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By Katya Faris, M.A.
Video: Mars Retrograde During September 2020
On September 9th, 2020 at 6:22 pm EDT Mars goes retrograde at exactly 4 degrees of Aries, Ashwini nakshatra and will go direct on November 13th. He has been conjunct with Uranus since entering the sign of Aries on August 16th, and this brings sudden and explosive events. Mars will be retrograde until November 13th and will go back into the sign of Pisces on October 4th. Having him in his own sign of Aries means he is aspecting Sagittarius now, and having Jupiter, Pluto and Ketu there until September 19th means that for Washington DC news and media organizations are on the attack towards political leaders; there is aggressive speech, and there will be talk of the downfall of spiritual and political leaders that do not represent what American communities want. The truth will be revealed as to what the government is thinking, and there will be a lot of confusion surrounding government affairs. People of marginalized classes will be against the state and can attack from behind in the dark of night when no one sees them. Aries is ruled by Mars, and Ketu rules Ashwini, so these two planets are the most important while he is in Aries. When Mars goes into Pisces, Revati nakshatra, it will be the planets Jupiter and Mercury that are highlighted at that time.
Mars Retrograde in Aries Through the Nakshatras
Aries, Ashwini: September 9th-October 4th, 2020
Ashwini nakshatra is ruled by the Ashwini Kumars, horse headed twins who were the physicians to the gods, so during this time there will be a race for a vaccination cure to the COVID-10 pandemic. Sudden and violent fires can be seen when Mars is retrograde in Ashwini, and indeed California is burning worse than in prior years; there could be a larger amount of deaths of horses during these fires. Mars is in the state’s 2nd house of money, speech, traditions, and blood relatives conjunct their Pluto retrograde and Uranus retrograde, so this time that it is retrograde will prove to be the worst yet for the fire taking sudden new directions, and more deaths. Mars is in the US chart’s 5th house of education, and so having it retrograde will really slow down the schools right now because of the pandemic, and a lot of them will close and go fully online. Mars will be in Portland, Oregon’s 1st house from the Moon, so while he is retrograde the protests will probably continue; all over Oregon and Washington state they have had horrible sudden wildfires, as well. Mars is in Washington and Oregon state’s 11th house from their Moon, so sudden radical changes in their communities is how this is getting expressed.
1) September 9th-October 14th-Mars Retrograde & Gandanta in Aries/Pisces
While Mars is in Aries, he will be giving his 4th and strongest aspect to Venus in Cancer until she goes into Leo on the 24th. This makes passions run high, and having Uranus retrograde with Mars means that we must be careful of accidents at this time. Having Venus opposed to Saturn retrograde means that it is not a good time for romance.
2) September 13th-Jupiter Goes Direct
Jupiter in the fire sign of Sagittarius goes direct, and he is still conjunct Pluto retrograde, and Ketu who is gandanta. This is some heavy transformative energy and is setting the stage for the nodal sign change on the 19th. Mars will be energized by this transit, and could expand the hostile energy, or could bring us some much-needed good luck.
3) September 17th-Sun Goes Into Virgo
The Sun goes into the Earth sign of Virgo and joins Mercury. He will be trining Saturn retrograde in Capricorn, so this will bring some stability and assistance to the government, especially concerning the current health pandemic. Rahu will go into Taurus in two days, so this shows that the coming 18 ½ months will be all about the government and the pandemic.
4) September 17th, 7:00am-New Moon: 1 degree Virgo, Uttara Phalguni
The Star of Patronage, Denebola and Zavijava
The September 17th, 2020 New Moon takes place at exactly 7am EDT at 0 degrees 52 minutes of Virgo, Uttara Phalguni nakshatra. This means “the later reddish one” and spans from 26.4 degrees of Leo to 10 degrees of Virgo. The symbol is a bed with four legs, or a hammock, and the deity that rules this lunar mansion is Aryaman, one of the Aditiyas, who rules patronage, kindness, and favors; the deities Bhaga and Aryaman are invoked together. This is the “Star of Patronage” and corresponds to the fixed star Denebola, which sits in the Lion’s tail of the Leo constellation. It is noble, generous, gives a quick mind and high honors, but can be associated with people of bad reputation. Virgo is ruled by Mercury, and Uttara Phalguni is ruled by the Sun, so that makes these two transit planets the stars of this New Moon. In Persian astrology Denebola is ruled by Saturn and Venus.
It is also the end of Pitru Paksha, or the Fortnight of the Ancestors. Shradh or Pitru Paksha is a period of 16 days when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors, especially through food offerings. According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that after death soul has to wander in the various worlds. Therefore, Pitru Paksha is an occasion to pacify the departed ancestors by performing Shradh. It is a ritual to repay debts to the ancestors.
This year, Pitru Paksha commenced on the Full Moon, September 2, 2020, on Bhadrapada Purnima and culminates on the New Moon, September 17, 2020. The last day of Pitru Paksha is known as Sarvapitri Amavasya or Mahalaya Amavasya. Mahalaya Amavasya is the most significant day of Pitru Paksha.
5) September 19th-Rahu Goes Into Taurus, and Ketu Goes Into Scorpio
Rahu will transit to Taurus, an earthy and fixed sign of material wealth, and ruled by Venus. Taurus signifies the things we value in life- family, money, speech, and material assets. Being ruled by the bull, Taurus is the storehouse of procreative energy. Rahu, which is all about extravagance, material wealth, and mass communication, complements Taurus’ qualities. Even though it is debated, some ancient texts say that Rahu gets exalted in the sign Taurus. Rahu in Taurus also feels stable and can give wealth and material comforts as the earthy Taurus can support it.
When Rahu is in Taurus, Ketu will be in Scorpio, a watery and fixed sign of secrets, mysteries, and transformation, and ruled by Mars. Scorpio is related to the hidden aspects of life, occult sciences, and transformation. Ketu is all about deep understanding, the true essence of your higher self, and embracing spiritual wealth. Ketu in Scorpio has the potency to get exalted and feels comfortable revealing spiritual secrets and understanding the deeper meaning behind spiritual practices. This transit of Ketu in Scorpio helps make use of knowledge acquired through the years to transform your life better. Scorpio also rules drug, so both illicit and pharmaceutical drug will be highlighted and could be a problem, particularly with escapism.
6) September 24th-October 1st-Venus Gandanta in Cancer/Leo
We will feel very nostalgic and weepy when Venus goes gandanta in Cancer, and Mars will be making his 4thand strongest aspect to her now. This will produce high passions, pushing people to fight it out and then make up. When Venus goes into Leo gandanta she will be making a trine to Mars, and we will feel a need to socialize and show off a bit, as we have been under quarantine and need to get out and party.
7) September 28th-Venus Goes Into Leo
Now Mars will be trining Venus and this will put energy into socializing, spending money on ourselves, and will help our strength in general. Doing exercise that is performance-based now is a great way to channel this energy; sports, dancing, yoga or martial arts that are done by a group is a fantastic direction to harness this fire element in our bodies.
8) September 29th-Saturn Goes Direct, 1-degree Capricorn, Uttara Ashada
After six months Saturn, or Shani graha, goes from retrograde motion to direct, and he will stay direct for 6 months before repeating the pattern. He moves slow, and can bring delays, frustrations, impatience and make us work hard to achieve our goals. Shani rules time, so when he stations direct it can often feel like Mercury retrograde, as he affects all machinery that calculates time, such as our computers, phones, and watches. If things go wonky a week ahead of time up to a week after this date, then you know its Shani dev just turning around. Soon Jupiter will go into Capricorn on November 20th and then they will have a conjunction on December 20th, which will produce massive change in society. On October 4th Saturn will make his strongest 3rd aspect to Mars who will be in Pisces then. This produces a lot of frustration in getting things done, but with persistence you can succeed with this combination.
Pisces, Revati: October 4th December 24th, 2020
Mars goes Direct November 13th, so he will be in the sign of Pisces, Revati nakshatra, for 5 and a half weeks. Saturn will be making is 3rd aspect to him at this time, so this creates a push-pull kind of energy that can cause delays and frustrations. So, basically from October until Christmas Mars will be in Pisces, the sign of giving and the martyr, so maybe this year the holidays may mean more to us as this year has been challenging on every level. Each month I will give a forecast for how Mars is impacting us and interacting with the other transits, so stay tuned!
Mars Direct, November 13th, 2020, 7:36pm EST
