Mars in Taurus ♂ 2021

artist: Lindy Kehoe

Jan 6 – Mar 3, 2021

Mars: fiery warrior of the solar system, ruler of the body and all its carnal urges. Mars channels fresh, invigorating energy into the body, like the first day of spring. With Mars Retrograde in Aries for the latter half of 2020, an already difficult year became that much more insane.

As the retrograde crept closer, uncertainty and confusion about what the fall was going to look like mounted into chaos. Mars Retrograde came in HOT. The day before it began, wind and fires started raging here in Oregon. Many of our loved ones and family members were evacuated from their homes. Ash rained down from a blood red sky. This is the madness that Mars Retrograde conjures. Mars is the planet of action. When he is retrograde, people don’t know how – or when, or where – to act. Everything was affected: schools and businesses couldn’t reopen, the pandemic surged, and let’s not forget the shitshow of the election here in the US.

And now for some really good news: Mars is landing softly in the garden of sensual Taurus. Mars in an earth sign brings stamina, abundance and stability. The first day of this transit coincides with the Last Quarter Moon in Libra. Taurus and Libra are both ruled by the benefic planet Venus. Such a luxurious and sexy opening to 2021!

Something truly awesome happened during the Age of Taurus in the third millennium BC. The Milky Way aligned at the fall and spring equinoxes so that its ends touched the earth exactly where the sun rose and set. It was at this time that Hathor became intimately associated with the Milky Way. Our ancestors saw a sacred cow in the sky, funneled into the earth below, imbuing humanity with her gentle power for eons to come.

Taurus comes from Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of fertility. Hathor holds the entire cosmic cycle in her being. With one hand Hathor delivers babies, and with the other she welcomes the newly dead with delicious ethereal food and drink. Hathor is the goddess of music and happiness, dancing joyously across the necropolis; protector of miners and turquoise; guardian of the desert; rattler of the sistrum; steward of the earth, nestled in a papyrus marsh beneath the Milky Way, Nile of the Sky. More festivals were dedicated to Hathor and more children named after her than any other Egyptian deity. Hathor not only embodies the cycle of life, but also the spectrum of gender. Both men and women could be priestesses of Hathor. Classically Hathor is depicted with a sun disk set between her cow horns, as Horus the sun god is said to be “housed” within her.

Mars spins with vigor in Taurus, yet by the end of the night, Taurus turns into a boulder: sublimely grounded; impossible to budge; sedentary; plodding; pinned by inertia. If we can motivate ourselves, enormous amounts of work will be accomplished during this transit. Mars in Taurus is pragmatic, essentialist, and assertive. Once Taurus sets to work, she moils with impressive force.

Taurus might be a slow-moving creature, but this transit is packed with activity. Mercury enters Aquarius on Jan 8 and immediately forms a square to Mars. We will see this aspect again on Feb 10 when Mercury is retrograde (!). This influence encourages us to de-clutter and get rid of stuff we don’t need anymore. Some things may also need to be repaired. Watch for bodily discomfort, headaches, or feeling off or sad.

On Jan 9, Venus in Capricorn forms a harmonious trine to Mars. Very high energy and social day, especially with work.

Challenging day on Jan 13 when Mars squares Saturn in Aquarius. Headache, bodily discomfort, and fatigue likely. There may be miscommunication or misunderstandings. Loud/busy environments will trigger irritation. The last time this aspect occurred (Sep 29), I was sick but had to power through work anyway. I was feeling so overwhelmed about work and life in general. When I got home that day, I couldn’t enter my house because a construction crew was finishing up a project inside, so I sat outside with a migraine, feeling like shit. When I finally went inside, I discovered that the crew had left all kinds of lovely things like huge staples on the floor         -____-

The only other planet in Taurus right now is Uranus. I see the conjunction of Mars and Uranus on Jan 20 as the apex of this transit. A word of warning: this aspect is explosive on its own, but it will be even more so with the sun, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn all in Aquarius (ruled by Uranus) – AND this aspect coincides with the quarter moon in Taurus. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED.

On Jan 22, Mars squares Jupiter in Aquarius. More insomnia, fatigue, nightmares, disruptions, and anxiety. Our body (Mars) is at odds with our optimism (Jupiter). The body talks when we try to force it to do something it doesn’t want to do.

Heads up: Mercury Retrograde runs from Jan 30 to Feb 20.

On Feb 1, the Aquarian sun squares Mars. This brings uncertainty and indecision. A good day to stay home and rest. Venus squares Mars too on Feb 19. This an active yet aggressive aspect which causes restless sleep, anxiety, bodily discomfort, or injury. Health issues tend to be difficult to resolve. It takes a lot of time and research in order to figure out what’s going on with the body, which leads to frustration.

Lastly on Feb 24, Mars forms a trine to big bad Pluto. This is a high energy influence which keeps us awake at night. It brings so much energy to the body that we need to release it through physical exercise.

Celebrate the first day of Mars in Taurus with restorative Taurus Yoga. If you were born with Mars in Taurus, this transit is your Mars return. To find your personal Mars sign, click here.