Why Mars seems to move backward
Mars orbits the Sun outside the Earth's orbit, more slowly than we do. About every 26 months the Earth catches up with it and overtakes it on the inside track, and for a couple of months Mars's path across the sky runs backward against the stars, the way a slower car seems to slide backward as you pass it. In the middle of the loop the Earth lies between Mars and the Sun: Mars is opposite the Sun, closest to Earth and at its brightest.
How often and for how long
Mars turns retrograde about every 26 months, and every loop from 2000 to 2034 lasts between 60 and 81 days. With its long shadows, each episode takes around six months. That makes Mars retrograde rarer than Mercury's but much longer, and the site's ephemeris agrees with the Swiss Ephemeris within ten minutes for every Mars station from 2000 to 2034.
The 2027 retrograde
Mars enters its shadow on November 5, 2026, when it reaches 20°56′ Leo. It turns retrograde on January 10, 2027 at 10°26′ Virgo, backs up into Leo and turns direct on April 1 at 20°56′ Leo, then leaves the shadow on June 7, 2027, when it passes 10°26′ Virgo again. At 81 days, it is one of the longest Mars loops of the period. The dates on this page are for US Eastern time; the tables give every moment to the minute in your own time zone.
The loop before it ran from December 6, 2024 to February 23, 2025, backing from Leo into Cancer, and the next runs from February 14 to May 5, 2029, from Libra back into Virgo.
What astrologers read into it
In astrology Mars is the planet of drive, courage, anger and action, so its retrograde is read as a time when that energy turns inward. Projects stall or need rebuilding, old conflicts come back, and frustration runs high. The traditional advice is to rework, rebuild and rest instead of launching new ventures or picking fights, and to watch for flare-ups. Astrologers present these as readings from tradition, not predictions.
Mars retrograde in your own chart
About one person in ten is born with Mars retrograde. Astrologers read it as drive that works inward or in bursts: people who think before they act, fight their battles privately and often return to unfinished goals. The Mars sign calculator and the birth chart show whether your Mars was retrograde.