Mars Retrograde in the Lives of David Bowie, Graham Hancock
This article is inspired by and relies heavily on the content from the Exploring Astrology Podcast by Adam Sommer with guest Nick Dagen Best from January 17, 2016.
A little about the Mars Retrograde Cycle
Mars retrograde occurs once every 22 to 24 months. Unlike Venus, the retrogrades do not form a lovely harmonic pattern.
“The Earth-Mars synodic alignments and subsequent Mars retrogrades walk around the ecliptic in a non-repeating and irregular pattern– spaced about 48.8 ° apart (on the average). This is due to the highly elliptical orbit of Mars and also because the 780-day cycle does not create a whole number Earth year pattern.” (Nick Anthony Fiorenza)
Nick Dagen Best states that Mars will retrograde in Cancer, Leo, or Virgo once every 15 years. However Mars retrograde in Capricorn, Aquarius, or Pisces are very rare. There has been only 1 Mars retrograde in Capricorn since 1940.
This brings up an interesting feature of the zodiac in relation to Mars.
“Those with Leo rising or Leo planets see more Mars retrogrades than those with Aquarius rising or Aquarius planets.” – Nick Dagen Best
In Nick’s interpretation that means those with that Leo rising or Leo emphasis have lives which change direction more frequently — and those with Aquarius rising or Aquarius influence see it less frequently.
Mars retrograde in the rising sign can be signify important events for whomever they occur as we shall see.
Paul McCartney and Mars Retrograde in Pisces
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Mars retrograde in Pisces marks major family events in the life of Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney has Pisces rising.
- Paul’s mother was born during a Mars retrograde in Pisces in 1909.
- Paul’s mother died during a Mars retrograde in Pisces in 1956.
- Paul’s daughter was born just after a Mars retrograde in Pisces in 2003. (Mars stationed direct a month earlier.)
David Bowie and Mars Retrograde in Aquarius
Mars retrograde in Aquarius in summer of 1971:
- prior to the retrograde, in April, records Hunky Dory
- during the retrograde travels to NYC and meets Andy Warhol and Iggy Pop
- signs with RCA in Sept as Mars goes direct
- Hunky Dory is released in December of 1971 and is the catalyst for Bowie’s notoriety
By the end of the year, he begins recording Ziggy Stardust…
A conflicting birth time of David Bowie has been released with makes him a Libra rising. For the sake of argument, Nick outlines the Mars retrogrades in Libra.
Mars retrograde in Libra:
- 1982 acts in the movie The Hunger
- 1997 releases the album The Earthling on his 50th birthday
These events don’t have nearly the significance of the one Mars retrograde in Aquarius in the life of David Bowie.
A few more notes on the horoscope of David Bowie:
- the nodes are north node Gemini, south node Sagittarius
- the nodes are conjunct Antares (south) and Aldebaran (North)
- Antares is a fixed star which is associated with sharp, sudden actions – it is the tail of the Scorpion
- Neptune in Sagittarius was the period of Bowie’s hay day
- Ziggy Stardust was released when Neptune was conjunct his Venus and Midheaven
The nodes can account for the consistent changing of personas throughout Bowie’s career. Adam points out that he also has Uranus conjunct the North Node in the 5th house which also emphasizes the many persona changes.
Graham Hancock and Mars Retrograde in Virgo/Leo
Graham Hancock notorious author of Fingerprints of the Gods has Capricorn rising. Adam noticed that the publication of three of his books (Fingerprints of the Gods, Supernatural, and Magicians of the Gods) all happened with Mars in Virgo.
Nick points out that on the release date (Jan 2, 1995) for Fingerprints of the Gods, arguably Hancock’s most famous book, Mars stationed retrograde at 2 degrees Virgo. I observe that Hancock’s mercury is 1 degree Virgo. That’s a strong mercury!
Nick then wonders what happened in Hancock’s life during other Mars retrogrades in Virgo/Leo: 1965, 1980, 2010, and 2012.
With Capricorn rising, Hancock has experienced Mars retrograde in his rising sign only once, in 1986. Nick wonders what happened in 1986 in the life of Graham Hancock.
In summation, using Nick’s methods of reviewing retrogrades, he identifies Mars retrograde in Virgo and/or Leo as an important rhythm in the life of Graham Hancock.
What Does it All Mean?
This method of observing retrograde cycles of planets and outer world events is “pre-horoscopic”, says Nick. That is the technique predates natal horoscopes and perhaps even the zodiac. It is one of the most simple, yet profound, techniques in astrology. All you need is the night sky and and eyes with which to observe the planets.
3-5 minutes of this conversation sums up humans, astrology, and the night sky.