March 2019: Mercury Retrograde, Uranus in taurus, New Moon in Pisces

This is a big week in astrology:

On Tuesday, March 5, Mercury stations retrograde at the final degree of Pisces.
Then on Wednesday, March 6, Uranus ingresses into Taurus, where it will spend the next 7 years.
That same day, we have a new moon in Pisces in an almost perfect conjunction to Neptune in Pisces.
 
Mercury retrogrades happen multiple times a year. People talk about them a lot with anxiety or trepidation, or blame these periods for everything that’s going wrong. But Mercury moving retrograde is not a cause for panic; it’s a time for review, reflection, revisiting and revising the things we say, the messages we send, the stories we tell ourselves and one another. It’s a time for taking care, for remembering what Brené Brown has written: “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” This feels even more true and necessary as Mercury retraces its pathway through Pisces, the mutable water sign that turns us toward receptivity, empathy, and compassion. Pisces feels so deeply and is willing to allow what we feel to transform us, to set us in a new direction. With Neptune co-present with Mercury in Pisces, clarity might feel especially elusive, and boundaries may seem to dissolve when faced with the immensity of the world’s feelings or the process of reviewing our own narratives. Our task through this Mercury retrograde will be to remember—as Brené Brown has also written—“Compassionate people are boundaried people … If we’re going to practice acceptance and compassion, we need boundaries and accountability.” Mercury will station direct on March 28, so over the next few weeks, how can you take this opportunity to slow down, reflect on your own boundaries—what is and is not okay—and communicate those boundaries with clarity in order to practice deep, transformative compassion with those around you?
 
Uranus is the planet of disruption, upheaval, revolution, and radical invention. It spends 7-8 years in each sign of the zodiac. As it moves into Taurus on Wednesday—where it spent a few months in the middle of 2018, and where it will remain until 2026—seismic transformation will begin to rumble through whatever part of our charts Taurus occupies. Taurus is a fixed earth sign. It is steady and grounded, rooted in resources for sustainability and pleasure. Taurus knows that the sensuous awareness of body is one of our greatest teachers. It is reliable, sometimes even to the point of stubborn resistance to change. Uranus demands revolution. Some of our most steady and reliable support systems may be asked to change at both personal and collective scales. What would be a revolutionary approach to the wisdom of your own body? How might you invite disruption and invention into the ways that you resource your life and the lives around you? As Uranus moves through the Taurus part of your life, transformation will no longer feel optional. As we look around our world, it is obvious that revolutionary transformation is needed. How will you work with this need for change, rather than trying to resist or struggle against it?
 
All of this gets channeled into the start of this new lunar cycle, as the Moon and Sun meet up with Neptune in Pisces. The new moon of each lunar cycle is like the seed of the month ahead, a cycle that will climax and reach full visibility at the full moon. The full moon will be on Wednesday, March 20, with the Moon at the first degree of Libra and the Sun at the first degree of Aries—also known at the Vernal Equinox. This new moon in Pisces conjunct Neptune may feel nebulous, mysterious, and diffuse—especially with Mercury retrograde in the same sign. At this point in the cycle, it may not be clear where we are headed. This is a time for allowing yourself to drift in dream states, listen to the subtle vibrations of inspiration, the ebbs and flows that draw your attention in different directions. There is not a lot of focus at this new moon, but we know that this cycle is moving toward the balance of the equinox, the changing of the seasons at the Sun ingresses into the cardinal fire sign Aries and the Moon catches its light in cardinal air sign Libra. Alongside the much longer cycle of transformation initiated by Uranus in Taurus, over the next several weeks, we might be asked: what needs to change in order to move toward clarity and balance? What are we dreaming and imagining in watery Pisces this week that will launch us into a new season with the assertiveness of fire and air in the weeks ahead?

If you would like to talk through the astrology of your own chart and the wisdom the sky holds for you in the days ahead, I have consultations available in March, April, and May. Please visit the bookings page to schedule a consultation, and the offerings page to learn more about my approach.