Since Mars entered Virgo on November 11, my 83-year-old neighbor Lucille has been making demands. She claimed that runoff from my rain gutters was compromising her retaining wall. So I removed the dirt and plants closest to her wall and put in a costly drainage system. After several encounters in which she insisted more be done, we resolved the situation. Or so I thought.

Last week, I came home to find a stranger in my yard, ripping out my plants. I installed a fence. Claiming the fence was on her property, Lucille demanded I take it down.

I tried to transcend my anger. I blessed my neighbor and affirmed divine justice.  Yet nothing made me feel better, or prompted her to back off. However, once I gave in to my fury, letting it surge through me as I shouted and danced, things started to shift. (For inspiration on owning your anger, watch this short video). Now, I’m ready to take the next step: assessing the property line to determine my legal rights.

Welcome to Mars turning retrograde in nitpicky Virgo! The warrior planet will be retracing its steps from Jan. 23 to April 13, and continues to energize this earthy sign until July 3. Altogether, it will spend almost eight months in Virgo, helping us channel our anger and frustration, get organized, heal ancient wounds, and find constructive ways to right personal, corporate and planetary wrongs.

Hot tip: Clutter-busting your home, office and car will help keep your vital energies flowing, especially in the “stuckest” times when Mars is stationary (Jan. 11 to Feb. 6, and March 31 to April 29).

The Aquarius New Moon (Jan. 22, 11:39 p.m. PST) occurs just hours before Mars’ retreat into the underworld. The Aquarian need for freedom and innovation is intensified by squares from Jupiter and Saturn and a sextile from Uranus. But we may feel as if we have one foot on the gas and another on the brake, due to the immobility of Mars and Saturn’s cautious square. Resist the urge to leap into the fray. Taking slow, meditative steps toward freedom and progress and eliminating outworn projects, ideas, relationships and other energy drains will work better than rash actions.

Lending even more fuel to the evolutionary fire, Jan. 23 also ushers in the Chinese Year of the Water Dragon. According to Terah Kathryn Collins, director of the Western School of Feng Shui, the Water Dragon’s message is: “Everything is always changing.” This intuitive creature, she explains, “is known for bringing Heaven to Earth and making dreams come true. Visions you’ve been holding deep within your heart could manifest right before your eyes.” Watch what you wish for though, she cautions, “’cause you’re going to get it.”

Combining the Water Dragon’s powers of manifestation with the Aquarius New Moon’s visionary gifts and Mars’ strength and determination can help you break through barriers—if you’re willing to be patient. To get the angels on your team, try this Astro Feng Shui ritual for the Aquarius New Moon and Helpful People gua.

In a recent Huffingtonpost article, Why it is Wise to Worship a Woman, Arjuna Ardagh describes his long-ago visit to a sacred temple in Bali. Inside the ornate temple, he says, were ten circular walls protecting the feminine deity at its center. After lighting incense and making offerings, newcomers were allowed to pass through three of the entrances, but could go no further. Hindus, he explained, could go beyond the fourth wall. Devotees of the deity could proceed beyond the fifth, but only those who had given their lives to her worship were allowed to approach the goddess directly.

“A woman’s heart is just like that,” says Ardagh. “At the essence of every woman’s heart is the divine feminine. It contains everything that has ever been beautiful, or lovely, or inspiring in any woman. It is the peak of wisdom, the peak of sexual desirability, the peak of soothing, healing love. But it’s protected, for good reason, by a series of concentric walls. To move inwardly from one wall to the next requires that you intensify your capacity for devotion, and as you do so, you are rewarded with Grace.”

Passing through these gates to a woman’s innermost heart, he adds, takes commitment, loyalty and planting “small seedlings of devotion” on a daily basis. He suggests telling your partner ten times a day something you adore about her, and paying attention to her fears and insecurities as well as her deep desires. Eventually, as Ardagh discovered with his wife, “When you love a woman completely, at the very essence of her being, you discover the magic ingredient which has led every man to fall in love with a woman. My marriage has become the guru, the salvation, the muse, the crack through which the divine shines through.”

At this Sunday’s Full Moon (Jan. 8, 11:30 p.m. PST), the Great Father (Sun in Capricorn) stands opposite the Great Mother (Moon in Cancer), shining his light upon her in homage to her beauty. Warrior Mars in protective Virgo makes flowing aspects to the Sun and Moon, guarding them. This Full Moon initiates a process that intensifies as Mars retrogrades through Virgo (Jan. 23 to April 13). As the Warrior turns inward, we are asked to nurture our seedlings of devotion for whomever or whatever gives our lives meaning.  We patiently clean the kitchen floor when our adorable feline spits up hairballs. We willingly rework a report for our boss. We lovingly feed ourselves healthy foods, and clear our homes of clutter. And yes, we tell our beloved daily what we appreciate about them.  Thus we nurture the divine feminine in ourselves and the world.