Mars Enters Leo - April 17th, 2025
Mars is finally done dragging its feet through Cancer after a very long time of being here. Mars doesn’t do well in Cancer. Since Sept 4th, 2024, Mars has been bouncing between Cancer and Leo due to the retrograde loop that started last December. So yeah, it’s been a lot.
Now on April 17th, Mars is back in Leo, baby. No more retrogrades or emotional backpedaling for this fiery planet. It’s nothing but forward momentum from here.
Recap of the Mars Timeline:
November 4th, 2024: Mars first enters Leo
December 6th: Mars stations retrograde
January 6th, 2025: Re-enters Cancer (backtracking begins)
April 17th: Re-enters Leo (direct this time)
June 17th: Enters Virgo
Mars in Cancer
Mars in Cancer is exhausting in a way that’s hard to articulate until you’ve felt it in your nervous system. Mars is a planet that wants to act, initiate, assert, defend, and pursue. But in Cancer, a sign ruled by the Moon, that fire gets smothered under layers of emotion, memory, and indirect responses.
Instead of moving forward, we avoid things. We sidestep. We internalize. Our actions get wrapped in guilt, our desires feel unsafe to express, and our anger doesn’t come out; it seeps. Passive-aggression, emotional overwhelm, or even physical fatigue can settle in because our vital energy doesn’t know where to go.
There’s also a hyper-protective streak with Mars in Cancer. It can make us fiercely defensive of our inner circle, but that same protectiveness can easily spiral into hypersensitivity. Emotional reactivity becomes the norm, and simple decisions feel heavy because we’re filtering every move through past hurts or imagined outcomes.
Mars in Leo
Mars moving into Leo is a release after months of pent-up energy. We go from suppressing what we feel to expressing it without apology. Leo is ruled by the Sun: bold, confident, radiant. Mars finally has the fire it needs to move.
This shift brings a noticeable change in momentum. There’s more courage, more confidence, and more willingness to go after what lights us up regardless of what feels safe (Cancer). At its best, Mars in Leo rules personal integrity. Leading with the heart. Acting in alignment with our core truth. The downside to this can be ego inflation, but we’ll get to that.
April 27th: Mars opposite Pluto
Mars in Leo goes head-to-head with Pluto in Aquarius on April 27th, repeating the exact same opposition that first hit in November 2024. If that time brought power clashes, confrontations, or deep-seated control issues to the surface… This is part two.
Mars in Leo wants recognition and agency. Pluto in Aquarius isn’t here to flatter your ego. It’s here to dismantle power structures, including the ones you think protect you. This aspect can trigger ego battles, suppressed rage, sexual tension, obsession, and power struggles; especially in relationships or situations where you’ve been feeling manipulated, overlooked, or held back.
You might find yourself confronting someone who’s tried to dominate you or realize the person you’re up against is your own shadow. The danger here lies in pride and defensiveness. Mars in Leo doesn’t like to admit vulnerability, and Pluto doesn’t back down. If you try to control the outcome or cling to superiority, it may backfire.
May 18th: Mars squares Mercury
Mars in Leo squares Mercury in Taurus on May 18th, and while this isn’t a major event, it can bring tension in how we express ourselves if there’s already been lingering frustration.
Mercury in Taurus is slow, methodical, and grounded. Mars in Leo is direct, passionate, and not super patient. The square can look like communication breakdowns, power struggles in conversation, or just general irritation that someone isn’t “getting” your point.
Both Taurus and Leo are fixed signs. They don’t bend easily. If you’re locked in a conversation with someone who’s just as stubborn as you during this transit, it can feel like talking to a wall or shouting into a mirror.
The key here is not to push too hard. Say what you need to say. Mean it. Then let it be. Don’t drag it out trying to change someone’s mind, especially if your only goal is to be “right”. Stillness is key. Escalation is not.
May 22nd: Mars trines Venus
Mars trines Venus in Aries on May 22nd, and this is pure attraction energy. It’s confident. Bold. Magnetizing. Venus in Aries is assertive and flirtatious, and when she aligns with Mars in Leo, there’s a mutual fire that just works.
This is a great time for passion, such as, in love, in art, in how you show up for yourself. You may feel more attractive, more daring, and more seen. Relationships that have felt a little distant might get a jolt of heat. Creative energy is also off the charts here as this is a transit where inspiration meets confidence, and something tangible can be born from it.
It’s short lived, but it’s potent. Use it.
June 15th: Mars squares Uranus
Right before Mars leaves Leo, it squares Uranus in Taurus on June 15th, and this can feel like a rupture.
Uranus is the planet of rebellion and shock. It doesn’t like to follow the rules, and it certainly doesn’t move slowly. When it squares Mars, especially in fire and earth signs like Leo and Taurus, there can be sudden breakups, blowups, disruptions, or unexpected turns in direction.
If you’ve been sitting on something you haven’t had the nerve to act on, then this transit can force change. Whether that looks like snapping at someone you’ve been trying to tolerate, quitting a job that’s been draining you, or shifting your entire approach to something you've been stuck in… this energy cuts the cord.
June 17th: Mars enters Virgo
Mars enters Virgo on June 17th, and the energy sobers up quickly. Mars in Virgo isn’t as flashy, but it’s focused. It wants precision. It wants to fix what’s broken.
You’ll feel this shift in how you approach tasks, routines, and goals. This is a great time to take all that Leo fueled ambition and ground it into something tangible.
But that’s a story for another day.