We are at the tail-end of an eventful zodiacal year and what could be more fitting than a New Moon in Pisces conjunct Venus and Neptune? This all takes place on Saturday, March 13th. Venus is picking up speed and heading for her next Star Point at 5+ Aries, but first she will spend some time soaking in the limitless compassion of Neptune. And in case we don’t get the message here in the USA, the New Moon is opposite our collective natal Neptune.
Neptune is the star of this lunar cycle. Hard to pin down a definition of Neptune because it represents absorption in the Divine All-That-Is. Pisces is a dreamy sign – water on an oceanic scale – unimaginable depths, a constantly morphing surface, an inexorable force. Neptune draws us into reverie, a boundless mental state in which we can envision wonders. In Pisces season, we are encouraged to take some time to “space out,” let our souls be nourished by stillness. It’s a time to seek out beauty and solitude. Also important to attend to our psychic health. We are still releasing our exhaustion from the past year. We need that extra hour of sleep and the psychic refreshment of meditation.
Neptune is boundless and leads us into the realm of ecstatic union. We all have this deep longing, accompanied by a dreadful fear, of surrendering ourselves to Love. This is poignantly true in our culture. We insist on the primacy of the physical world as well as our individuality. Our nation was founded on self-sufficiency and personal ambition, but we are evolving into the next stage of human consciousness, learning how to identify with the collective, seeing beyond our separation into the very heart of our unity as humanity, and our unity with all of nature. How do we begin to open up to the enormity of unconditional love? We can start with compassion.
At this New Moon, Venus is one degree away from perfect union with Neptune. Together they are washing away the blockages to compassion. We are entering the annual celebration of the passion of Christ. Religions all over the world have their own version of Spring ritual that involves a purification, a death and a rebirth. We are in the midst of Lent when people symbolically give something up. I decided to vary from the norm many years ago. While I am not a practicing Christian, I was steeped in it as a child, and the words of Jesus sank deep into my psyche. At Lent I take on extra spiritual devotion, rather than deprive myself, or treat it like a New Year’s resolution. For me it’s like a retreat, 40 days in my inner ashram.
Venus is the messenger of the Divine Heart. When she meets up with Neptune in Pisces, we are inspired to feel compassion for others. As I write this, Congress has just passed the Covid Relief bill, a monumental boost for lower income families. President Biden claims it will cut child poverty in half. That is wonderful, but what about the other half? It is inconceivable that the richest nation on Earth is allowing its children to starve, to live in squalor.
These families need our compassion. Millions of Americans are grieving the loss of loved ones – they need our compassion. Hundreds of thousands of us are sick and dying – they need our compassion. Millions of young men and women are jobless and living with shattered dreams – they need our compassion. And what about the elderly, our most vulnerable siblings – so many alone, so many loveless, so many in pain? Our world is full of suffering and while compassion isn’t enough, it is a form of love. We grow our capacity for Love when we feel compassion for others. The waters of compassion that flow through our tears wash away our own pain and unite us with our humanity.
Compassion isn’t pity. Compassion is intensely intimate. We feel it, not just think it. It can take us into our depths where we open our hearts to feel the suffering of others and sob. Compassion is healing for the collective psyche. Apathy and indifference prolong the suffering; compassion offers the healing balms of Love. And compassion can lead to action – witness the compassionate bill Congress just passed. Every act of kindness, inspired by compassion, contributes to a global transformation.
Pluto in Capricorn
The New Moon is sextile Pluto and we see that Pluto is within one degree of its natal position in our nation’s chart. We are experiencing this Pluto return as a threat to our Democracy and it is a humanitarian battle we must win, not just for our country, but for the world and for generations to come. Pluto in the USA 2nd house is unearthing what is toxic in our society, revealing our empty values and challenging us to remember who we really are. Buoyed by Trump, the Republican party has finally shown its true colors. They don’t believe in Democracy. In fact they are afraid of it, so afraid that Republican legislatures throughout the country are passing bills to take away voting rights guaranteed by our Constitution. Lindsay Graham admitted that if they don’t stop people from voting, the Republicans will never again be in office.
This is no longer the party of Abraham Lincoln, nor Dwight D. Eisenhower. This party began to stray under the Reagan administration when trickle-down economics became the law of the land. Over the last 40 years, businesses which incorporated so they could not be sued as people, won the right to vote as people, without all those inconvenient democratic obligations like paying taxes. Slowly we have devolved from a Republic into a Corporatocracy, but the descent wasn’t complete until Donald Trump sanctioned racial, ethnic and religious hatred. Under his watch, the Republican Party became the voice of White Supremacy.
The majority of Republicans have been duped. The Washington Post reported that when he left office, ex-President Trump had told 29,508 lies. Imagine how painful it must be for his supporters to learn that truth. Democrats are not the only ones who need to fight for our Democracy. Republicans need to reclaim their party, demand accountability from their elected officials and make their voices heard. This Covid Relief bill benefits all of us equally and yet not one Republican had the courage to vote for it, even though the majority of their constituents were in favor of it. And you can bet they will claim credit for it. Republicans need to remind their representatives who is working for whom.
Uranus in Taurus
Uranus is at 8 degrees of Taurus in the USA 5th House. The last time Uranus was in this sign was from 1935 to 1942. Then, as now, there was a fascist threat. Hopefully we can curtail the white supremist menace before it takes us into civil war. Uranus is our source of creative genius usually channeled into science and technology. How fortuitous a placement when we are in need of so many out-of-the-box solutions to our climate crisis, our crumbling infrastructure, our health and education systems and so much more. Over the next two years Uranus will provide flashes of insight and the energy of invention, before it moves into the 6th house and begins to break up our old habits and transform our daily lives.
Ceres/Chiron
Ceres and Chiron are conjunct at 7+ degrees of Aries in the 4th House which is about our inner lives, our deepest depths. Many themes come forth – healing our relationship with Mother, for instance – our birth mothers, ourselves as mothers, our Earth as Mother, the Goddess as the Great Mother. In whatever form, the feminine energy is under Chiron’s influence. Old wounds may surface, but we can be grateful because they come wrapped in Chiron’s compassion.
Moon in Pisces will be emotional. We are 70% water so when the Moon is traveling through a water sign, she is moving our inner tides as well. We can feel things very deeply and the deeper we go, the more of our lost power we will access. If there is pain, feel it deeply and then turn it over to the fires of the Sun, to the healing of Chiron, to the Earth who absorbs all our pain, to Neptune and Venus to transmute it into unconditional love.
Mercury
Finally Mercury is conjunct the USA natal Pallas and natal Moon in the 3rd House. Our nation’s Sun is in Cancer which is ruled by the Moon which is cuddled up with Pallas demanding justice. We cannot be at peace nationally without justice. Our nation was conceived in a demand for justice. Our government representatives recite the Pledge of Allegiance every working day, along with school children all over our nation, and proclaim our dedication to liberty and justice for all. Do we stand behind our words? Can we call ourselves patriots if we don’t?
Today as I write, Merrick Garland was confirmed as the next Attorney General. His mission is to restore the integrity of the Justice Department. He has stressed that the office of the Attorney General is counsel for America, not the President. We can expect to see an orderly investigation and prosecution of the Capitol terrorists. Hopefully crimes against the people over the last four years will also be addressed. The 3rd House is about information and we can expect many secrets to be revealed.
Integrating the energies
At this New Moon, plant the seeds that will sprout when the Sun moves into Aries. The Spring Equinox is just a week away. We will explore the potential of the Equinox chart next time. Until then take time for meditation.
Meditation drives a wedge between the ego and the Self. A space opens up. In this space we can see the ego more clearly. We can feel the self and see the difference between them. The ego with its fearful, critical thoughts; the Self, seeking love and unity, wanting to give of itself to others and the world. We learn to spot the ego voice because it never has anything new or original to say. We see it for what it is, frightened, ill-equipped, grasping at us from within, whispering about conspiracies, victimhood, power struggles, self-image etc. We identify defensive ploys which literally wall us off from our true selves and from each other. This only increases our fear, our sense of impotence, our isolation and bewilderment. Our souls want to embrace life, embrace joy and beauty and celebrate connection.
As this zodiacal year comes to a close, gather your energy for the rebirth of Spring and the beginning of a whole new round of adventure.
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