NEPTUNE, god of the oceans, and Uranus, god of lightning, are cast in starring roles in our drama this week.
A Pisces New Moon and retrograde Mercury are also
in the spotlight -- and all of these players are onstage at the same
time, making for a very interesting -- and pivotal -- couple of days.
Here's the cast of characters, in order of appearance:
MERCURY stations retrograde
at 10:18 a.m. PST on Tuesday, in the 29th "critical degree" of Pisces.
When a planetary event occurs in the last degree of any sign,
astrologers consider that event to have greater import and impact than
it
might otherwise have. This is due to the sense that the planet is
completing lessons associated with the sign, trying to wrap things up
before moving onto the next project.
Emphasizing
this theme further, the 29th degree of Pisces also happens to be the
final degree of the zodiac, a wheel that "begins" at 0 degrees of Aries.
This imbues our Mercury retrograde phase with a greater sense of
urgency, an even stronger need to use this time to complete and resolve
certain issues.
We
will see evidence of both the light and dark faces of Mercury in Pisces
this week, and throughout the time that Mercury is traveling backward
(until March 28). The benefits of Mercury in the 12th sign include a
heightened imagination, increased spiritual perception, and enhanced
intuition. Our minds are more impressionable than usual -- which, of
course, can be either positive or negative,
depending on the circumstances.
On
the flip side of the Mercury-in-Pisces coin, we'll need to be careful
of being too gullible, confused thinking, and a lack of practical focus.
There are also potentials for confusion, misunderstandings, and even
deception, simply because our minds are less discerning than usual. It
may be difficult to know truth from fiction.
But,
if we aspire to be a poet or an intuitive, or wish to explore the world
of dreams and meditation, Mercury's retrograde phase in Pisces can take
us to new depths in these areas.
NEXT TO TAKE the
spotlight, Uranus re-enters Taurus at 12:26 a.m. PST on Wednesday.
Although Uranus did visit Taurus for a while in 2018 (from May 15 to
November 6), we can think of those six months as being exploratory --
much like our experience if we were to try living in a city before
making a decision to move
there. Now Uranus, luggage in hand, is disembarking the Aries train, ready to set up camp in Taurus Town for the next seven years.
Any
time Uranus changes signs, we can expect important shifts to occur.
Sometimes, these shifts are literal -- such as when Uranus entered Aries
on March 11, 2011, the very day that a major earthquake rattled Japan,
setting off a tsunami and damaging nuclear reactors. In May 2018, when
Uranus came to visit Taurus, the Kilauea volcano began a flurry of
eruptions that lasted for several months,
forever altering the landscape (Taurus) of the Hawaiian islands.
To
support Mother Earth through this transition time, we will want to hold
the intention for any environmental changes to occur gently and easily,
while still allowing tension to be released as needed.
THE NEW MOON occurs at 8:03 a.m. PST on Wednesday, at 15°47′
Pisces. At the time of the lunation, the Sun and Moon are less than one
degree away from both Neptune and the asteroid Vesta.
This
close alignment of the New Moon, Neptune, and Vesta activates our
commitment to either a creative/artistic project or a spiritual goal. It
also promises that over the next four weeks, we can anticipate
expansion in these areas. The fact that Mercury is retrograde for three
of those four weeks leads us to believe that the process
underway will be very deep indeed, or perhaps will be something that we
tend to keep private.
Vesta
is a hard worker, devoted to being of service, and dedicated to a
purpose greater than itself. Neptune rules our capacity for creative and
spiritual growth, as well as our ability to open our hearts in
compassion and understanding. When these two work together in
spiritually-oriented Pisces, we may find ourselves drawn to commit more
fully to a spiritual ideal, or to be of greater service to the world.
The capacity for ecstatic union with the Divine is also enhanced.
THIS ALIGNMENT
of the Sun, Moon, Neptune, and Vesta, occurs at the same degree as the
fixed star Ankaa, increasing the transformational effects of the New
Moon. Astrologer
Roderick Kidston explains Ankaa's influence in his book The Magic of the Stars:
"Ankaa
is the chief star of the constellation Phoenix, the Firebird. The
mythology of the Firebird suggests there is vibrant magic with this
star, something elemental, inextinguishable, vital and
transcendent. Ankaa is one of the power stars which indicate the working
of great forces of transformation. Sometimes this process appears to
be forced by external events, but it's a reasonable bet something
internal is attracting the seismic shift or fiery rebirth.
"More
simply, Ankaa is about change, but this is driven by immense powers of
creation. This can be both personal and collective. Like it or not, you
are in a spiral of upwards development and you have to be willing to let
go of the old and embrace the new."
AS I TRANSCRIBE
this description of Ankaa, I have the sense that the fixed star
actually embodies both the transcendent qualities of our Pisces New Moon
and the breakdown/breakthrough potentials of Uranus moving
into Taurus. And it's interesting that Mr. Kidston actually uses the
words "seismic shift" when referring to Ankaa's effects.
With
all of these planetary events occurring on Tuesday and Wednesday this
week, we can anticipate that these two days will be memorable. And yet,
the energies of the alignments are woven into the entire four-week lunar
cycle that begins on Wednesday -- a cycle that literally takes us
through the rest of March, culminating
with the New Moon in Aries on April 5.
There
appears to be much positive potential unfolding during this time, but
it is also likely to feel fairly unstable. This, of course, is difficult
for us physical beings who rely on the security of feeling a solid
surface beneath our feet. But we are not without a grounding line -- the
planet Saturn is in harmonious sextile aspect
with that New Moon conglomerate. This aspect acts an anchor and reminds
that we have all the strength we need to successfully navigate the
uncertainties of change.
IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: In
the year ahead, you will rededicate yourself to what is most valuable
to you, and to what is essential to your fulfillment. This is not a
light-hearted time, but neither is it oppressive. Instead, your choices
arise from a deep knowing within you of what is most necessary on
spiritual and creative levels of your being. You may decide to devote
yourself more fully to your spiritual path, to your artistic work, to
being a stronger force of compassion in the world, or to another Piscean
ideal. You will intuitively sense where your soul is guiding you. Your
primary challenges may be finding the time and space to listen to the
quiet voice within. It is essential to give yourself this alone time,
for
your sensitivity to the thoughts and desires of those around you is also
heightened, making it difficult to clearly perceive your truth if it
appears to contradict the needs of others.
In Gratitude and Light,
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