Guys--would a natal retrograde Mercury persons "mars trine Mercury" be different from someone with direct natal Mercury? (Suppose all other signs, houses, and aspects are identical.) Does it, for example, make any sense for me to look up "Venus square Uranus" and read the descriptions and apply them to myself if my natal venus is retrograde. I mean, those descriptions probably assume the readers Venus is direct. Would it (generally speaking of course) have the same outcome?
Every person is unique, and every chart is unique. "Venus square Uranus" descriptions might apply to you, or might not apply because the cookbook astrology description doesn't take into account other chart factors that are heavily relevant--your sun and moon placements, your rising sign, your angular planet(s), for instance.
If a planet is retrograde, it's stronger in one way--it has a chance to develop its unique characteristics without interference from the outside world--but the outward expression of it may be weaker.
The basic meanings of aspects hold up, though. Mars trine Mercury means your Mars and Mercury work together in everything. Your Mercury being retrograde doesn't change that. All it does is give Mercury a retrograde kind of expression for you. It still teams up just as well with that Mars in Cancer.
What in my chart suggests that I'm easily intimidated? I always think it's because I'm a Pisces. I withdraw and let people dominate even though on the inside I crave the power (sun trine pluto and leo rising). One wouldn't expect being easily intimidated or anything from a leo rising, but I am.
Being easily intimidated is not a permanent trait. If you were fully in your power and aware of it, you would not be easily intimidated. What the chart shows is what's likely to happen if you are not fully in your power, and what could shift to get you in your power.
Much of your chart suggests sensitivity. Sensitive people are more likely to be intimidated, because they perceive everything so strongly. A less sensitive person might not feel threatened or need to withdraw so quickly, but for a sensitive person, that's a survival instinct.
Pisces is well known for being a sensitive sign, and also for finding its strength in adaptability. Pisces can easily become whatever is needed, wear many faces, be what others expect. The key is not to mistake those put-on faces for your real self. A healthy Pisces self would be able to maintain uniqueness and strength while being adaptable. Like a willow tree, which doesn't break in wind or water because it bends.
Leo is sensitive the way a cat is sensitive. Well attuned to the attentions of others, well attuned to social expectations. Put Leo rising on top of a sensitive Pisces sun, and it's a recipe for sensitivity. Think of cats: some cats pursue a strategy of approaching everyone and asking for attention, while others pursue a strategy of run and hide, and only come out when the familiar person is present. With an overall sensitive chart, Leo rising is more likely to be a shy kitty, ready to bolt at the first hint of danger. On top of that, Chiron is near your AC, which adds vulnerability to your persona.
Those factors alone would make you quite sensitive. Add two retrograde personal planets, one of them in Pisces, and a fourth house moon, and the usually not-sensitive Mars placed in sensitive Cancer, and it makes sense that you're very sensitive, and probably especially sensitive to the expectations of others (whether actual or perceived).
What you could ultimately become is a woman in your power. No less sensitive, but secure enough in your own power to not be intimidated easily. That will probably take many years of growth. But you do have some very powerful placements: people with eighth house suns are said to unconsciously radiate power, key Leo placements are power magnets; and Pluto not only trines your sun, it also squares your AC/DC, which is likely to make you seem powerful and/or intimidating to others--at least to certain others. All you have to do is grow into that.
I have Mercury solidly in the 7th so if you're on the fence about it, we could compare notes.
