Fiery Mars entered the watery sign of Cancer today. Cancer is the sign of tribe affiliation; in Cancer we protect those that we love and those whom we consider members of our clan as well as our family. In Cancer Mars becomes fiercely protective and emotionally sensitive as well as somewhat reactive and touchy.

Mars will be particularly strong this fall because it will retrograde on November 15 and pass back into Gemini in January before re-entering Cancer in March of 2008, meaning Mars will be moving very slowly back and forth over the same 20 degrees or so until it finally moves on in April of 2008.

Mars is said to be in its fall in the sign of Cancer because Mars is not well expressed in this sign of emotions and self-protection. Molly Cliborne notes, “Some of us confuse aggression for defense in our minds, threatening others because we feel threatened. It’s easy to get a little mixed up when Mars is in Cancer.”

We will have a longer time than usual of Mars in Cancer this year, so try not to become enmeshed in family dramas and emotional battles with no clear direction. Objectivity and clarity are key to managing the emotional turmoil that this cycle can bring.