When Was Mars Last in Leo?
Updated October 5, 2026
As of October 2026, Mars is in Leo. Mars first entered Leo on 28 September 2026; because retrograde motion carries it back and forth across the sign's boundary, it enters twice in this pass and leaves for good on 14 May 2027. It moves on into Virgo on 25 November 2026, and retrograde motion brings it back on 21 February 2027. Before that, Mars first entered Leo on 4 November 2024 and, because retrograde motion carried it back and forth across the sign's boundary, entered it twice in all before leaving for good on 17 June 2025. After this pass, Mars returns to Leo on 4 September 2028.
Each bar runs from first entry to final exit. Stretches marked with a neighbouring sign are times it crossed back over the boundary before returning. The outlined stretch is under way now.
Mars in Leo, 2001–2051
Dates are in UTC and the Gregorian calendar; in a time zone far from Greenwich an ingress can fall on the neighbouring calendar day.
| First entry | Final exit | Time in Leo | Entered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 July 2002 | 29 August 2002 | 6.7 weeks | once |
| 23 June 2004 | 10 August 2004 | 6.8 weeks | once |
| 3 June 2006 | 22 July 2006 | 7.0 weeks | once |
| 9 May 2008 | 1 July 2008 | 7.5 weeks | once |
| 16 October 2009 | 7 June 2010 | 7.7 months | once |
| 19 September 2011 | 11 November 2011 | 7.6 weeks | once |
| 28 August 2013 | 15 October 2013 | 6.9 weeks | once |
| 8 August 2015 | 25 September 2015 | 6.7 weeks | once |
| 20 July 2017 | 5 September 2017 | 6.7 weeks | once |
| 1 July 2019 | 18 August 2019 | 6.7 weeks | once |
| 11 June 2021 | 29 July 2021 | 6.9 weeks | once |
| 20 May 2023 | 10 July 2023 | 7.3 weeks | once |
| 4 November 2024 | 17 June 2025 | 4.1 months | 2 times |
| In Leo: 4 Nov 2024 – 6 Jan 2025 · 18 Apr 2025 – 17 Jun 2025 | |||
| 28 September 2026 (now) | 14 May 2027 | 4.6 months | 2 times |
| In Leo: 28 Sept 2026 – 25 Nov 2026 · 21 Feb 2027 – 14 May 2027 | |||
| 4 September 2028 | 24 October 2028 | 7.1 weeks | once |
| 15 August 2030 | 2 October 2030 | 6.8 weeks | once |
| 27 July 2032 | 12 September 2032 | 6.7 weeks | once |
| 8 July 2034 | 24 August 2034 | 6.7 weeks | once |
| 18 June 2036 | 5 August 2036 | 6.8 weeks | once |
| 29 May 2038 | 17 July 2038 | 7.1 weeks | once |
| 2 May 2040 | 26 June 2040 | 7.8 weeks | once |
| 8 October 2041 | 30 May 2042 | 7.7 months | once |
| 13 September 2043 | 3 November 2043 | 7.3 weeks | once |
| 23 August 2045 | 10 October 2045 | 6.8 weeks | once |
| 4 August 2047 | 20 September 2047 | 6.7 weeks | once |
| 15 July 2049 | 31 August 2049 | 6.7 weeks | once |
| 27 June 2051 | 13 August 2051 | 6.8 weeks | once |
Mars retrograde in Leo, 2001–2051
Retrograde periods with at least one station in Leo: the date Mars stood still and turned retrograde, and the date it turned direct again.
| Stations retrograde | Stations direct |
|---|---|
| 20 December 2009 19°41′ Leo | 10 March 2010 0°17′ Leo |
| 6 December 2024 6°10′ Leo | 24 February 2025 17°00′ Cancer |
| 10 January 2027 10°25′ Virgo | 1 April 2027 20°55′ Leo |
| 28 December 2041 27°39′ Leo | 18 March 2042 8°10′ Leo |
How Mars moves through the zodiac
Across 1950–2075, Mars spent about 5.4 weeks to 7.1 months in a sign on each pass, not counting retrograde dips out of it, and it returned to the same sign about every 23 months. 8% of passes included at least one retrograde dip back over a sign boundary.
Mars in other signs
Aries · Taurus · Gemini · Cancer · Leo · Virgo · Libra · Scorpio · Sagittarius · Capricorn · Aquarius · Pisces
Other planets in Leo
Venus · Mars · Jupiter · Saturn · Chiron · Uranus · Neptune · Pluto
All planets in all signs · How to read these dates
How these dates were found
With Horoskopos's sky search: Mars's geocentric, apparent, tropical ecliptic longitude, computed with the open-source Astronomy Engine library, with each sign boundary found to the minute. Sample ingresses agree with NASA JPL's Horizons ephemeris to within half an hour. Data generated 2026-10-04; page built 2026-10-05.