The same old fight, round two
Fights you've already had with your partner or a collaborator may flare up again with Mars retrograde in your 7th house. Old grievances come back wearing a new excuse, and one remark from the other person can make you see red.
Your business partner reworks your proposal in front of everyone at a meeting. You hold it in until the meeting ends, then go back to your desk and type a long, angry email. You don't hit send. Staring at the screen, you realize your frustration with them goes way beyond this one thing.
An old conflict coming back doesn't mean the relationship is over. It means the problems you never solved need both of you to face them head-on. Don't rush to pick a winner these two and a half months. Say what each of you cares about, and decide after you've talked.
The tug-of-war between two people
The 7th house covers partners and business partners, and also the rivals you face head-on. With Mars looking back here, the power struggle comes out into the open: who always gives in, and who always calls the shots? When an old fight returns, it's a chance to reset how you treat each other. These two and a half months give you enough time to work out new ground rules.
One remark lights the fuse
Your partner brings up an old fight, and you're instantly furious. A collaborator suddenly changes the terms, or a competitor steals one of your clients. Or anger you've been holding back explodes over something small. Only afterward do you realize you've put up with it for a long time without saying a word.
Set rules first, decide later
Before you argue, agree on three rules: no dragging up the past, no personal attacks, and if either of you says stop, you stop. If you're too angry to talk, take separate walks and come back to it.
Leave decisions about breaking up or ending a business partnership until after Mars goes direct. For these two and a half months, write down what happened and how you felt.
How you fight matters more than what
When you fight with your partner over these two and a half months, the point isn't who's right but how you argue. Say the same thing a different way and the conversation keeps going. Say it the wrong way, and even a tiny issue blows up into a war.
You're arguing about whose turn it is to do the dishes, and you blurt out, "You always do this." Your partner storms into the bedroom and slams the door. The next day you try, "I get really tired doing them alone." They're quiet for a second, then roll up their sleeves and head into the kitchen.
"I'm hurt" gets heard a lot more easily than "You always." If you're both worn out halfway through a fight, agree to pick it up tomorrow. If you're single and drawn to someone forceful, look closely at whether that's charm or control.
Stuck together? Find the shared goal
Friction with business partners or clients tends to show up more often over these two and a half months. When you each dig in on your own side, it's easy to forget why you teamed up. You both wanted the same result.
You and your business partner spend a whole week arguing over whether to take on a big project, and neither of you budges. Finally you each write your reasons on a whiteboard. That's when you see you're both afraid of the same thing.
When working together stalls, figure out the result you both want before you talk about who does what. If a rival goes after your clients or your credit, you don't need to fight them head-on. Do your own work well and let the results speak; that hits harder than any face-off.
At the negotiating table, reply tomorrow
If you have to negotiate or handle a dispute at work, don't answer while you're angry these two and a half months. The more unreasonable the terms, the more you want to fire right back. But what you say in the heat of the moment can cost you your leverage.
A client calls and demands 30 percent off, in a sharp tone, and you almost say, "Then we're done working together." Instead you say you need to think it over. The next day you run the numbers again and find a middle ground you can both live with.
Write down what the other side is asking for and reply a day later. Negotiate what you can, and set aside what you can't agree on for now. Things often look different once Mars goes direct, and your leverage is clearer then. There's no need to settle it on the spot.
Talk from the books, not from memory
Money fights with a business partner or your partner can snowball these weeks. Everyone remembers what they put in but not what the other person did. Arguing from memory alone never gets you to an answer.
Your business partner says you took more this quarter, and you snap back that they have no idea how much you've fronted. The two of you spread the books on the table and go through them line by line. In the end, the whole gap comes down to one refund nobody recorded.
Get the numbers out first: who put in how much and who took how much. Talking from the books gets further than fighting from memory. If you need to, ask a neutral third person to go over the accounts; everyone accepts the result more easily, and the relationship stays intact.
When your family can't stand your partner
Family members who don't like your partner, or have opinions about how you two get along, may say so bluntly these weeks. Your first instinct is to defend your partner. Then it turns into a fight between you and your family, which leaves your partner even more uncomfortable.
On the phone, your mom says your partner spends way too much. "What are you going to do down the road?" You snap right back at her. After you hang up, it hits you that she's just worried about you getting dragged down, even if she said it harshly.
When your family criticizes your partner, don't rush to defend them or fall out with your family. Hear out what's worrying them first. Your relationship is your call. Stay gentle in tone and clear about where you stand; you don't have to win the argument over the phone.
After a fight, don't go straight to bed
When there's a lot of conflict in your relationships, you tend to get tension headaches, stiff shoulders, and bad sleep. After a fight your body's still braced for battle, with a fast heartbeat and shallow breathing. Lie down right away and you just toss and turn.
After a fight with your business partner in the conference room, you get home at ten. You shower and get into bed, but your heart's still pounding. So you get up and write down everything you wanted to say. The moment you finish, your eyelids finally get heavy.
On the night of a clash, do something physical first, like a brisk walk, some stretching, or a few squats. Give all that tension somewhere to go. The next morning, eat a real breakfast, and don't carry last night's anger out the door with you.
Where you draw the line
In a relationship, what's the one thing you can't give up? The fights over these two and a half months often land right on that line. You just never spelled it out before, so even you weren't sure where it was.
You always thought you were easygoing and fine with anything. Then your partner says yes to a get-together for you without asking, again. For the first time you say, "I'm not okay with this," and you're a little surprised yourself.
Write down your bottom lines in relationships. The next time there's a conflict, you know what you can give on and what you need to hold. People who know their limits actually get along better, and they're less likely to get swept along by emotion.