August 20th—Mars enters Gemini on Saturday, August 20th. Normally, Mars charges through a sign in six weeks, cycling around the entire zodiac in two years. Because of his retrograde beginning the end of October, he will inhabit the sign of Gemini for seven months! If we don’t already understand the Gemini part of our charts, we will by the end of March when Mars finally packs up and moves on to Cancer.
Mars, the planet of action and assertion, brings focus, muscle and sweat to whatever house he occupies. This is a time when we’ll roll up our sleeves to pour energy into the topics of our Gemini house.
This can also be a time where we encounter frustration, tension and instability. For instance, with Gemini transiting the 6th House, Capricorn Risings might be motivated to pour extra time into their work or a special project; yet the overload could result in the frustration of having to deal with illness, injury or upset with co-workers. With Mars touring the 2nd House for Taurus Risings, money could be flying in, flying out, or both. Taurus should be cautious of overspending during this time. With their 4th House activated by Mars, Pisces Risings might be moving, renovating or dealing with tension in their home environment.
Mars can be useful in setting goals and then achieving them. I like to think of Mars as Popeye downing a can of spinach to power-up tasmanian devil style as he faces off with Bluto. We may not have a Bluto in our lives, but we can use Mars the next seven months to face challenges while we self-advocate and address long standing issues we just haven’t had the bandwidth for. Whether that’s making ourselves commit to an exercise routine (Gemini Rising – careful not to injure yourself!) or addressing trauma and repressed anger with a therapist (Scorpio Rising), there’s one area of life we’ll be stimulated to address.
Where is Gemini in your chart?
- Aries Rising: 3rd House
- Taurus Rising: 2nd House
- Gemini Rising: 1st House
- Cancer Rising: 12th House
- Leo Rising: 11th House
- Virgo Rising: 10th House
- Libra Rising: 9th House
- Scorpio Rising: 8th House
- Sagittarius Rising: 7th House
- Capricorn Rising: 6th House
- Aquarius Rising: 5th House
- Pisces Rising: 4th House
Find your rising sign to see what house will host Mars the next seven months. Locate the house using the numbers in the inner wheel of the image. The topics associated with that house will more than likely be an area of focus while Mars is in Gemini.
Dates
- Aug 20—Mars enters Gemini
- Oct 30—Mars turns retrograde at 25° GEM 36’
- Jan 12—Mars stations direct at 8° GEM 9’
- Mar 25—Mars enters Cancer
Technical bits
- If you have Gemini on an angle—1st, 4th, 7th or 10th House—Mars through Gemini will impact you more strongly.
- Likewise, if Mars is your Time Lord or if Gemini is your profected house, this transit will be significant.
- If your Sun or Moon (especially your sect light) are in mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces), this will be an important time.
- Finally, if natal Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn are in mutable signs, as transiting Mars conjuncts or squares the(se) planet(s), it will tensely trigger not only the topics of the planet, but of the houses it(they) rule.
Mars in an Air Sign
Mars in Gemini is cerebral, good at wordplay, and can be high strung. More than any other placement, Mars in mutable air can disseminate their opponent with words. If Mars in Gemini was a show, it would be Deadwood. This is a strategic placement for journalists, those involved in social justice, lawyers, and anyone who uses language to defend, fortify and dissect.
For the rest of us, we’ll want to be cautious with our communication as we focus on how we’d like to respond rather than reacting from our reptilian brain. As Mars fences through Gemini, we’d be wise to watch our thoughts and ground our bodies as Mars can agitate mental processes making us feel uncomfortably wired. On the other hand, Mars in Gemini can give our communication a kind of candid precision, helping us nail our message mightily on the head while putting ideas into action.
Lastly, since Mercury will be hosting Mars in its diurnal domicile of Gemini, we’ll have several different versions of Mars as Mercury changes signs and dignity. Mercury will go through two retrogrades and seven sign changes while hosting Mars in Gemini! The “healthier” Mercury is, the more it can provide for its guest Mars.
TLDR?
If this was a Western, there’s a stranger riding to town named Mars that’s getting ready to rile up at least one business. Truth be told, that business has needed a shakedown for some time. So the stranger is actually doing the town a favor. That’s not to say there won’t be bloodshed or a few tear-soaked handkerchiefs.
Take a look at the pie chart above to find what business the stranger will be exasperating in your life. Preparation is the best strategy. We can use the energy of Mars to activate some much needed improvements in our lives with hopefully a lot of healthy sweat and minimal tears.
Images from Chris Brennan’s Twitter account (chart), The High Road Design, and Flaticon.