HEALING AND RETREAT

Healing and retreat, we hear these words often when we read about spas and yoga centers around the world. It conjures up deep breathing the clean mountain air and being served beautiful fruit platters trimmed in orchids. But we have these needs in our everyday life as well. It’s a needed break from the norm, sometimes from socializing and from pushing forward in our lives. Now is such a time. You may be feeling unmotivated, dissatisfied, uninspired and a general lack of excitement. It’s okay and it will not last forever!

When planets make apparent retrograde motion, we here on planet Earth feel the shift as if the planet really is moving backwards. Right now both Mars and Pluto are starting their backwards journey from our vantage point on the Earth. The archetype of Mars is the warrior, the one who leads the way, the initiator of action. Mars types are confident, sexy, assertive and enjoy progress and forward movement. They can be pushy and sometimes they push too hard at the wrong times. From April 17 – June 30, Mars will be in retrograde in the sign of Sagittarius. Mars likes fire signs such as this and works well in them, but this is one of those time periods when it doesn’t pay to push. Pluto begins its annual retrograde for 6 months on April 18, this especially affects people born between July 8-11, October 9-11, January 7-10 or April 6-9. Pluto is the archetype of death and rebirth, of transformation. If you are born during these dates of any year, you are in one of the most important changes of your life this year and next. With Pluto joining, this is no ordinary Mars retrograde time. It promises to be deep and powerful and I wouldn’t get in anyone’s way, don’t be impulsive.

Naturally, life goes on. We still need to get up, go to work, take care of ourselves and our families. Mars slowing down and traveling backwards doesn’t mean roll over and go back to sleep. That’s Neptune’s trip. But a little extra sleep wouldn’t hurt during this time, to catch up and rejuvenate. It’s time to heal, eat well, reserve energy, take care of oneself in a profound way. Not to expect too much of ourselves, don’t be so hard on yourself. Everything will get done in the appropriate time. With Mars traveling backwards, we can expect a variety of symptoms. First of all, Mars rules men. And men are not themselves these days. So ladies – don’t fault them and don’t have high expectations of them. This is the time when they all need a bit of down time. It’s necessary and it’s healing. Remember how men often like to go into their “man cave?” This is one of those times. Yes, they will work hard and make accomplishments, but they may want to come home and sit in front of the TV. Don’t be insulted if they aren’t in the mood for romance. As for having dinner with your family, they’ll show up, but they may not sparkle.

Not the best time for a new romance, either. Initiating something new might seem promising, but usually fizzles out. It’s best to wait until the retrograde is over. If you do begin something, take it very slowly and be aware of what shifts or changes when Mars goes direct in June. Or just have fun and don’t take it seriously.

In my own experience, new websites, starting new board positions, launching big projects don’t always turn out the best. Sometimes we can’t help starting a new job, it should be fine. You’ll feel more in the swing of it when the retrograde is over. Remember that we are in the “re- for retrograde” time period – re-connect, re-do, re-launch, re-turn. You may hear from old friends, old lovers and general people from the past. It’s a trip down memory lane and sometimes the visit is very fun.

However, in life as we know, there is a time to go forward and a time to step back. During these types of aspects, it’s often best to keenly observe the situations we are in and do a delicate balance of navigating our path. Maybe we can’t just walk away from a situation, we need to step away and watch our life like a film before us. Then step forward again and make adjustments. That is what this period of retrogrades represents, but always ensuring we approach our new life from a healed place.