Fighting for Life - Mars Opposite Pluto

 

On April 27, 2025, we are facing the third and final opposition of Mars and Pluto at 3° of Leo and Aquarius. 
When Mars and Pluto are engaged in a harsh aspect of opposition, it is like a face-off where two power players are trying to gain control. Imagine two boxers before their showdown in the ring. They're stating their position by hurling insults and threatening each other. 
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There is no room for pause. There is no room to catch a breath. You have to pay attention at all times otherwise your opponent takes advantage of the situation.
Opposition is a push-pull relationship. 
Opposition is about tension that can't be reconciled. 

Opposition of Mars and Pluto brings urgency to our actions.
When Mars and Pluto are involved in a tense aspect, it often feels like a survival mode – DO or DIE. Imagine unbearable pressure. It feels crushing like it's going to break you. At that moment, your instinct either kicks in and you’re going to fight for your life or you resign and die.

If you withstand such an extreme and challenging situation, you come out rejuvenated by this experience, feeling stronger and more self-confident. It’s like coming out of an intense period of sickness. You feel like you’ve been born again. 
Challenging transits like this teach us that if we become stagnant, stop moving out of fear, and refuse to change, part of us dies inside. Pain that we feel during such demanding times can either numb us out or be a way to our liberation.
 
In this context, we can see this cycle of oppositions between Mars and Pluto as a regenerative cycle where death is not the end of things but a way for life to make a powerful appearance.  
Regeneration is about replenishing what is being disturbed, what died and exhausted itself. 

Pluto points to what´s hidden in shadows, where there is stagnation and decay. Pluto confronts us with things that are no longer viable that we need to expel from our lives.
Mars brings in the heat. Through ruthless action, we get a chance to cut ourselves from the expired stories that weigh us down and prevent us from moving forward into the future.

It's like when you take dead plants from your garden. Through a process of composting where heat is the key element, they get transformed into rich compost for the new growing season. 
 
This theme of life „springing forward“ after a subterranean transformation is also tied to an arduous retrograde cycle that Mars has recently completed. Through this process, we were confronted with our fears. We were faced with situations that made us feel vulnerable and powerless. We had plenty of opportunities to put our sword down, let our ego die, and then pick up that newly polished sword again with new-found strength and understanding.     
 
Themes of life and death and an opportunity for a radical change that this cycle of Mars-Pluto oppositions carries are further amplified by the lunar cycle across the signs of Scorpio and Taurus. These lunar cycles are intimately tied to Mars's journey since the fall of 2025.
The sign of Scorpio, ruled by Mars, the sign of Moon´s fall, represents death and destruction, the end of a natural cycle. Scorpio season is the time of the year when things in nature are dying, decomposing, and returning back to earth. 
 
The sign of Taurus, ruled by Venus, the sign of Moon´s exaltation, represents life and growth. Taurus season is the time of the year when everything is growing, life is at its peak condition and there is abundance all the way around. It is no coincidence that during the Scorpio season, we have a Full Moon in Taurus that represents the end of the „life cycle“ and during the Taurus season, we have a Full Moon in Scorpio that represents the end of the „death cycle“. Life and death come hand in hand. They are part of the same cycle. 
 
Scorpio New Moon came through on November 1, 2024. Mars, the ruler of this lunation, was culminating at 29° Cancer opposing Pluto in Aquarius for the very first time. This new moon initiated a deep dive into vulnerable spaces in our lives. We were forced to confront our insecurities and to see where we were trying to control things in order to stay safe, to merely survive. 
 
Following lunation, the Full Moon at 22° Taurus on November 15, 2024, came with an extra potent bang as the Moon conjoined Uranus at the time of its culmination while Mars arrived at 3° Leo, the degree of the last Mars-Pluto opposition that is coming through this week. This lunation was like a red flag to a bull. We were pushed for action. We were motivated to gather courage and react to what has been triggered at the beginning of November, to release what we´ve repressed for a long time. Mars was preparing for a long and frustrating retrograde at the time and so we were not able to push forward. We just let out a mighty roar at best and shortly after we were forced to go underground to confront our demons. 
 
Taurean lunar cycle will be started afresh on April 27, 2025, during the upcoming New Moon. This is the day of the last Mars-Pluto opposition. As Mars is slowly moving away from this opposition, it is squared by the Moon that is on its way to reunite with the Sun at 7° Taurus. This is a chance for life to come  through powerfully. Though we can't see the growth yet as the Moon is dark, we can now sow potent seeds of our desire in the fertile soil that has been regenerated by debris cleared from our lives. The ruler of this lunation, Venus in Pisces, the sign of her exaltation, conjunct Saturn brings long-term blessings into this new cycle. 
 
I believe the wrap-up of the Mars-Pluto drama comes with the Full Moon in Scorpio, on May 12, 2025. Full Moon is coming through at 22° Scorpio while the Sun is conjoining Uranus. This is the end of the Scorpio lunar cycle that started at the beginning of November at the time of the first Mars-Pluto opposition.

At this time though, the ruler of this lunation, Mars, is still in Leo. Mars now has the stamina and confidence to move boldly forward. This Full Moon speaks of the powerful culmination of Mars's retrograde story, releasing painful bonds of the past and moving unapologetically in a new direction. Mars is now in the Sun´s territory. Look for big fireworks, insights, and resolutions coming through as the Sun, representing our individual journey, is conjoining Uranus. 
 
To conclude this high-intensity chapter of our livers, here are important dates of the Mars-Pluto opposition cycle in the context of Scorpio-Taurus lunations. To dig deeper, go back in time and reflect on this period. Look for tensions, frustrations, powerful insights, and shifts that coincided with these transits. Pay special attention to Uranian Full Moons in fixed signs, Taurus and Scorpio (coming up soon!), that have the power to flip your life story. 
 
November 1, 2024 – New Moon at 9° Scorpio 
1st opposition: November 3, 2024 – 29°Mars in Cancer➖Pluto in Capricorn 
November 15, 2024 – Full Moon at 23° Taurus conjunct Uranus !!! 
 
2nd opposition: January 3, 2025 – 1° Mars in Leo Rx ➖ Pluto in Aquarius  
 
April 18, 2025 – Mars that is now moving direct ingresses back into Leo and immediately opposes Pluto. 
3rd opposition: April 27, 2025 – 3°Mars in Leo➖ Pluto in Aquarius      
On the same day, New Moon at 7° Taurus, squaring Mars
 
May 12, 2025  – Full Moon at 22° Scorpio, Sun conjunct Uranus !!!

Keep hope alive, keep dreaming.
Petra