Mars Retrograde in Leo Horoscope

It's a slowdown, not a meltdown.

What: Mars Retrograde in Leo

When: Dec. 6, 2024 - Jan. 6, 2025

Who’s Impacted: EVERYONE, but esp. Fixed signs & Fire signs.

Takeaway: the planet of courage, motivation, and conflict backpedals through the confident Lion, encouraging a reexamination of our energies, confidence, and self-assertion.

What were YOU doing back in 2009-2010? More specifically, December 2009 and January 2010? If you don’t remember, don’t worry—neither do I. All I know is that that’s the last time we had Mars retrograde through Leo. And just like that transit—some 15 years ago—this Mars Retrograde in Leo is an invitation to rethink how you pursue your ambitions and express your unique spark. Mars Retrograde in Leo highlights where your pride, ego, and assertiveness (or lack thereof) might be getting in the way of your personal growth.

If you are a Leo, Aries, or Scorpio, or you have significant placements in Leo, particularly the Moon, Mars, or Ascendant (#me), then you probably already know this is a significant transit for you. (Note that significant doesn’t automatically mean bad. It’s just more personal. Retrograde conjunctions usually are.) Even if you’re not a Leo, or you don’t have any Leo placements, you might already be noticing a shift in your physical energy, moving from ra-ra motivation and supercharged passion to…fatigue, lethargy, and/or disinterest; or maybe your energy levels feel good, but the pace of life, the speed at which things are happening, are frustratingly slow.

That’s the thing about Mars in Leo: this transit and chart placement wants what it wants when it wants it, and it has a tremendous strength of will to make that happen. I have my natal Mars in Leo, so I’m intimately aware of how this planet-and-sign combo operates; it’s creative, driven, focused, and determined, with a strong need for both attention, applause, and physical (dynamic) movement. Mars in Leo puts forth an enormous amount of focused, fervent effort towards a goal and expects to get it, to achieve it, to receive applause and a bright Gold Star for it simply because Mars in Leo willed it so.

But during Mars Retrograde, strength of will, passion, and self-confidence get put on pause. Instead of forcefully forging ahead—ie: passionately pouncing on goals like a lion in the jungle—you’re encouraged to rewind, reflect, and refine your why. Why are you chasing that goal? Why are you putting so much effort, energy, concentration, or creativity into that relationship? That project? That career path?

I write about this in my 2025 Astrology Guide, but the mission of Mars in Leo is to align your ambition and actions with the true desires of your heart. It sounds a bit woo-woo and cheesy, I know, but Leo actually rules the heart. So, Leo is driven by the desires of the heart, and finds motivation when pursuing a goal that leads to something more than just praise and attention. But to find what you really want—what you want to be known for, applauded for, and how you want to shine boldly and brightly—you have to find that why.