Mars in Leo: 12 November 2026 to July 2027

Mars (Mangal) usually spends about six weeks in a sign. This winter it spends far longer in one. Mars enters Leo on Thursday 12 November 2026 at 20:19 IST, turns retrograde there in January, backs into Cancer in March, turns direct, and only leaves Leo for Virgo on 5 July 2027. For nearly eight months the planet of energy and courage keeps returning to the same part of everyone's chart.

The dates

All times are the site's ephemeris for New Delhi, in IST.

• 12 November 2026, 20:19 IST — Mars enters Leo. (Drik Panchang: 8:30 PM.)
• 10 January 2027, 18:29 IST — Mars turns retrograde, in Leo.
• Around midnight between 9 and 10 March 2027 — retrograde, Mars goes back into Cancer: 00:14 IST on the 10th by the site's ephemeris, 11:53 PM on the 9th by Drik Panchang. The two are twenty-one minutes apart and fall either side of midnight, so you will see both dates in almanacs.
• 1 April 2027, 19:38 IST — Mars turns direct, in Cancer.
• 26 April 2027, 11:47 IST — Mars enters Leo again.
• 5 July 2027, 04:34 IST — Mars moves on into Virgo.

Mars in Leo and in Cancer

Leo is the Sun's sign, and the Sun is Mars's friend, so the site's table of dignities puts Mars in Leo in a friend's sign: at ease, direct and warm. Cancer is different. It is the sign of Mars's fall, and the site's rule text for a birth chart with Mars there says that "drive rises and falls with mood, and anger can turn inward or come out sideways". The six or seven weeks Mars spends back in Cancer, from 10 March to 26 April 2027, are the part of this long season most worth handling gently.

For a person born with Mars in Leo, Varahamihira describes someone fearless who bears hardship patiently and loves the wild, with modest means and few children (Brihat Jataka 18.7, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer). It is a birth-chart reading, not a forecast, but it captures the tradition's sense of Mars in a fire sign: courage and endurance more than comfort.

Mars's retrograde months are not a separate omen in the classical texts. What they change is timing: Mars stays longer over the same houses, so whatever its transit brings, it brings for longer, and matters started early in the season tend to be revisited.

Your Moon sign

Count from your Moon sign, the sign the Moon was in at your birth (a free birth chart shows it), your own sign being the 1st. The classical gochara table counts the 3rd, 6th and 11th as good houses for Mars, as for Saturn and the nodes: these are the houses where effort and competition pay. Each paragraph gives Mars's house while it is in Leo, then while it is back in Cancer.

Aries Moon (Mesha). Mars is in your 5th house, not one of Mars's favourable houses. Children, study and creative work need patience rather than force; avoid hasty speculation. Back in Cancer (March–April) Mars is in your 4th: keep calm at home.

Taurus Moon (Vrishabha). Mars is in your 4th house, not one of Mars's favourable houses. Domestic tension or property matters may need attention. In March and April Mars moves to your 3rd, which is a good house for it, and courage returns.

Gemini Moon (Mithuna). Mars is in your 3rd house, a favourable house for Mars. Initiative, short journeys, sports and bold communication go well. In March and April it falls back to your 2nd: watch your words and spending.

Cancer Moon (Karka). Mars is in your 2nd house, not one of Mars's favourable houses. Speech can turn sharp and money can slip away; count to ten. From 10 March to 26 April Mars is over your own sign, in its fall: rest and avoid quarrels.

Leo Moon (Simha). Mars is in your 1st house, not one of Mars's favourable houses. Energy is high but so is impatience; exercise, and take care with fire, heat and haste. In March and April Mars is in your 12th: guard sleep and expenses.

Virgo Moon (Kanya). Mars is in your 12th house, not one of Mars's favourable houses. Expenses, fatigue and things behind the scenes take energy. In March and April it is in your 11th, a good house, and gains come more easily.

Libra Moon (Tula). Mars is in your 11th house, a favourable house for Mars. Goals move, income can rise and friends rally round. In March and April it moves to your 10th: steady effort at work.

Scorpio Moon (Vrishchika). Mars is in your 10th house, not one of Mars's favourable houses. Work is demanding and authority may push back; choose your battles. In March and April Mars is in your 9th: keep faith with mentors.

Sagittarius Moon (Dhanu). Mars is in your 9th house, not one of Mars's favourable houses. Disagreements over beliefs or with elders are possible; travel with care. In March and April it falls to your 8th: avoid risk and overexertion.

Capricorn Moon (Makara). Mars is in your 8th house, not one of Mars's favourable houses. Take care with health, vehicles and shared finances. In March and April Mars is in your 7th: be patient with partners.

Aquarius Moon (Kumbha). Mars is in your 7th house, not one of Mars's favourable houses. Partnerships can become heated; listen before you answer. In March and April it is in your 6th, a good house, and obstacles give way.

Pisces Moon (Meena). Mars is in your 6th house, a favourable house for Mars. A strong season for clearing debts, beating competition and building health. In March and April it moves to your 5th: go gently with children and study.

Observances

The site's reference gives Mars's correspondences as Tuesday, Lord Hanuman (or Kartikeya), the mantra "Om Mangalaya Namah" and its beej mantra "Om Kraam Kreem Kraum Sah Bhaumaya Namaha", gifts of red lentils (masoor) or red cloth on Tuesdays, and the Hanuman Chalisa. Its practical advice is the most useful part: channel the energy into exercise, and avoid anger and arguments. Red coral is Mars's stone, but whether it suits you depends on Mars's strength and lordship in your own chart, which the remedies page works out; a transit alone is no reason to wear it.

Use the tools

• See Mars in your own chart, and whether Mangal Dosha stands in it: free birth chart.
• Your monthly horoscope, which follows each planet's stays through the month.
• A good day for property or vehicle dealings: the muhurta finder. The day's limbs are on the panchang.

General guidance for a Moon sign, not a personal reading.