Mars retrograde 2016

1 period, 73 days inside the year — 20.1% of 2016. Station times below are UTC and computed to the minute.

73 days · retreats 15.84°

17 April → 29 June 2016 in Sagittarius

Stations retrograde 17 Apr 2016, 12:39 UTC at 8.69° Sagittarius
Stations direct 29 Jun 2016, 22:27 UTC at 22.84° Scorpio
Shadow opens 18 Feb 2016 (59 days before)
Shadow closes 22 Aug 2016 (54 days after)
Full window including shadows 186 days

…and back into Scorpio

Mars retrograde in Scorpio intensifies power struggles and buried anger. Old conflicts resurface, obsessions deepen and control becomes the issue. It suits deep inner work and releasing grudges rather than launching aggressive campaigns.

It begins in Aries season and ends in Cancer season.

Also retrograde at the same time

  • Jupiter in Virgo — 17 Apr to 9 May 2016 (22 days of overlap)
  • Saturn in Sagittarius — 17 Apr to 29 Jun 2016 (73 days of overlap)
  • Pluto in Capricorn — 18 Apr to 29 Jun 2016 (73 days of overlap)
  • Mercury in Taurus — 28 Apr to 22 May 2016 (24 days of overlap)
  • Neptune in Pisces — 13 Jun to 29 Jun 2016 (16 days of overlap)

Read against Sagittarius, and see that sign’s horoscope for the period.

Computed from the actual motion

The nearest Mars retrogrades either side of 2016

Previous

2014 Ended 20 May 2014 after 79 days, moving back 18.51° through the zodiac.

Next

2018 Begins 26 June 2018 and runs 62 days.

Gap across 2016

4.1 years between the two — long enough for a whole calendar year to fall inside it with nothing to report.

Both dates are computed from the planet’s apparent motion, not taken from a table. A retrograde begins the moment its daily movement against the stars turns negative, and that moment is findable to the hour.

Computed for 2016

Mars through the zodiac in 2016

Every sign Mars occupies during 2016, with the dates it enters and leaves. A sign that appears twice means the planet backed into the previous sign during a retrograde and crossed again.

Mars in Libra From 1 Jan – 4 Jan
Mars in Scorpio 4 Jan – 6 Mar
Mars in Sagittarius 6 Mar – 26 May
Mars in Scorpio 26 May – 3 Aug
Mars in Sagittarius 3 Aug – 27 Sep
Mars in Capricorn 27 Sep – 9 Nov
Mars in Aquarius 9 Nov – 19 Dec
Mars in Pisces 19 Dec – 31 Dec and beyond

8 segments in 2016. Dates from JPL orbital elements, good to about a day at sign changes.

2016 at a glance

Every other retrograde in 2016

Mercury in Aquarius 5 Jan 2016 – 25 Jan 2016 · 20 days
Jupiter in Virgo 8 Jan 2016 – 9 May 2016 · 122 days
Saturn in Sagittarius 25 Mar 2016 – 13 Aug 2016 · 141 days
Pluto in Capricorn 18 Apr 2016 – 26 Sep 2016 · 161 days
Mercury in Taurus 28 Apr 2016 – 22 May 2016 · 24 days
Neptune in Pisces 13 Jun 2016 – 20 Nov 2016 · 159 days
Uranus in Aries 29 Jul 2016 – 29 Dec 2016 · 153 days
Mercury in Virgo 30 Aug 2016 – 22 Sep 2016 · 23 days
Mercury in Capricorn 19 Dec 2016 – 8 Jan 2017 · 20 days
← 2015 Mars retrograde in 2015. All Mars retrogrades Averages, shadow periods and the sign distribution over fifty years. 2017 → Mars retrograde in 2017.