I was listening to the Nightlight Astrology Monthly Forecast and Horoscope episodes when I began to get a bigger picture of what’s at play here astrologically. We are headed into a month that might hold a lot of astrological stigma—Venus retrograde, Mercury retrograde, a solar eclipse, Neptune changing signs—but I can’t help but see it as a profound blessing. More resets. More recalibrations. More realignment—delivering us to our safer, more secure, more transparently authentic selves.
I know I’ve been blowing y’all up about Mars, but I really think he’s the star of the show. I believe there is so much more depth and emotion to Mars than we give him credit for. He’s been boxed into an image of quick action, speech, and severance—a brute force that reacts rather than feels. But I’ve been experiencing him differently.
Mars feels like a man who has been thrown out into the world, expected to fight, protect, and lead on battlefields he may lack the maturity or experience to handle. He’s been doing the best he can with the tools he has, but somehow, it’s never really good enough. Around every corner, there’s another battle he must blindly make it through—not just for himself, but for everyone he’s guiding. It’s like he’s been sent into a gunfight with only a sword, leading an army armed with only knives, and still expected to conquer. And by God, somehow, he does. But how exhausting. How terrifying. How unfair.
It feels like the other planets—and maybe even society—haven’t had compassion for what he really goes through in a day. He’s been dismissed as reckless, impulsive, and unrefined, as though he’s nothing more than aggression and reaction. But what if Mars has been neglected? What if he’s been dishonored? What if he’s just been doing the best he can with the weight of the world on his shoulders?
I thought this was personal until I sat with friends and listened to them speak—many of them carrying similar experiences of Mars in their own lives. Being under-protected. Under-guarded. Left to defend themselves when they were in no position to do so. Fighting battles they should have been shielded from. I see it mirrored in the way men are generalized, in the way the divine masculine has been neglected but is still expected to show up and be strong, no questions asked. This isn’t just personal—this is something we’re all coming to terms with.
We can no longer deny the shifts and changes that need to happen in how Mars moves through us, in how we embody him, in how we allow space for his evolution.
Mars’ Deep Transformation—Pluto’s Hand in the Alchemy
When I sat with and meditated on where Mars’ deep transformation truly began—both personally and universally—I could see Pluto’s fingerprints all over it. It became clear that the groundwork for Mars’ evolution was laid two retrograde cycles ago:
• Mars Retrograde in Gemini (October 30, 2022 - January 12, 2023)
• This retrograde shook up how we think about action, anger, and assertion. It forced Mars to slow down and reassess how he speaks, fights, and moves forward.
• Mars Retrograde in Cancer (December 6, 2024 - February 23, 2025)
• This was the moment Mars had to surrender to the Water Temple of the Moon. The battlefield became emotional, ancestral, and deeply vulnerable. Mars had to stop fighting and start feeling.
These retrogrades, coupled with the once-in-a-lifetime transits we’re currently experiencing, have been part of the alchemy that is leading to a new Mars—not just for me, but for society. And if we really look at it, he’s changing how he shows up for the rest of the planets, too.
Mars isn’t the same warrior he once was. He’s evolving. He’s learning how to protect not just through force, but through wisdom. He’s holding space in a way he never has before. I believe this transformation is why Venus and Mercury will be held through their cazimis with the Sun and their retrogrades in Aries. Mars went first. He walked through the fire so that they could transform in a protected, supported space.
This is why impulsive action isn’t working for people right now. This is why trauma survivors are experiencing a reset—one that offers protection where it was once missing. We’re losing the capacity to repeat old patterns because we finally see the truth of them. We are moving differently, and so is Mars.
For Those Feeling Stuck: You Are Not Stuck. You Are Ascending.
I want to pause here for a moment.
If you are feeling like you will never get past your trauma… If old wounds are resurfacing and it feels like you’re trapped in a cycle that will never end… If you are neutral, uncertain, or detached from your emotions and don’t know what it means yet…
I see you. And you are not stuck.
What’s happening right now is not a repeat of the past—it’s a release of the past. What’s coming up is not here to trap you—it’s here to free you.
There is an unease in the air because we are moving into completely new territory. We are learning new ways to approach relationships, work, and life itself. And when you’ve spent years in survival mode, safety can feel… unfamiliar. Neutrality can feel like emptiness. The unknown can feel like a threat.
But I promise you, nothing will be the same after this month. The universe, God, Source—whatever you call it—has your back. Surrender. Allow.
Trust that if you feel different but don’t understand why, it’s because you are in the in-between. The bridge has been crossed, but you’re still adjusting to the new terrain.
Give yourself grace. You are not failing. You are ascending.
The Astrological Resets of 2025
This isn’t happening in isolation. Mars’ transformation is part of a larger astrological reset, marked by once-in-a-lifetime transits:
🔥 Pluto’s Transit into Aquarius (November 2024 - Stays until 2043)
• Pluto’s entry into Aquarius is dismantling and reconstructing collective power, technology, and societal structures.
🔥 Neptune Moves into Aries (March 30, 2025 - Stays until 2039)
• Neptune has been dissolving and spiritualizing structures in Pisces for 13-15 years. Now, in Aries, it will infuse spiritual ideals with action and self-determination.
🔥 The Lunar Nodes Shift (Aries-Libra → Pisces-Virgo, January 11, 2025)
• The collective karmic focus moves from self vs. other (Aries-Libra) into the liminal, mystical waters of Pisces and the pragmatic refinement of Virgo.
🔥 Mars’ Evolution
• Mars’ journey through Cancer’s waters and Aries’ flames is reshaping how we act, react, and relate to power.
Final Thoughts: You Are Exactly Where You Need to Be
You are not broken.
You are not backsliding.
You are not lost.
You are in a sacred process of rebirth, and just like Mars, you are discovering a new way of moving through this world. A way that is safer. More conscious. More attuned to your needs and desires.
You are not who you were, and you will never be that person again.
Mars 2.0 is here. And so are you.
Surrender. Trust. Ascend.
Check out the full podcast episodes from Nightlight Astrology here or where ever you watch/listen to podcast: https://nightlightastrology.com/