March Forth

March Fourth – the only day of the year that is a command: “march forth.” I remember this from a riddle book from my youth. Each year, I like to celebrate this day with a step forward toward a goal. In 2011, we’re lucky to have a New Moon on March Fourth as an impetus to pursue our dreams. The New Moon in Pisces is time for a new vision of where you want to head in the coming astrological year (which begins on the first day of Aries at the spring equinox). This is a good time to listen to your inner voice as well as your guides from other realms to form ideas for your future.

There is a very strong dose of Pisces at this New Moon (exact at 3:47 pm EST) thanks to five planets and a major asteroid in the signs of the fishes. Like the cold-blooded animal symbolizing this sign, we take on the temperature of the waters through which we swim at this time of year, sponging up the emotions and vibrations of those close to us. Remember that as you take a look at the school you're swimming in.

With so many heavenly bodies in one sign, you might guess that there are some important pair-ups but other than the Sun and Moon sharing the same degree (which happens by definition at any New Moon), oddly there are no other duos. (Perhaps it's more like many voices of a choir joining in the same song.) There is however a lot of action from the midpoints between planets, though, and they act a lot like teams. For instance, the Sun and Moon are halfway between Mercury and Mars, which brings enlivened speech, even angry words. The luminaries are also midway between Neptune and Uranus, blending their weird other-worldly energies. This is the last New Moon during the seven-year exchange of their rulerships, called a mutual reception, and thus the end of an important era.

Uranus rules Aquarius and has been traveling through Pisces since 2003, which is ruled by Neptune. Meanwhile Neptune has been hanging out in Aquarius since 1998, picking up Uranian vibes. The interplay brings religious revolutions or at least unrest among the pious, and has also brought a lot of advances in technology, especially in the medical and communications fields. A strong belief in freedom has helped fuel the recent riots in the Middle East along with the protests in our Mid-west. Mars traveling close to the Sun, in Aquarius last month and now in Pisces, has added to people's impatience to see change and freedom.

The slow-moving outer planets are said to make more of an impact on the collective than on individuals’ personal lives. Yet we know that the macro affects the micro and sometimes vice versa, as in the case of a person who touches the masses deeply like a Martin Luther King, Jr. (Chances are that such a person has the outer planets configured in an important way in his/her chart.) So we look to the sign and interplanetary connections of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto for indications of what we’re experiencing as a people. When outer planets change signs, the zeitgeist shifts, old fads fade away and new trends develop. In 2011-2012, two of these three planets enter new signs for long stays and fresh imprints on the collective mind and behavior.

Uranus stepped briefly into Aries in 2010 and settles in to this active fire sign on March 11. As I wrote for the 2011 Janet’s Plan-its Celestial Planner, “this is the planet of unpredictability, rapid evolution (even revolution) and technology. As it shifts into the sign related to conflict and weaponry, there may be new high-tech armaments unveiled or rebels who strike a blow. Aries is also the sign for sports and anything competitive, so this could manifest in a safer way, such as an invention of a type of exercise equipment or a craze of a new popular computer game. There’s likely to be unrest or anxiety among groups of people and on an individual level. Personally, this is the starting gun for turning over a big new leaf and reinventing yourself to be more authentic or true to your originality. You’ll have to work to stifle spontaneous outbursts if you have chronic anger issues or a strong temper, and patience will be challenging to achieve.”

Jupiter, a mid-range planet affecting both the greater populace and individuals in about an equal strength, hung out with Uranus for most of 2010, expanding its influence, and this year will speed ahead of the slower planet. It’s already in Aries, and its presence there correlates with international volatility and a willingness on the part of people to fight for freedom or what they perceive to be their rights. In the next couple of months, quick-moving Mars and the Sun will also be in Aries, so don’t expect tempers to cool off any time soon.

For now, it’s time to bid farewell to Uranus’s visit to Pisces and the special energetic interchange that has been in place for its entire visit there. This mixture of planets each in the sign that the other rules has brought a lot of wet ‘n’ wild weather, intense hurricanes, ice storms and flooding, as well as a shift in the jet stream responsible for lots of snow in the southern US this winter. These are the most “unreal” signs and planets, so this interaction can bring out the kooks or seem to make sane people act crazy. Together, they signaled a time to gain a deeper understanding of unseen (microscopic, ethereal, psychic) forces. Their humanitarian and charitable combination solidified our interconnectedness and sense of belonging to a global village, whether that was responding to a tsunami or the many strong and devastating earthquakes of late. As the planet of belief (Neptune) and the planet of knowledge (Uranus) swapped influences, competition increased between religion and science for power in politics (controversies about global warming and education about evolution).

The Uranus-Neptune mutual reception opened technology to the masses more. We now watch TV shows on our computers and glamorize everyday people through the (totally unreal) “reality” shows. We have seen the rise of You Tube, where anyone can be a star (of sorts), and Facebook with cyber-relationships between people who are not friends in the traditional sense and may never meet in the brick-and-mortar world. Though we may not have noticed it a lot (and this will probably catch up with us), during this time the air has become more polluted with chemicals (such as those dispersed in chemtrails) and the water more infused with drugs (discarded pharmaceuticals).

Both Uranus and Aquarius relate to revolution and rebellion, while both Neptune and Pisces are associated with oppression and suffering. At the tail end of this mutual reception, we’re seeing waves of uprising that are not likely to be finished before the mutual reception ends when Uranus enters Aries and will continue with the strong warrior energy of that Mars-ruled sign. You can take this as a symbol of the greater freedom to express your own individuality that you may want to fight for in the coming weeks, months or years.

Meanwhile, on a more mellow note (which we could surely use now), I want to share with you a poem I wrote March 13, 1981 (and which is posted on my website) about Pisces.

SWIMMING (In The Sea of Life)
by Janet Booth

Neptune, wizened old man of the sea,
Do you see you are connected to me?
A1ma Mater's the ocean--we're of the same school
Chasing our tails, Playing The Fool.
Through seasonal cycles, both up- and down-stream
Like lemmings, we follow the call of The Dream.
Reflective of spirit, we circle around,
Learning to swim only to drown
Only to rise again up to the sky,
To turn into raindrops and down again fly.