Mars Retrograde and Tarot
Mars governs force, drive and conflict, and it carries The Tower. Its retrograde is the rarest of the three — roughly every two years — and reads as energy turned inward or obstructed rather than spent.
What the period actually is
Mars stations retrograde for about ten weeks every twenty-six months, making it the least frequent of the three and the longest when it happens.
The tradition reads it as drive that cannot find its outlet: plans stalling, arguments recirculating rather than resolving, and frustration that has no obvious external cause. The practical version is that it is a poor window for launching a confrontation or a campaign, and a reasonable one for working out what you are actually angry about.
In tarot terms the Wands cards shift register. The Five of Wands, usually productive competition, reads as conflict that goes nowhere. The Seven of Wands reads as a position defended past the point where it is worth defending.
Cards that change register
The Tower because Mars carries it and The Emperor because Mars rules Aries. The Wands because they are the suit of drive, and the Knight of Wands because he is that drive with nothing tempering it — the card most changed by the period.
| Card | Upright keywords |
|---|---|
| The Tower | Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation, awakening |
| The Emperor | Authority, establishment, structure, father figure |
| Five of Wands | Conflict, disagreements, competition, tension |
| Seven of Wands | Challenge, competition, protection, perseverance |
| Nine of Wands | Resilience, courage, persistence, test of faith |
| Knight of Wands | Energy, passion, inspired action, adventure |
Cards that sit badly
The Eight of Wands and The Chariot both describe momentum, which is precisely what the period does not supply. Read them as intention rather than as motion.
A spread for the period: The Friction Spread
| # | Position | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Where the energy is going | It is going somewhere. This card says where. |
| 2 | What I am actually angry about | Frequently not the thing being argued over. |
| 3 | What to do with it before it turns direct | The constructive outlet, not the confrontation. |