About every month, more exactly every Lunar cycle, I will give you some insight in what’s happening in the heavens above. What can we expect in general? And how can we work with it? Before I start with the upcoming Lunar cycle I will give you a quick recap of the last few weeks, because this is the first article in this series, so we will have a starting point.
We are almost two months into 2020. These two months have sure been interesting. January was known for a Full Moon eclipse and Saturn x Pluto conjunction; this was all about confrontation with structures that aren’t constructive for us on an individual and global level and pushing us to release toxic routines and challenging us to transform ourselves and the way we live in and relate to this world. Whether we are able to answer these challenges all depends on our ability to look within, dare to hold uncertainty and whether we can find courage to make sacrifices in order to grow and foster love working to more sustainable ways of living. Mars in Sagittarius (beginning of January – halfway February) sure brought challenges too. For some people with challenging Mars placements on an individual level, but also on a more global level (for example, the bush fires in Australia that got out of control are an almost textbook example of Mars in Sagittarius gone bad).
By now we are in the last part of February. The astrology isn’t easy at the moment. Mercury is in Pisces were it has trouble to do its job in the efficient way it likes to. Pisces swims in all directions, while Mercury likes to go from a to b in a fast straight way. Mercury is also retrograde, so it’s also slowed down. The Sun is in Pisces too (happy birthday to all Pisces!) which might offer a little support to Mercury. Another interesting thing to mention about the current astrology is that Mars is way stronger than Venus at the moment. Mars is Capricorn where it is exalted, which means that Mars feels honored and supported in doing its work. Venus is in Aries where she’s in her detriment, which means she doesn’t feel at home and is lacking the resources she needs for doing her best work. Mars in Capricorn can be positive where it brings the energy to work hard and in a disciplined way. Mars in Capricorn can be challenging where it can drive us to work so hard and with such fire that we forget to cool down, take breaks and nourish ourselves; especially now that Venus is in her detriment and has trouble to encourage us to take loving care of ourselves. Mars in Capricorn is also challenged by Mercury retrograde in Pisces. You might feel like you want to work hard and get things done and have the fire inside you to do that; but somehow emails get mixed up, trains get delayed and communication with your co-worker gets misinterpreted (all those typical Mercury retrograde difficulties). Some of us might feel heated and critical of ourselves or others these days. Advice: connect with your inner Venus and create moments of self-love and self-care. So… this is where we are now. Let’s take a look at the moon cycle that is ahead of us.
Here is an overview of the most important dates for this lunar cycle:
23-02 New Moon in Pisces
04-03 Mercury (retrograde) in Aquarius
05-03 Venus in Taurus
09-03 Full Moon in Virgo
10-03 Mercury stations direct
16-03 Mercury in Pisces
20-03 Sun in Aries
22-03 Saturn in Aquarius
New Moon in Pisces, Sunday February 23th, 16:32 (Central European Time)
With the New Moon in Pisces – and considering the intense strength of Mars and lack of Venusian energies in the heavens – my advice would be: take rest. Take rest, meditate, sleep, dream. Often people (except those born under the New Moon) feel like they lack a bit of energy during New Moons. This is not surprising. The Moon is the luminary that reflects the light of the Sun (the most important source of energy we have). With the New Moon no light is reflected. When we think of the Moon in Pisces, we also think of energy floating away. Pisces is the mutable water sign, ruled by Jupiter. It’s energy wants to merge into the deep wide ocean. Pisces is intuitive, wants to connect. Pisces has no boundaries though, just like water in the ocean has no boundaries. People with significant Pisces placements know this for themselves: they tend to know intuitively what other people need, they attune to that and give and give and give, only to later find out they have lost themselves by totally forgetting to set any boundary. The New Moon in Pisces might try to give away energy it doesn’t even have. It’s said that New Moons are good for intention setting or starting new projects. I often disagree. When the Moon is low in energy, she won’t be able to support our new undertakings. New Moons can be good for intention setting, but it depends on the overall astrology and it depends on the kind off intention setting. When energy tends to flow away from us, sometimes it serves us better to let go of the things that aren’t working and save the intention setting for a later moment.
So in working with this New Moon I would advise to take rest. These weeks are intense and energy burning enough. Don’t waste energy. When you pour your sweet water into that salty ocean, you won’t be able to retrieve that sweet water. That’s how intention setting or starting something new on this New Moon would feel like to me: throwing away your precious sweet water. Keep your energy to yourself. That doesn’t mean you can’t work with the energy that you have. Just don’t bring it out, don’t pour it into the ocean. Instead, pour it in a glass and drink.
In less metaphorical language and in a more practical sense, here are some New Moon in Pisces 2020 ritual suggestions. A great simple ritual would be to do a Yoga Nidra session. Yoga Nidra allows you to recharge your battery. It also supports the Piscean flow of dreaming, expanding and connecting, while it saves you from losing yourself in the process. There are plenty of Yoga Nidra sessions to be found online. I’m not super familiar in the world of Yoga Nidra but if you are interested; connect with me and I can give you directions to good sources and practitioners I support. Another good ritual would be to light a bunch of candles, create a warm and cozy environment, lay down and just start daydreaming. Dream away about that lover, job or whoever or whatever makes your heart beat and let your mind go into another place; allow yourself to fantasize merging together like waters in the ocean. Don’t be harsh on yourself thinking you are wasting time while there are so much chores to do. This moment of self-care will be of support to you throughout the coming week. My last ritual suggestion would be: make yourself a bath, if you have a tub. Surround it with candles and crystals and make use of nice scents. If you like to work with essential oils and add some to your bathwater I would go for gentle flowery oils and oils with cooling properties; like Yasmin, Lavender, Clary Sage or Geranium. Add fresh rose petals. Be creative. I would suggest to use crystals, scents and flowers that have a cooling and nurturing energy to them; a yin energy. Because there is already so much yang energy in the air at the moment. Water is one the most supportive elements in rituals when we want to connect with the divine. This element is also strongly connected with the zodiac sign Pisces and with the planetary body the Moon.
Mercury (retrograde) moves from Pisces to Aquarius, March 4th
On March 4th Mercury, which is moving retrograde, transits from Pisces to Aquarius. In Pisces Mercury was in its detriment and fall. In Aquarius it feels a little bit stronger and a bit better equipped. The Saturn ruled sign provides the boundaries and structures that are absent in the Piscean ocean. Where Pisces is mutable water, Aquarius is fixed air. So we go from the oceans to the clouds, so to speak. Though Mercury not always has troubles in mutable signs (after all Gemini and Virgo, both mutable signs, are ruled by Mercury); it does like a certain kind of clarity or straightforwardness. It likes telephone lines, I would say. Telephone lines direct the communication from a to b. Pisces doesn’t do straight lines. Aquarius is better at building telephone lines than Pisces. Because Aquarius is ruled by Saturn and Saturn is very fond of building structures, lines, walls, boundaries, rules, you name it. But communication can still be a bit weird with Mercury in Aquarius; it can be philosophical, off beat and a bit meta. Mercury in Pisces is Shakespeare (truly, it’s a natal placement not uncommon for poets). Mercury in Aquarius is me; it’s my natal placement. I tend to write in a bit weird and meta way, I want to share all those ‘brilliant’ clouds that I have collected. But clouds wander and so does my writing (hence the long elaborate texts). However, it holds more structure than poetry; that’s the Saturnian influence. Mercury is retrograde at the moment, which can express itself in delayed train rides, broken phones and computers, emails not send, missing voice notes; the typical Mercury retrograde stuff. So, long story short: Mercury is still retrograde and that sucks, but Aquarius provides a bit of relief and fresh air.
Venus in Taurus, March 5th
Yes! We have been waiting for this day. Venus finally moves from Aries to Taurus. In Aries she was in her detriment, struggling to provide love and connection. In Taurus she is in her domicile: this means that Venus is the ruler of Taurus and that she is at home in Taurus. In this sign she has all the resources to do her work. In Taurus Venus does her work by using her earthly resources to build solid, beautiful, during and loving structures and connections. Above all, Venus in Taurus loves to create pleasure. Taurus is probably the most sensual sign of the zodiac, in this sign Venus likes to express herself by pleasing the senses. Don’t be surprised if you are spending more time and money on your looks these coming weeks or suddenly find yourself shopping jewelry even though you are not a jewelry type of person. The lust for long dinners, good wines, sex and especially long and slow foreplay or just awesome sessions of self-pleasure, massages and other earthly pleasures comes raining down on earth beginning of March. Those of you with Venus ruling the sign of the ascendant (Taurus and Libra rising) or the Moon, Sun, or Venus placed in Taurus might especially feel this energy; and it will be a relief, because Venus in Aries made us Venusian types feel short of ‘prana’. Indulge! It’s okay after this period where Mars has been on top of the world. Also, in a few days the Moon in Virgo will remind us of our never ending to do lists. So in the upcoming weeks, just give in to your lusts. As long as you don’t max out your credit cards or do super stupid things after a night out dancing (Venus likes that too); you should be okay and you deserve the pleasure.
Full Moon in Virgo, Monday March 9th, 18.47 (Central European Time)
Happy Full Moon! In Virgo the Moon wants to bring healing. The Moon brings light into our lives by reflection and she does that in the strongest way when she is full. This Full Moon supports us in healing practices. In the style of Virgo she wants to nurture in a clean, structured and skillful way. The zodiac sign Virgo is known for its organizational, structuring, clearing out the clutter skills. You can use the energy that this Moon brings in several ways: clear your mind by making to do lists; or support your mental health by cleaning your home; reflect on your daily routines that have to do with health (diet, exercise, meditation etc.); reorganize whatever feels like a mess and brings you emotional distraction. This Full Moon energy is super supportive for practical rituals. It’s supportive for basic and humble activities that might not seem that meaningful or impressive but can actually be life chancing. Virgo, after all, is a sign that’s heavily focused on detail and knows that small things can make a big difference. Full Moon rituals don’t need to be super magical, witchy and heavily Venusian to make an impact. This Full Moon asks for a simple spring clean followed by a healthy nourishing meal. I would also suggest a silent meditation. Another nice ritual would be the lighting of one simple but well-crafted beeswax candle that you bless with a healing wish for yourself. And if you like you can make an intention or to do list, true Virgo style. Keep in mind though that Virgo has the potential to be self-critical, it can focus in on detail to its own detriment. So I would like to remind you, that if you do like to set intentions or make to do lists, to do this from a constructive, loving and forgiving place. If this is hard for you, I would suggest to write a love letter to yourself instead of a list of things that need improvement.
Mercury stations direct, March 10th
Yes! Mercury retrograde is over! Well, sort off. We are still in the shadow period for a while. If Mercury retrograde was tough on you, you might still experience some Mercury retrograde spasms and difficulties in the next week and a half or so. But it will definitely be less difficult. The worst is over. Mercury is stationing direct and will gain speed and get stronger by the day. Communication, information exchange, technology, all these things will start to flow better again.
Mercury moves back into Pisces, March 16th
Still in the shadow period of Mercuries retrograde period, the planet moves back into Pisces (where it was when it stationed retrograde in February). Luckily we are leaving the retrograde difficulties behind us. However, Mercury does have a difficult time in Pisces. It is in its detriment and fall in Pisces. From all twelve zodiac signs, Mercury is the least comfortable in Pisces. Because in Pisces Mercury has a very difficult time directing communication. Fish usually don’t swim in straight lines. You can’t find drops of water in an ocean. Mercury is the messenger of the Gods that goes fast, goes into every corner, can travel between worlds. But now it’s placed in the depth of the ocean. And Neptune is there too, in Pisces. Neptune likes to bring fantasy, dreams, the otherworldly. Neptune might influence all that Mercury tries to bring about in our lives. We might fantasize a lot in the coming weeks and our communication might be a bit flowy and dreamy. If this was the case for you in February (Neptune and Mercury were together in Pisces then too) then you will probably experience it again.
This is good for writing love letters and poetry. But making up a detailed rapport or writing an article for a science magazine, might be a bit more difficult. Those of you with significant placements in Gemini or Virgo might have a more difficult time in communication matters (think back to mid-February; how did communication and thinking go back then? You might run into the same issues, but less bad though because we are moving away from the retrograde period).
Mercury in Pisces together with Neptune isn’t all bad. Normal telephone lines might not be working that well, but the telepathic ones are open. Communication with the otherworldly is supported right now; this might bring interesting meaningful dreams, spiritual experiences or just straight up fantasy. If you are into it, you can use this energy: connect with the Gods and Goddesses, your ancestors, spirit guides, aliens, or whatever mystical wine you like to drink.
Sun in Aries, March 20th, 04.49 (Central European Time)
Happy birthday dear Aries people! The Sun happily moves into Aries on this day, March 20th. The Sun is exalted in Aries. Which means the Sun feels honored and strong in this sign. In Aries the Sun feels supported to shine bright. The Sun feels courageous. No wonder people with the Sun in Aries often have some kind of courageous air about them. Aries is a cardinal fire sign; it has the fiery explosive energy to start something and it also has the will and motivation to do so. I like to think of Aries as a sprint runner. The Sun in Aries wants to start at something, move fast, finish first and be celebrated for its win! If your Sun is in Aries this energy in you might express itself in sports, work, romance, creative endeavors or some other specific kind of area in your life (depending on the house placement of the Sun).
For all of us the Sun in Aries might bring courage into our lives. This is nice, we can use this energy. We are coming from winter (at least here in the northern hemisphere) and have had some challenging astrology. I can imagine you might feel a bit tired and exhausted. The Sunlight and growing longer of days will do us good. And with the Sun in Aries we might feel that we are able to shine too, in a bright and courageous way.
Saturn in Aquarius, March 22nd
This is a big topic! For this reason I want to write another more in depth article on this. But here are the most fundamental things I have to share about Saturn in Aquarius. The first thing you need to know is that Saturn is the slowest moving planet that’s visible to our naked eye. Saturn takes about two and a half to three years to travel through a sign in the zodiac and it takes this planet about thirty years to travel through the whole wheel of the zodiac. For comparison: the Moon stays in every sign about two and a half days and transits the whole wheel every thirty days. This means the influences of the Moon are felt much more swiftly and are visible in daily routines or daily events. The influences of Saturn are felt in a more prolonged time period (though when Saturn aspects personal planets it may also trigger significant onetime events; but that’s another topic). So with Saturn moving from Capricorn into Aquarius we will enter a whole new chapter of our lives, so to speak. However, because a retrograde period is coming up for Saturn, he switches signs a couple of times this year. This makes the ‘overall transit’ quite interesting. Saturn will be in Aquarius for about three months from March to July. Saturn stations retrograde in May, moves back into Capricorn in the start of July, starts moving direct again at the end of September and enters Aquarius again halfway through December. This means that we get a taste of what Saturn in Aquarius brings for about three months (March 22nd till July 2nd). Then we go back to ‘what we know’ (the energy of Saturn in Capricorn that we have had for the last years). And in December we enter our new chapter definitively with no way back; but knowing a bit what to expect because we had a taste of it. In another article I will give you some insight in what this will mean for your personally.
New Moon in Aries, March 24th
In the days leading up to the New Moon in March I will share my astrology forecast for this New Moon and her cycle. See you then!