Mars is out of Aries, whoop whoop! This past year has been challenging to say the least. Personally, with Mars in Aries, I could feel the anger building up in my body. I was angry about the state of the world, the “getting back to normal”, and the overall lack of compassion I saw throughout all of 2020. With Mars in Taurus though, it feels like a good time to let go of the anger, and release some grudges.

What we learned about anger with Mars in Aries

• We can be angry at the current state of the world and just live however we want regardless of the mass amounts of people dying from an unknown deadly virus.
• We can use our anger, and channel it into social justice and progressive action.
• We can let our anger fester inside and wait for a burnt out, out-burst to strike.

Obviously there are other outcomes of this transit and I’m a little biased in my political views; but, what we witnessed this past year was an undeniable division in the USA. We banded together and helped each other out for the first month, and then the egos came in and took over. Although it can be scary, the anger that comes with survival mode is necessary and unwavering. And last year, we all felt like we had to do what we had to do in order to survive.

Some questions we asked ourselves during Mars in Aries:

• What do I need to do to protect myself and my family?
• What kind of warrior am I? Or in my case I asked, what character am I in those zombie apocalypse movies that I love so much? Am I the type to lay low and protect my troops; or am I the type to run in full force, guns blazing, swords out, with no second thoughts about how this will affect everyone else?
• What causes am I standing up for in my community, if any?
• Who is in my inner circle and worth risking my safety (and theirs), to see during this pandemic?

Some of our answers were selfish, while some of our answers were considerate of our neighbors. Ultimately, all of our answers were tough and caused conflict. None of our answers were perfect because it’s all a matter of perspective.

Emmy’s Mars in Aries story

Personally, even though Mars is in Taurus now, I know I’m still holding onto the anger I developed while Mars was in Aries. I tried to do everything I could to consider the masses; I tried to stay home; I tried to stay safe. I know I wasn’t perfect. Sure, I still hung out with people and touched my face in the grocery store; but, I did the best that I could and I was vocal about it. I expressed my feelings toward mask-less people who partied regardless of the virus. But again, as much as they weren’t perfect, I wasn’t perfect either.

As a person who struggles with conflict, dealing with this aggressive Mars in Aries transit was very difficult for me. I tried giving people the benefit of the doubt. I tried seeing from the opposite perspective, but every time I did, it made me extremely angry and bitter. It made me see people in a different light – a dark, gloomy, deep red kind of light. Instead of embodying Mars in Aries and challenging people, I stayed home and challenged myself. I learned about history, the Black Lives Matter movement, and politics. And I voted for the first time ever! While I’m 26 years old and should have voted a long time ago, all that matters is I took action in a way that was challenging for me.

My whole life has been full of passive aggressive moves, and if you’re like me, you still have a lot to learn; but remember, you did your best in 2020. The people you are angry at are not going away. There is still work to do, and there is still pent up anger that can be released with Mars in Taurus

Mars Enters Aries – June 28th 2020

Releasing Grudges while Mars is in Taurus

First, lets start with the definition of a Grudge: “a persistent feeling of ill will or resentment resulting from a past insult or injury.”

Releasing grudges is tough because you hold them for a reason. Keep in mind, when you decide to release a grudge, it needs to be for yourself, not for the other person. You don’t need to let go of things in order to make them feel comfortable. In fact, they hurt you, and sometimes they need to know they hurt you before you can release anything.

When you hold onto resentment, you hold onto pain. Although you will always remember how a person made you feel, you can learn to let the anger go while Mars is in Taurus.

To be totally transparent with ya’ll, I am NOT an expert at forgiveness. I can think of several people I’m currently resenting, and I don’t think I can let these grudges go easily. They hurt me and I feel like they need to know. But several of the people who’ve hurt me, do know how I feel and still won’t admit that they did anything wrong. To them, I was wrong, and that stings!

When the other person doesn’t acknowledge the pain they have caused, it’s hard to truly release your grudge.

Things to remember about people you are holding a grudge against

• People carry shame and don’t like admitting their faults
• People have a completely different perspective from you, and they can’t see the situation in the same way that you do

Here’s the catch to the grudge holding dilemma; oftentimes, we’re no different from the people we’re mad at. We all just want love, acceptance, and freedom, right? It’s just the details that get blurry. Who is allowed to love? Do we accept that behavior? Does freedom in this realm, create freedom and justice for all? Or does this “freedom” take away rights from someone else?

While Mars is in Taurus, remember that no one is worth holding anger over. Grudges are energy, baby. Let that shit go and live life the way you want to. Support the people, things, and ideas that you want to support. And if you’re unsure of exactly how to do that, read the section below to see how the planet Mars can help you move forward.

(Side Note: Obviously there is a difference between holding your basic everyday grudge and expressing anger that stems from violence and oppression. Always trust your gut and never discount your anger. It is an absolutely necessary emotion that we all feel…some of us unfortunately carry more anger than others.)

How to Release Grudges According to Your Mars Sign

Mars in Aries gave us the power to stand up for ourselves and take action against those who didn’t respect us. Mars in Taurus gives us the power to be in our bodies and release the grudges that are weighing us down so we no longer carry that internal pain and suffering.

If you don’t know your Mars sign, check your sun sign as well. We can all use any of these grudge releasing exercises. Find one that works for you, and go for it!

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Aries

Bring your attention to yourself. When you catch yourself dwelling on that one time that one person hurt your feelings, set that thought aside and think about you for a minute. What are you doing right now? What have you accomplished despite this persons hurtful actions? You are amazing! Take care of yourself and keep doing you. Let them go.

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Taurus

Physically release the grudge. Bring it to the surface by thinking about it; feel where it lies in your body by noting which area feels tension, then move and stretch that area. Dance around the room! Give your grudge permission to exit your body. You don’t need to carry it anymore. Let them go.

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Gemini

See from the other persons perspective. Dig deep. They are human, just as you are. Were they having a bad day? Are they going through a lot? Were they raised in a different environment than you were? Although you can never fully see from their perspective, you can acknowledge their humanness and see that they made a mistake. Maybe they will learn from it in the future, maybe they will not. Their growth is not your problem. Let them go.

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Cancer

Set boundaries. Letting go of someone can be challenging. If you don’t want to totally release them from your life, set some boundaries with them. Do not let them continue to hurt you. Let them know how you feel, and if they don’t respect your feelings, don’t give them your feelings anymore! Spend less time with them and if they act up again when you are with them, give them some space in the moment. Talk to someone else or tell them you need a minute away from them. Don’t let them drain your energy. Let them go.

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Leo

Muster up the courage to forgive. You don’t have to do it in person (bonus points if you do though!). As long as you know in your heart that you forgive them, you will feel better. It takes strength to forgive someone who’s wronged you. It takes courage to move beyond your pain and release your grudge. Take pride in the multitudes of strength you posses. Let them go.

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Virgo

Write it out. Make a list of your grudges and how they make you feel. Understand the fact that you don’t have to feel this way anymore. These feelings are yours, not theirs. You have no way of knowing what another person is truly feeling, so focus on your feelings. Don’t like your feelings? Tear the paper up! If the feelings come back, repeat until it’s they clearly don’t matter anymore. Let them go.

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Libra

Talk it out. Get help from a therapist or another third party who doesn’t know the person you are resenting (and isn’t afraid to tell you what they really think). Talking to friends and other people who know the person you are holding a grudge against, is not always the best option. Friends can be biased or can accidentally tell the person how you feel, which could ultimately make things worse. Talk about your feelings with a counselor. Let it out. Let them go.

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Scorpio

Step into your power. The person you are holding a grudge towards, is not better than you. Even if they made you feel small, understand that you have the same power they do – if not more. Recognize your power and let them go.

Musical Break: My Power by Beyoncé. Queen B has Mars in Leo and when this song came to me, I realized this Mars in Scorpio grudge releasing message can also work for every fixed sign (Scorpio, Leo, Taurus, & Aquarius). Own your power, my fixed queens!

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Sagittarius

Remind yourself of the times you hurt other people. This doesn’t excuse their actions, but you can empathize with accidentally (or intentionally) hurting someone’s feelings. Remember they are human just like you, then let them go.

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Capricorn

Take responsibility for your feelings. You are the one holding the grudge, not them (and if they are too, that’s their problem). It’s not productive to plot revenge and plan a way to sabotage someone. You have better things to do, like channeling your anger into action towards a cause that needs your help. Let them go.

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Aquarius

Emotionally detach from the grudge. You don’t have to feel anger, sadness, or pain when you think of this person who hurt you. They aren’t worth your time. They hurt you! They will get what’s coming to them or they will realize what they’ve done and will try to make amends. Until then, if the feelings come up, distract yourself. Do something that gets your mind off of them. Detach, detach, detach! Let them go.

How to Release Grudges with Mars in Pisces

Imagine a grudge free life. Imagine what it would feel like to let it all go. Maybe you’re bouncing from cloud to cloud, floating without the weight of your grudges holding you down. Maybe you’re a samurai, slicing away at all the grudges that come your way. Get loose with it! Imagine the freedom that comes with releasing resentment. Let them go.

Summary

Remember, I don’t write these things because I’m the grudge releasing queen; oftentimes, I write these things because it’s what I myself, need to work on in this moment. We all hold grudges, but we don’t have to hold onto them forever. Grudges will come and go, and you don’t need to wait for Mars in Taurus to release them. The key is realizing when you’re resenting someone, then finding ways to let them go.

If you resonated with these grudge releasing tips or have any other ways you like to let things go, let me know in the comments below.

Sources and other great articles on releasing grudges:

https://experiencelife.com/article/how-to-let-go-of-grudges/

https://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Holding-Grudges

https://www.vice.com/en/article/mb5zdy/we-asked-experts-how-to-let-go-of-grudges