of you, if you listen to astrology podcasts, you probably have come across this one. It's a great one. Go check it out. He was talking about Mars and cancer and he said something that really stuck with me. He said that a lot of athletes that have Mars and cancer they have this story of when they were young they were really scrawny and weak and got picked on for being weak. So they got really into sports and got and got picked on for being weak. So they got really into sports and got really strong, almost as a way to compensate for their initial weakness.

Speaker 1:

So that's a very mars in cancer storyline the story of initial feelings of ineptitude, of not having what it takes to face that difficult task, of being too weak, too afraid, afraid, etc. But then it's the story of overcoming that, the warrior rising up and, with Mars' long stay in Cancer and the retrograde process playing out, the chance to break patterns and do things over and do them differently. To me that doubles down on the storyline of overcoming. So don't be surprised if, starting last week and over the next few weeks, you're really coming face to face with those patterns. Where in your life are you feeling inept, not strong enough, not capable enough to face the task at hand? Looking at the whole sign house where cancer falls in your chart can really help to clarify that as well. In November, when Mars moves into Leo, we're going to shift into a much more empowered energy and then, when Mars re-enters cancer in January, we're going to have a chance to revisit that place where maybe we're feeling inept and we're going to have a chance to prove ourselves and rise up and this process will play out into April.

Speaker 1:

So another signification with Mars and Cancer is protecting the weak, protecting the vulnerable. We could see a lot of public discourse around women's rights, women's bodies and discourses around vulnerable populations and how do we protect or help those invulnerable populations. With the US elections coming up, women's rights, abortions those tend to be really hot topics that often get raised and really heated during election season. Another thing with Mars and Cancer, it's like the protective mama bear energy is coming out. So there's a lot of advocacy that takes place in the collective discourse, but also in our own lives. Where in our lives is there something soft and vulnerable that maybe needs to be advocated for or defended? We could be advocating on behalf of a family member or maybe some situation in our work, but maybe we're advocating in our relationships. Maybe we're advocating for kindness and nourishment in our relationships with others. With Mars and Cancer, we're really defending what we love and protecting the spaces and people that are safe and sacred to us. Cancer is ruled by the moon and has a lot to do with the sources where we receive nourishment. Mothers and mothering are also big themes emotional safety and security. So there's issues coming up with all of these areas right now, and especially mothers and mothering can be a big theme. Maybe you are a mother and you're having a hard time with it right now, or maybe your mom is going through some big things right now. Maybe both Remember.

Speaker 1:

With Mars's long stay in cancer and the retrograde, this is a process of revising things, of breaking patterns and forming new ones, of the warrior rising up against the odds. But right now, at the outset of this transit, the things that need to be worked on are really going to be getting highlighted. So these are some things to watch for with Mars in Cancer. Lastly, what I find really interesting is that Pluto just moved into Capricorn, which is the sign of Mars' exaltation and the place where Mars feels really empowered. And right before Mars moves into Leo on November 4th so this would be the 2nd and 3rd of November Mars is going to go through an opposition to that Pluto in the sign of its exaltation and then move into a much more empowered place in Leo for a brief break before revisiting its falling cancer. So I see this opposition to Pluto as like this empowering rite of passage moment for Mars and then a chance in January to do better with these destructive patterns or upheavals that are coming to the surface now. The opposition to Pluto is almost like the hero in a story being granted the sword of power that helps them to fight the monster. It's kind of like a very cliche example, but it's like we're being granted something by this opposition to Pluto and that something is very empowering. But we're going to revisit that transit more when we get closer to it in November.

Speaker 1:

But anyways, that's all I have for our transit talk this week. Stay tuned for our topic talk on Wednesday. I hope you enjoyed it and got something out of it. Feel free to send me your thoughts to rosesastroacademy at gmailcom. I always love to hear the specific ways these transits are showing up for others. I want this podcast to be a co-creative space, so if there's a topic in astrology that you would like me to talk about, please email it to rosesastroacademy at gmailcom.

Speaker 1:

New episodes air every Monday and Wednesday. If you want to book a reading with me, you can find out how to do that in the description or on my website, rosesastroacademycom, and you can follow along on my Instagram, rosesastroacademy. Finally, if you enjoyed this episode and you want to see this little seedling grow, you can help out by leaving a review of the podcast and sharing it with your astrology loving friends. Each and every review is so helpful in these early stages as it tells the algorithm. Hey, you know what? Maybe there's a little gem here that other people should be listening to as well. So I really, really appreciate every single review. Thank you so so much. Well, that's all I have for you. See you on Wednesday for a new episode.