Astro Notes for New Moon in Pisces Cycle (February 27-March 29)
I truly feel honored and deeply excited to share about this month’s astrological cycle, initiated by the New Moon in Pisces on February 27. Regular readers of my Astro Notes will know that I have been emphasizing for many months (if not years) the historic nature of the passage we are about to enter. I think the astrology clearly indicates that the next 12-15 months will see the most concentrated and dramatic period of cultural change in our lifetimes, representing our final push out of the birth canal and emergence into a fundamentally new era for humanity.
It could be said that this final push began in November last year, when Pluto entered Aquarius, signifying the beginning of a twenty year period of revolutionary cultural change. But although we have already been experiencing dramatic cultural shifts since then, ‘we ain’t seen nothing yet’ in comparison to what is to come.
From early December through to February 23, Mars was moving retrograde, dampening our forward progress and putting many of our ambitions on hold. (I spent almost the whole of February sick in bed watching re-runs of old tv series! Those last few weeks of the Mars retrograde felt to me like being in a SWAMP.) This long Mars retrograde period has meant that the start of this year has been like the (relative) calm before the storm.
FINALLY, on February 23, Mars stationed direct at 17 degrees Cancer. Then we immediately had a week — from February 23 to March 1 — when all the planets were moving forward (this ended on March 1, when Venus turned retrograde). If you reflect on that week, you may remember noticing a jump start in your projects, as if a window suddenly opened that finally allowed you to move forward on multiple fronts.
(It should be noted, however, that even though Mars has now stationed direct, it will remain at 17 degrees of Cancer until March 11. So it’s not like we’re being shot out of a cannon — it will still take a little time for our drive and momentum to really get going again.)
But with this month’s new moon cycle — and the next — we are now set to truly take the plunge into irreversible systemic change.
On March 30, just after the next new moon, Neptune enters Aries. It’s hard to overstate the significance of this shift. Neptune will be crossing the Zero Point of the whole zodiac, the threshold of creation where spirit becomes matter, when the formless becomes form. It’s a moment of profound spiritual rebirth, signifying the beginning of a new 165 year cycle (the time it takes for Neptune to travel around the zodiac). In the following months, Saturn, Jupiter, and Uranus will also change signs, so that by mid-July we’ll be truly in a different world.
So, for me, the ingress of Neptune into Aries on March 30 is the real ignition point of the most concentrated passage of change in our lifetimes.
Between now and then (i.e., during this new moon in Pisces monthly cycle), the overarching theme is a profound process of karmic completion and letting go, in order to make space for the tidal wave of new energies coming in.
Every Pisces season (the annual period when the Sun is in Pisces) is a time of closure. It is the final phase of the annual cycle when we’re able to reflect on our journey over the previous 12 months, acknowledge how far we’ve come, release any attachments we no longer want or need, and come to some form of completion so that we can be ready to begin the new cycle afresh.
During this year’s Pisces season, however, this dynamic of completion and release takes on a much more profound meaning due to there being an extraordinary gathering of planets in late Pisces.
With Neptune at the 29th and final degree of Pisces almost throughout the whole month of March, we are talking about completions on a soul level — the closure of cycles we may have been involved in for lifetimes. With the North Node in the mix, it deepens the karmic significance of these endings. We may become suddenly clear that we are simply done with parts of our lives that previously held great interest.
This dynamic may be especially strong from around March 11-20, when the Sun will move through late Pisces, joining first Saturn, then the North Node, then Neptune — illuminating what attachments in our lives need to be released.
During this period, we enter into eclipse season, with a total lunar eclipse at 23 degrees Virgo on March 14. This is the final eclipse season taking place with Neptune in Pisces. The day after this eclipse season ends (March 29), Neptune will move into Aries. The two weeks of the eclipse season are thus something like a cosmic womb for the profound process of karmic completion we will be going through at this time. With the lunar eclipse forming a tight opposition to Saturn and close trine to Uranus, we can expect major structural shifts that, though disruptive, may feel long overdue and ultimately very liberating.
The other significant influences that I want to highlight for this monthly cycle are the Venus and Mercury retrogrades. Venus moves retrograde for 6 weeks, from March 1 through to April 12, moving back from 10 degrees Aries to 24 degrees Pisces. Mercury retrograde is from March 14 to April 6, from 9 degrees Aries to 26 degrees Pisces. These cycles thus overlap in time, and also cover the same territory of the chart.
Venus retrograde is highly personal, encouraging us to be more introspective about our love life and what we truly value. We might find it more difficult to give and receive affection during this period, requiring us to reflect more deeply on our patterns in love. This can include examining any of our limitations in relation to self-love and self-confidence, and connecting more authentically with what we truly desire.
On March 21, the Sun enters Aries, and we begin a new annual cycle. Just as Pisces season and its theme of endings is much more profound this year because of the presence of so many planets in late Pisces, so too is the theme of new beginnings made much more powerful this Aries season by Neptune's ingress into Aries on March 30.
Yet even though there will be a tremendous wave of inspiration coming through, Venus and Mercury will still be moving retrograde at this time. There may be delays or setbacks that require us to slow down, and ensure that the new actions we feel inspired to take are truly aligned with the novel energies coming in, and not unconsciously repeating the old patterns we have just released.
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