10 - We've Gotta Talk about Mars in Cancer

Action. Motivation. Assertion. These are the things Mars does well. But what happens when Mars falls on its face?? Mars in Cancer is a traditionally tricky placement, but is it really all that bad? Listen up for a reframe on one of the hottest astrological storylines for the next six months. 

• 05:02 Eclipse tip and gossip
• 11:17 Dates and details
• 13:05 Mars in Cancer basics
• 18:01 Mars in fall
• 22:17 Mars Retrograde
• 25:59 Summary
• 29:24 Mars Attunement

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Transcript

Hi, I'm Claire Gallagher, and this is Third House Gossip, where we spill the astrological tea. So pour something delicious, and let's chat. This is a community driven show documenting how real astrology affects real lives. To share an astrology story or ask your burning cosmic questions, head to astrology with claire dot com slash gossip. That's astrology with C-L-A-I-R-E dot com slash gossip. 

Hey Astro Lover, welcome back to another episode of Third House Gossip. I am happy to be with you sooner than like months in between episodes this time. I am all settled in my new location and I'm feeling grateful, feeling good, feeling excited to talk about Mars in cancer, because we really need to talk, we need to talk about this because this is arguably the biggest astrological storyline for the next six months.

Okay, well, one of the biggest and six months is a long time. So let's get, you know, into the vibe. Let's see what opportunities we have. That's what we're going to do today.

So I'm going to start with some Mars basics, followed by some details about what it means when Mars is in cancer. And yes, the reason why Mars is going to be in cancer for so long is because it's going to station retrograde. So we need to talk about what that means. And we're going to finish up with something fun. I'm going to lead you through a Mars attunement. So go ahead and grab a journal.

Alright, before we get into all that Mars talk, I have a couple announcements. First of all, Lunar Cycle Fitness, my three month moon based personal training program, is closing on September 28th. At the moment I'm speaking, there is one spot left. So if you want it. Go to astrologywithclaire. com slash LCF, that's astrologywithclaire.

com slash LCF to get all the information and to apply. I've already been meeting with some of the participants and I'm super excited to get back to my roots. If you know anything about me, you know I've been doing lunar base movement since 2015 and I missed it after the book was released. I took a break and I'm so glad to be back.

I've also been having an absolute blast writing and testing the autumn moon routines in autumn. We're going to be focusing on the earth element, which is all about making a sustainable and long relationship with movement.

It's all about pacing. It's all about endurance and strong foundations. So again, if you want to join me, there's one spot left, astrologywithclaire. com slash LCF for more information and to apply.

Next thing I want to let you know is that I have two new appointments available for you astrology seekers. The first one I talked a little bit about last episode and that's called Inner Orbit. And in Inner Orbit, I am exploring the planets as internal parts of you instead of external orbs that make things happen to you.

So it's all about building relationships with these inner parts and learning to befriend them. And use them as guides and resources. And we're starting with the sun. So I've been doing some sun sessions over the last couple of weeks, and they've been really powerful. If you enjoy the embodiment that we're going to do at the end of today's episode, you're really going to like inner orbit.

The next new appointment type is called this cosmic moment. So if you've been reading and following along, you probably know that my astrophilosophy is shifting quite a bit. I'm really not into predicting the future anymore because over the last 10 years, I've not found that to be super useful or super helpful for people.

So I want to find out what is super useful and super helpful. And I think astrology's most untapped superpower is allowing us to be with what's here, allowing us to be with what is here. is with kindness and compassion. So in this cosmic moment, we're going to look at the astrology of now and how it's being reflected in your life so that we can come up with strategies to be with it in a way that's mature and grounded and kind.

We might also take a peek at the recent past because astrology is really useful in that it helps us make sense of things that have already happened. So if you want to know what's going on up there and how it's being reflected in your life, if you want to create more compassion and room and to just be with where you are, I'd and have a cosmic lens to view it, which is super helpful.

A fresh perspective. You want to come to this cosmic moment so you can find all the information about that at astrologywithclaire. com. Just click the big book an appointment button.

Okay, enough announcements, lots of ways to get involved with me this fall, and I'm so excited and grateful to be able to connect with as many of you as possible. So before we dive into Mars, I want to do a little touch in, a little, you know, a little Astro look back at the recent full moon eclipse in Pisces.

So if you listened to last episode, I talked all about what that might feel like, what that might mean. And so I want to discuss, was that actually what happened? And I would say, yeah, for me at least. And if you have an eclipse story, I would love to hear it. Just head to astrologywithclaire. com slash gossip and you can leave me a voice message.

 Anyways, looking back at this Pisces eclipse, what I found most noticeable was the conjunction with Neptune and the way it showed up for people in my life and for myself is in sleep patterns. So I noticed that I was extra tired and I slept a little later and a little longer than usual and my mom is a school teacher and she was like, all the kids are falling asleep in class.

So that's just real classic Moon in Pisces period, but especially when it's conjunct Neptune. So there was definitely this sleepy vibe going on, which is why it's super important not to take astrology out of context because, you know, if we just thought about a full moon eclipse, we might think, oh, things are gonna be wild and, you know, awake and alert, and it totally wasn't, at least not over here where I am.

What I didn't say last episode that I should have said is that this Pisces eclipse is the first of many that are going to happen over the next year and a half, so it's initiating a new pattern of eclipses that will be in Pisces and Virgo. We have a little bit of Aries Libra action left, but this Pisces eclipse was a good preview of what's to come.

So what I suggest you do if you want to be an astro sleuth and an astro nerd like me is, you know, flip back to a few days ago when this Pisces full moon lunar eclipse was exact, and I want you to just start making a list. You can call it Pisces Virgo eclipse list, you know, Super creative. And just write stuff down like, what were you doing that day?

What were you working on? What were you thinking about? You can also extend the window to be a couple of days before and after. So really that whole week, I just want you to make note of what was going on because those are the themes and things that are going to mature and develop over the next year and a half.

And we do have a little gossip from the community today so I'm going to go ahead and play this clip from Elizabeth and it's If you remember last episode, Elizabeth told us about her Mercury retrograde experience. And I was like, well, you're going to have to finish the story for us. And she was gracious enough to do that.

So let's have a listen.

Hi Claire, this is Elizabeth following up on my Mercury retrograde story in August. As Ernesto approached, we contacted the resort in Bermuda to find out our options. And we found we could get a full refund, so we canceled the trip. Our vacation was now going to consist of a road trip to several beach towns in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

As an aside, four weeks later, we still didn't have our refund, so we contacted the resort and found that they had experienced a computer issue and needed our credit card information again. So two days later, mid September We received the refund. The other thread to the story was that at the end of July, my 93 year old mother had fallen and broken her left arm in two places.

Long story short, she had dementia, was progressing, and had been living in a memory care unit. My siblings and I decided to put her on hospice. The week we should have been in Bermuda was a significant downturn in my mother's mental status and health. One sister lives within minutes of mother and sat with her for hours at a time every day.

I talked with all my siblings multiple times a day and I worked with hospice and advocating for my mother's needs. Our last day of vacation, my mother passed away early that morning. One of my other sisters and I went to be with the sister who was with mother. It's all good. It's a grief and relief.

Clearly we were not supposed to go to Bermuda. As I wouldn't have been available to my siblings, I had the immediate ability to leave. 

Wow, first of all, I am so sorry for your loss. I'm thinking of you, giving you a hug. I wish I could give you a hug for real. And what I find super interesting about this is, since we're talking about mercury retrograde. So Elizabeth is a Scorpio rising, that puts Mercury retrograde in the 11th house of Good Spirit.

And what I'm making up about this, and maybe this is a little woo as a translation, but that's okay. Mercury retrograde, even though it was tricky and there was hardship and there was confusion and there was quick pivots, it also acted as a benevolent spirit of protection where Elizabeth was able to be present with her siblings and present for her mother's passing.

In that way, I'm envisioning Mercury retrograde in the 11th house of good spirit, literally as a good spirit guiding and being with Elizabeth and, uh, shaping her time and location in a way where she could be where she needed to be. Thank you, Elizabeth, for sharing. And remember, you can share a story or you can ask an astrology question and get it answered for free on the podcast. All you got to do is go to astrology with claire. com slash gossip.

Okay, let's dive into Mars in cancer. We've got to talk about it. Like I said, at the beginning of the episode, this is going to be something that's going to be with us for about six months. So usually when Mars is, you know, just cruising through the zodiac, it takes about six weeks for it to go through one zodiac sign. So usually it'll be in cancer for six weeks, but because it will station retrograde in December, Mars is going to be in cancer for give or take about six months.

That's a really long period of time for us to kind of do Mars and cancer things, Mars and cancer vibes. So let's figure out what that means.

First, let me give you the dates and details. So Mars is already in Cancer. It moved into the sign of Cancer on September 4th. So whether you know it or not, you've already been picking up on these themes. Now Mars is going to dip its toe into Leo for a little bit, starting November 3rd. And then it's going to station retrograde at the 6th degree of Leo on December 6th.

At that point, it's going to start traveling backwards. It's going to re enter cancer on January 6th, and from then on, until mid April, it's going to be in cancer. It's going to station direct on February 23rd at the 17th degree, and it'll finally leave cancer on April 18th. So from now until April 18th, without, like, a month and a half or so in the middle there when it's in Leo, Mars is going to be in cancer.

Okay, in English. Here's what we've got going on. Mars. What is Mars? Mars is the part of us that takes action. It's the part of us that feels motivation and drive. It's the part of us that is able to assert, to push forward. So the zodiac sign that Mars is in flavors the how and the way it takes action.

How and why it feels motivated. how it asserts. And so that how and that why and that way is coming from cancer this time around.

So Mars on its own is a fire planet. It likes to do. It likes to be quick. It likes to act first and think later and maybe not feel ever. But when in Cancer, that completely shifts. So Cancer, if you didn't know, is a water sign. So when we put this fiery planet in a watery environment, things can feel quite different.

Things shift for Mars. So instead of being in this quick, hot, ramped up, energetic environment, it's now in an arena that's a little bit softer, a little bit more fluid, a little bit more flowing.

Mars is still acting, it's still motivating, it's still asserting, but it's doing it in a cancer way, in a watery way. So action, when Mars is in cancer, is motivated by something a little deeper. It's almost instinctual. Action is coming from a more intuitive place. It also tends to come at a slower pace. So Mars in Cancer is not the Mars in Leo that's rushing and doing and pivoting quickly. It needs to feel its way through. It needs to take a little bit more time. When Mars is in cancer, we're usually thinking more about reaction than action. We're thinking about what our responses are, what bubbles up first.

When Mars is in Cancer, motivation changes too. So instead of being steady or high, etc., it's fluctuating. It's gonna change. You know, Cancer is the sign of the Moon, and as we all know, the Moon changes size and shape daily. So when Mars is in cancer, our motivation to take action, to get things done, is going to follow suit. It's going to change daily. And that's hard because we live in a culture that asks us to be solar, which means showing up the same day after day with the same output, the same brightness, the same light, the same steadiness. And that's just not how things really are. So Mars in Cancer is a great opportunity to get acquainted with your fluctuating body, your fluctuating motivation.

Mars in Cancer is motivated to do its thing, to take action, to step out by emotion, by feeling. So we may notice over the next six months that a lot of the things that we decide to do are motivated by how we feel, not what we think, not out of necessity, but what we feel inside.

Mars in Cancer is also motivated by actions and decisions that connect us with other people. So water is wet, and in astrology, what wetness does is it mixes and merges and combines. So all of our wet signs are rather If not social, they're about bonding. And so Mars in Cancer is going to ask you or encourage you to take action that moves you towards connecting with others on an intimate emotional level.

Mars in Cancer is also really motivated by feeling safe and that's going to be another opportunity during this time is really cultivating a sense of safety within your nervous system, within your body.

As far as the assertion of Mars, and you know, when I say of Mars, I'm talking about the Mars part within all of us, so our ability to assert our style of assertion over the next six months may become a little bit more passive. We may not be pushing forward as much as receiving or magnetizing towards us.

It's a little bit more inward and introspective and introverted compared to say a Fire Mars.

Now we have to talk about a special feature when Mars is in Cancer. So, in traditional astrology, which is what I practice, Mars is in a special condition when it's in Cancer, and this condition is called Fall. So Mars is in the sign of its Fall when it's in Cancer.

And you can actually think about this as a trip and fall. So, what happens when we fall? Maybe we hurt ourselves a little bit or get injured. Maybe we're embarrassed. Maybe we drop all our stuff in a puddle and get a coffee stain on our shirt. You know, fall is a low position. The opposite of fall in astrology is exalted, where a planet is really respected, it's put in a high position, it's looked up to, maybe it's on a pedestal.

But fall is completely different. When a planet is in fall, it's brought to its knees, if you will. This is kind of like a warrior, since we're talking about Mars, who has lost its sword. or who has been defeated and they're kneeling in front of the opposite king. So this is a compromised position.

It's not easy for Mars to be in Cancer. It's not natural for Mars to be in Cancer. It doesn't get to act and assert and motivate us in its usual way.

It has a lot of underdog energy. It has to overcome a few more obstacles to doing its basic work, which again is to act, motivate, and assert. In order to do those things in Cancer, it has to effort a little bit more.

And although this isn't always the case, and there's always a higher expression of Mars and Cancer, it is true that we tend to at least experience and dance with the more challenging feeling states of Mars. And these might be things like feeling defensive, feeling timid, Feeling threatened, maybe feeling insecure, being hypersensitive, vulnerable, and maybe hesitant to step out to say something or to take action.

And I am not wronging these feeling states. I think it's valuable to feel them, to befriend them, to ask them what's beneath what they need, et cetera, but I just want you to be aware of the emotional arena that we're stepping into. So, if you start to feel these things very strongly, it's likely that Mars and Cancer is maybe transiting an important part of your chart right now.

In that case, come and see me for this Cosmic Moment and we'll talk all about it.

But let's spin this ancient concept of fall because it really isn't all bad. It can be. a superpower when you know how to use it.

So when a planet is in fall, and this applies to other planets as well, not just Mars, but we're talking about Mars right now. When Mars is in fall, it often acts, there's our Mars keyword, acts on behalf of others who are in a quote, lower position unquote. And what I mean by that is, Anyone who maybe needs assistance, who needs help, maybe who has suffered injustice, someone in need, when Mars is in this fallen position, we have a really great opportunity to serve, to serve others, to give them a hand, where maybe they've fallen, quote unquote, and we want to help them up.

So whether it's by transit, like it is for all of us right now, or whether you have a planet and fall in your natal chart, it often speaks to someone who is very attuned to assisting and helping another. So don't forget that. as we're going through this transit. If it starts to feel really icky and difficult, maybe pivot your attention outside of yourself and see where you can help somebody else.

But then we have this other piece on top of Mars and Cancer. So we've got this watery Mars. It's a little slower. It's more emotional. It's in this compromised position. And then it's going to station retrograde.

So basics, when Mars is retrograde, the activity and the passion and the interest that Mars has usually lessens a little bit. It can act more slowly, it can act more indirectly, its path forward can be a little bit more convoluted. Mars tends to be less energetic when it's retrograde, and therefore we may feel less energetic.

Remember, when I'm talking about planets, I'm usually talking about us. Again, that Mars part of you. Sometimes we can get stuck in a holding pattern when Mars is retrograde. We don't know how to let go of something. We can also be really indecisive when Mars is retrograde. When Mars is moving forward at a quick clip, it loves to say yes, no, and move on.

When Mars is retrograde and in this position to boot, it's gonna waffle a little bit. It's going to be a bit insecure about which choice to make, and that's okay. Patience is going to be a really big theme of this transit.

Another thing that may come up is reviewing a previous action or decision that you've made. Re words go with retrograde. Review, redo, revise, and that doesn't just, you know, stand for Mercury retrograde, but for all of the retrogrades. But when it comes to Mars, it's usually not reviewing information or communication.

That's Mercury. It's more about reviewing action and decisions, things that we've done.

And I find this a really unique opportunity to really think about how we relate to concepts like productivity and efficiency and really review and think critically about how we Participate, or don't, in this idea of hustle culture. That's gonna be a big one. Really reframing, what does producing mean to me?

And does it matter? How much is too much? Where is my sweet spot? So especially if this is occurring, let's say, in the sixth house or the tenth house that has to do with work, it might really be teaching you about pacing, about how you need to peel back a little bit. And maybe do fewer things so that you can feel emotionally balanced and safe in your body. But when mars is retrograde, you know, We really are forced into the discomfort of doing less because a lot of times our action is limited, it's slowed, or it's blocked by outside circumstance, and this can create a lot of frustration.

And so learning to sit with that frustration and tending to that maturely is another big part of the next six months. Now, I'm not saying that you won't be able to get anything done during Mars retrograde, absolutely not. You just are going to do it differently. You might do it with more compassion. You might do it with more kindness. Well, that's the hope anyways.

So to sum this up, some opportunities that we have to be with Mars in Cancer include really checking in with yourself before you say yes. It's going to give you an opportunity to really develop your gut instinct. Remember, instinct is one of our water words. It's also going to give you an opportunity to develop your intuition and acting from that space.

Which may require slowing down and going inward and feeling before committing. We have an opportunity to do and to act and to decide from a deeper, wiser place in the body.

Another opportunity is to befriend our protectors. You know, when Mars is in cancer, it is. quite reactive at times and can be overprotective of the self or maybe someone else. This is a really good opportunity to notice when we're acting out of protection and to relate to our protector parts and ask them what they need from us. And again, that sounds a little maybe abstract. If you want to go into that more, come see me for an inner orbit appointment. 

We also have an opportunity to help someone else, someone who needs compassion, someone who needs kindness, someone who maybe has been forgotten, someone who has been brought to their knees.

Wonderful opportunity to be of service. And the last thing on my list is really getting to know our resistance. So when Mars is retrograde We can be resistant to move forward with some things and I think it's important when we feel resistance Instead of beating ourselves up for feeling resistant is to ask our resistance.

Hey, what's up? Hey, I notice that you're here. Is there anything you want to tell me? So give it some time, give it an ear, give it a listen.

Last little technical piece about Mars and Cancer before we do an attunement. And that is, what is it going to mean for you specifically? So, So there's three, in my opinion, three major places that might be lit up for you by Mars and Cancer, specifically by the retrograde.

The first is wherever Cancer is in your chart. This is the house that Mars will be actually doing this thing in. So if you have Cancer on the seventh house, Mars retrograde, Mars and Cancer is going to be about relationships. Remember, I have an episode totally on the houses if you need a refresher. But there's two other places that are going to be affected by Mars and Cancer.

And those are the signs that belong to Mars and the houses where those signs are located in your chart. So I want you to find Aries and I want you to find Scorpio and figure out what houses are correlated with those signs. And those topics will also be affected by this transit.

Let's do a little Mars attunement. So, don't do this while you're driving, or, you know, operating heavy machinery. You can do this while you're walking if you want, or in a comfortable resting position, either seated or lying down, whatever feels best for you. Go ahead and grab a journal and have that handy. The intention behind this attunement is to get in touch with your Mars, your inner Mars, and to receive any insight that it has for you about this transit or anything else in your life.

With your eyes open, first just orient yourself to the space that you're in. Turn your head and actually look to the side, above you, below you, and behind you, signaling to your nervous system that you're safe here.

Once you've surveyed your surroundings, go ahead and close your eyes if that feels good and safe, and begin to bring your attention to your body.

Maybe wiggle your feet on the floor, noticing that the earth is here to hold you, and perhaps allowing yourself to relax into that steady presence a little bit more.

We're going to do a couple rounds of breathing just to center ourselves here. So inhaling for four counts,

hold, and exhale through your mouth for four counts.

And again at your own pace, inhaling for four counts through your nose,

holding, and exhaling. One more time, inhaling through your nose, holding at the top, and exhaling with an audible sigh through the mouth, letting it all out.

Now I want you to take one hand and bring it to your heart.

I want you to feel your heart beating. Feel this aliveness, this activity, this heat.

Mars heats the body. and gives it energy. Notice all of the energy collected in this powerful organ,

Mars acting through you.

Now remove your hand and see if you can feel your heart Beating in your feet, maybe your belly, maybe your arm,

feeling this aliveness spreading throughout the body.

This is Mars in you.

Now I want you to visualize a door. Walk into a room, and somehow you know that this room belongs to the moon. This is the moon's home, if the moon were a person. So maybe there's a bunch of reflective surfaces, a lot of mirrors. Maybe there's a water feature or paintings of the shore.

Maybe there's a lot of delightful, fluffy couches, throw pillows, and blankets. Just all over the place. The moon is all about comfort, and safety, and togetherness. 

Now invite your inner Mars to come forward. Bring it into this moon room with you.

You can dress Mars, you can give it a body, or maybe orb, just trust whatever is coming up for you. Imagine there is a writing desk in front of a window that looks out over a beautiful lake. The moon outside is bright and full. Invite Mars to walk over to this writing desk and take a seat.

It picks up the pen to write a letter to you.

What does this Mars say? And just let it flow from here. So pick up your pen and just write until you feel complete. Go ahead and press pause here and I'll meet you on the other side. So if you enjoyed that and you got some juicy information, another thing that you can do to explore astrological journaling and get a little bit more instruction is to watch my webinar, Guided, which is available on my website right now.

It's all about connecting with the planets on the page. So if this was a little awkward for you, you couldn't get in the flow, but you're really intrigued, I highly recommend checking that out.

Alright, astro lover, that is it from me today. Thank you so much for listening. I hope Mars in Cancer is really eye opening and nurturing for you, that you get a lot out of this transit, that you learn a lot about your intuition, about your emotional health.

Yeah, it can be really useful. And if you have natal Mars and cancer, I would love for you to submit to the podcast for a future episode. So just head to astrologywithclaire. com slash gossip. I would love to hear a little bit about your experience with taking action, with feeling motivated, and also what happens when you get hurt or upset or activated. What does that feel like for you? And, if you have an Eclipse story, because Eclipse season is still happening, again, would love to hear your story, so just head to astrologywithclaire.

com slash gossip and let me know what's up. Alright, sending you so much love, talk soon.