COSMIC HOT TUB
Feeling sensitive? Awash in other people’s stuff? Just plain feeling?
You’re under the influence of the Mar. 17 Pisces New Moon.
The Pisces New Moon launches the last lunar cycle before the Spring Equinox, Mar. 20. What might we create, in the season’s final days?
We’re not likely to float or wallow. My forecast explains:
“The Pisces New Moon is the switch into awareness of (and escalating) discomfort, just before release. … It’s productive, motivating and potentially profoundly healing. And it comes with a kick that sets off the exploding life force of the spring.”
But, this Moon has pitfalls. Nadia Gilchrist, Ruby Slipper Astrology, warns. “There is a theme to this Moon of thoughtless actions with painful results. But on the flipside, wisdom can be gained from what hurts if you're paying attention (learn from what happens).”
Let’s look at how astrologers around the Web are parting the waters of this New Moon.
Pisces New Moon
New Moons bring fresh starts, and new life. Each year the New Moon in watery Pisces falls just before the northern hemisphere’s spring equinox. It’s the wet, soggy ground hiding the seeds magically germinating new life.
Andrew Ifandis, Cosmos of Astrology, focuses on seeding and healing potentials.
“As the lunation dream begins to manifest, as our hopes begin to arise and we feel inspired and compassionate, some feelings of restlessness and not being able to cope with the situation may appear. It has a quality of testing the truth within us and strengthening our conviction.
“This Piscean lunation does not bring the “dream” into reality. It plants a seed of faith in our hearts and requires our patience. … It sets in motion a healing process and makes us strong.”
High Tide vs. Rip Tide
The New Moon – and the water at the end of the Zodiac – loom large thanks to the easy flow of a trine to Jupiter, the traditional ruler of Pisces, who began his annual retrograde Mar. 8.
He’s beaming his uplifting powers from the deep, mysterious waters of Scorpio.
“There will be benefits or workarounds, stemming from the shift in perspective that Jupiter Rx brings. Whether you're slowing down or narrowing your focus (and maybe this is part of the difficulties around this New Moon) your willingness to just back off and allow the current to flow where it wants to will ultimately make things easier. There will still be a wound, but if there's one message I've been repeating about Pisces it's ‘allow and accept.’ Pisces delivers an ultimate truth that involves releasing the illusion of control.”
Nadia Gilchrist, Ruby Slipper Astrology
Jupiter is also reaching out to Pluto, still on his 16-year sojourn in Capricorn. My forecast describes the impact:
“It’s Jupiter’s way to escalate the action. Since he’s in Scorpio, this link is also pulling bugs, rot and other off-putting bits to the surface and providing a can’t-look-away mix of fascination, tenacity and fearlessness. The potential is great for catharsis, healing and, sorry to say, revulsion, with Jupiter retrograding back toward a cooperative sextile to Scorpio’s [modern] ruler, Pluto, in institutional Capricorn.”
Jupiter’s also been gaining support from energetic Mars over the past few weeks. Jupiter and Mars have been “trading spaces” with Mars in Jupiter’s home sign Sagittarius, and Jupiter in Mars’ Scorpionic home base. The power couple eggs on our ardor when defending our most deeply held beliefs.
Get a Move On
Feel unseen hands against your shoulders? Action-hero Mars makes an uncomfortable-yet-energizing square to the New Moon.
“It looks like an arrow, aimed directly at your Achilles Heel!”
“Moon square Mars delivers a huge drive to succeed and the tendency to be competitive. The sexuality is a force to be reckoned with and thrusts the subject like a rocket past all of its rivals. At this New Moon, we are fiercely protective. Blood ties are extremely important to us and a spur for us to succeed. The square brings such intense feelings and moods to a crisis point, so at this New Moon, we will need to vent this great energy into some project which fuses the Moon with Mars.”
Maria Macario, Darkstar Astrology
“An uncomfortable decision or action must be taken that you would prefer not to have to deal with. A crisis then develops as you are torn between wanting to relax in the blue state, and having to fight for it in the red state.
“This could manifest in a variety of ways… The most base level would be sexual conquesting. Moon in hard aspect to Mars has a great urge to protect and defend the family, but also a need for the family to get ahead. Success and competitiveness are encouraged at this time but we need to be careful of becoming overly pushy and placing too much pressure on our younger kids.”
Jamie Partridge, Astrology King
“Do we rush to realize what we want? Are we competing ourselves or others undeservedly? Or is it maybe that we feel that we have to spontaneously act (Mars in Sagittarius) instead of passively listening to our intuitive inner voice (Moon in Pisces)?”
Andrew Ifandis, Cosmos of Astrology
Mars is bringing get-up-and-go, but also tenacity as he enters Capricorn about four hours after the New Moon. My forecast describes his cosmic shove:
“We’re experiencing some long-standing issues in a way that promotes doing something about them. Mars is delivering the oomph to get out of the tub, dry off and start the next phase. Something we’ve learned or realized or reframed lately could be part of the incentive, since he’s in the last gasp of Sagittarius, at maximum philosophical firepower, fresh off a trine to awakening Uranus. And prospects are great for following through, since he’s moments from sliding into slow and steady Capricorn.”
Best to target your actions prudently, though. Elsa Elsa warns:
“If you get on some high horse and start a war, it’s going to be protracted.”
Drying Off
There’s a ladder out of the Piscean waters, if you’re willing to climb out and towel off. It comes from a collaborative trine between the sky’s two instigators, Mars and Uranus.
The opening is enticing and worth considering. Jamie Partridge, Astrology King sees:
“Harmonization will be fun and exciting, more than calm and relaxing. Resolution of conflict should involve pleasant surprises and stimulating encounters. Extra initiative, inspiration and motivation will bring quick changes that help solve your original relationship drama, sexual frustration or other crisis.
“This sexually stimulating aspect brings the chance of an exciting new romance and you will have the courage to make the first move. Experimentation and kinkiness in the bedroom can reinvigorate a troubled sexual relationship. On the other hand, this is also a good time to break away from relationships which you feel limits your self-expression or freedom. This also applies to jobs or other things holding you back from success and happiness. Trust your instincts and don’t be afraid to take a risk. Fortune favors the brave.”
Other Considerations
The sky is vast, and so are the number of ways astrologers have found meaning in the heavens above. Let’s look at how some of these can add meaning, nuance and depth to the Pisces New Moon.
Fixed Stars
The Moon is conjunct the fixed star Matar in the right knee of Pegasus. Fixed star maven Marina Macario, Darkstar Astrology, comments:
“There is no specific meaning for the fixed star Matar, so we need to look to the constellation of Pegasus the flying horse. Manilius’ writing in the 1st Century says ‘It will bring forth people endowed with a swiftness of movement and limbs alert to perform every task… proudly mounted on its back he will wage war from on high; horseman and soldier in one. Another will possess the ability to rob the racecourse of its true length such is his speed…and make the ground vanish before him… will know the herbs which bring aid to an animal’s limbs and those which grow for the use of man.’ So there is swiftness in the body and mind.”
Asteroids & Minor Planets
Heightening the sensitivity of the Pisces New Moon is its conjunction to Chiron, often called the wounded healer, and named for a centaur who traded immortality for release from the pain of a poisoned arrow. He represents long-standing wounds that do not go away, as well as the challenge of settling fully into physicality.
Old wounds might lead to present pain. Says Jamie Partridge. Astrology King:
“It could be an event from your childhood like bullying, or a physical wound, illness or disability. It could be a broken heart that never healed or the death of a loved one. Your deepest wound could have damaged your self-esteem and lead to depression, feelings of victimization or an inferiority complex.
“New Moon conjunct Chiron will expose your deepest wound, and Mars will bring back the pain due to some crisis or conflict.”
He’s also lending an end-of-an-era vibe to this New Moon. My forecast explains why:
“Chiron is wrapping up his transit through all-connected Pisces, a journey that began in February 2011.
“This is the last Pisces New Moon with him in the sign for half a century. He’ll enter Aries in mid-April, then duck back into Pisces for a final mop-up from late September through mid-February of next year. His swan song Pisces New Moon can serve as a retrospective; look for indicators of your healing journey of the last seven years.”
Harness Chiron’s potential, suggests Andrew Andrew Ifandis, Cosmos of Astrology:
“Chiron works as an instrument of healing maybe by self-expression through art or healing other by showing compassion felt intensely, both qualities that can manifest in our psyche under this Piscean New Moon.”
The New Moon is also conjunct the asteroid Nemesis, who punished hubris to restore cosmic order. Alex Miller, Alex’s Asteroid Astrology, considers her astrological role:
“Nemesis represents the vagaries of Fate, self-undoing, reversal of fortune, and any person or thing which holds us back, prevents our will, denies goals, or punishes our actions. Additionally, there can be issues with assigning blame, scapegoating, or finding fault.”
The New Moon is conjunct one additional asteroid, the lesser known Sauer, named for an early flight dynamics engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He “understood how to get a spacecraft to an asteroid,” says Eric Francis, Planet Waves, who sees the asteroid’s presence in a chart as indicating that something was engineered.
Minor Aspects
Watch for indications of your emotional expressions evolving. They are showing the effect of two semi-sextiles, an aspect that asks for minor adjustments.
One is the semi-sextile is from the Moon to Uranus, agent of change and awakening. Jamie Patridge, Astrology King, explains the aspect:
“It represents a state of flux, experimenting and experiencing new ways to find the perfect balance. Instead of putting off dealing with crisis, you must view [it] as representing an opportunity to resolve the conflict.
“Striving for a solution involves gathering information one small step at a time until things start to make sense. Curiosity and inventiveness will help you to make new discoveries or receive flashes of insight. Unexpected meetings and chance encounters will likely be more frequent and enlightening…
“You might have difficulty sticking to a routine and you could be easily distracted. However, it is this tendency to skip from one thing to another that leads to the extra insight and discoveries.”
The other is between Neptune and Mercury and Venus in Aries.
“This injects empathy, compassion and highest love into the fusion of awareness and communication with desires, values and relationships,” as I say in my forecast.
Decans
Each astrological sign can be divided into three sections, known as decans (10-degree divisions of the Zodiac). This Moon is in Pisces decan 3, which is ruled by Mars.
Maria Macario, Darkstar Astrology, views this as the zone of the impossible.
“We get the feeling that this Piscean water is simmering, about to boil over as it makes its way to the new life born on the spring equinox at 0º Aries. This zone is bursting with anticipation for the future and impatient.”
Her forecast considers the decan’s effect on the New Moon:
“Because of fluctuating emotions, we might well find it hard to keep hold of relationships at this time or stick to any project. We are apt to lash out for no apparent reason.
“This decan is very sensitive to what its peers (or the public) perceive them to be. If they can’t be loved, then Pisces decan 3 might go out of their way to be unpopular and delight in being controversial. Moon in Pisces 3 loves being the subject of gossip, and they seem to lap-up any attention, even if it is negative. Bad press doesn’t exist as long as this person is being talked about; So at this time, we will see many prominent people feeding off drama in the collective. The Moon here can be quite ‘bratty’ also. Infantile rages can emerge due to unresolved childhood trauma.”
Sabian Symbols
Over the years, astrologers have devised systems to assign meaning to each degree of the Zodiac. The most popular of the past century has been the Sabian Symbols, proposed by Marc Edmund Jones.
The Sabian Symbol for the 27th degree of Pisces is: “The Harvest Moon Illumines a Clear Autumnal Sky.”
In his commentary on the Symbol, astrologer Dane Rudhyar gave it the keynote, “The light of fulfillment that blesses work well done.” He elaborated, “The time has come to reap not only what we have sown, but also cultivated – or failed to cultivate.”
Lunar Mansion
The popular 12-sign solar Zodiac, which traces the Sun through the seasons, it just one way of dividing up the sky. A 28-sign Lunar Zodiac traces the movement of the Moon across the background of stars; the Arab astrologers call these the Mansions of the Moon.
The Moon falls in Lunar Mansion 28, which the Arab astrologers called Al Batn al Hut (The belly of the fish). Donna Woodwell of Donna Philosophica nicknamed it “The Fish.”
She says the mansion’s purpose is to gather resources and riches.
She counsels: “Take stock of what you have achieved. Celebrate the completion of tasks. Be joyful. Ask for guidance. Build community. And make sure you don’t ignore the gifts you’ve been given, or refuse help when offered.”
Summing It Up
This Pisces New Moon swims with paradox. It’s a time of beginnings, with a tinge of endings. It’s soft and tender, but also reactive and perhaps painful. It encourages soaking and drifting, yet calls for action.
Nadia Gilchrist, Ruby Slipper Astrology, outlines an approach for navigating the waters:
“As the events of this New Moon unfold, accept that there will be a painful/vulnerable event. Then ask yourself ‘What do I need to do next?’”
Lunaria Datebook
Last Moon Phase: March New Moon in Virgo
Next Moon Phase: March Full Moon in Libra
March New Moon Times and Dates:
San Francisco: Saturday, Mar. 17, 6:11 a.m. PDT
New York: Saturday, Mar. 17, 9:11 a.m. EST
São Paulo: Saturday, Mar. 17, 10:11 a.m. BRST
London: Saturday, Mar. 17, 1:11 p.m. BST
Istanbul: Saturday, Mar. 17, 4:11 p.m. TRT
Mumbai: Saturday, Mar. 17, 6:41 p.m. IST
Tokyo: Saturday, Mar. 17, 10:11 p.m. JST
Sydney: Sunday, Mar. 18, 12:11 a.m. AEST
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Thank you for the comment, Yahaya.