Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
This month’s experts:
The Astrology Podcast
Chris Brennan
Austin Coppock
Christopher Renstrom
Rick Levine
Pam Gregory
Acyuta-bhava Das
DAILY DETAILS:
MARCH 2
NEW MOON IN PISCES
Pisces is the main sign to watch this month, though Aquarius has some action going on. Today, there is a new moon at 12 degrees of Pisces, only a couple of degrees away from Jupiter and also sharing the sign with Neptune. The new moon’s close proximity to over-the-top Jupiter (which is happy in its home sign) brings optimism, Chris Brennan of the Astrology Podcast says. But we also have, simultaneously, intense (Pluto) energy of the Venus (values, money, and happiness), Mars (aggression and action) and Pluto (intensity, secrets, and destruction/reconstruction) meet-up in Capricorn at 27 degrees. This is the point where Pluto has returned, for the first time, to the place where it was on the day that the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia. Chris says it is a tense energy. A third conjunction is a Mercury/Saturn conjunction in Aquarius. that he calls “hyperfocused.” Rick Levine calls the energy between Mercury and Saturn “rigid thinking” or getting your facts “real” and then changing what you are thinking. This combo also can bring more truth to the situation of fantasy and boundary-free activity happening in Pisces to help us “act on it accordingly.”
Pam Gregory suggests the Mercury/Saturn connection brings up “greater attempts at suppression (Saturn) of free (Aquarius) speech (Mercury).”
Christopher Renstrom says it is “ a lovely new moon” with aspects to Jupiter and Jupiter happy in its own sign. “It makes me think of the liturgical calendar,” he added, explaining that “they’re the times when you are closest to God or when you are anticipating God”—such as when the sun is in Sagittarius during advent right before Christmas, and now, when the sun is in Pisces during Lent, prior to Easter. He notes that the anticipation phase is more exciting than the actual arrival or end result. Austin Coppock adds that Jupiter represents religious observance of all types. It also, Renstrom says, brings a sense of moral justice (higher level religion and legal matters).
Pam Gregory also points out that Neptune is spirituality and Jupiter is philosophical and religious belief, adding a spiritual energy and urge to connect with the divine. The sun and moon so close to Jupiter, she tells us, will expand the devotional, healing and loving energy of Pisces and Jupiter. Neptune is our dreams and fantasies, so “dream big” she tells us, and find a way to get to peace, to calm, and bliss, in “this year of great drama and many big events.”
Rick Levine also points out that Jupiter near the new moon and in the path of each of the luminaries can expand the energy even to the point of being out of control. “We think of Jupiter often as a good planet, it is a benefic. But too much of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing.” Instead, he says, it could even grow out of control and cause a big mess. While a new moon is often “quieting,” he says Jupiter makes it larger. With Neptune close by and the sun heading in that direction, the land of Pisces can be delusional, with an inability to “separate the fantasy from reality, but there is the potential for compassion…and understanding,” Levine says. Eventually, in April, when Jupiter catches up to Neptune, he anticipates some idealism and compassion.
In addition to connecting with Jupiter and Neptune, the new moon is forming an angle of potential opportunity to changeable Uranus in Taurus. “There is room for sudden opportunity that involves a sudden change,” Levine points out.
The Venus/Mars/Pluto stellium (three or more planets in a sign) can give us anxiety over stability vs. lack of stability, Levine says, since it is at a challenging angle to the new moon. This Capricorn gang is “not getting along with the higher visions and the idealism we have from the Jupiter, Neptune, new moon in Pisces,” he adds. It is the beginning of a shifting energy away from the things that were set up in January 2020—the COVID crisis—when Pluto held a party in Capricorn with a bunch of bad boys that overwhelmed what positive Jupiter tried to bring. Now, Levine points out, no planets will be running into Pluto in Capricorn again for almost another year.
Several of the astrologers point out that while Mars is in Capricorn for the next few days, it is in its exaltation, and therefore is at its “strongest and most efficient,” Pam Gregory explains. “It can give you tremendous focus and will power,” and it is superb at helping us to achieve goals. “It’s mastery energy in that sense,” she adds. Venus and Mars—the cosmic lovers—in connection with Pluto can also bring in intense romantic relationships that can be very positive, albeit compulsive and irresistible—karmic even. There could be obsession, control, power plays or manipulation (with Pluto), and that could make it more challenging. “This too shall pass,” Pam says.
Acyuta-bhava Das calls the Mars/Venus connection with Pluto “a roller coaster on their way into Aquarius, which can bring some hope as Venus prepares to overtake the aggressive Mars energy. With both in the same air sign as logical Mercury and serious Saturn, he notes that “cooler heads could prevail…where, if there is volatility in relationships, you’re working things out, coming to some sense of harmony and understanding.” But then Venus finds itself in the middle of two malefics for awhile, and in a challenging angle to unpredictable Uranus. It could be, he tells us, that “if Venus is hemmed in, then the potential for liberation or some kind of breakthrough…could take place…[and] be an early, optimistic termination of the enclosure.”
Anne Ortelee, in her Weekly Weather Astrology podcast, notes that “we’ve never seen anything like this before” because we are seeing big shifts and changes. The Venus/Mars/Pluto connection brings a passionate and very intense element, she says. “Pluto in Capricorn brings around profound changes to the things it rules—governments, power over [things], power over you….” Venus and Mars are dancing together, bringing changes to Pluto with combativeness combined with intensity. She suggests looking at where this change is taking place in our own life by seeing where this conjunctin falls in your chart. “What is it calling ou to do, what is it asking of you?”
Pam Gregory points out that aside from the new moon in Pisces, we will also have a full moon in Virgo, directly across from the sun in Pisces. “Traditionally, the Pisces/Virgo axis is known as the Health Axis, so we may well just as a general theme see a lot more coming up about health.” The chart, she adds, also has a lot of quintiles—72-degree aspects between planets—which can bring on very creative energy, in addition to the presence of Neptune in Pisces, which is imagination, fantasy and highly creative achievements. So this is an incredibly creative period, she says.
Anne also points out that the new moon close to Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces brings compassion, emotional volatility. “Be aware that this week you’re going to really be absorging on a very deep level, feelings, deep,deep feelings.”
While there is the chance to dream big and find truth and freedom, she warns that Pisces is water, Neptune is without boundaries, and Jupiter is expansion, which means there is a potential risk of flooding, or of water toxicity (Neptune).
MARCH 3
Venus and Mars meet up with Pluto – Venus’ third pass. Anne Ortelee points out that Mars last met with Pluto in Capricorn as the COVID pandemic began, but Jupiter and Saturn were also at that party. Now Mars meets Pluto again in Capricorn for the last time in our lives (other than a 2-week period in January 2024 when they will both be in Capricorn on opposite ends of the sign). Mars will move toward both Saturn and Jupiter in the next few months. This is a turning point, Anne says, changing the COVID structures and how we look at them. Mars and Pluto are volatile, she points out—since Pluto loves transformation, destruction and change, and Mars likes to blow things up. Rick Levine also points out that the Venus, Mars, Pluto conjunction is “not a nice conjunction, especially because Mars is exalted in Capricorn. “It gets to finish what it starts…Venus lined up with Mars may sweeten it and soften it, but I think Mars here is running the show.” Mars connecting to Pluto is the fire starter fueling Pluto’s strength. The moon has crossed over Jupiter with its expansive energy but also over scattered Neptune. This afternoon the moon moves into Aries bringing out the feeling of a new beginning or a new start.
MARCH 4
We have had logical Mercury and hard-working, disciplined Saturn together in intelligent Aquarius, meaning research, disciplined thinking or firm commitments. Anne Ortelee notes that today Mercury and Saturn are meeting up by declination –at the same level in relation to the earth similar to a total eclipse where the sun, moon, and earth are all lined up on the same plane. This is a commitment aspect, she says. There is no getting out of doing what you said you were going to do.
MARCH 5-6
On the 5th, the Sun and Jupiter meet in Pisces, which occurs in this sign once every 12 years (the sun and Jupiter meet up once a year in a different sign each year). This gives us a sense of expanding the positive energy, and optimism for the future, Pam Gregory says. Acyuta-bhava Das notes that they are both in a positive angle of opportunity (sextile) with Uranus, the surprise breakthrough planet, bringing out a sense of liberation, redemption, and progression with a momentum that brings the potential for positive events, and even heroic action. Anne Ortelee says this is about “the new vision, and of course, new ideas about how to proceed.” Many astrologers consider the day that the Sun and Jupiter meet up to be the luckiest day of the year.
Mars and Venus meet up at 0˚ of Aquarius, the same point where Jupiter and Saturn joined together in December 2020 on the day of the Winter Solstice. They have left Capricorn and Pluto behind, and Pluto will not be visited in Capricorn by any planets (except the moon) again until next year. Rick Levine tells us this exit out of Pluto’s grasp is saying there is a future, we can move on from here, and we can work with what with what we have. In this second connection of Mars and Venus, Levine says that there is a “bit of a change, there’s a bit of—I don’t know whether it’s hope or whether it’s a frustration that things aren’t moving fast enough—but there’s definitely a coming together here.”
Acyuta-bhava Das notes that Venus and Mars having met up with Pluto “can be very passionate, and they can lose themselves in the intensity.” But right after that, as Venus passes Mars, Venus ends up in what is called a malefic enclosure,“hemmed in (between Mars and Saturn)…caught between a rock and a hard place.” It lasts, he says until March 19 when Venus comes into a square angle to Uranus and has an opportunity for a breakthrough, or until March 28th, when Venus joins up with Saturn and finally passes it to get out of the enclosure.
Chris Brennan notes that Venus finally getting out of Capricorn “where it’s just been like sitting for what seems like forever since November” finally emerges and moves into Aquarius. He notes that it is “a major shift of energy not just for Venus but also for Mars,” and he adds that wherever Aquarius is in our charts is “becoming much more active as Venus and Mars ingress into that sign.”
Austin Coppock also notes that Venus is not yet out of the woods. He describes the journey of Venus as having gone retrograde “into the underworld and back again. And then usually, there’s a breath of fresh air in Venus land in the gardens once we’re done with a retrograde, but this time Mars was right there.” Venus was moving slowly so Mars caught up to Venus and they traveled together for a while. He adds that “we’re still in that until the first week of March, when we get this conjunction” at 0˚ of Aquarius. Venus thinks it is finally going to pull away and get to do its own thing as it heads towards Pisces to meet up with Jupiter, with the sense that, “We’re going to have a great time.” But up ahead, Saturn stands in the way. And so, as Venus finally starts to pull ahead of Mars, Venus finds itself “in this rough place for a lot of the month, where ahead is Saturn and behind is Mars—[it is] getting a little bit more distance from the rock (Pluto in Capricorn), but ahead the hard place looms (Saturn). It makes things very difficult for anything Venusian, Austin says. He points out that “insofar as Venus is diplomats, negotiators, peacemakers, it’s very difficult to negotiate between Saturn and Mars. They’re archetypically quite ill-tempered.” He adds, however, that Venus will eventually break free and then get to “do one of the best runs through Pisces ever.”
Anne Ortelee adds that on March 5, informative Mercury is at an angle of opportunity to disruptive Eris, which, she says, “has a great deal of energy around communication, connection, fire and war.” This, she says, could be internet interruptions. Mercury is also in a square angle to the nodes of fate, and it is connected to the moon of the birth chart of the United States. “So we have a lot of energy there, and Mercury is also contra-parallel to Uranus on the 6th, so unusual information or ideas” could be coming out.
MAR 10
Mercury moved very quickly through Aquarius, entering Pisces today, going quickly through Pisces in less than 3 weeks, so that before the end of March Mercury will enter Aries. Rick Levine describes Mercury in Aries as being in its detriment, meaning it is not very powerful.
“Mercury likes things logical, Mercury is rational and Pisces is illogical and irrational. Mercury wants to write instruction manuals for computer technicians but Mercury in Pisces just wants to dream, and sing songs.”
Chris Brennan points out that when Mercury goes into Pisces, there is a bit of a shift. Mercury will be less focused on details and getting things right, but rather he also says it will be “better at conveying something with emotion and something with sort of a poetry and that being…what’s important, and there can be real elegance to that.”
Austin adds that Mercury interacting with Jupiter energy will be the big picture, and articulating Jupiter things and trying to think through Jupiter things, which are religion, philosophy, higher education, publishing, broadcasting, and legal matters—truth and justice and moral issues.
MAR 13
The sun connects with Neptune at 22˚ of Pisces, which Pam Gregory says is “a beautiful day to create, to meditate—it’s a dreamy, fine, altered-state energy where you lose sense of time and space.” She adds that the point exactly centered between Neptune at 22ˆand Jupiter at 14˚ is 18˚ where an object in the Kuiper belt is located, called Teharonhiawako—the Iroquois farmer god. It is deeply connected to the earth and land, operating out of integrity with a clear moral compass and high principles. He defends the land and the people, and his symbolism is that he plants seeds for our future food, Pam tells us.
Rick Levine notes that the Sun’s conjunction with Neptune brings in a delusional sense of “what’s going on?” It is dreamy and imaginative, he says, adding that “it’s hard to separate the fantasy from reality but I think here the potential is for compassion…for understanding.”
MAR 17
Rick Levine tells us we have Mercury making a half-square with Pluto today, and that Mercury is moving into a series of half-squares with Uranus, Mars and Saturn through the end of the month. All of these will be uncomfortable and unsettling. He adds that “except for the moon, the energy for March is not all that comfortable.” On the 17th, Mercury is also forming a sextile to Uranus, though, which Levine tells us “can be a tool for breaking through” in some way—and connected to Mercury, it is like to be related to thinking, information, communication, news, technology and transportation. Mercury also rules the 3rd house, which relates to siblings, cousins and neighbors. It rules the 6th house of health and day-to-day work. Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo, so check out where those signs are in your chart as well as where Mercury is, and it may tell you where things could be uncomfortable, and where there could be a breakthrough.
MAR 18
FULL MOON IN VIRGO
The moon in Virgo is opposing Pisces where the sun, Mercury, Jupiter and Neptune are hanging out and the vibe is intuitive and foggy. The moon in Virgo wants to respond with very specific, detailed information, Levine says. The energy in Pisces may feel overwhelmed by that—“it might feel like it’s too much,” he adds.
He also says that this full moon is close to a very harmonious angle to Pluto, which makes it powerful—Pluto is power. “At lunations, although other aspects can be important aspects to the sun and the moon, what is really the most significant here is the fact that the moon is so close to being trine (120˚ angle) to Pluto that we have this ability to touch very deep places and make very profound changes.” He adds that it can be good or bad depending on the individual, or the situation, but, he adds, “there is an ability to have powerful and dramatic and evolutionary change,” which has been building from the new moon on March 2nd and comes to fruition now at the full moon.
Austin Coppock makes a point about the importance of the Virgo full moon this month by saying he sees the themes being particularly highlighted this year because of the Sun’s presence with Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces. “So Pisces time is … big dreams, big vision, seeing things slowly coagulating, the shape of maybe something amazing or inspiring, coagulating out of all the possibilities. It is like the dreams coming together.” Because the full moon is always opposite the sun, and with the moon in Virgo, Austin asks, “So, what about all the details? You can have a sense of a big thing, you might have an amazing idea, but with Virgo it’s very much, ‘How is this going to get done? What is the timeframe? When you break the project down into pieces, what does that look like? What kind of funds are required? How are we going to actually do this?’”
This means, he says that people may have big dreams or good ideas, but they don’t work without those details, and they think it was a bad idea. He says, “What I see a lot of times is I see people who have a good idea, it’s just that they didn’t have the implementation. And the implementation will make it look like a good idea in retrospect, and so the full Moon in Virgo is just asking for that piece.”
Christopher Renstrom points out that the full moon in a trine (harmonious angle) to Pluto and the Sun in a positive angle of opportunity to Pluto, there is access to resources and steps to take that help the details and the dream better collaborate with one another.
Pam Gregory notes that the full moon being in Virgo is on the health axis that connects the signs of Virgo and Pisces in the chart. As usual, she reminds us that full moons represent completion, culmination or closure and they can “since a light on something you were unaware of before in that house area.” So if you know what part of your chart Virgo is in, which house it rules or is sharing with another sign, that house will likely be affected, particularly related to health. So first house is how people see you or how you want to be seen by others; second house is what we spend money on or our values and money we earn; third house is agreements as well as siblings, cousins or neighbors; fourth house is our home, home country, parents or family of origin; fifth house is those we love, children, creative projects or things we enjoy doing; sixth house is day-to-day work and our health; seventh house is commitments, relationships, marriage; eighth house is shared resources, sex, and things that may be hidden—it could also be money from sources other than our income, such as loans, insurance, lottery, side income, earnings from investments, and inheritance, as well as government payments of social security or medicare; ninth house is long-distance travel, higher education, legal or moral justice and beliefs, and publishing or broadcasting; the tenth house is the house of fame, honors and career, as well as the father or authority figure; the eleventh house is social networks, friends, and hopes and dreams; and the 12th house is what is behind the scenes, unconscious, past life, hidden enemies, as well as isolation such as jail, rehab, hospitalization, or living alone as a hermit.
The moon in Virgo can also relate to natural medicine, from the earth—herbal or plant medicine, feng shui (decluttering your home and paying attention to where things are placed, and earthing or grounding ourselves by walking barefoot on the grass, sand, in salt water, or on the dirt.
Pam also notes that this full moon, at 27˚ of Virgo is not only in a trine aspect but is actually forming a grand trine with planets in other earth signs—Pluto, which is at 28˚ of Capricorn, and the North Node, which is at 25˚ of Taurus. This, she says, is an intense energy and a positive aspect. The moon represents the people, she adds, and Pluto brings in power. The North Node is “the future collective destiny, where we’re headed, so this is …really solid, our feeling of building our power, stepping into our power, and building very solidly, because it’s earth,” Pam tells us.
This full moon happens two days before the Aries Equinox, which is the beginning of a new astrological year–it is when the sun enters the sign of Aries. So as the full moon brings things to a culmination, the Aries Equinox starts the new astrological year off with the current layout of the planets in the sky being the energy imprint we will take with us throughout the next 12 months.
MAR 19
Valuable Venus – the planet of money, values, what we own, what we love, stability and security—into a challenging square angle to unpredictable, unstable Uranus in Venus’ home of Taurus—the financial, banking sign that likes to keep things comfortable, secure, and stable, as well as fill our lives with pleasure. Pam Gregory mentions this could shake up (Uranus) the earth and the things we value (Venus) with earthquakes or volcanoes, or shake up the financial markets or currencies (Venus). On the other hand, if Venus in Aquarius falls in your fifth or seventh houses, it could mean a new relationship that comes out of the blue—either a love relationship or a friendly, happy partnership as well as a committed partnership—financial or romantic.
The connections between Venus and Uranus, and in a few days, between Mars and Uranus bring “another layer of something happening that is not unexpected, but it feels shocking anyhow,” Rick Levine notes.
MAR 20
The sun moves into Aries, and by then, the moon moves to the last degree of Libra. The moon, will then be at an intensely challenging angle to Pluto in Capricorn, which is in an ongoing long-term square angle to Eris, the disruptive, chaos-producing dwarf planet. This, Pam Gregory says, could represent “intensity of the emotions of the people (moon), along with the Pluto/Eris problem of chaos and rebellion (Eris) versus the authority, the government, big business (Pluto).”
Rick Levine describes this move of the sun into Aries as a turning point that “seems to bring us to a brink” and then we start all over again with the new astrological year.
Intellectual Mercury cruising through unfocused Pisces will line up with Jupiter today, expanding the sense of Mercury working out something big, important, logical and rational that faces an illogical and irrational backdrop in Pisces. Rick Levine compares it to trying to write instruction manuals for computer technicians, but the Pisces vibe inspires poetry, dreams, and song writing instead. Mercury in Pisces is opposite its home sign of Virgo, so it is weaker here. So, Levine suggests that if we must be thinking or figuring things out, we will do it better from an intuitive, imaginative, and even magical perspective. This continues beyond the 23rd, when Mercury meets up with dreamy Neptune.
Austin Coppock discusses the Aries Equinox, reminding us that the sun in Aries is “in exultation in a sign is ruled by Mars, and Mars is squaring Uranus two days later.” He explains why this is important, noting that “there’s a very long tradition of using this moment of the Sun’s ingress into Aries to do forecasting about…what happens in the world for the next year.” For that reason, he says this chart is extra important because most of the configurations between planets in today’s chart get locked in acting as seeds. That is interesting this year, he notes, “because we have a very tight Mercury-Jupiter, yay! But we have poor Venus sandwiched between Saturn and Mars.” Therefore, these energetic dynamics that are being discussed here don’t just play into the March events, but they get “coded into the yearly chart,” which lasts until the next Aries Equinox in 2023.
MAR 22
Combative Mars will be in independent, air sign Aquarius—the sign of the mind and of the future, as well as technology—and it will come into a challenging angle to the modern ruler of Aquarius, unpredictable, futuristic Uranus. This, Pam Gregory points out, could set up the possibility of cyber-attacks since Aquarius and Uranus represent internet-related areas and Mars is the aggressive warrior. It could also represent sudden shocks (electrical or emotional) or surprises, but it is sudden and eruptive, and could be energy that is disturbing or revolutionary—eruptive, explosive, unstable.
Rick Levine suggests these squares between freedom-loving Uranus and the cosmic lovers, Venus and Mars, is “a replay of the conversative versus the progressive, the old versus the new. He adds that we will be looking for something new and different because “we’re tired of the status quo, and we want change not only in politics but even in our inter-personal relationships—we want things that are new and exciting and different and we’ll take mild risks to get it.” And with Uranus in the mix, he adds, it could be impulsive—sudden and not well thought out.
Chris Brennan points out that the square between aggressive Mars and unpredictable Uranus happens today just a day before Mercury (news, ideas) conjoins Neptune (confusion, lack of clarity) in Pisces. “So, it’s like something explosive happens, but then, all of a sudden, there’s almost like confusion or a deceptive or illusory element that peaks at the same time in terms of talking about and discussing what just happened.” He suggests, then, that the challenge could be to maintain clarity of communication
MAR 23
Communicative, intellectual Mercury meets up with dreamy, imaginative or unclear Neptune today, which is still keeping the logical brain on hold, and as Chris Brennan pointed out yesterday, something could happen that we are not certain about. At the same time, it is about creating with words—song lyrics, poetry, scripts for films (Neptune rules film and photography)—or focusing on spiritual speak—praying, chanting, meditative mantras. It could be combining the rational process of figuring out logically how to communicate the visions, express the dreams, turn the words into images.
MAR 28
Chris Brennan notes that today, Venus eventually scoots past Saturn—at last moving out of the enclosure between Mars and Saturn. He adds that “the Venus-Uranus square is still very close at that point so the desire in Venus to break free of some of the restrictions that she may be experiencing might be very intense as well.” Christopher Renstrom adds that this configuration could be about useful accidents– making use of unexpected accidents. “Someone had brought up the idea of the plot twist and she’s playing such a strong role in that plot twist. So I think there’s a trump card, there’s this prize card that may be played right then at that point.”
Rick Levine says that with this Venus/Saturn meeting, it is “a bit frustrating because we’re in areas where we want to plow ahead, we want to go fast, we want to go forward,” but Mercury has been forming problematic half-squares to Mars then Saturn and then Venus, which is slowing down their ability to get a move on.
A Look Ahead, coming soon…
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