You know that productive, I-can-do-anything sensation that you get when you wake up on a Sunday morning without a hangover? Yeah, that’s the sort of energy Mars in Virgo will be bringing us, all the way from July 29 to September 14. Mars is known as the Planet of Action and Desire, while Virgo is super-organised, almost perfectionistic. Taken together, it means our regularly messy lives will be given a much-needed orderly nudge.

“Mars in Virgo is like that Monday where you just want to have a green juice, go to a spin class, do laundry, and get your life in order,” says Madi Murphy, co-founder of The Cosmic RX and The Cosmic Revolution. Murphy says we’ll be on “a quest for perfecting the ideas you had during Leo season.” If there were ever a time to get down to business, it would be now.

While this sounds pretty great, Virgo isn’t exactly the best placement for the Planet of Action — it usually prefers to hang out in fire and air signs, according to Narayana Montúfar, senior astrologer for Astrology.com. But, there is a plus side to this not-so-favourable energy. “Mars in Virgo is the ideal transit to get stuff done and invest energy on our most precious goals,” Montúfar says. “When in Virgo, Mars is under messenger Mercury’s territory, so it will adopt the cosmic messenger’s analytical skills, curiosity, and interests.” If you love being a busy bee, this transit is perfect to let those vibes run free. For the next month or so, staying busy, focused, and productive is the name of the game.

Lisa Stardust, the author of Saturn Return Survival Guide and The Astrology Deck, calls this transit a “great detective,” but even Sherlock Holmes can have his off days. Stardust says that our “analytical nature can get the best of us at times, as we opt to overthink situations instead of confronting them head on.” Don’t get too wrapped up in following your to-do list to a T — while the vibes are productive and we’ll want to be meticulous, being overly calculated could backfire.

Mars can affect how we express our anger, so Murphy says to be on the lookout for losing your cool when things don’t go perfectly according to plan. One way to keep your cool is with this mental flip: “Trust that sometimes, the things that go wrong can be teaching you something or protecting you in some way,” she says. “Avoid obsessing over what is not going right. Instead, focus on progress over perfection.”

Venus, the Planet of Love, is also currently in Virgo, giving this transit a more lighthearted touch. Venus and Mars do not travel together often, and when they do, magic can happen. “There are times [Venus and Mars] can bring a significant person into the lives of those who are looking,” says Leslie Hale, psychic astrologer for Keen.com. “This will be especially positive for Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn, but other signs may benefit as well.” If you’re looking for love, be open to it. Venus in Virgo may have been the end of hot vaxx summer, but this darling duo could signal an early start to cuffing season.

One transit to look out for: Mars in Virgo will oppose Neptune in Pisces on September 2. “During this time, we may feel a little stuck in our lives and unable to make any movement,” Stardust says. “Fear of the unknown and uncertainty of the future will hold us back in every direction.” We can get caught up worrying about what everyone else is doing, so check yourself when you find yourself playing the comparison game. And, not to scare you, but Montúfar calls this clash “one of the worst astrological aspects for lies, deceit, and gaslighting.” As long as you watch your back and keep your friends close, though, you should be able to make it through without a scratch.

You’ve got over a month to prepare for this Mars and Neptune meetup, so be sure to schedule time to focus on yourself. “It’s a great time to start a creative project and to harness the energy in an effective way that can create a better reality for ourselves,” Stardust says. Get brainstorming now — then, come September, you’ll be ready to take on your creative slump with a new, already thought-out project. Planning ahead might just save you from the end-of-summer brain fog.

Mars in Virgo is giving us major Martha Stewart energy (but kind of in a good way?). The mantra here is to Get Things Done, and if you put your mind to it, you surely will.

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