How To Use This Week’s Cosmic Bliss To Prepare for the Upcoming Mars Retrograde

Despite Mars’s intense push-pull square to Saturn on Monday, it looks as if the cosmos are aligned for a fantastic week ahead. Mercury in Virgo makes a trine to Uranus on Tuesday, inspiring ingenuity and breakthroughs. Then, he trines good-luck Jupiter on Saturday. On top of this, Venus is ideally positioned throughout the week, too. She opposes Jupiter on Tuesday while trining Neptune, which perfects on Thursday. All of this combines to make the last week in August a time of alignment, allowing for people to effectively prepare for Mars retrograde in early September.

With last week’s super-positive new moon still in play, it’s essential to use the week ahead to focus, listen, and integrate not just what you are learning, but also the direction the voice of your soul is begging you to hear. Meditation, ritual, art, writing, and mindful movement are medicinal now. Take time to open your heart and mind to listen to the universe, your guides, and your soul. With Venus communicating with Neptune, the spiritual realm will become more available than usual. Add in Mercury’s alignment with Uranus, and it becomes probable that we can receive this information and embody its teaching.

Mercury’s trine to Jupiter on Saturday also makes the week ahead a potent time for business. If you’ve been working hard on a project, or want to make a significant push toward a crucial professional goal, now’s the time, as we prepare for Mars retrograde. On September 9th, Mars goes retrograde, which happens once every 26 months and lasts a little longer than two months. During his retrograde, we lose the influence of his forward-facing momentum, so it’s wise not to set high expectations of your ability to conjure massive results during his retrograde. Instead, it’s a critical time to tend to your foundation and focus on rest and recovery as opposed to ambition and growth.

Prepare for Mars retrograde by taking care of what you can now: Venus is activating healing. Mercury is opening up your perception to think bigger and receive guidance. Uranus is encouraging out of the box originality. And Jupiter is expediting grace, blessings, and luck.

With this in mind, you want to prepare for Mars retrograde by taking care of what you can now. This week’s aspects, while certainly not perfect, are ideal in many ways. We have a waxing moon supporting you to make significant gains. Venus is activating healing. Mercury is opening up your perception to think bigger and receive guidance. Uranus is encouraging out-of-the-box originality. And Jupiter is expediting grace, blessings, and luck.

That said, if you, happen to be on a much-deserved and -needed vacation this week, know that you picked the dates well. This week’s aspects make leisure time even more healing. Reading books, taking long walks, having nourishing conversations, and even the act of completing a jigsaw puzzle all cooperate with the essence of the cosmic curriculum: inspiration.

With so much pain in the world, inspiration adds the gasoline required to persevere and thrive. It helps you to play your part to create necessary and effectual changes. But remember, you aren’t alone; you are surrounded by a magical, mysterious universe that’s conspiring alongside of you, supporting you as you move forward. Please pay attention to the miracles as they unfold over the week ahead. Keep your finger on the pulse of gratitude. Slow down and savor each day. Soon enough, we’ll be in September, so make the most of the last week of August while you can. Accept the grace that’s coming to you by opening up to receiving it.

Jennifer Racioppi is the creator of Lunar Logic—a philosophy that integrates the deep wisdom of both science and spirituality, and blends her expertise in astrology, positive psychology, and women’s health—which she uses to coach high-achieving female entrepreneurs to reach their next level of success. Pre-order her book, Cosmic Health (January 2021), here.