Winter's whirls of change.
We enter the final phase of winter, floating into the transitional, mutable waters of Pisces, the sea of consciousness where all returns to the oneness of being. There’s a melancholy that can set in here, a depression of the spirit as one realizes all of those parts of oneself that are disconnected from this origin home. Inter-dimensional homesickness that only makes sense when viewed from this far out place. There is a magical plant that works specifically with this kind of melancholic planetary homesickness; Elecampane. The roots of this elven plant penetrate through the many layers of the lungs to access this deep seated grief and bring it up to process. A few single drops of tincture or a cup of decocted tea are probably all that is needed to connect with its power. Take a journey into your inner world, close your eyes and let Elecampane pull you down into your center and feel what arises from this inner portal. It is quite a bitter plant with a spicy, acrid pungency so a little honey can help sweeten the experience. Rose is also a supportive ally to add in the assistance of grieving these past origins.
Pisces dominant people seem to find a way to make do with the home situation they have found upon this planet, but just below this veneer of domesticity a vast and vivid reality exists that feels much more “real” to ones deeper self. Their heads are not lost in the clouds, they are just tuned in to much more interesting dimensions of reality that may only be communicated in soul piercing stares that relay telepathic messages from this beyond. In the meantime, til human communication catches up, they will try to create words and pictures that convey the expansiveness, beauty and godlike nature that is accessed within ones core self.
The first half of Pisces season everyone will get to experience this as Mercury has an epic series of mental activations. Prepare for some interesting reorientations to your definition of reality, invoke the imaginative and illusional magic of the trickster as he’ll definitely be up to some glossolalia hijinks in preparation for his retrograde mid-March.
Once March comes the waves really start their crescendo, these first 2 weeks of March will test every ounce of our trust in the grand design of the cosmological transformation underway. Mars has just turned direct but is still churning away in one place, Venus goes retrograde, we have a total lunar eclipse that is ruled by Mercury who turns retrograde the very next day… among other aspects sprinkled throughout these momentous weeks. Attempts to communicate and connect with others may feel quite jolting and primally intense at times. The disorienting frequencies permeating the world will show you more of people’s true characters under such stress. Best to suit up in your finest energetic armor when venturing out into the world, or even through digital landscapes. This month of March is slated to be possibly the most transformative, intense and challenging period this whole year, and that is saying something with the bigger collective planetary shifts happening a little later this spring and summer.
Tuesday Feb 18 - Sun enters Pisces - We enter the cave of Neptune, where nothing is as it seems, where ghosts and angels dance in midday dreams and the remembrance of our interconnectedness has the potential to completely change the world as we know it. The Sun’s journey through these waters appears to me as this internal hurricane in our consciousness this year. We enter the edge of the strengthening storm now, whisked into the mental winds of change with Mercury’s many aspects, moving closer and closer to the eye of the lunar eclipse, and then we get spun out the other side into a strange and wondrous space when the Sun finally crosses paths with the North Node and Neptune, our orientation to everything forever changed. Don’t forget your towel.
Thursday Feb 20 - Mercury 11º Pisces square Jupiter in Gemini - Thoughts and perceptions may take on a grandiose life of their own. Don’t believe everything you think, check yourself before things get blown totally out of proportion. There can also be an uncomfortable expansion of reality as an overwhelming amount of information comes in that disallows the denial of its truth. Mental flexibility and discernment are the operative factors here, it is a teaching moment.
Sunday Feb 23 - Mercury 17º Pisces trine Mars rx in Cancer // Mars stations Direct at 17º Cancer - Mars is extremely touchy today in this connection with Mercury as hours after this exact trine, the spirited warrior turns direct. The most well-intentioned words of support may still strike a sensitive nerve. It may be a good time to do some reflective journaling of what this Mars retrograde journey has brought up for you so far, starting with his entrance into the shadow degrees on October 5 and actually turning retro on December 6. Let your imagination steer your pen. How have your inner child and evolving authentic self expression been impacted these last few months?
The station direct won’t bring an immediate surge of energy forward, most likely, but a noticeable shift of things starting to slowly gain a little traction should present. Everything starting to feel in its right place, for a moment at least. On the world stage things may be dicier as power moves are made on the war chess board. Essential securities may be threatened. Emotional cries for help are weaponized to propagate further destructive agendas.
Tuesday Feb 25 - Mercury conjunct Saturn 20º Pisces - That depressive state mentioned in the intro may be felt here, the heavy weight of the world bears down upon ones being. Frustrations with the lot of humanity may color your conversations with a dark pallor. A day for embracing the moody vibes and channeling it into what may become a masterfully emotional piece of art, writing or music. (See the link to Max Richter’s work that inspired a series of watercolors I painted at the end of this writing for a beautiful example)
Thursday Feb 27 - New Moon 9º Pisces // Mercury 23º Pisces sextile Uranus in Taurus - The Pisces New Moon holds the energy of a cosmic baptism, opening a gateway to feel and experience ones highest potential. Find your way to some wild waters and sing/speak/channel your dreams to their receptive streams. This is the last lunation before the eclipses begin in two weeks, enjoy the spaciousness and possible relative calm. At the same time Mercury reconnects with its higher octave Uranus, putting us in the fortuitous position to receive some transformational wisdom from our higher selves and intentionally integrate it into our lives.
Saturday March 1 - Venus stations Retrograde 10º Aries - The divine feminine of the skies begins her forty-ish day and night descent into the underworld, transforming the values, relations and resources of our lives. Look back to the late winter - spring seasons of 2017 and 2009 to get an idea of how this Venus cycle has manifested in your life, as she goes retrograde in this same place of your chart every 8 years. We’re in a new spiral of this unfolding story, keep this in your awareness to flow more easily with the changing references. Venus is crossing back and forth over the world ending and world building points of the zodiac, 29º of Pisces and 0º of Aries, this is reflective of the upcoming eclipses as well, bringing big endings and beginnings. Retrograde until April 12, and in the shadow of the descent until May 16.
Sunday March 2 - Mercury conjunct North Node 27º Pisces & Neptune 28ª Pisces // Sun 12º Pisces square Jupiter in Gemini - Mercury makes the first of 3 conjunctions with the North Node and Neptune, cluing us into how it will be reforming our intellect and perceptions during its upcoming retrograde. This is not a time to be doing much that requires intense linear focus, the energies are aligned for imaginative, expansive visioning, operating in more abstract and conceptual ways. Combined with the Sun’s tense square to Jupiter under Mercury’s rule this has the makings for a very confusing and swirly kind of time. Everything is diffusive and in flux, adjust your expectations of normal functioning to match these mutable qualities and you will flow through this more easily and possibly even enjoyably! There may be a moment of feeling or seeing the wellspring where all life fractals out from. Don’t get caught up in trying to communicate it through “normal” channels, challenge yourself to find expression in a new form that pushes the boundaries of your set, human neurobiology and comfort. It may be the start of a map that will make more sense during and after the Mercury retrograde.
Monday March 3 - Mercury enters Aries - Now the words may find their way out of the stormy waters, instinctual and primal they may escape your mouth before you even know what you’re saying. Them’s fightin’ words. Mercury will have a couple of relatively long sojourns here in the reactive and fiery Aries space, as it’s slowly moving to it’s station degree of 9º these next couple of weeks before turning back towards the oceanic waters of Pisces. We’ll have a good amount of time to reflect and perfect these passionate and animal like expressions.
Wednesday March 5 - Mercury 2º Aries sextile Pluto in Aquarius - With some effort put forth there may be some deeply impactful expressions raging from the soul. Collective thoughtforms may have more influence on how people are communicating, tune in and see if what people are saying is really coming from themselves, or are they an unconscious channel for another being or egregore? Sharp gut instincts must be heard.
Friday March 7 - Sun 17º Pisces trine Mars in Cancer - Firewater! A potent day of heating up all kinds of emotional material for shits and giggles of the slightly damaged sort?? A dark sense of humor probably serves you well here. You could enter into a flow of energy where you can really get some momentum spinning to breakthrough and recover some hidden broken heart pieces. Highly creative bursts of energy could spark some beautiful projects. Illumination of the ways that a masculine and linear, go-getter kind of attitude must vibrate in harmony with the cosmic receptivity of feminine power to get anywhere.
Tuesday March 11 - Mercury conjunct Venus rx 8º Aries - Conversations may be sparked that get into the blood of shifting priorities in relationships. Inspiration for what is incubating this Venus retrograde may come to mind, though sit with yourself for a moment to decide if it’s time to yet act. One’s thoughts may get ahead of the hands and supportive timing of the cosmos. Maybe a prototype is fabricated, with a timeline for refinements down the road. Be aware of syrupy sweet whispers, they may excite and incite a good time, but don’t get attached to the situation.
Wednesday March 12 - Sun conjunct Saturn 22º Pisces - A sobering check in with the structures that hold up your world and body. How have the principles and disciplines that you’ve taken on supported or hindered your personal journey of awakening? What sacrifices have been made to get to this point? What sacrifices are calling for you this year? Saturn responds well to hard work, discipline and sacrifices made in service to ones larger evolutionary adventure. This is also a time to take pride in what has been achieved, accepting recognition and accolades for even the smallest of mundane tasks that have helped to build your inner foundation. Relationships to authority figures may receive an illuminating revelation, showing where any adjustments are needed for the evolving realities of the world.
Saturn is conjunct the eclipse tomorrow, so the adjustments underway may feel quite jarring, as a major reconstruction project of your body and/or world kicks off for the next couple + weeks. Authoritarian energies are in the meat grinder.
Thursday March 13 - Full Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Moon 23º Virgo, Sun 23º Pisces - Day is dark and night is light as the inversion of the eclipse energy permeates the land. What was once a cohesive, linear procession of order and information is now a spiralized cloud of chaos. Endings and beginnings are gonna blast into the collective, upsetting any semblance of what’s left of the status quo. Health of ones digestive systems, physical and emotional will be activated, detox symptoms may arise as old, karmic energies move out of ones body. Adaptability and flexibility are needed. New realizations of how one is to be of service may come to light as the eclipse portal is opened. This full moon is ruled by the planet and magician Mercury which is building power and energy as it prepares to turn retrograde tomorrow so expect communications and technology to be extra wily.
Friday March 14 - Sun 24º Pisces sextile Uranus in Taurus // Mercury stations Retrograde at 9º Aries - The shocking new continues to roll in as the Sun and our authentic expressions of self touch the great awakening power of Uranus. Higher visions of possibility may open for the collective, liberating resources for these greater potentials. Mercury stations retrograde in Aries so we have a few weeks for these awakened powers of the higher mind to integrate into our human heads and hearts. It’s a process. Agitations, frustrations and moments of confusion are par for the course as these things work themselves out. Know that profound and supportive changes are underway and do your best to allow the break down to break through.
Monday March 17 - Sun conjunct North Node 27º Pisces - We end this season with two powerful infusions of cosmic, source energy, first as the Sun aligns with the North Node. The destiny of humanity shifts into a new chapter here. Time spent in a visionary state is well served to receive personal instructions of one’s role. The spring of 2007 was the last time we had the Sun cross the North Node in Pisces, think back to the changes you experienced here to understand the next piece of this spiraling story.
Wednesday March 19 - Sun conjunct Neptune 29º Pisces - The Sun conjuncts the evolutionary source of creation on this final day of the astrological year. A potent portal of inspiration, creativity and world building. Dream in the new world you want to be a part of and hold this vibration in your body. Godspeed Earthling.
These powerful changes roll us into the rebalancing energies of the spring equinox and upcoming solar eclipse, closing out the final Aries - Libra series of eclipses from the past year and a half. There’s an excitement in the air as the great mystery pulls us along its own evolutionary journey. Keeping your consciousness aware of this much bigger drama playing out makes it a truly co-creative process as you can continue to ask for and align with your piece in the experience.
Max Richter's Haunted Ocean Exiles version
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