March
Changes—
March 2
Mercury
retrograde
March 4
Jupiter retrograde
March 25
Mercury
direct
March 29
Pluto retrograde
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MARCH 2006 RETROGRADE WATCH  by Maya del Mar We have three planets on the move, and four turnings this month. Mercury turns retrograde and direct, in the same month and in the same sign, Pisces. Jupiter turns retrograde in Scorpio, and Pluto turns retrograde in Sagittarius. Retrogrades are about reviewing, going over the past and seeing it more deeply. We are turned inward during retrogrades, and information which comes to us has more reference to our inner selves than to the outer world. Our perspectives are more uniquely our own, more idiosyncratic, more isolated from group norms and expectations. There is less common agreement. Our points of view are more differentiated. This is why contracts and agreements consummated during a Mercury retrograde period often need correction later. (This correction usually occurs during a Mercury retrograde period as well, often years later.) They are associated with the Mercury energy of communication and logical mind. Mercury begins the transitional month of March with his station retrograde on March 2, at 27 Pisces. He will retrace almost half of the sign of Pisces, and turn direct on March 25. This will be an intensely spiritual, and yet dynamic period. Our thinking will be deep, about major issues, and particularly about power. What is power? What is spiritual power? Religious power? How is it different from religious fanaticism? How can we express our spiritual power? Pluto is squaring Mercury for several days around turn time. Pluto itself is about to retrograde, and is particularly intense. This is a very powerful, dynamic configuration. It is the energy with which Mercury is imprinted for its retrograde journey. Mercury is involved in movement of any kind, and Pluto deals with mass energy. There will be mass movement—of people, of natural forces, of biological agents, of “news.” We will all be moved. Pisces is associated with imagination, with water and clouds, with chemicals, and with biological agents. Religious fanaticism also arises through Pluto in Sagittarius, and spreads through Pisces. The bird flu spreading amongst wild birds, now in Europe, is a Mercury-Pluto phenomenon. Pluto first squared Mercury on February 26, and it will do so again on March 6, as well as all the days between those dates. Use this wonderful meditation period for some heavy thinking about the issues of our time. How can you best be helpful to the world community? i.e., use your personal power in a beneficial way? Your spiritual guides, and your unconscious are all working with you now. Take time to listen. When Mercury turns direct, it is a more real, authentic self which is expressing. Our own centers are directing us. Thus everything works better. There is clear direction. Mercury turns direct at 14 Pisces, very close to Uranus. Uranus is whispering new truths in its ear to carry forward as it flies back into the collective and spreads the news. With Uranus, things are not hidden. Jupiter turns retrograde on March 4. Jupiter is about our philosophies and our beliefs. What are our guiding principles? Politics and religion are both Jupiterian. When Jupiter is retrograde, we turn within and listen for the guidance which resonates with us. Outer religions and creeds have less of an influence on us. So, March is self-searching from two perspectives, and both of them are connected to Mind. We are re-orienting our perceiving and thinking processes. Mercury, of the winged hat, is fast moving. Jupiter is slower, and will turn direct July 6. The timing, with the U.S. new Solar year, is significant. Jupiter is the ruling planet of the U.S. Sag-rising chart. Jupiter also relates to growth and to expansion. It is now in Scorpio, sign of resources and of financial systems. Both of these are vulnerable areas for the United States. Our new Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, is replacing Alan Greenspan just before these planets turn retrograde. He will have his hands full for the next few months. Pluto turns retrograde in Sagittarius on March 29. It is now at 27 degrees, the degree of the Galactic Center, where intense energy is emitted. At the time of turning, the midheaven of the chart set for Washington DC exactly conjoins the degree of the U.S. Pluto. We know whose power is being examined, and re-examined, during Pluto’s 5-month retrograde journey. March 29 is right on the heels of Pluto-influenced Mercury’s direct turn, and of a Total Solar Eclipse in Aries, whose path crosses troubled African, middle Eastern, and Asian lands. Right use of power is indeed at stake here. Pluto is about power, sometimes out front, sometimes leashed, but always potent and always present. Huge things, like explosions and earthquakes, are plutonic. So are seeds, ready to release growth power when conditions are right. We have just been thinking about power, and now the most powerful planet, Pluto, turns retrograde—and we will continue drawing conclusions about power, and changing our ideas about it. Religious fanaticism and heavy propaganda are major current expressions of this Pluto. Pluto is obsessive, and extreme. The retrograde period will allow us to somewhat detach ourselves from the crowd hysteria which Pluto promotes. By the time Pluto turns direct, on September 4, we will have had another Mercury retrograde period, and Jupiter turning direct. Our attitudes towards power will be quite different by then. And the two Eclipses in September will help us make real changes in power alignments. Want to know the planetary retrogrades for the year, in advance? Now available, Maya's handy, printable 2006 Retrograde Guide shows you at a glance the upcoming retrogrades for this year, and how to best apply your energies during each period. Available exclusively as a Premium Subscriber bonus. |