March 13th ~ 20th
“Figure in Moonlight” by John Atkinson Grimshaw
“Look over there, Sancho Panza, my friend, where there are thirty or more monstrous giants with whom I plan to do battle and take all their lives, and with their spoils we’ll start to get rich. This is righteous warfare, and it’s a great service to God to rid the earth of such a wicked seed.”
“What giants?” said Sancho Panza.
“Those that you see over there,” responded his master, “with the long arms ~ some of them almost two leagues long.”
“Look, your grace,” responded Sancho, “what you see over there aren’t giants ~ they’re windmills; and what seems to be arms are the sails that rotate the millstone when they’re turned by the wind.”
“it seems to me,” responded don Quixote, “that you aren’t well-versed in adventures ~ they are giants; and if you’re afraid, get away from here and start praying while I go into fierce and unequal battle with them.” ~ Miguel de Cervantes
This week both Mars and retrograde Mercury will be conjunct the North Node of the Moon. Mercury will be conjunct the North Node until the end of this month, gently prodding us in a certain direction. The more connected we are connected to that soul center, like a calling, like a whisper from the gods, we are being led to realize our true path and calling. Mars on the other hand is a planet of action. It does not wish to wait. Even in the vague and fog-filled fields of Pisces, Mars will be Mars.
Note that there are no true boundaries with Pisces that can help us to rein him in. Impulsive, drawn to react emotionally, Mars at this critical juncture with the North Node in Pisces can lead us to do things that we might later regret. Mercury retrograde in Pisces can only muddy these waters for now, but by the time Mars moves on to trine Jupiter next week, and Mercury slows for its direct station on the 20th, that sense of urgency, impatience and martial angst will begin to wane.
Mars is up in arms. The issue when Mars is in Pisces is figuring out what he is up in arms about. Who is the enemy and who the savior? Who actually needs saving? And from what? Is it really a giant, or is it a windmill? Or someone only making you think it’s a windmill, when it’s really a giant? Mars is ready to strike and take action, just in case. But sometimes we have to learn the hard way, what is a righteous battle, and which is clearly not.
So betwixt and between the meditative reveries, the moments of illumination, and the descents into the fog, before you take action, case the joint, and make sure that you are not emotionally reacting to a situation that is actually occurring. Is it something you know for sure to be true? Mars energy can escalate even in the murky depths of Pisces season. But perhaps the best advice is to avoid engaging or feeding the escalation. For in the boundless arena of Pisces, actions of defiance, revenge or aggression will be secretly plotted behind the scenes, only to explode from some unseen quarter later on where and when we least expect it.
On March 13th, Mars makes its conjunction to the True North Node in Pisces. On March 15th, retrograde Mercury and Mars will meet at 10º of Pisces (regrettable speech, falsehoods that lead us astray, saying too much, best to keep things to ourselves). And on March 17th, Mercury will make its second of 3 conjunctions to the True Node, the final one being on March 23rd, after its direct station. All of these can serve as catalysts, that can either be instrumental in showing us something significant about our destiny (individually and collectively), or to take actions that can disrupt the natural order of things by reacting emotionally and prematurely, and before we have all the facts.
No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thine own Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee. ~ John Donne
Not all things can be known quite so clearly. Thankfully the upcoming New Moon at 28º Pisces 27’ on Wednesday (or Thursday) can be illuminating. It is exactly sextile the planet Uranus, which can shine a light even in the murkiest of weather. But the New Moon is also within the bounds of Neptune, the modern co-ruler of Pisces, and the lord of Fogs, Illusions and and misguided assumptions.
That being said, Pisces and its ruling planet Neptune are capable of leading us down the garden path. But they can also escort us into the land of the Faeries, the Imagination, and the boundless realms of compassion and deep heartfelt understanding. The lands of the gods. They are not of this earth, but they connect us all in such a profound and meaningful way that if anything, we come to realize and understand our interconnections with each other, on a very deep and meaningful level. This can be economically and politically. But also in our personal lives.
The last New Moon on February 17th was a Solar Eclipse closely square Uranus. This New Moon is sextile Uranus. A less active aspect than the square, and yet still an aspect of potential, and illuminating surprises. With the sextile Uranus can open doors to revelation and innovation. Uranus shows us new and better ways of doing things, and can free us up for ever better things to come. One way it does that is by giving us permission to embrace our own individual journey, wherever that may take us.
Pisces is a mystical and magical sign, prone to idealistic notions and big dreams. This becomes that much more meaningful following the recent Saturn/Neptune conjunction on February 20th. As the ruling planet of Pisces, but now in Aries, Neptune is asking us all to perhaps redirect and take action on our big vision for the future. We have choices. We can give in and give up, succumbing to the bleak perspective that the ominous shadow of Saturn can convey. But then there’s that sextile to Uranus. Like a door opening, a chance to get out of whatever it is you got into, no matter how dismal things may have previously seemed, Uranus is here to remind us that there is Hope. Hope and the Faith that there are always alternatives. And that perhaps, just maybe, better hearts and minds will prevail.
In Pisces season we are asked to connect with that which we might consider to be the divine or mystical presence in our lives. All the more so with Mercury retrograde and conjunct the North Node in Pisces. Whether that means a spiritual practice, or connecting to that part of you that feels magical, meaningful and true on a very deep level. That part of us that transcends the ‘real’ world. Mercury retrograde in Pisces rarely speaks in words. It speaks in feelings. Its voice is so subtle that it is easily drowned out in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Yet it is this voice in the silence that feeds the soul, and brings meaning to our lives. And without that connection we would always feel a if something deeply significant was missing.
New Moons are times of new beginnings. The New Moon in Pisces is the perfect time to connect to our own Big Vision for the Future, buoyed by the recent station of Jupiter. We can do this: through our dreams, your craft, your Imagination. That connection can be further cultivated: through acts of compassion and divine service; through nature; and by allowing the divine spark to speak through us and what we do.
Dare to cast your net far and wide with the New Moon in Pisces. Cast your net out into the ocean of life, and there’s no telling what might come back. If you choose to make intentions with the New Moon in Pisces, do so when the Moon is young and full of potential, in its New Moon phase, which begins with the New Moon on March 18th here in the United States (9:24 pm EDT; 6:24 pm PDT), and on the 19th of March in Europe. The New Moon phase ends with the Crescent Moon on the 22nd.
Some positive intentions or affirmation for this New Moon might be:
May I have the faith to allow (divine guidance, my prevailing beliefs, my intuition, my higher self, my conscience) to lead me along the path.
I am a spiritual being filled with light and a love that knows no bounds. May I draw it forth as needed.
My imagination is vast. May I find the best medium which allows it to speak through me.
Through a regular practice of peace and inner contemplation, may I be confident that I will find guidance and understanding.
I have music, wonder, and possibility in my heart. May I reclaim it, and carry it with me wherever I go.
My heart is strengthened when it is filled with compassion for all beings everywhere, and without exception.
And as much as I’d like to believe there’s a truth beyond illusion, I’ve come to believe that there’s no truth beyond illusion. Because, between ‘reality’ on the one hand, and the point where the mind strikes reality, there’s a middle zone, a rainbow edge where beauty comes into being, where two very different surfaces mingle and blur to provide what life does not: and this is the space where all art exists, and all magic. ~ Donna Tartt
For the New Moon in Pisces for your Sun or natal house placement (if you know it) see this week’s horoscopes: