Mercury into Pisces | this is our brain on drugs

floating from a dream by dloraas

Another planet joins the Pisces pile up as we ready for the Solar Eclipse on Tuesday. With Mercury's (communication, intellect) move from Aquarius into Pisces our thinking becomes less stubborn and more flexible. Our focus will not be as razor sharp but seeing the gray areas (as opposed to black and white, good or bad thinking) has its upside, too.

Decisions will become more intuitive and left brained. But the truth can get a little bit stretchy. If we need to make a major decision now it will be hard to tell the facts from the fiction. Stay grounded - meditate!

Mercury, is considered in his detriment in Pisces - he's a Virgo guy and likes things a little more cut and dried. BUT his annual trek through Pisces is excellent energy for artists, healers, fiction writers and everyone working with their imaginations. Muses are standing by!

Our communications and conversations can be more compassionate and inspirational now.

Our Pisces natal house might be the space where we avoid looking at what is really going on. Rose colored glasses and fuzzy edges make everything a little less solid here. Things can be hard to hold onto. It can also be the house of tremendous healing and creativity. Mercury here can open up lines of communication.

Our imaginations will be working overtime. We can use this time glued to a screen watching television or the internet (there are studies that show night time television watchers have less colorful and memorable dreams) or we can use this imaginative energy to lead more creative, intuitive lives.

Also remember Pisces is the South Node collective energy (been there/done that, ready to move on) and Mercury is the ruler of our North Node (Virgo) so having Mercury in this space can usher in a time when we open up to or move past (Pisces) old information (Mercury) in our journey forward or in order to bring some story to its natural conclusion. The victim/martyr/addict energy of Pisces is something we are all releasing now and whatever is ripe for release has a way of bubbling up for us to look at/work through and move past.

xo all

FYI Mercury is the natural ruler of communication, the intellect, siblings, short distance travel, teaching, writing and on the flipside things like nervousness, worry, fidgeting, rationalization, gossip - these areas and our Pisces houses are affected by this transit. 

Mars into Sagittarius | sky's the limit

sky is the limit by zedlord-art

Today we have Mercury (post tomorrow) and Mars BOTH changing signs and squaring each other as they do. It's kind of like an argument that continues from the bedroom into the backyard, but then suddenly we realize we are standing around the backyard in our underwear and the neighbors are looking at us and we forget what we are fighting about ... or maybe we find something bigger to fight about in the backyard, and the neighbors just pull up a chair. It could go either way.

Mars, ruler of Aries and co-ruler (ancient ruler) of Scorpio needs to be doing something. Anything.

He flies out of sharp focused Scorpio today and into big picture, sky's the limit, freedom loving Sagittarius. He's looking for action. Maybe he's even looking for a fight. Actually in Sagittarius he will probably be on a crusade. Our natal Sagittarius house is AWAKE while Mars is visiting. And he is preparing for a LONG visit. He's brought a full set of Samsonite and will be with us until the end of September (minus the weeks Mars will retrograde back into Scorpio - end of May thru early August).

It might be hard to focus our actions now. In Sagittarius, Mars will be eager, revitalized .. and distracted. There's just so much to do. We could find ourselves with several projects going all at once and nothing gets finished. 

He will stir up activity in our natal Sagittarius house and with the themes Sagittarius rules - legal, travel, foreigners, teaching, higher education, media, marketing, publishing, wedding, philosophy or politics (yes, the fighting is about to get even more intense - stay off Facebook!).

It will be easy to go off the rails when people don't agree with us. We need to take the time to think things through. Everyone will be trying to persuade everyone else to see things their way - probably ain't gonna happen. Keep this in mind. The dogmatic spewing of our own "truth" and "wisdom" might not be as welcome as we hoped. It's a good time to take a long look at what we are really fighting for.

With Mars in Sagittarius we will all have more of a tendency to "just wing it" and that may not be a good thing in our "Virgo (attention to detail) is the king of the playground" year.

A good way to work with Mars "antsy-ness" and/or "know-it-all-ness" is exercise - especially the kind that starts with us heading outdoors and ends with us too tired to move.

On the plus side, there is lots of energetic support here to take action toward something very "big picture", and act in big and loving ways toward others - both my Sagittarius rising nieces give the BIGGEST hugs.  We can use this energy to embrace all kinds of newness now. With Sagittarius the sky really is the limit. We are encouraged to set in motion anything that we would want to receive if we were on the receiving end. xo

New Moon Solar Eclipse in Pisces | March 8th - forward on faith

a leap of faith by jk rab

Next week's New Moon in Pisces is a full solar eclipse. We could feel the energies earlier than other new moons (I've felt them as early as one month prior and as late as one month after - usually exactly to the day).

Happening in Pisces, our current south node (been there/done that) - the "new" could be defined best by what is leaving. 

Eclipses (similar to a super charged full moon) will eclipse something out or bring something to light or alternately cover it up. The New Moon will activate the promise of any slow moving transit currently present in our life.

This eclipse has the Sun and Moon in Pisces (18 degrees) as well as Chiron (the wounded healer), Ceres (nurturing/devouring mother) and the South Node (been there/done that). Also we have Saturn (in Sagittarius) squaring the eclipse and the eclipse opposing a retrograde Jupiter (in Virgo) and the North Node (in Virgo).

If you have any planets or points in your natal chart from 15 to 21 degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) you will feel this eclipse the strongest. 15 to 21 degree planets and points in water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) will also feel it, but to a lesser extent. Check your natal chart and check for your Pisces house - the house will tell you the area of life to expect the impact.

These degrees are similar to those impacted last September by the Solar Eclipse in Virgo and in the same family of eclipses so we might feel a connection with something that happened then.

We are are like computers being turned off and on when the skies go dark and the program that uploads at restart is a little bit (or quite a lot) different than the one we ran on before. 

Eclipses change us, and we, (vibrating differently), change our circumstances by attracting or repelling what our new self lines up with.

Although solar eclipses are new moons and have themes of newness we can't have a beginning without an ending. Sometimes the ending is all we feel with this stuff. So, even when we are soaked in mourning for what has ended and we aren't consciously starting something new, the very fact that something/someone is no longer in our life means we are in a new beginning. 

Now, let's unpack this.

We have Ceres in Pisces. I did a post on this HERE that applies to this eclipse. We have Chiron in Pisces. With Chiron involved we know that whatever is happening has the opportunity to be either "wounding" or "healing" and most likely both. We have our South Node in Pisces. The South Node is our space of completion - we've been there, we've done that, we are ready to move on now.

In Pisces, endings can be kind of vague and drifting. Sometimes we can't even tell until later that something is finished. There is an unmistakable feeling that something is slipping away, but the process isn't so cut and dried. If we don't let go, it's like trying to hold onto water.

We have Saturn (structure, time, discipline, authority, restrictions) squaring the eclipse. This is tension and frustration - something outside pushing/forcing us to take a new action. Pisces is all about faith - what we believe in. We could see what is happening here as a test of faith. I don't mean this in a religious sense, although it could be for some people - Saturn is holding our dreams to the fire. What do we really believe is possible here?

We know if the New Moon Solar Eclipse is hanging out with the South Node - it is opposing (opposite) the North Node. The North Node (our current north star) is in Virgo, along with Jupiter. An opposition forces a decision.

An opposition to Jupiter highlights what is opposed to us being "lucky". An opposition to the North Node highlights what is opposed to us moving "forward" with our life purpose. If we are moving in the wrong direction we will feel like the life is being sucked out of us now. That sounds rather dire, but is probably not an overstatement.

Pisces is healing. Many people with health issues may get answers/peace now. People and animals with major health issues might leave us, so spend time with them. Get yourself to the doctor or hospital as needed.

Saturn forces structure. Many people will encounter roadblocks that put them on the right path because other routes will be closed off. With only one route open to us it is rather easy to decide which way to go.

With this new beginning in Pisces (transcendence) we'll need to have faith. There will not be certainty right now. New moons are times of darkness. Our first new steps will be uncertain. We can trust our intuition (Pisces) now.

As always this year, the way forward (and toward solid ground) is through Virgo.

Do the work. Do it well. Do what is right in front of us. Take care of our health. Take care of our habits. There is no "letting ourselves go" or "letting things slide" this year. And if that sounds exhausting to you - go take a nap - it's Pisces season, we need more sleep.

Remember this energy is in effect until the Pisces Full Moon next autumn. There is nothing about any of this that says we need to rush off at full speed in the New Moon darkness. Just keep moving forward, one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. Doing what is in front of us. Moving toward what feels most "light and right". Eventually we'll reach Virgo solid ground!

And remember this is still a New Moon. Set your intentions - think about Pisces themes - healing, peace, boundaries, dreams, imagination, addiction, vulnerability, compassion, what is hidden!

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of February 29th - something's gotta go, something needs a boundary

exodus by jon jacobsen

First, Monday is Leap Day so we get a BONUS day this year - this is like the extra hour we get at daylight saving's time multiplied by twenty four. Plus it's nicer to think of it this way rather than just Monday!

(we just need to get the calendar makers to add it to the end of July) 

This is a busy week. Under-schedule because in the run up to the eclipses we can expect the unexpected now.

The Moons are productive all week with no serious void moons during working hours other than late Monday afternoon. Today the Moon is in Scorpio - especially good energy for Scorpio ruled stuff - taxes, loans, other people's money, etc - reproductive issues, sex, death. From late Monday until Wednesday the Moon is in Sagittarius - expansion, what we believe in, adventure, what is foreign, education, legal stuff is highlighted. Early Thursday the Moon moves into Capricorn until early Saturday - grow up, do the work, be responsible, get serious, authority figures are in the mix, our own authority is required here.

Lots of Pisces (weepy/sleepy/letting go) energy. We are building toward eclipse season and Thursday is an eclipse trigger day for March 8-9th's total Solar Eclipse (more on this later) - know that whatever this eclipse energy is working with in our lives - the doors are open for change RIGHT NOW.

The Pisces eclipse pushes us to take a hard look at unhealthy beliefs and habits. The Sun and Moon are on the South Node of what we are releasing.  

Something's gotta go now. Something needs a boundary.

Later in the week, Mars (in Scorpio and walking a path he will walk two more times over the next few months) squares Mercury at the very end of Aquarius. The same day this is exact (Saturday) they both change signs (Mars into Sagittarius and Mercury into Pisces). Planets in the last degrees of any sign are particularly strong and Aquarius and Scorpio are particularly fixed and hard headed.

Squares denote struggle, tension and frustration. We have our mind (Mercury) not aligned with our actions (Mars). We may be pressured to make a decision and take action. We could say one thing and do another. Remember, actions (Mars) we take now matter because we are not finished with them. With Mars in the shadow of his upcoming retrograde it's like we are visiting a space we will return to - so let's not trash the place. With Mars move into Sagittarius the same day there could be ethics or bigger picture stuff involved. With so much Pisces energy whatever the tension is - it could just fizzle out. It might be best to pull in until we're clear. This is great energy for a distracted car accident so it's best to be intentional with our actions and give ourselves time to think.

Also late in the week, the Sun (in Pisces) squares Saturn (in Sagittarius). This transit will trigger issues from the Neptune/Saturn square we are all working through now. Squares denote struggle, tension and frustration. There are obligations, rules and limits. For Pisces the dreamy sky is the limit and Saturn wants us to accept reality. Pluto in Capricorn is sextiling the Sun so there is an opportunity to connect with our true purpose here. The road blocks are real though.

We can see the Saturn/Neptune square playing out in the U.S. primary elections. Each party is choosing a Neptune candidate (dreams, imagination, maybe too much pie in the sky, outsider) or a Saturn candidate (structure, power, maybe too much of the same old thing, insider). The impact from our choices here will reverberate in our personal energies, too. Do we believe big, crazy change is possible? Or do we believe things have to change very slowly over time? There are no right or wrong answers with this. We truly do get to live in the world we believe we live in.
 
The first eclipse, next week, is at 18 degrees Pisces on the South Node (eclipses can take place on the South or North Nodes). This is a Full Solar Eclipse. Because the Sun and Moon are in the South Node of 'letting go' we will have a BIG release/ending in our Pisces house.

What house is 18 degrees Pisces in our natal chart? Also we can check our progressed chart for this same degree. Progressed charts are symbolic. They move our natal chart ahead one day for every year we are alive. Astrologers call these 'secondary progressions'. So, let's say you were born on October 10, 1980 - your chart this year would look like November 15, 1980 - 35 days for 35 years. Secondary progressions offer insight into the unfolding of our unique personalities over time. I noticed the year my Sun changed signs, our Sun will only change signs a couple times in our lifetimes using this method, life very suddenly required me to be a totally different person!

You can find your progressed chart at astro.com (extended charts - choose natal and progressed or natal, progressed and transits) - for the eclipse: find 18 degrees Pisces and see if your progressed chart has you dealing with a different Pisces house (than your natal chart) and if there are any planets in your progressed chart near 18 degrees. If you need help with this, just email me or leave a comment.

An eclipse can pull us in a whole new direction! Are we ready? (there is a sneak peak available - what was happening for you in the spring of 1997 and/or the spring of 1978? what is happening right now?)

xo all

Sun Conjunct Neptune in Pisces | illuminating a weakness?

ann 03 by muszka

This weekend the Sun moves into a comfy conjunction with Neptune - both moving through Pisces, along with the collective South Node of what we are releasing and joining the wounding/healing energy of Chiron.

The Nodes (North and South) are not actual celestial bodies like planets or stars. They’re the two points in space where the Moon’s orbit around the Earth crosses the ecliptic - the path the Sun appears to journey through the skies each year when viewed from Earth.

Unlike the planets, the nodes are always in retrograde motion, moving backwards through the zodiac. They spend about 18 months in each polarity set of signs - currently Virgo/Pisces since last November (you might remember when they were Libra/Aries and I was talking about flocks and not going it alone, ad nauseum!) - and it takes about 18 and a half years for the Nodes to make a complete journey through the zodiac.

With the South Node in Pisces we are, as a collective, working through letting go of negative Pisces themes - unrealistic dreams and fantasies, addictions, escape, lack of boundaries, self-sacrifice, victimhood and martyrdom.

With the Sun lighting up this area now, maybe some space where we are "unrealistic" or our "judgement is cloudy" or we have lost our "boundaries" or played the "victim" or "martyr" or been "untruthful" or tried to "escape" could be highlighted for us.

It's probably a space we have gone unconscious. A space of distraction. Maybe it's something we use to stay safe but it actually keeps us stuck over here while that thing life has been busy lining us up with is over there. Maybe it's just the way we've always done it and something now shows us why it doesn't work anymore.

To grow and change we need to be able to tolerate a certain amount of unreality, 'not knowing' and un-comfortableness. We just have to stand our ground with it now.

The first time we put on a new hat we feel like a fraud. It takes time for that hat to become "ours" and not just something we have perched on our head.

Glass half full - this aspect also offers up quite a bit of inspiration for those ready to dance with the muse ..... dreamy weekend ahead folks, watch your alcohol, drug and sugar intake, it will be very easy to overdo it now - xo all

more fruitful directions ....

apple by basistka

A void and waning Moon makes today a good day for practiced, routine work especially with whatever is winding down. Better to stay busy now. Not a good day for major purchases - the void Virgo moon would probably make whatever we buy less useful than we expected.

Mercury (communications, mental activities) aspects Saturn (hard work, structure) and Uranus (unexpected) this week. We could receive some communication that shakes our foundation or line up with ideas that allow us to break new ground.

We will roll with whatever we can't control here.

The way forward this year is our collective North Node in Virgo - taking care of the details, taking care of ourselves. Our natal Virgo house is expanding. Saturn is in Sagittarius this year. Our natal Sagittarius house is where our feet are being held to the fire. Pisces season brings our attention to what we have been ignoring or denying - the ways we undermine what we know we want. It also frees up our imagination.

Boundaries are thin now. Keep that in mind with anything we are connecting with.

We are heading into next month's eclipse season which will shift energy and allow BIG changes for everyone. The stuff that is leaving/finishing up now creates a space for the new stuff to find us.

Mercury is in Aquarius and ripe with new ideas. They are like the apples on a tree ready for harvest. With Venus in Aquarius, too, our heads (Mercury)and hearts (Venus) can work together here as we choose which apples to take home with us.

(I'd recommend a nice cameo apple with homemade almond butter - delish)

Letting go of what we’ve been hoping for may be cause for celebration now as we finally accept there are more fruitful directions to move in. xo all