Oh, the New Moon in Pisces! This year, we dive deep into mystical waters before we even reach the New Moon.
On Tuesday, March 5, Mercury stationed retrograde in the final 29th degree of Pisces, with a close but out-of-sign conjunction with Chiron the wounded healer in Aries.
Mercury will continue its retrograde journey until the end of this month.
We dive deeper again as Sun and Moon meet in the very center of Pisces, at 11:04 am EST on Wednesday, March 6 for the New Moon.
This New Moon is conjunct Neptune, sitting close by at 16 Pisces, a connection that beckons us into magical places.
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As we know from the old tales, magic can be dangerous, especiallly if we are unkind, greedy, or disrespectful. The dreaminess of Pisces can also be seductive in relation to any addictive patterns we have, or attractions to illusion or delusion, whether these are beautiful or catastrophic.
So this New Moon offers a window, or perhaps a mirror, that shows us where we see truly and where we are mistaken, or where we look away from something it might be better for us to see and face.
This possibility for awareness even in the midst of Pisces confusion is offered in part through the Mercury–Chiron conjunction that initiates the retrograde. We might, perhaps, catch a glimmer of how we are hurt by too much time spent in illusion, or ways in which we are misled to our disadvantage.
Other kinds of healing are available at this New Moon. Working with, honoring, or releasing trauma related to our ancestors will also be powerful at this time. A New Moon is a new start. We can seek to heal the past and bring the best of our heritage into the future.
Be aware that the guidance that comes to us during March will not be crystal clear fact-based presentations complete with spreadsheets and precise details.
Instead, we are the realms of intuition and inner vision. The better our skills are in these areas, the more we can learn during this time.
Of course, magic offers us wonderful things, the very things we need: Dreams, visions, hope, and, it must be remembered, various kinds of power.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt
We may look at this New Moon conjunct Neptune with Mercury Rx and think, wow, we are going to be completely at sea here, lost in mists and fogs.
Another look suggests we are offered a New Moon filled with magic cradled in the powers of earth.
The New Moon is sextile Mars at 13 Taurus on one side and sextile Saturn at 18 Capricorn on the other.
Sextiles are flowing, energizing relationships. It’s true that in classical astrology, Saturn and Mars are the two malefics, the two bringers of difficulty and challenge. Shouldn’t we be concerned about their presence here?
I don’t think so.
The dangers associated with this much Pisces come from being ungrounded, lost in dreams without direction or goals, or overtaken by fear and anxiety.
Both Mars in Taurus and Saturn in Capricorn are strong. Their feet are firmly planted on solid ground. Their roles are to work steadily and patiently to get things done (Mars in Taurus) and to bring things into form, establish what is real, and set good boundaries (Saturn in Capricorn).
Seen this way, Mars and Saturn provide excellent grounding for this mystically dreamy New Moon. They offer the opportunity to take our dreams and flow them into reality.
“People think dreams aren’t real just because they aren’t made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes.”
― Neil Gaiman
There is another important event happening along with the New Moon and Mercury retrograde: The entry of Uranus into Taurus. This is a huge shift as the planet of revolution and quick change moves from fiery Aries into slow, steady Taurus. Uranus dipped his toes into Taurus last year, then retrograded out. Now he returns to stay in the sign of fixed Earth.
Astrologers have speculated a lot on what we might see here, suggesting changes in banking (anything from market crashes to virtual currencies), radical shifts in our food supply, or environmental disasters or triumphs. I am very intrigued by the Green New Deal, since the original New Deal was crafted during the previous Uranus in Taurus period.
It feels significant that this shift happens so close to the magical New Moon.
On one hand, we could find ourselves fearful, lost, or deliberately misled. On the other, we might begin to find a new relationship to the Earth, one that recognizes the soul in all things.
We live in a time when too many of us are estranged from the natural world, rarely setting foot on actual, natural soil. Some are suggesting this represents an illness, or at least a dysfunctional pattern, that depletes our immune systems, making us weaker and less resilient.
The rise practices like forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, are examples of how we seek a renewed connection with nature.
At this New Moon, the seeds we plant, the wishes we make, will be touched by all these energies: the mystical magic of Pisces dreaming, a connection to the wounded healer, the practicality and hard work of Mars and Saturn, and the emerging revolution of Uranus in Taurus.
As always, check where this New Moon falls in your birth chart and what is touched by these emerging patterns. This is where you might feel dreamy or unfocused, where you might experience visions, and where you may be most in need of a new and magical way of experiencing the world.
“I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh