Notes on the New Moon in Pisces: March 6, 2019

This New Moon in Pisces is the marriage of practicality and magic, of form and the formless. There is no use for having your head in the clouds if that high-mindedness isn’t informing the more mundane aspects of your everyday life. That is always the caution with Pisces—daydreaming in a way that makes the mind fertile for imagination, yet does nothing to fertilize the actual ground, the one we must stand on, the one from which the structure of our lives is erected.  Done right, this New Moon can set the trajectory for a lived experience that is imbued with spirituality and creativity. In proper doses, Pisces acts as the lubricant for our drier, uninspired places. The agility and mutability to move through the walls and blockages in our lives by finding the nooks and cracks that will allow for progress. This lunation will ask what edifices in your life could use the steady erosion of Piscean water, carving out curves and softness where rigidity and rough edges impeded your movement. Equally so, this lunation may ask you to build a more practical spiritual life with the softness and structure of a sandcastle, with the insight to continue to sculpt and re-mold, to let what washes away wash away. Not too close to the ocean, where all form is destroyed, yet not rooted too firmly inland, where we deprive ourselves of hopeful hydration.

If floating in or even being around all this water intimidates you, as Pisces season naturally seems to correlate with heightened sensitivity, then buoy up buttercups. Jupiter rules and squares this lunation from Sagittarius, meaning there will be no lack of hope and optimism, should you activate it. The natural osmosis of Pisces also absorbs positive feelings, so do not resign yourself to sadness and tears, confirming pop Astrology’s bias. As uncomfortable as vulnerability can be, it is the gatekeeper to experiencing true happiness, even bliss. So let the floodgates open and you may find that tears create space for joy, the small erosions of your emotional life carving out exquisite form, whether you see it now or not. Jupiter also loves a teaching moment, an intermission wherein hardship is replaced by wisdom and guides your story towards a happier ending.  Look upon your experiences, good or bad, with compassion, building firmer understanding of yourself. Overtime, this mindfulness can become spiritual practice, a piece of Pisces always present as your life unfolds, watering the rough patches in anticipation of the bloom.

And what of all this scaffolding? A sextile from Mars in Taurus ensures none of this is wishful thinking, bringing in the element of doing. And not doing for the sake of doing, for Mars in Taurus is slow and deliberate, its war path paved with stability and security. This sextile gives the lofty Pisces ideals a soft landing place, ensuring that intentions made here aren’t superfluous and can actually take form. And unlike Saturn, forming the other end of a supportive sextile from Capricorn, asking us to make our goals regimented and sturdy with a dispassionate glare from across the solar system, Mars here is more concerned with making sure we feel good. That is the Taurus way, indulging the senses, not in ways that impede our growth, but in ways that can beautify our experiences. Candles, walks in nature, cozy blankets, massages, nutritious food, holding hands with a loved one—and all the myriad of ways that Taurus takes the spiritual initiatives of Pisces makes them physical, fusing magic into matter. You could also say that Taurus makes sense of the nebulous nature of Pisces, where ideas can fail to be downloaded into actual action plans. Mars in Taurus makes these dreams tangible, slowing down where slowing down is needed, and charging forth with tenacity where Pisces can become passive. Though sitting unbothered in Aquarius for this lunation with a fading square to Uranus, Venus and Venusian qualities still provide a backbone to this lunation. Venus exalts in Pisces and domiciles in Taurus, a correspondence worth noting, especially as Venus’ higher octave sibling, Neptune, sits right next to this New Moon and since she presides over Mars here. More so than ever, this can be a day where the sky dazzles with grace and beauty, fairness and love, compassion and diplomacy, coloring the intentions made here with rose gold. And with Jupiter already in the picture, I firmly believe this Pisces New Moon can be a cosmic influx goodies. Oh, goodness!

Of course there is no getting around a newly retrograde Mercury. More likely than not, you are already familiar with all the supposed negatives of this movement, and are probably scattering to finalize big plans or purchases. You probably also already know that Mercury is in fall in Pisces and are hunkering down, doubly so. All these tantalizing headlines will command your attention, so I will instead point you towards my byline, and note the positive potentials of Mercury RX in Pisces. Retrogrades can correspond with times where the energy of the planet is focused inward, and with Mercury it can be a magnifying glass on your cognitions. In Pisces, Mercury is intuitive, prone to truth-seeking with emotion. Since all emotion starts first with a thought, this is a prime time to uproot or otherwise review those beliefs, perseverations, and old stories that have bounced around between your ears and become aware of where they are not serving you, how they inform your moods either correctly or incorrectly. Mercury in Pisces is also a keen observer of body language, or otherwise the ways in which we can communicate without words. This is a highly specialized skill, and turned inward, can make this a heightened time of intimacy with yourself and others. You may come to find out things that have eluded articulation, or tap into wellsprings of tantric communication. Where garden-variety Astrology outlets warn of confusion and missteps, which are possible, I invite you to also lean into the possibility that Mercury RX in Pisces can also provide clarity, as you dive deep into information that is normally obfuscated. With a heavy Earth signature, and the natural spirituality of Pisces, this lunation paired with this retrograde can be alchemical, transforming density into something magical. And simply, this can also correspond with a time of profound creativity—poetry, painting, singing—all the ways Mercury in Pisces turns art into conversation. When Mercury last transited Pisces, though not retrograde, I found a meditation practice that continues to provide dividends. Take advantage of Mercury’s languorous walk through Pisces. May what you intuit here bolster you into fresh and new expressions in time for Aries season, where what Pisces waters eventually becomes blossom.

Lastly, and as if this point hasn’t already been hammered in enough, Neptune’s conjunction with this lunation makes it ripe, again, for spiritual growth and all things psychic and holy. This is also a signature of prolific creativity, with the potential to be deeply touched by art, or to create the art that deeply touches. Neptune is where we idealize, which is where the planet gets its dubious associations from. But like with Mercury’s retrograde, it is more productive to me to point out the positives here rather than lumping on to what we already fear about Neptune. This lunation may put you in contact with people, beliefs, ideas, communities, publications or creations that serve the awakening of your spirit. If Jupiter teaches your mind, then Neptune teaches your soul. This New Moon, more than any one in 2019, lifts up a veil between the immaterial and your physical incarnation, providing intentions set here with a hefty dose of divinity, held in trust by mighty cosmic companions. Neptune, like the archetype of Pisces, can be a great healer, surpassing three-dimensional understanding with broader, more transcendent truths. Adjust the scope of your life, where tunnel-vision and ruts keep you small, let Pisces help you expand and stay flexible. There is medicine in the sky here, and an inherent sensitivity that wants to help you soak it all in. Do not fear these feeling times, or cast doubt upon your emotions—instead, let them lead you. Only then can you learn to stop swimming against the tides of your life.

“Sometimes we are lucky enough to know that our lives have been changed, to discard the old, embrace the new, and run headlong down an immutable course. It happened to me...that day, when my eyes were opened to the sea.” –Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Notes on the New Moon in Capricorn: January 6, 2019

The New Year arrives with a bang. The bang of a gavel. The New Moon, happening at 15 degrees of Capricorn, is not your normal New Moon. It is a partial Solar Eclipse, making its powers even that much more palpable, it's potential that much more potent. It is said that the during eclipses, the veil between our physical world and the immaterial world beyond our five senses becomes thinner, making your communication and communion with the powers that be far more influential. And with five planets stacked in Capricorn during this lunation, powers that be need not only apply to deities or spiritual superheroes, but also the powers that take hold in your own life. Capricorn gives structure and reason to power, stacking it up into hierarchies and building it into institutions. On a macro level, these entities become the law and order we contend with on a daily basis. But on a micro level, this New Moon is asking you to take a look at the institutions and hierarchies of your own life. You have far more, ahem, power, to shift and change the structures of your own experience, building or demolishing them in ways that can serve your long-term goals. Much is said of the Capricorn bend towards money and status, making our name in the world out there. But what about your inner worlds? What of enriching and making solid the foundations of our private lives, so that they remain strong and steadfast no matter what changeability the world offers? It is our commitment to bolstering our own worth that makes for a richer life experience, one not measured by numbers or decimals. And you’ll be happy to know that in a world defined by material success, an inner state of abundance is the fastest track towards outward abundance. As within, so without. So as the goat steadies his or her way up the mountain, travailing narrow cliffs and enduring weather, think about the mountains of your own life—the ones worth climbing, the ones worth abandoning, the molehills masquerading as Mt. Everest. Eclipses open up portals of influence that can last up to six months. Not to mention that we are in for another year and a half of Capricorn-Cancer eclipses. It is what happens now that can truly build the direction of the life you want to experience. So make sure that the powers that be have the power to become.

Who is present in the courtroom? The Sun and Moon are conjuncted by Saturn (11 degrees of Capricorn) and Pluto (20 degrees of Capricorn) on either side. What an interrogation. The two cosmic cops make their presence known here, and in Capricorn they easily have the power to subvert the routines of your physical experience. Saturn has been in Capricorn for about a year now, where he feels home. And Pluto has been there for roughly 11 years. Safe to say the implications of these planets in Capricorn are firmly ensconced in your psyche by now, but the co-presence of the Sun and Moon, during an eclipse no less, will shove the consequences of these planets back into your awareness. Saturn and Pluto have the CCTV footage, and will be asking you where you were the night of. Don’t lie. Rigorous honesty when these two are around. If your alibi checks out, your rap sheet is clear, then Pluto and Saturn mean no harm and work in harmony, one with a wrecking ball and the other with the blueprints. Keep building and eliminating in the direction of your dreams. Though if you find yourself faltering, sweaty palms, unsure of your own responsibility to your life, Saturn and Pluto will demand that you get it together. And you might as well start to here, less you continue to come up short eclipse after eclipse, ultimately finding yourself in shackles of your own making. Capricorn bricks build empires—or prisons. I in no way mean to overemphasize the fear these planets instill in people, nor to make you afraid of what is to come. I firmly believe that Saturn and Pluto are productive influences, their destruction and restriction ultimately serving positive purpose. But like driving in front of a police officer, these planets inspire a nervousness that compel us to act correctly, and not necessarily in accordance with what the world deems as correct, but in accordance with the laws and truths of our own lives. It is a call for authenticity. It is a two-way mirror—Saturn and Pluto can see you, but you can only see yourself. And so you must confront the ways you are unjust to yourself, the ways you allow criminals to run amok in your life, be it through behaviors, relationships, or patterns you know are detrimental to your highest good. Arrest them, bring them in for questioning, know where to be good cop and where to be bad cop. Do this until you are the judge, jury and executioner. Because only then do you have full authority over your life.

During this eclipse, Mercury will have newly ingressed into Capricorn, sitting soberly at 1 degree, out from the roaring party of Sagittarius where mental faculties may have been jeopardized. Mercury in Capricorn is the court reporter, catching every detail with stunning speed and ease, compartmentalizing facts and statements into their proper place. Though not in conjunction with this lunation, the doubling down of Capricorn energy matters all the same. Mercury will help you keep your facts straight and collect the evidence needed to move forward. Be careful with your words and thoughts here, as Saturn-ruled communication can be needlessly sharp and pessimistic. In fact, you may find your impulse to communicate dampened, or turned inward during this time. In any event, Mercury in Capricorn comes equipped with the transcript, and can pull out the receipts. Having mental processes in step with the conscious will (Sun) and emotional reactions (Moon) of the time can fuse the importance of this lunation into your awareness even more, making it easier to problem-solve or cash in on street smarts.

Mars will be squaring Mercury from 3 degrees of Aries. Mars loves being in Aries, so this is a time where energy and enthusiasm can be kicked up a notch. But in a tense conversation with Mercury, and in cardinal signs, Mars can be the silver bullet that either cracks the case or the friendly fire that compromises it. Be careful where you shoot. Mars and Saturn (ruler of Mercury here) are a contentious pair, with one assertive and the other conservative. With Mercury at issue: don’t say things that don’t need saying, don’t do things that don’t need doing, and don’t believe things that don’t need believing. Mars in Aries can easily become caricatured, a homecoming that self-aggrandizes. With Saturn as the ruler of this lunation, this eclipse, you must temper yourself. Positively, Mars provides the kick in the ass you may need to start getting your affairs in order, or the enthusiasm needed to make changes. Mars will also be forming a five degree out-of-sign trine with Venus, who is approaching a critical last degree in Scorpio. Not tremendously powerful, so don’t look for Venus’s grace to save you. At best, this a good time for finally wrapping up all your Venus RX drama, and letting Mars strong-arm it into surrender so that it no longer bothers you. Venus has long since passed over her shadow degree. But as long as she is still in Scorpio, hitting powerful anaretic degrees that awaken all that was dealt with during her stay in Mars’ sign, prickles of retrograde themes can still arise. But be glad it is just a prickle now, and not the sledgehammer it was before.

And what of the other benefic, Jupiter? Can some levity finally be inserted here? Dicey. Jupiter in Sagittarius will be squaring Neptune in Pisces with a 2 degree orb, and will be doing this dance for much of 2019. This combination is like a cosmic siren song—Jupiter will be pulled into the glamour of Neptune, hypnotized, and unable to act for us in tangibly productive ways unless fought for. Of course with Jupiter around, nothing can be all bad, and this square does connote some spiritual higher ground and creativity that makes a nice foil to the Earthbound work of Capricorn. Neptune is sextiling this New Moon, providing access to scope, compassion and softness. But Jupiter to Neptune aspects also provide fertile ground for growing absurd beliefs, escapism, disillusionment, zealotry, and garden-variety huh. The witness on the stand that rambles and cannot remember any detail with clarity or objectivity. This is where Saturn, and Capricorn in general, can be an asset. That’s right, look to Saturn to save you from flights of fancy, as he provides the landing into a fact-based reality.

Really, there is nothing juicy or wonderful or WOW about this partial solar eclipse. Nothing along the lines of the warmth our Sagittarius season and Jupiter-ruled lunations brought. Saturn may feel like a cold shower—a shock, but ultimately something that can revive and reset your system. This eclipse is positive in other ways—the ways that ask us to take inventory of our lives, so that they may grow into things that function well for us and for society as a whole. As the next series of eclipses illuminate the Capricorn-Cancer axis of your chart, you’ll find the hard and dirty work of tending to your plot, your weeds and seeds in Capricorn, is what becomes watered, nourished and blossomed in Cancer. So now more than ever, plant, plan, and proceed with intention, and with the full authenticity of your soul.