Insights for Pisces
February 18:
Sun enters Pisces: 5:06 AM EST
“I’m melting”, said the Wicked Witch of the West, before we knew her as Elphaba. She was Wicked and as kids we all knew that was bad. We were allowed to rejoice at her demise. It felt good to know we were safe (at last).
We feel for Elphaba. We identify with her struggle and how cruel it is to be judged on account of her appearance. We have empathy for her that easily stretches us to feel compassion for all the people in the world who suffer on account of how they are seen rather than who they really are; all those people who are created in the image of our projections. It is easy to vilify and rejoice in the destruction of what we fear, harder to understand it and allow ourselves to resonate with where it lands inside our own skin.
This is a Pisces dilemma: A complex and compassionate sign at best. A black and white, cruel and judgmental sign at worst.
As we struggle to leave the Age of Pisces we are pulled as if by a sucking, psychic undertow and so we point and blame. Some of us blame the victims while the rest of us take aim at those in power who behave so very badly. It’s hard not to judge a psychopath. It might not even a good idea to identify with or extend compassion in his direction. Elphaba was a good and gifted person under her green skin.
It’s complicated.
This month, while the Sun is in Pisces, would be a good time to consider the last 2000 years (the predominant symbol being a man, in agony, tortured to death for no good reason) against the backdrop of the chaos of our present moment. Perhaps a good look at our history, which has not been kind to living things, could prevent us from repeating it.
February 20
Mercury square Jupiter
If what you hear, read, or even think about makes you angry or reactive, S L O W down your reaction time. If we’ve learned one thing it might just be that the mighty algorithm which wants our attention and steals our soul, feeds on righteous indignation, hate and fear.
February 23
Mercury trine Mars
Mars stationary direct
A brilliant idea can lead to actions that benefit the whole village. Time to get off your rusty-dusty and take action for the common good; something you can keep on doing for a while; something you have been considering for some time (since October?). The world is forever changing. And so we must.
February 25
Mercury conjunct Saturn
Pondering the ins and outs of right action puts us in touch with those we might nourish: the ones we know and love, or maybe the ones we don’t know and the ones we don’t think we love. Gathering strength and conviction just before the New Moon allows us to make powerful intentions at and after the actual New Moon on the 27th. Like seers we sense the coming changes as we sit with feelings both personal and collective.
February 27
New Moon: 09* Pisces: 07:44 PM EST
Mercury sextile Uranus
The more polarized and frightened we become regarding ‘the state of the world’ the less we can actually talk to one another. And yet - every belief holds an image of truth. What would your intention be if you were lost where you could not speak or understand the language?
March 1
Venus stationary retrograde
This period in which Venus (March 1 – April 12) and Mercury (March 15 – April 7) will both be retrograde is symbolically compelling. They start out in Aires and retrograde back through some of Pisces. During this same time Neptune will transition from Pisces (where it has been for 15 years) to make its first foray into Aries (where it has not been for 148 years). And, of course, here in the northern hemisphere the Sun will also transition from winter to spring across this very same point. Cusps or thresholds between signs are points of tension. In this case the cusp is between watery, confused, confusing and connecting Pisces, a sign of longing and compassion and fiery, focused, belligerent Aires which favors identity, assertiveness and/or aggression, a sign of singularity and identity.
Venus asks us to reevaluate our choices in the light of our longings as well as our survival in ‘real time’. We are losing a way of life including many comforts and rewards, pleasures we have taken for granted: little things such as oranges in winter as well as bigger things such as easy, relatively affordable trips to faraway places.
Given these powerful changes it’s time to organize or prioritize our resources. To do this we need at least a bit of time to reflect on where we have been. The pandemic, acceleration of the effects of climate change as well as the rise of the super-rich have altered the landscape of our expectations as well as our lived lives. The horizon isn’t what it used to be.
Venus is in determent in Aries but considered exalted in Pisces. When retrograde she requires us to grieve for what is lost, what has died, so that we can get on with the business of living. She shows us this as she morphs from evening star (last 9 months) to morning star (next 9 months). To do this she descends to the depths. We honor this descent during the time in which she disappears from the sky altogether only to return, changed. Depending on your horizon, Venus will disappear from the sky somewhere between March 18th - 27th.
The Venus retrograde period offers a template for grief and loss, permission to let go, to mourn and then to return. Life goes on.
March 2
Mercury conjunct Neptune
Sun square Jupiter
Longing is uniquely human. When longing becomes craving it’s a liability. Used correctly it hones us, shapes us, transforms us. We become devoted. We make art. We feel and act on compassion. We at least understand that there exists the kind of love which transcends death. To do this it helps to sit with feeling as it is: nothing to fix or alleviate. Longing is a river that needs to flow. Our awareness is the river bank, holding it from flood, guiding it to the sea.
March 3
Mercury enters Aries
We think we are so smart. But are we? How important is it to push our agenda? To get our point across? Mercury in the shadow of its retrograde period suggests a time to observe our thoughts and how they become actions as well as re-actions.
March 5
Mercury sextile Pluto
The power of observation and the ability to listen are gifts which ease the workings of any and all organizations. Listen to the other guy even as you observe your reactions.
March 8
Sun trine Mars
Maybe the world is bleeding suffering. There are people and organizations doing their best to provide help and care. It’s important to support them. Focus and direct your deep desire to care. Caring for one person at a time, benefits all of us.
March 9
Daylight Savings time begins (again…) 2 AM
This is NOT an astrological event. In fact it’s one more way we mess with nature’s gifts…
March 11
Mercury (almost retro) conjunct Venus Retrograde
It’s like that song you can hear, playing right in your ear, but you just can’t sing it – yet. Creativity is a process and a collaboration with Creation itself. Make space, make way for the fire of creative process. However it reveals itself to you today.
March 12
Sun conjunct Saturn
The word on Astrology Street is that a planet conjunct the Sun (cazimi) is renewing itself. Just like a day at the spa it aims to receive the creative fire. That’s how renewal works. Saturn and the Sun are about as different as can be: Bright and dim, warm and cold, new and old. Even so, Saturn can benefit from some inspiration for its next trip around the Sun. Time to receive instruction from a master. How else can we become excellent?
March 14
Full Moon: 23* Virgo: 02:54 AM EDT eclipse
Sun sextile Uranus
A portal opens, stirring the soul. Our longings are images of possibility. We could say they are true but not necessarily real or even realizable. Measure your longings against the ways and conditions of your life. What do you leave in your wake?
March 15
Mercury stationary retrograde
Mercury joins with Venus as it retrogrades over the next few weeks. Beginning in Aries we might be caught up sharp as we notice the consequences of our reactions, the ones that cause us to speak out. It’s not about right and wrong simply about action and reaction. Human qualities.
March 19
Sun conjunct Neptune
Just as Saturn went through its process of renewal in conjunction with the Sun (March 12th) now its Neptune’s turn. Neptune is getting ready for a change as it goes into Aries (March 30th). We are here, with Mercury and Venus retrograde, approaching conjunctions with Neptune; times are fraught with change and the feeling that we are being swept along with change rather than in charge of it. Opening to our losses, and the losses of the children allows us to engage or at least align with change in ways worth fighting for. Grief has its own timing and purpose. Trust it.
