March… in like a lion that grows more ferocious, out with an inspiring and upbeat roar…
This March gives us the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring.
March begins with one planet in a Fire Sign, three planets in Earth Signs, four planets in Air Signs, and two planets in Water Signs. There are two planets in a Cardinal Sign, three planets in a Fixed Sign and five planets in Mutable Signs. Five planets are in positive Signs and five planets are in Negative Signs.
There is a Stellium of three or more planets in Aquarius with Mercury, Venus and Neptune transiting the Fixed Air Sign. By Sign, there is a Mutable Grand Cross with Mars in Gemini, Saturn in Virgo, the Moon in Sagittarius and the Sun and Uranus in Pisces.
With a lack of Fire, an abundance of both Air and Mutability, we are in the mood for change, especially if it is brought to us on a silver platter with the bells and whistles and doesn’t necessitate us doing much of anything. Yes, we want change from our present conditions, would like to fast forward into a far brighter future and we want it all yesterday without demanding much, if any, effort on our part.
Sounds like a prescription for delusion with a heavy dose of escapism thrown in. But our fantasyland may be far better and far more inspiring than the true reality of our daily circumstances and present day conditions. This is a month when we might choose to do our living in Second Life or create Third Life, Fourth Life, all with the ability to avoid accountability, and even responsibility. Virtual reality may be the name of the game for much of this March, even while past situations and outstanding matters are nipping at our heels demanding that we attend to them and not go blithely into virtual reality.
We might also be feeling a heavy dose of the Winter doldrums, wanting this interminable season to be over and to get on with the fun and brilliance of Spring. The ramping up of the energies during this month may feel like the month not merely coming in as a lion, but as a roaring, ferocious lion ready to devour anything and everything that stands in its way of unbridled immediate gratification.
The key to making this month work is to have our feet ready to apply the brake, taking some braking action as we careen down the highways and byways of our life’s journey.
To recount a song from an earlier era, a cautionary note for this month would be akin to Simon and Garfunkel’s 1966 “59th Street Bridge” lyrics:
“Slow down, you move too fast, you’ve got to make the morning last
Just kickin’ down the cobble-stones, lookin’ for fun and feelin’ groovy”
As we begin the month of March, we do have to watch for nervous energy getting the better of us as we try to juggle various things — past, present, future — yet feeling slightly out of sorts and ready to lose it without a moment’s notice.
We start the month feeling the dichotomy of the Sun and Uranus in Pisces opposition to Saturn in Virgo. While this time would be a good time to take a visionary perspective and carefully detail our methodology for reaching our intended future, we also have to be aware of the likelihood of unexpected monkeywrenches flying into the spokes of the wheels and any tendency on our part to hurry things along thereby skipping over important details and neglecting some of the specifics.
To begin the month, we also have the Mars Gemini, soon to move into Cancer, and Pluto Capricorn opposition ratcheted up severalfold as the opposition is exact with Mars in Cancer Pluto in Capricorn at the time of the Pisces New Moon on the 7th and influencing the fortnight to the Libra Full Moon just after the Vernal Equinox.
Let’s keep in mind that great Simon and Garfunkel refrain as a way to restrain ourselves, put on the brakes of impulsive actions and bridge over the troubled waters [okay, another S&G reference].
The latter part of the first week and the second weekend of March has a kaleidoscope of energies with Mars entering Cancer on the 4th, the Sun sextile Jupiter and Venus conjunct Neptune on the 6th; the Pisces New Moon conjunct Uranus and Mars opposed Pluto on the 7th, the Sun conjunct Uranus on the 8th, and Mercury conjunct Neptune on the 9th.
This time can be a vivid expression of the mid-60’s song written by Stephen Stills and performed by Buffalo Springfield “For What It’s Worth” which begins with the lyrics:
“There’s something happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear”
With so much Neptune, Uranus and Pisces energy influencing this period, our grip on reality may be questionable at best. We could easily be seduced by images and appearances and might fall prey to wish fulfillment.
We know we want change although we may have difficulty clearly delineating the changes we envision or the particular details as to how we could attain change. It is essential that we be judicious in our choices and careful not to accept assumptions without scrutinizing the particulars, checking the conditions and paying attention to the specifics.
While the Mars Pluto influence can trigger violent outbursts, explosions and outlandish actions / reactions even to the point of increased fear about terrorism, it would be wise to be clear about the impelling force that triggered such actions. We have to be vigilant against the trickster, someone or a situation that sings sweetly to us, enticing us, seducing us like a siren only to mislead us, take advantage of us or devour us.
On those quiet nights in rural California when I hear the coyote howl, there is a singing quality, a beckoning quality, as the coyote punctures the still night air with its call. Although the infinity of time-space can be felt in the brilliant star-filled canopy of the night sky in this landlightless sanctuary, that sanctity is pierced by the eerie call of the coyote, often referred in First Nation Peoples’ traditions as the trickster.
During this March, we have to watch that we are not enticed or mesmerized by the appearance without considering the true reality of the situation. It is all well and good for us to be enthused by possibilities but we also have to keep in mind, mantram-like, the question as to whether we are building upon rock or building upon sand.
We may be on edge this March wanting to move on, yet feeling our steps to be tentative as we are pulled between our desires for change and a queasy apprehension regarding the unfamiliar.
One of the key aspects of this month is to allow ourselves to get out of our own way. This month may be a month of surprises, like windows opening up and the floor opening beneath us. Although we might assume that the floor opening beneath us would indicate free fall, it might also open the way for a free ascent. And let’s keep in mind that the latter part of this month celebrates Christian theology’s Easter in tune with the Vernal Equinox. Out of the crucifixion of Christianity’s Jesus comes the resurrection and the ascension.
With the end of Winter, and the end of the zodiac cycle, as the Sun finishes its transit of Pisces the last sign of the zodiac, there is a new cycle beginning as the Sun enters Aries to begin the new year as represented in the rebirth, regeneration, renewal and revitalization that goes on in Spring as nature comes alive with animal births, blooming flowers and barren trees breaking into leaf. Seen in Christian theology, this process of resurrection is also pronounced in mythology with the mythological bird the Phoenix on its funereal pyre rising from its ashes to soar ever higher.
Yes, we are on the threshold of a paradigm shift, stepping back and forth between the old [old patterns, old ways of being and old definitions of self as well as our engrained judgment about the parameters of living] and the new [the unexplored, asequential reality, and a totally new way of being, what we might refer to as a magical, mystery tour].
This back and forth can be confusing and even mind-numbing. But the main thing during this period is to be open — open to the unexpected, open to the possibility of life being totally different from the way we learned it to be. In that openness, it is also essential that we take everything with a grain of salt. No blind faith now, for that could prove the remedy of lemmings rushing towards the sea, to the cliffs and over the precipice.
Build upon rock or build upon sand.
Many of our institutions, securities, stabilities and things we have entrusted may fall apart or show their frailty as they show wear and tear and seem to be coming apart at the seams. It would be easy for us to fall into fear or anxiety. We have accepted the illusion of constancy, and when that constancy, security and stability is threatened it seems like our reality is but a house of cards ready to fall totally apart.
Attitude… Attitude may prove the determining factor in either falling apart, or merely surviving or fully thriving during these times.
Although this March may increase the sense of volatility that has already entered our consciousness through the booms and busts headlined in our mainstream news media, we also have the opportunity of being open to the magic and wonder of change. Attitude. If we believe that life is going to hell in a handbasket — and what generation never felt that way at different times in the past? — then we may as well volunteer to be the carrier of that basket. If on the other hand, we get out of our own way, accept the fact that we cannot ever truly master our universe, then we can take a more productive approach and recognize that we can do what we can do with the conditions and circumstances in which we find ourselves, taking a co-facilitating, co-creating disposition to the dynamic energies of these times.
A Chinese proverb states: ‘May you live in interesting times’.
Some have referred to this proverb as a curse, especially finding ourselves in the midst of ‘most interesting’ times.
The push pulls between old and new, building upon sand or building upon rock, the quick fix or the long-term solution can have us mad as the mad hatter during this month.
Much of the month, virtually the first three weeks of the month, is engaged with the Sun’s transit of Pisces. We are coming to the end of Winter, the end of the zodiac cycle, the end of the astrological year and with it a karmic reaping. This karmic reaping may be old situations rearing up to see if we have resolved the issues associated with them. This karmic reaping could entail a sense of hopelessness, victim to the vagaries of nature and the world and people around us. This karmic reaping may also allow us to expiate that karma, to mark off lessons learned with the realization that once learned we don’t have to go back over them again or learn them again.
While the second weekend of March could have the energies ratcheted up and our selves on pins and needles or pining and needling; the second half of March seems a great deal less frantic. We seem to have more of a handle on things, although that handle might actually be more of a handle on ourselves.
On the 12th, Venus exits Aquarius bringing an end to the Stellium of three or more planets in Aquarius and enters Pisces where it creates a Stellium in Pisces as Venus joins the Sun and Uranus in the Mutable Water Sign. Our sensitivity, compassion and spirituality are enhanced.
For several years we have and will continue to experience a Mutual Reception between Uranus and Neptune with Uranus being in Pisces, a Sign ruled by Neptune, and Neptune being in Aquarius, a sign ruled by Uranus. Our two higher sense faculties — intuition and revelation — are engaged. And we should be glad they are. For while the world may be spinning out of control and our rational mind is hard pressed to decipher what is going on since the empirical and old patterns no longer seem to work, we can draw upon our intuitive sense and our inspiration to guide us through the maze of these present times. By getting out of our own way, by closing down the conditioned mind with its automatic responses, we can open up to how things feel to us, the emotional responses we have to situations, people and conditions around us.
We are all having the opportunity of drawing upon our higher sense faculties. One could say, or write, that necessity is the mother of invention. In order to thrive, or merely survive, during these times, it is essential that we give up the old playbook and allow ourselves to be open to the guidance and understanding of our inner teacher, our inner voice. Empiricism and replicated experience may no longer provide the same answers they did before. We are entering a brand new day, a brave new world, and we need to be brave and accept our inner talents to cope and thrive from these changing times.
On the 13th, Venus sextiles Pluto. Our interactions with other people can have far greater meaning than the casual discussion of the weather, the increased cost of gas or the latest scores in the sports of recreation, finance, politics or other human games. We want to feel the depth and passion in our interchanges with other people. This desire for authenticity and intimacy can segue into our home, family and work functions as Mars sextiles Saturn on the 14th, the day that Mercury adds to the Piscean Stellium by leaving Aquarius and entering Pisces.
On the 15th, Mercury sextiles Pluto. Our mind and our conversations can be penetrating and to the point. We can devise a best practices approach for our daily activities and find our tongue to speak our greatest truth. We may have an ‘Eureka’ moment whereby we come to a realization of what our life is all about and find a missionary zeal to impel us forward to achieve our goals and our dreams. The 15th also has Venus opposed Saturn. Although we may feel inspired, impelled and ready to brave any circumstances and deal with any consequences, we may encounter people from our past or in our present who are naysayers to our dreams, to our intentions. While we could easily get tripped up by any criticism of our new found enthusiasm, we can also use any such exchanges as mirrors to show us how much we have changed, how much we have transformed and how ready we are to proceed with our journey, even if that journey is now taking us in new directions.
From the 13th through the 18th, we have a tag team of energies as first Venus then Mercury touches base with different planetary configurations, with Mars thrown in for some added spice. Venus sextiles Pluto on the 13th, and Mercury sextiles Pluto on the 15th. Venus opposes Saturn on the 15th and Mercury opposes Saturn on the 17th. Mars sextiles Saturn on the 14th, and Venus trines Mars on the 16th, followed by Mercury trine Mars on the 18th.
This time and planetary mix comes at the end of the Winter season and appropriate for such an ending before the new beginning. We are feeling our juices, our vital life force bubbling inside ourselves, but we are also likely to be reminded of our past and those definitions of ourselves that other people might harbor based upon whom we were then and the definitions based upon past experiences. Similar to the ending of winter, this is a time not only to prepare for the rebirth promised in Spring but also to bring completion those elements of our past that no longer work for us. Like a snake shedding its skin, or more aptly put, like the caterpillar coming out from the chrysalis as the butterfly, we may feel like we are coming out from a hibernation phase, shedding our old skin and ready to fly.
The Vernal Equinox occurs on the 20th with the Sun’s entry into Aries. Spring has sprung and we are ready to move quickly ahead. Before we do so, we have to die to the old and we may experience a deathing process with the Full Moon on Friday the 21st, Christian theology’s Good Friday. And what an appropriate energy configuration for this Good Friday there is. The Libra Full Moon creates a T-Square with the Sun opposed Moon square to Pluto.
Build upon rock or build upon sand. We are likely to find everything in our lives held up to question — our sense of self, our significant relationships and our life’s work. We may hold all aspects of our lives to a high standard — that they serve essential meaning and fundamental purpose for our lives. Those found wanting may prove part of this Spring’s cleaning and clearing away. At this time, we might also experience a stripping away of some of the illusions we have harbored just to be nice, to be acceptable, to get along. There could also be the passing of certain significant individuals at this time.
The last week of March seems to evoke pleasant feelings and a desire to experience new territory and a new attitude. We may feel as though all things are possible, which they are.
The 24th has Mercury conjunct Venus. Heart-felt communications can touch us on a soul level. We may have a greater appreciation that we are all ONE — each unique, each inclusive.
The latter part of March has some surprising events and feelings. As though a cloud has been lifted, we are likely to pierce the veil of maya, the illusion of appearance, and cross into a different dimension of synchronicity and asequential reality.
The 27th has Mercury sextile Jupiter and Mercury conjunct Uranus. The 28th has Venus sextile Jupiter, Venus conjunct Uranus and Jupiter sextile Uranus. Whatever plans we make for these times, it would be wise to include enough ‘free’ time in order to take advantage of unexpected opportunities, wonderful surprises, things coming out of the blue. We may garner some remarkable insights at this time.
The sense of impending doom tapped into us by media of all sorts may drop away as we realize that what the mind can believe, the body can achieve. Our dispositions are likely to be upbeat. Some might cast them off as ‘Spring fever’, but the possibilities of magic and miracles cannot be discounted and certainly not towards the end of March.
Let’s keep our eyes wide open, our ears attuned and our attitude ready to embrace the wonder of it all.
March… in like a lion that grows more ferocious, out with an inspiring and upbeat roar…
