Forget Your Saturn Return - Your Mars Return Takes Place Every 2 Years And Is Just As Important

If you're anything of an astrology enthusiast, you may be familiar with planetary returns — which are essentially when a planet is back in the position it was in at the moment of your birth. While we all experience Saturn returns in our late 20s, 50s, and 80s, we experience a Mars return every two years. You may or may not be familiar with what your Saturn sign means, but the planet essentially ushers us to examine the responsibilities in our lives. However, Mars is all about your willpower, stamina, and motivation. If you reflect back on your life and notice a pattern of heightened social engagement, liveliness, and accomplishment every couple of years — followed by more internal, quiet periods, this may very well be thanks to your Mars return. 

While it's possible you may also experience some of the trickier emotional landscapes associated with a Mars return (like irritability and aggression), you can map out these celestial events and plan to work with the energy. That means you can reap the benefits of your Mars returns in a healthy and effective manner. Understanding what your Mars sign says about you will also help. Here's a closer look at why your Mars return is so important.

In order to understand the flow of your life in regards to your Mars returns, you can actually have a returns chart done by astrology sites, like this one. This will help you prepare for these seasons of heightened energy and forward movement in your goals and productivity. If you have your Sun or rising sign in Aries or Scorpio — both ruled by Mars — then Mars returns will be even more potent for you.

When you can pinpoint your Mars returns, you can plan your life accordingly. It's wise to rest and practice self-care before a Mars return occurs so you can make the most of the energetic shifts you will no doubt feel. You should also be directing your energy in the areas of life you'd like to see growth. Meditating and visualizations before a Mars return are well worth the time and dedication. It's always smart to consult your birth chart for additional peaks into why something may be occurring in your life and knowing when to expect a Mars return is no exception.

To best take advantage of a Mars return, it's smart to harness the uplift you'll feel and direct that energy to the plans and goals you previously laid out. It's common to feel impulsive and sometimes a bit reckless around this time because, well, Mars can certainly represent both of those qualities. But if you can manage to reign in the fiery passion and apply it to your business plan or goal of traveling the world, you will likely see rapid results.

"Exercise is great to be doing during your Mars return," Astrologer Celeste Brooks told Well+Good. "Make sure you're staying active and not just sitting with your anger." If you can anticipate some of the conflict and struggle that may arise with a Mars return, you can move through it more fluidly and focus on the positive forces you do want to take advantage of to propel you on your highest path.