Drive, courage and the Mars sign
Astrologers associate Mars with energy, ambition and the urge to act. Where Venus is read as what attracts you, Mars is read as how you go after what you want.
The Mars sign is also used to describe how a person handles conflict, competition and anger. A Mars in a fire sign is often described as quick and direct, while a Mars in a water sign is linked with action driven by feeling and loyalty.
How long Mars stays in a sign
Mars takes about two years to travel around the whole zodiac. In a typical stretch it spends around six to seven weeks in each sign, which is why people born within a month or so of each other often share a Mars sign.
Roughly every two years Mars turns retrograde. Around those periods it slows down, backs up and then moves forward again, so it can remain in one sign, or hover over the border of two, for several months. The next one runs from January 10 to April 1, 2027, when Mars moves from Virgo back into Leo.
Mars has no fixed distance from the Sun
Unlike Mercury and Venus, Mars orbits outside Earth's path. It can appear anywhere in the zodiac relative to the Sun, including the sign directly opposite your sun sign.
That gives the Mars sign more variety than the inner planets, and astrologers pay attention to the angle it forms with the Sun. A Mars square or opposite the Sun, for example, is traditionally read as inner tension that pushes a person to act.
Every Mars period from 1950 to 2030
Under the calculator we list each time Mars entered a new sign between 1950 and 2030. The dates come from Astronomy Engine and are given in UTC, so a change late in the day may fall on the next calendar date in some US time zones.
Long rows in the table usually mark retrograde years. If you were born on a date where Mars switched signs, use the calculator with your birth time and place for a firm answer.
What to pair with your Mars sign
Many astrologers read Mars together with Venus to describe the balance between receiving and pursuing. Try the Venus sign calculator to compare the two.
You can also check the timing of the next backward phase on the Mars retrograde 2027 page, or see where Mars falls by house in your full birth chart.