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March '14
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by Terry Lamb

March may seem like an oxymoron when it commences, holding us in place for a long, suspenseful pause. During February, we saw Mars and Saturn synchronize their movements in purely physical (non-harmonic/aspectual) ways, now turning on a dime in near-perfect synchrony to commence their retrogrades.

What part of what we’re feeling is about this particular planetary movement? It’s the simultaneous impatience and dread, exhaustion and stimulation, a genuine push-me-pull-you of cosmic proportion. At its heart, it’s about managing our drive, will, and initiative (actions). It’s about learning to be patient because there is no other way forward. It’s about delaying gratification to make it better. It’s anticipating what’s coming without knowing exactly how to get to it and trusting that we will know what steps to take to get there, and doing them step by step. It’s the need to keep calm and chip away.

The most distressing thing about this pas de deux is that, locally and temporarily, it will seem as if NOTHING is moving forward or backward or ANYWHERE. If we can rise above the all-to-human tendency to see things so narrowly, we’ll make it to the planetary exhale and start to see movement slowly resume. It’s better than nothing, even if it’s backward!

But lo and behold, it turns out that there’s something worth retrieving from the past, something worth digging up that we rediscovered in December–January. Now we can see the path to recovering it, but it involves going back in time. It’s one of those times when we get a do-over—indeed we have no choice, because the planets are bending time backward.

The planets amplify, speed or slow, bend, and warp time constantly with retrogrades, midpoints, aspects, and contacts to our natal chart. They produce wormholes into the landscape of the future, allowing us to jump level.

This is what’s happening when Mars and Saturn retrograde. Yes, we are going back into the past, but is anything identical to the first time around? No. We’re actually in that in-between landscape of the future—untrampled, untraveled, unfamiliar—our own tabula rasa upon which we can build to suit.

Yet, we have a goal, a direction, a mission to fulfill as we do it. This sense of purpose is what saves us. It lifts our heart, and we find ourselves springing out of bed in the morning once we fully embrace it. Even if we come to it reluctantly, even if it’s only a small part of a big process that overwhelms us, even if there is no visible light at the end of the tunnel—for now, we have something to do. We have a focus that leads us forward, and that is enough.

So, the Mars and Saturn standstill is a gift, and we haven’t even gotten to the good bit yet. Because these denizens of action and productivity must share the stage with the fly in our ear (Mercury) and with Santa Claus (Jupiter).

All four of these planets reach a standstill February 28–March 6, but Mercury and Jupiter are just completing their retrograde period, now going forward again. Mercury has taken us through a vital transition and transformation that has prepared us to take on the big task that Mars and Saturn set before us, to be completed by the end of July.

Jupiter’s process is more complex. It is in its exaltation in Cancer, which confers tremendous blessing where it touches our lives, even in these tough times. The trouble is that it is tangled up with Uranus, Pluto, and Mars, as well as Venus’s retrograde. While not all events are blessed with Jupiter’s kiss, the ones that are will lead us in a truly prosperous, fortunate direction, even if they are disguised by a mask of pain and disappointment from the other planets in the Cardinal web.

The pain is about what we need to let go of in order to clear the space for Jupiter to bring its bag of gifts and goodies. And that clearing process has been mighty indeed! Since Jupiter’s retrograde commenced on November 6, we have been clearing that space for our blessings. Now let them arrive!

Except that Saturn and Mars are involved. This means to fully manifest these blessings, we have to work on something (Saturn) and wait for something to develop (Mars), acting with wisdom, sensitivity, and forethought from time to time (our co-creative power). By paying attention and responding to inner conditions, we use these energies to their fullest potential.

Jupiter opens a blessing window that exists between now and its entry into Leo on July 16. To gain maximum manifestation from it, we need to be on the alert for opportunity. This means no standing in line at the store and muttering negativities under our breath—look around and talk to the strangers who temporarily share your plight. The greatest limitation to our ability to receive blessings is our tendency to focus on what we don’t want instead of on opening ourselves to what we want.

When we focus on being open, all good things follow. Of course, part of the process is deciding what we don’t want to be open to, the things that we want less of. The more discipline we can apply to our focus, the better our results will be.

When you need to be negative, do it. This is part of clearing the way, if we do so constructively. Just set a limit on the negativity—don’t recycle it; give it only so much space and time in your life. Then move on. Some old thoughts and feelings will come back; if they do, it’s a sign that there’s something deeper going on, so explore what’s behind it.

One of the ways that this story will play out is in our relationships. Venus and Mars have been in a particularly intense interaction since last September, one that will not be completely resolved until July. The steps in between are the key, however—we can’t just wait it out. In fact, we have the opportunity here to learn new patterns of relating, but first the old patterns have to go.

Sometimes this happens in an existing relationship where deeper feelings and purposes surface as we evolve; for others, it means moving on to new pastures. Whatever our new direction, we got it under the inspiration of the Venus retrograde in December-January. Now we are tuned in to worth. Does this person recognize it in me? Does this person have enough worth to me that I want to invest time and energy with them?

Worth is a grounded form of love that comes to us via Capricorn in this instance, the sign of Venus’ recent backward travel. It fosters the directive of our new Venus/love cycle, where we factor worth into our love equation.

We get a breath of fresh air in our social ties when Venus moves into Aquarius on March 5 and trines Mars for the rest of the month, peaking on March 29. Enjoy the ease that objectivity and circulation with others bring to your closest bonds.

One thing we should recognize in our new way of relating to each other is that at least half of our communication with each other takes place on the inner plane. Learning to incorporate that reality into our bonds with others is both exciting as an adventure and terrifying for its limitlessness. It means learning about an entirely new world.

Where better to learn it than through the archetypes that represent that realm to us in these times, Pisces, Neptune, and Chiron? March gives us the perfect set-up for this! The New Moon finds the Sun and Moon contained (sandwiched between) Neptune and Chiron, the quintessential environment for a month of healing and a deeper relationship with the hidden realms.

Used assiduously, this will give us the fuel stores to weather the storms of April, which reach us with the March 30 New Moon. When we give time to exploring inner space, we can’t help but learn what it’s like. However, focusing on a structured understanding, as with a specific spiritual path or metaphysical perspective, gives wings to our experience. Removing mental and emotional obstacles propels us inward without effort.

This can be folded back into our Mars-Saturn process: Although our human tendency is to avoid what is difficult or painful (and that keeps us alive), we need to move toward our obstacles. Exhaustion is the clue that an inner obstacle of a limiting thought-feeling is holding us down. When we remove the obstacle, a spring-loaded core of vibrancy bursts forth, and we feel vitalized and inspired. When we move toward our obstacles, we are doing exactly what is required, the simple DIY for March.

And don’t forget to breathe!

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