As February gives way to March, we see the shrapnel of the past littered around us, proof of the blast that Jupiter and Pluto sent into our lives. Jupiter, the god of profusion, brought an overwhelm of possibilities as old, brittle situations became untenable. The most obvious example of this is the revolution in Egypt, whose seeds were planted under the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction three years ago.
We’re still dealing with endings though, until Uranus and Neptune move into their new signs. We are gratified by one of these events on March 11, when Uranus re-enters Aries after a quick nip in last year (May 28 – August 14). Now we get seven years of opening to our True Self awareness, finding our path of purpose. Uranus in Aries will give us the courage to be who we truly are, freed of concerns for others’ opinions of us. This can also create alienation and separation among those who are not yet able to step outside ego expression, yet it is a constant goad to do so.
The fast-moving planets stream through Pisces this month, creating the perfect inner storm for us as they square the Lunar Nodes, which are at the intensity-packed Lunar Eclipse points from December 21. Look for energies that went underground at this time to come into full view and expression as these triggers occur on March 8-9 (Mercury), March 18 (Sun), and March 29 (Mars). When combined with lunar translation of light (where the Moon carries these planets’ energies before and after the exact contacts), we are assured that the doors we need in order to proceed with our new beginnings will be flung wide open. The lunar contacts occur on Fridays and Saturdays through March 18’s Full Moon, then on Thursdays-Fridays through the end of March.
You thought you were through the Jupiter-Pluto square, but that’s not the case. We still get more opportunity to clear our path with these planets as the fast-movers reconnect them. The first of these contacts happens through Mercury, which is zooming along ahead of the rest of the pack. It reconnects them on March 13–15. If you know what threads of your life story are being fulfilled through Jupiter-Pluto, you’ll know what subplots will surface then.
With Uranus so early in Aries, the Sun’s conjunction to the Great Awakener comes hard on the heels of the Vernal Equinox to pack an extra punch into the coming Spring Season. We’ll see great movement and incredible change around us, and in our own lives as well. This is something to embrace warmly; nothing will come to us that doesn’t further our path, even if we don’t understand it at first. In fact, since Uranus brings us messages from beyond ordinary reality, we are unlikely to comprehend until we can access the “invisible” realms as part of our waking awareness.
Meanwhile, the other planetary cycles continue apace: We are nearing the halfway point of Saturn’s cycle (and its retrograde), signaled by the Sun’s quincunx to it on March 6. We’ll feel the need to tweak our original plans made in January. Pluto’s retrograde period is not far off. We get alerted to this fact on March 28, when the Sun squares this “non-planet” and gives us two weeks to adjust our direction as new factors come to light. Mars is still in the underworld, trailing the Sun but still in its rays, invisible to us until April 17.
Last year, Jupiter and Saturn faced off with each other in opposition twice, and we get their final contretemps on March 28. This brings the low point in our current 20-year economic and real-property cycle, but there are larger cycles at play right now that will sustain the low and require systemic innovation (not risky speculation) to stabilize the exchange of goods and properties. This also signals a time when society’s desire for change moves faster than the system’s ability to accommodate it. The result: People take charge and leave large entities (governments and corporations) in the dust.
A “Void Moon” or “Void of Course Moon” (or “VOC moon” for short) makes no significant aspects until it enters the next sign. Its void period is thought to be a poor time for starting new projects or making concerted effort toward existing plans.
According to William Lilly, the Moon in Cancer (Moon’s rulership), Taurus (Moon’s exaltation), Sagittarius and Pisces (signs ruled by Jupiter, the Great Benefic) “performeth somewhat.” Lee Lehmann reports that she has tested this, and “you can take it to the bank.” Another way of putting how this works is that, when an action is taken during the void period in one of these signs, you get “unanswered success.” That is, the lack of planetary action prevents your action from being denied.
Maya’s rule of thumb was, “In making a close call, I look at the moon’s final aspect, just before it goes void of course. This shows how the situation will end up.”
Daily Astrological Forecast, March 2011
It’s time to close the door on something in our relationship life, and Venus’s sextile to Uranus today gives us a chance to do it on a positive note. The objective Moon in Aquarius is sextile to Jupiter, pointing us optimistically toward the future rather than staring glumly back into the past. We enter a breezier period for love as well, once Venus enters Aquarius at 6:40 pm.
The Moon continues in Aquarius, a trine to Saturn enhancing our focus and organization early in the day.
At 6:37 am, the Moon makes its final contact in Aquarius, a conjunction to Neptune, opening its void-of-course period on a spiritual note. We have until 8:47 am to internalize, when the Moon’s entry into Pisces reactivates us with a healing twist as she reaches Chiron. Mars invites us to make changes in an imaginative manner when it sextiles Pluto from its position in Pisces. The Moon seconds that emotion when it sextiles Pluto and conjoins Mars.
At 12:46 pm, the Moon conjoins the Sun to bring the New Moon at 13°56′ Pisces, the sole contact of the day. With the planets clustered together, many of them are in a shadow zone in Aries and Pisces, bunched to either side of the Sun-Moon. This will be a lunar month of beginnings and endings, with gentle action coming from Pisces but plenty of activity coming from a multiplicity of other planetary events, from Uranus’s entry into Aries to Jupiter’s opposition to Saturn. We may see more going on around us than we can integrate into our lives until late in the month and into April.
In the chart cast for Washington DC, signifying the nation, the emphasis lies in foreign affairs and the significance of the US’s indebtedness to other nations. Even as American corporations slowly pull manufacturing jobs back home, their reliance on cheap foreign labor is deep-seated and has consequences for the US employment picture and therefore the economy.
The Sabian Symbol for the New Moon (14 Pisces) is “A young lady from top . . . to tip of toes is regal and displays soft beauty of face above fox furs.” (ME Jones version) The life of Western material comfort is on center stage now. Impractical and unsustainable as it is, there is an allure that all of humanity feels toward luxury. Yet, this is an affront to society and the planet, starting with the use of furs in fashion, a practice which is not only questioned but now shunned by so many that this is becoming the status quo.
We get a glimpse today of what will develop and be expressed next Wednesday when Mercury conjoins Uranus. The Moon connects these over the day to bring awareness that culminates in surprise. At 8:34 pm the Moon makes its final contact in Pisces, the conjunction to Uranus, to commence her void-of-course that ends at 9:14 pm when she enters Aries.
The Moon in Aries adds pizzazz and just a little drama to the day as it sextiles Venus, then bridges the gap between Pluto and Jupiter once again. Our desire for a lazy morning gives way to all those new ideas that have been popping in our heads, and we can embrace the day eagerly as a fresh start on our new life.
Something big is happening this week, and we want to be ready for it when it comes. We jump out of bed in the morning with a sense of urgency to accomplish our goals, as Moon opposes Saturn. The good news is, we get the whole day to work things out without new fires to put out.
Fat Tuesday offers us “planets lite” to enhance our enjoyment factor, as Moon makes one contact all day, creating inner harmony through a sextile with Neptune at 8:04 am. This opens the Moon’s void-of-course period, which ends at 9:52 pm with her entry into Taurus. Par-tay on!
Our dreams are filled with deep revelations with an emphasis on love as Moon trines Pluto, squares Venus, and conjoins Uranus, all before breakfast, bringing the culmination of a situation that appeared on the scene on Saturday. We can clear obstacles through clever avoidance with a Moon-sextile-Mars as the day waxes on. At 9:47 am, Mercury enters Aries to get our mind firing on all cylinders. We be quicker, more decisive and action oriented now.
An early Venus sextile to Jupiter colors our dreams with expanding love, helping us integrate the relationship challenges we faced last month. The Taurus Moon brings us a pre-dawn sextile to the Sun to infuse our day with head-and-heart harmony. This opens the doors to productivity and clarity, which fades into an evening dialogue with “big guys” Neptune and Uranus, revealing a deeper take on our latest developments. The sextile to Uranus at 9:26 pm ends the Moon’s stay in Taurus on a note of accord, its five-minute void period hardly worth noting; the Moon enters Gemini at 9:31 pm.
At 4:52 pm Uranus re-enters Aries, rocketing us into the stratosphere. Hopes run high, excitement fills the air, and optimism rules. We have enough confidence to launch something big, and we dedicate ourselves to a seven-year process in which we develop our unique gifts to fulfill a deeper purpose and bring meaning to our life. The Moon continues in Gemini, synchronizing thoughts and feelings with sextiles to Mercury and Jupiter over the day. We’re feeling loved and loving with an evening trine to Venus; use a late-night square to Mars for stimulation rather than agitation.
The Gemini Moon makes another airy connection when it trines Saturn overnight to lend a constructive, problem-solving tone to our dream state. At 3:45 pm, the Moon squares the Sun to bring the First Quarter lunation. We see how our New-Moon seeds are growing and make adjustments. We could get ahead of ourselves and create impatience unless we realize that some things still need assimilating and completing as we finish the winter season.
In the chart cast for Washington DC, it is also time for completions with 30 Virgo rising square the Nodes. It is clear that some nations are posturing and trying on a new, more threatening identity with the US, emboldened by the nation’s economic weaknesses and populist political frenzy. The President is in the spotlight as he decides how to handle these shifts with a dual approach, only one of which will be publicly visible.
The First Quarter Moon at 23 Gemini activates the Sabian Symbol, “Three fledglings, secure in their nest high up in a tree.” Despite our worries, our new projects are safely developing without our direct involvement while we clean up old situations and clear the decks so they can fly from the nest in their own time.
On a dreamy trine to Neptune, the Moon enters a brief void period at 6:11 am, lasting until it enters Cancer at 7:29 am. The planetary web is woven thicker and more resilient as Moon connects the cardinal planets: Mercury, Uranus-Pluto (today) and Jupiter-Saturn (tomorrow). This is intensified as realizations emerge from the hidden realms with Mercury’s square to Pluto. Since this is the first lunar contact with Uranus in its new position in Aries, startling events are possible as we are roused to act on the things we’ve been wanting to create since last August. The time is right to seize this opportunity.
Moon still colors us sentimental as it continues in Cancer to bring out risk-versus-security considerations. Are we taking enough risk to expand without losing our foundation? As Jupiter speeds toward its third and final opposition to Saturn on March 28, we get plenty of chances to make the needed adjustments to find this balance. We see how our relationships feed into this process in harmonious ways as Venus trines Saturn and Moon trines Mars. Any changes we make today will be greeted warmly, or at least with understanding.
The smooth flow of Moon’s trine to the Sun lingers through the day, as this opens the door to the Moon’s void period at 3:04 am. Even though this lasts until 12:33 pm, we can create incredible fortune for ourselves by using this time to launch projects and activities, since the Moon’s motivating energy remains available throughout its journey in Cancer. When it enters Leo at 12:33, we can create beneficial changes on her trine to Uranus. The energies of agreement run strong as Mercury conjoins Jupiter to assist us in putting clarity into action.
The Moon augments yesterday’s harmonies by bringing emotional resonance to us as it contacts Jupiter, Mercury, and Saturn. It gives us a preview of what’s coming on March 18 and March 28. We get maximum perspective on matters of love as the evening passes; we learn what’s most important to us so we can find balance with the others in our life. Mercury enters its retrograde shadow, reaching 12°53′ Aries today. All Mercury contacts between now and March 30 are the first of three.
At 12:59 pm, the Moon opposes Neptune to bring clearer understanding about the spiritual implications of our current experiences. This moves us into a brief downtime as the Moon is void of course until it enters analytic Virgo at 1:53 pm.
As Mercury opposes Saturn, it’s decision-making time about something big in our lives. We feel pushed to act, but today might not be the perfect day for it. We still need more insight before we’re sure. At least we can get organized, as the Moon in Virgo trines Pluto and opposes Mars. Get someone to help you—or help each other.
It’s a day of the miraculous, even if we don’t yet understand how events will evolve in our favor. At 11:10 am, the Moon opposes the Sun to bring the Full Moon illumination at 28°48′ Virgo/Pisces. This takes us back to the Lunar Eclipse of December 21 to pick up threads that are still unwoven into the tapestry of our lives. We are looking deep, gaining perspective, and drawing conclusions that will lead to life-changing decisions in the next few days to weeks. This process is enhanced as we are relatively free from attachment now. The Full Moon opens the door to a contemplative process fostered by the Moon’s void period, augmenting the hush before the orchestra of spring begins to play when the Sun enters Aries tomorrow. When the Moon goes into Libra at 1:03 pm, it opposes Uranus to awaken us to the overtones of deeper purpose in our life.
In the chart cast for Washington DC, the divide between leadership and the people is emphasized by Jupiter-Mercury on the Midheaven (MC) opposing Saturn on the IC, as some apparently unpopular decisions are made. However, inflation of fear and conflict by the media has warped the nation’s sense of what’s real, creating a false dilemma. Media coverage will be in the news, and the people make get a chance to see how twisted some of the coverage is. Stormy weather will distract.
At 29 Virgo, the Full Moon’s Sabian Symbol is, “A scholar has just succeeded in deciphering an archaic manuscript: It holds an idea for which he has long sought.” (ME Jones version) Even though not visible to the masses, academic and research advances have a positive impact on our lives. A long-buried truth or understanding will bring benefit to all. This is a good time to look within for understanding, to engage in our own research into what was known by the ancients, rather than reinventing the wheel.
It’s all cardinal energy all the time today, as the Libra Moon activates Pluto, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury to spur us to act in situations that we have long been tarrying over. Action is decision. At 4:21 pm, the Sun enters Aries, the Vernal Equinox and first day of Spring. This was the time of the Eostar celebration in Earth-centered religions, when the perfect balance of day and night over the whole planet was celebrated.
At 5:25 am, the Sun conjoins Uranus to start a new yearly cycle of awakening. The Moon in Libra leads us into dreams of love with a midnight trine to Venus and continues the other-worldly feeling with a trine to Neptune at 11:35 am, when the Moon goes void of course. This gives us time to relax and reconnoiter until she enters mysterious Scorpio at 12:17 pm.
The Scorpio Moon leads us into the depths with a sextile to Pluto in the depths of night. Dreams and inner-realm activities will be brought into our lives through instinctual responses during the day.
The Scorpio Moon makes early contacts to Mars, Venus, and Neptune, emphasizing relationships and how we integrate them with our spiritual path. This brings developments that will be understood more clearly on Saturday. From 1:08 pm, the Moon is void of course, giving us a breather from productive action until 1:45 pm, when she enters expansive Sagittarius. Trines to Uranus and the Sun bring a delightful spin to our exciting new beginnings as the day wanes.
The Moon in Sagittarius connects the dots between Jupiter and Saturn over the afternoon hours to bring further developments on our plans for long-term growth and development. We see opportunity coupled with inner confidence, spurring entrepreneurial action.
The Moon continues in Sagittarius, reaching several planets in late degrees. The sand in the oyster is a square to Mars, bringing out our eagerness to act, but anxiety may be the goad. If we lean back rather than forward into the energy, we’ll see that more steps can be taken to smooth the path. Harmonies with Mercury, Venus, and Neptune enhance our intuitive insight to see that this is so. From 6:25–6:57 pm, the Moon is void, until it enters Capricorn (although this time can be used fruitfully). A lunar square to Uranus ends the day on a note of surprise.
Unexpected developments late yesterday feed the Last Quarter lunation at 5:07 am/5°29′ Capricorn-Aries. Now we integrate the illumination and changes brought on the wave of this lunar month that started on March 4. Inner power emerges into the visible world with startling plot twists. Stay on the upbeat; you are being led to new delights, and your life will be changed forever in unimaginable and miraculous ways if you let it happen. The power of the Last Quarter event is underscored when the Moon T-squares Jupiter and Saturn just before they make their opposition (in two days). At 11:53 pm, Venus enters Pisces, the sign of her exaltation. All things related to love go well while her rays shine in this sign.
In Washington DC, the chart of the Last Quarter Moon emphasizes the ability of our nation’s leader to achieve a magical transformation. This is something that has been in the works behind the scenes for more than a year. Even now, not all can be revealed, but there are leaks and indications of good things to come. The House of Representatives is bent on gaining power by any means possible, even if it means undermining the strength of the nation. However, voices of reason prevail for the moment, and the Senate holds rasher actions in check. Strong women make waves.
The Last Quarter Moon at 6 Capricorn carries the Sabian Symbol of “A dark archway in the forest leads to greater depths and darkness beyond; in its shade lie an even ten logs.” (ME Jones version) The darkness hides and protects things in tender, early stages of growth, as well as those who are vulnerable to exposure. By being in harmony with the depths, we can tap its fertility to create new structures. Look inside the “woods” of your consciousness to find dormant potential.
A feeling of disorganization brings the realization that we need to take the time to clear the decks of the old before we can embark on the new. Time to get busy, as Moon squares Mercury and sextiles Mars. The Moon completes its productive period in Capricorn at 8:17 pm, opening an unusually long void period, which lasts until 4:00 am tomorrow.
Two major planetary milestones overshadow the Moon’s activity, which commences in Aquarius at 4:00 am. The Sun squares Pluto, opening the period of intensity that precedes its station on April 9 at 7°30′ Capricorn. Between now and then, we have the opportunity to listen to Pluto’s messages from the underworld and activate transformations on our behalf. Finally, Jupiter reaches its final of three oppositions to Saturn, to activate a new balance of expansion and structure in our lives. We reach deep to discover the direction to “floats our boat” for the next ten years. The Moon harmonizes as it shows us opportunities to take advantage of the miracles in our life.
As the Moon flies through Aquarius, it reconnects Saturn and Jupiter to help us create happy endings and find the direction with heart.
At 1:48 pm/24°21′ Aries, Mercury enters its retrograde period. This is a powerful retrograde period, where the celestial messenger delivers packets from Jupiter and Saturn, with embedded messages from Pluto and Uranus. Listen well! The Moon solidifies our experience of Mercury’s energies when the Moon sextiles it, then connects its energy to Neptune. We can use our intuition to imbue events with meaning over the next 24 days of the retrograde period. At 3:22 pm, the Moon enters its short void period, which lasts until 3:38 pm when she enters absorptive Pisces.
The Moon continues in Pisces, grounding divine love into our lives with a conjunction to Venus, then allowing us to take this light into our hidden depths with a sextile to Pluto.
For more than 20 years, Terry Lamb (M.A. Linguistics, UC San Diego; C.A. NCGR, EEMCP) has been helping people to understand how cycles and energies work and interact in their lives. She augments her astrological acumen with energy medicine, Yijing (Chinese Book of Change), cosmology, psychology, and a broad range of health and spiritual studies.
Terry is among the nation’s most knowledgeable, insightful, and engaging astrologers. With pragmatic optimism and compassion, Terry’s approach has helped clients and students find their own way to “walk among the stars”. She is dedicated to using astrology as a way to create our future and free ourselves from “fate”. She goes along with Abraham Lincoln, who said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Her unique approach to astrology can be learned through her home study and apprenticeship programs (contact her directly).
Re: This month’s full moon – At 29 Virgo, the Full Moon’s Sabian Symbol is, “A scholar has just succeeded in deciphering an archaic manuscript: It holds an idea for which he has long sought.” Find the shape of our archaic universe on You Tube my 9 minute video:
Universe in 3d: edge to center and across
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0ySIruGUbo
Could you please clarify what time zone you refer to since you use time so often in these readings.
Hi kass, we use Pacific Time. You’re right, it should be labeled more clearly!
Thank you for this summary of March. It’s everything I was feeling/anticipating. So excited!
“shrapnel” of the past??