New Moon in Pisces
This Saturday the Sun and Moon join in Pisces to begin a new lunar cycle, at exactly 6:12 a.m. PDT on March 17th. They coincide in Purva Bhadrapada nakshatra, the Vedic star-sign that bridges Aquarius and Pisces. This is truly a turning point in the zodiac, and in the year, as we really start to feel the ices of winter melting away, and the rains of spring washing out the old and nourishing the earth for a new cycle of life to begin.
Pisces
Pisces is the natural twelfth sign, a place where we complete a cycle, having gone through all the stages of it from beginning to end. Pisces is a sattvic (pure) sign ruled by Jupiter, which guides us towards the highest form of letting go and facing an ending — surrender to a higher power or purpose. It is also a water sign, which brings forward our emotional intuition. It has to do with the most ethereal planes of our existence, awakening the dream world and the subconscious.
This month could really help you to tap into your subconscious landscape and creative potential. The atmosphere is ripe for deepening our intuition and cleansing energetic impurities. Though it is a place of endings, the twelfth sign also relates to the pre-natal state, coming before the first sign of Aries where physical manifestation takes place. Through a practice of meditation, a trance state, or conscious inward investigation, now is a time to discover what lies below the surface and is ready to be birthed during the coming season.
Purva Bhadrapada
The new lunar cycle begins under the nakshatra Purva Bhadrapada, a sign that bridges Aquarius and Pisces and has to do with the fires of purification (specifically, the funeral cot, where our physical body is burnt away and we truly merge back into spirit). As we approach the spring and summer, the times for heightened activity where we put our goals and dreams into action, we may first need to burn away the last remnants of the previous cycle. As we approach the Aries cycle, which comes next, this new Moon is a great time to cleanse and purify ourselves, especially energetically or spiritually, and let go of what we no longer need so we have our full strength available for the next journey.
Venus & Mercury
Venus and Mercury are both joining the Sun and Moon in Pisces as we begin this lunar cycle. We will experience their influences as the tone is set for the coming month. With Venus exalted in Pisces, we have an opportunity to purify our desires, and bring them into alignment with our higher principles and purpose. With Mercury neecha bhanga (debilitated, but modified by its conjunction with exalted Venus), our intellect and reasoning ability can also help us towards this goal.
Mercury is slowing down at the moment, however, and Mercury and Venus will enter into another planetary war on Sunday the 18th, through the 20th, while they travel within one degree of each other. Both the intellect and the pleasure-center can feel a bit fatigued during this occurrence, though Venus and the desire body are likely to come out stronger due to Venus’ brightness. Mercury will reverse course and go into retrograde motion on March 22nd, through April 15th.
Saturn & Mars
Saturn and Mars are currently in conjunction, transiting the same sign of Sagittarius. There can be an internal discomfort when this happens, as Mars, the planet of impulse and action, approaches Saturn, the slow giant who gives us patience and commitment. It can feel like the gas and the breaks are going at the same time (especially if you are Vedic Sagittarius rising or have prominent planets here). Moreover, the four areas of your life ruled by Saturn and Mars in the natal chart could be in noticeable conflict this month, especially when the two enter a planetary war on March 31st that will last through April 4th.
Jupiter Retrograde
Jupiter has appeared to be at a near stand-still the last few weeks, stationing completely in early 29° sidereal Libra, and entering retrograde motion on March 8th. Since Jupiter entered the sign of balance and relationships in September of last year, we have seen wide-spread philosophical attention on gender equality. The full stop coincided with International Women’s Day, when many women made a stand by stepping out of the workforce temporarily.
These weeks have also had a lot of slowing-down and renegotiating the balance of power in the education field, as teachers and students alike have walked out in protests for justice. Jupiter is the ruler of this field, and coming to a stop in the sign of balance, then turning around, could lead us to see some major changes here.
In your personal life, Jupiter retrograde may lead to things slowing down or reversing in the areas of life ruled by Jupiter in your personal natal chart. Full forecast and personal readings available here.
Equinox
The vernal equinox will fall on March 20th this year, when we will have equal hours of night and day all over the world. The northern hemisphere enters the warmer half of the year, while the southern hemisphere enters the colder. The life cycle is waxing in the north and waning in the south, yet at the time there is an evenness that spreads across the globe.
This equinox occurs during the Pisces Sun cycle, calling upon us to really rise and embrace a higher principle, to awaken to spirit and universal equality, and detach from mundane details and differences. Many people think of the spring equinox as Aries time, which it is the marker of in Western astrology and the tropical zodiac. In the astronomical/sidereal zodiac, however, the Sun is still at 5° Pisces during the equinox (see screenshot from Cosmic Watch app). This is due to what is called the precession of the equinoxes, whereby the wobble of the earth has caused our perspective of the zodiac to shift ever so slightly over thousands of years, and thus the spring equinox now occurs with Sun in Pisces.
On this New Moon in Pisces, embrace the opportunity to let go, cleanse, and purify, before the oncoming season of action is upon us.