Mars is called Kuja, as he is the son of the Earth/Pruthvi. Once Bhagwan Shiv was dancing the Tandav of destruction and a drop of his sweat fell on the Earth which was transformed into a warrior, Mars. His other name is Mangal, the auspicious. 

In the current year 2020, he is going to be retrograde for 66 days. Mars goes retrograde every 2yrs 2mths. In this, his slowed down,  stationary, retrograde, stationary, forward slow and regular forward again motion takes about 5-6months to complete. (There are 8 types of planetary movements which I have listed out in this post here.)

• Mars has slowed down from 25^th Jul in Pisces.
• Entered Aries on 16 Aug.
• Retrograde in Aries on 9^th Sept
• Enter Pisces on 4^th Oct.
• Forward in Pisces on 14^th Nov
• Enter Aries on 24^th Dec.
• Start moving at his regular speed from 2^nd Jan 2021 in Aries.

In this about 5-6 month period he is going to be moving very slowly, first retrograde and then forward grinding into Pisces 21-30 deg and Aries 0-3deg. A retrograde planet releases tremendous amounts of energy into the sign/ nakshatra/ degree that he occupies. A planet becomes stronger when he goes retrograde. The energies are turned inwards ie not expressed outwards as they generally are. Mars is the energy of life and death. He is vitality, the will to live, confidence, boldness, aggression and competition. When Mars is retrograde, these qualities are not expressed in a healthy manner outwards but tend to move inwards and cause psychological and physical issues if imbalanced.

Here are the predictions in a nutshell.

Mars, indicates the ‘passion’ in your life. He is all about how you express yourself. Eg he will tell you how you respond to anger in others, how angry you get and how you at when you get angry. Be careful when Saturn aspects this retrograde Mars, you might express your emotions in an inappropriate manner causing problems for yourself later. There might be events where you face physical/ verbal strife, treachery, back-biting, etc. The ability to discriminate and take decisions will be affected, so expect confusions, few wrong decisions or losses. And health will be affected in some way or the other.

The general effect of this Mars retrograde will be more seen on people who have their birth Moon or ascendant sign in Aries, Scorpio (owns these), Cancer, Leo (yogkarak for these). Also Pisces will be affected when Mars actually moves into it. Those with their birth moon in Mruga, Chitra and Dhanishtha nakshatras should also take due care. If you are going through a major or sub-period of Mars as per the Vimshottari dasha you will feel the effects of this retrograde more intensely.

On a general note, expect the economic collapse to continue. Goods connected to fire and energy, like petroleum, LPG etc can increase in price. Industrial accidents, fires, explosions are possible. Communal violence or riot like situations will be seen. Several nations will see border related tensions. The global health issue will not see much relief as inappropriate medicines etc will be administered. Weather will be uncertain as monsoons will extend and the winter too will be colder than usual. This will affect agriculture and large tracts of lands will see hunger/ famine. Especially those nations which saw the June 21st solar eclipse should be careful as Nature will not be kind to them. 

If you have a Retrograde Mars at birth, you are generally unable to express your aggression, rage, dominating nature, competitive nature, sexual desires, passion, deepest emotions/ wishes etc in a healthy way, always. Instead you brood, are shy, introverted, these emotions twist and turn inwards suffocating you. You have little or no initiative in the aspects of your life controlled by Mars. So try to take active measures to work with the energy of this planet for your benefit. (Fine tune these results depending on the keywords of the sign and house occupied by Mars)

So in the current Mars retrograde, expect an internalisation of this sort to happen for everyone. The vitality that Mars represents moves inwards, making this more a time for internal work. But not everyone can introspect so there will be confusion. Retrograde Mars will unravel some things going on in your life and make you revise, redo, review his lessons in these few zodiac degrees in the coming times very thoroughly. These degrees are also the Gandant, the weak link in the zodiac, a junction between the watery-fiery signs. This particular degrees zone is also the end-beginning of the entire zodiac so this Mars retrograde is more intense and will affect everyone on some level or the other.

During this period, Saturn is retrograde (post here) in Capricorn so will aspect Mars when in Pisces (Saturn’s 3^rd aspect), this is not a good aspect and it will aggravate Mars. Also Jupiter is retrograde (post here) and then forward in Sagittarius, so he will aspect Mars when he is in Aries (Jupiter’s 5^th aspect). This will tone down Mars’s harshness for this brief time at least. So remember to factor in these effects on Mars when you analyse. The three outer planets are all retrograde together for some time.

In fact this year 2020, (or even the Vedic Shri Sharvari naam samvatsara) has seen all the 5 planets going retrograde and the humungous eclipses saw the true nodes, Rahu and Ketu going forward. A weird year. (Generally in a year, Mercury will be in retrogression three times. Each time this will be for 19 to 24 days. Venus goes retrograde every 1.5yrs for a few days. Mars goes retrograde every 2yrs 2mths. Jupiter retrogrades every year for around 120 days. Saturn retrogrades every year for around 140 days. When you see any planet placed 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th from the Sun in your chart, they will be in the retrograde mode. The true nodes go in the forward motion around eclipses.)

 

Mars is about expressing yourself, more on the physical levels. Your hidden potential is brought out by the heat of Mars. And when something new sprouts, there is always some resistance. But Mars loves challenges and helps break your limits and reach into new stuff, so though there may be some trouble it is ultimately for your own growth. So try to work with Mars’s transits in this spirit.

In general, Mars in transit gives unpleasant results when he transits over your birth Moon sign and the signs 2^nd 4^th 5^th 7^th 8^th 9^th 10^th and 12^th counted from the birth Moon sign. The results vary from arguments with others, losses, confusions, accidents to health related issues depending on the keywords of that sign/ house. He is a natural malefic, a kroor-graha, ie a cruel force in life. If you are under an adverse transit of Mars, be prepared for issues cropping up and use his energy to intelligently overcome them. Mars is strife, so like it or not you will be required to be defend these parts of your life. 

He gives favourable results when he transits the 3^rd 6^th and 11^th signs from the birth Moon sign. A malefic, he is best in the three upchaya houses as then he destroys enemies, gives the necessary courage to face upto the problems of life and the necessary vitality which to seize opportunities for gains. If Mars is in a favourable transit for your birth Moon sign then make use of this unprecedented opportunity of the upcoming retrograde.

To analyse how this retrograde Mars transit will be for you, find out if Mars is a benefic or malefic for your ascendant sign (post here). A benefic Mars generally will add physical strength, confidence, vitality etc to the aspects of life he controls in your chart. A benefic Mars going retrograde can give you some long term benefit in this period, but results will be visible after Dec 2020. In fact if any of you are into spiritual practice, then this period will benefit as Mars controls the nadi and the movement of pran within them. A malefic Mars will give violent behaviour, sudden changes, etc in the houses he is placed in, and also create lack of confidence in the things that he signifies in your chart. In this case you should be careful during his upcoming retrograde. Also avoid adventure sports, risky activities including swimming in unfamiliar water bodies.

Then locate where the Pisces and Aries signs lie in your birth chart. Eg if Pisces is your 6^th house, you might find your heath affected by ‘internal heat’, boils, hair-loss, digestion related issues etc can pop up, office work might get on an over-load as demands for service increase etc. But you will be able to cope. Eg if Aries is your 10^th house your father may fall ill, there may be trouble in your office etc.

Mars is going retrograde in first in Ashvini and then in Revati nakshatra.

Ashvini is the start of the zodiac. So its keywords are spontaneity, beginnings, power, courage, vitality, alertness, leadership, sensitivity, help, truth, health and healing. It has a straightforward nature, light-hearted, adventurous and active. It is ruled by the twin physicians of the demi-gods, the Ashvini-kumar and is linked to the energies of Ketu. When retrograde Mars occupies Ashvini, he will distort the expression of all these qualities. eg he can make it rash and impulsive, it does not learn from past mistakes, stubbornness can increase, lashing out in anger is possible. So if you have to start any new project during this period take all precautions and recheck everything before you do so. Health may be an issue and wrong medication possible. Losses in business are possible and interpersonal relations will show strain. Ashvini is linked to transport, movement, medicine, trade etc so these areas may suffer generally. 

Revati is the last nakshatra of the zodiac and ruled by Pushan. It is also linked to Mercury. The keywords of this lunar mansion are completion, satisfaction, nourishing, light, assimilation, awareness, collective, messages, travel, wealth, luck, pleasure, optimism, beliefs, imagination, etc. So a retrograde Mars in such a sensitive Naksahtra can cause issues like lack of support, interference in business, loss of wealth, jealousy, misunderstandings, betrayals, exhaustion, hurts, getting caught in others problems, getting caught in illusions, inability to comprehend the bigger picture, passions triggered by rigid beliefs, etc. All these things will lead to physical action as it is Mars involved. Mars always indicates action and his emotional/ psychological effects are also in some way connected to ‘action’. Eg there might be communal riots as misplaced beliefs and intolerance leads to impulsive and rash ‘action’.

And for your personal reading you can open your Janma Navtara chakra (this post) and locate Ashvini and Revati in it. Whatever these Nakshatra stand for in your chart, you will see extra energy in these aspects of life.

eg If your birth Moon Nakshatra is Uttarabhadrapada then this is your Janma nav tara chart,

Tara	Nakshatra count			Ruler
Janma	U.Bhadrapada	Pushya	Anuradha	Saturn
Sampat	Revati	Ashleysha	Jeyshtha	Mercury
Vipat	Ashvini	Magha	Mula	Ketu
Kshema	Bharani	P.phalguni	P.ashadha	Venus
Pratyari	Krutika	U.phalguni	U.ashadha	Sun
Sadhaka	Rohini	Hasta	Sharavan	Moon
Naidhana	Mruga	Chitra	Dhanishtha	Mars
Mitra	Aradra	Swati	Shatataraka	Rahu
Ati mitra	Punarvasu	Vishakha	P.bhadrapada	Jupiter

A general interpretation would be like this. Revati is a Sampat tara for you so while Mars transits Revati (Pisces sign) his results will be favourable overall for you. There might be some opportunities which if you can pick up will give gains after Dec 2020. Retrograde planets teach patience as gains are delayed. Ashvini is a Vipat Tara so Mars when transiting Ashvini can create challenging situations in your life. You may feel stressed out, tired, etc  as vitality is affected. Again you are required to be patient, keep your mind cool and try to cope with what will come. The exact situations which will cause stresses must be seen from what Mars stands for in your individual horoscope.

For remedies, check the index page or use the search bar, I have written about remedies in several posts. The easiest remedy would be lighting a sesame oil lamp on Tuesdays and reciting the Mangal Beej mantra ‘Om kraang kreeng karung sah Mangalaya namah’. Doing regular puja of your favourite deity or family deity will also help.

There are several ways of analysing transits. You can try using the Ashtapadmadala chakra (post here) or the Ashtakvarga chart (post here) if you wish. These two methods give quite accurate readings so advanced students can try this for practice. These retrograde periods are a good learning experience, observe yourself and those around you to see how the planet performs.