Courageous Mars has been journeying with the royal Lion since 16 October. On Sunday, 20 December at 8:26amEST, at 19 degrees, he will begin venturing all the way back to 00 degrees Leo until 10 March 2010 at 12:09pmEST. Once Direct, Mars won’t enter Virgo until 07 June 2010 at 2:11am. That’s a mighty long time in Leo for a planet such as Mars.

And noooo… we’re not talking about a Mercury REtrograde here, though he will be joining the mix in a few more days just to keep this current holiday season interesting at best. These next few months ahead request the collective to take some needed reflective time in the virtues of Leo, and what the fiery and driving energy of Mars brings while passing through the Suns’ royal court.

As The Warrior planet retraces his recent steps in Leo, we can expect impulsive desires to emerge, but beware these do not become unbridled ones. Ideally, a rethinking in leadership is in order, and the practice of humility should be adhered to in the winter months ahead. Beware of possible lacking in the areas of disciplined energy, grasping details, and passion. Yes, the Lion will easily fall to laziness while Mars decides to “vacation.”

Mars is known to inflate, intensify, and bring drive through his influence. In the sign of Leo -where ego is at times a delicate matter- Mars can bring out the not so happy side of this idea of worth. Especially while in Retrograde, (and if you are per chance a Leo, Leo Rising, or Leo Moon reading this), there is no better time to adhere to checking the ego at the door.

Equally, it is wise to remember to not give into conflict in the Leo section of the natal birth chart for any individual- for the end result will be explosive. Mars is no stranger to fighting, and while retrograde, avoiding the situations where tensions may arise is key to smooth sailing under this passage. The Leo piece of the Zodiac Pie is the area where you can re-examine how drive, courage, and yes, ego-related consciousness in your life may personally need adjusting.

As always, responding vs. reacting is of tremendous benefit to positive outcomes. Especially when The Warrior is not looking where he is going, this is definitely sound advice. As are the wonders of those uncanny Lexigrams, which in their typical way, provide us yet again with another star secret layer of how to reap the best from the months that lie ahead.