It hasn’t taken long for something to shift! Mars entered Scorpio January 3, 2016 at 9:32 am EST, while all planets were in forward motion (none in retrograde). What the heck does that mean, though? I’m a visual learner and we’re about to take a year long journey discovering everything we can about the planets, our sun & moon and the zodiac together. I’m astro-curious and feel called to learn more about the influence these cosmic cousins have on Earth. Grab your Cosmic Calendar & follow along! Lets first just notice what these planets (at their simplest deduction, they are actual far more complex than this) are known for:

“Will this time be ripe for creating conflict?” Is my first thought, knowing how intense Scorpio can get. Mars travels through Scorpio until it transits into the next constellation in the Zodiac, Sagittarius, on March 5th,  just before the New Moon & Solar Eclipse on March 8th.

We get through the Spring Equinox and both eclipses that flank it humming right along through Sagittarius and then on April 17th, Mars goes retrograde in Sagittarius and stays retrograde for the next two and a half months. Which means it appears to us as if Mars is headed back to Scorpio…..along with three or four other planets also in retrograde during the Mars retrograde period.

Let’s pause for a moment and take a look at Mars from an astronomy perspective in 2016. Click the image, watch the two minute video and the come back here. I’ll wait patiently.

What I’m hearing is that Mars is going to be showing itself more than usual, looking bigger and bolder in the sky, with peak intensity on May 30th. Planets exert more intense energetic vibes at us the closer they appear, just like you can “feel” a person who is angry more intensely when they are next to you than across the street. We can look at this image above and see that Mars is growing bolder as it travels through Scorpio, then Sagittarius and is increasingly bolder as is slips into retrograde heading back to Scorpio, which it re-enters on May 27th, just before it’s peak closeness on May 30th.

Follow Mars path on your Cosmic Calendar: Mars continues to travel in retrograde motion through Scorpio until just after the Summer Solstice when it stops moving retrograde and stations direct on June 29th. That is: finally Mars is moving forward again, but still in Scorpio. Mars does not leave Scorpio until it re-enters Sagittarius again on the New Moon of August 2nd.

Let’s just chart this out again so you can visualize the transits underneath the boldness meter:

Click image to learn about the 2016 Mars show we will get from Earth. (Source Space.com)

So what we are seeing is that due to a retrograde phase, Mars hangs out for most of the year in Scorpio and Sagittarius, with it being at peak proximity in Scorpio while in a retrograde phase (the stars denote retrograde here). Curious. Also interesting is the timing of the remaining transits:

Mars moves into Capricorn on Sept 27th, a day after the Autumn Equinox:

Mars then moves into Aquarius on November 9th, the day after the US Elections. (Hoping that means a humanitarian win?)

And it’s final transition for the year is into Pieces on December 19th, two days before the Winter Solstice:

So now that we understand the overview of the Martian journey through 2016, we can begin to ponder what might emerge, but more than that, just pay attention and observe this year as we get to know how Mars expresses himself in different constellations. I like to think of planets as sentient beings with personalities and constellations as entire cosmic communities emitting their own special vibe. Just as your personality has a different expression at work, home, church or the neighborhood bar, so to does Mars when he travels through these different communities.

Of course, if Mars were the only planet that would be that, but we also will begin to understand that Mars is also affected by where he is in relation to all the other planets, also exerting their influence on him. Just like you might enjoy being home when your favorite uncle comes for a visit, when your uptight little sister is around it may be an entire different atmosphere there.

As I mentioned above, I’m not an astrologer, but a regular person like you with a heavy case of astro-curiosity. I’ve gotten to know the planets & constellations over the years but actually synthesizing this information has eluded me and is the primary reason I created the Cosmic Calendar, as a visual tool for me to begin learning by knowing the factual movements and then noticing the actual real time atmosphere.

What’s your take? Let’s crowd-source recommend articles from astrologers that cover Mars & it’s 2016 journey. Or, just take a guess at what you intuit might happen in the comments below. We’ll be able to review throughout the year to see what actually happened!

In kosmic kinship,

Julie Wilder