Waning Moon in Pisces

Wednesday afternoon through Saturday morning

This afternoon, the Moon slips into dreamy Pisces, where she will join Venus in the early hours of Thursday. A midmorning sextile with Pluto in Capricorn on Thursday completes the Moon's classical aspects for this transit, after which she enters a void of course period until entering Aries on Saturday morning.

Wait ... what? The Moon is void of course for almost two days? In that space where ordinary time is suspended, and we hold back from beginning new things, for two days? Well, yes.

This Pisces Moon will be especially dreamy, almost disconnected-feeling. Patterns repeat themselves as a way to focus our attention, and this Moon transit ushers in the Mercury Retrograde in Aries that also begins today, just an hour and a half before the Moon enters Pisces.

Achiote fruit

This is the year of Mercury retrogrades in Fire, beginning with Aries, which is the beginning. When we enter a retrograde period with Mercury, we revisit our ways of thinking. We reflect, revise, reconsider.

These are valuable, indeed essential, times, when we have the opportunity to strengthen what is best, revising as needed.

Each retrograde period culminates in a New Mercury, the midpoint, when Mercury conjuncts the Sun. As with the New Moons, this is a seed time, when we can intentionally makes changes in flow with the cosmos.

Astrology for the 21st Century offers my favorite podcast on Mercury retrograde, and now offers a brief video illustrating what's happening in the sky during these periods.

With Mercury retrograde in Aries, we have the chance to reflect on, and reconnect with, our own ground of being. Each of us enters this life with a unique set of desires; the values, ideas, goals and feelings that draw us in and draw us on. These are not desires in the Buddhist sense of things we grasp to avoid suffering; these are the very wellsprings of our lives.

But what are they? Do we know? In the blooming, buzzing confusion of life, when we are told what we should want, what will make us happy, what everyone wants, we can so easily lose touch with what we want, what moves our souls and hearts.

So much energy has moved into Aries now, we can scarcely avoid it. Aries' fiery, impulsive, rash, risky, angry energy can feel overwhelming, adding another layer to our confusion. Perhaps this is why Mercury is moving retrograde now, to give us a chance to explore this territory. Pisces poses the question, what will we die for? Aries looks us in the eye and asks, what do we live for?

During this retrograde, we explore what excites us, what turns us on, what triggers us, what makes us angry, what makes us feel alive. The retrograde offers a set of brackets to remind us we can explore all these things without doing. We can think, we can reflect, we can remember, we can consider. We can consciously set aside all the messages, enticements, demands, and pressures of the world to reconnect in a deep way with what moves us.

Desire, after all, means "what comes from the stars." With Uranus, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury and the Sun in Aries during this retrograde, the stars are lining up ready to connect. We can begin now, in the earliest days of this retrograde, to be ready for the New Moon in Aries.

On Saturday at 7:16am EDT, the Moon bursts into Aries. The next morning, Sunday at 10:32am EDT, the Sun and Moon join together for the New Moon, opening the lunar seed time for new beginnings of all kinds.

Moon in Aquarius

Monday morning through Wednesday afternoon

Osezaki lighthouse, Japan

Monday's aspects offer a series of potentially illuminating contrasts, as the Moon steps into the bright, cerebral light of Aquarius. We're prepared to be objective, staying cool as we survey a landscape that has been, and still is being, reshaped.

The Moon enters Aquarius at 7:00am EDT exactly. Not long after, the Sun squares Pluto, cardinal Fire and cardinal Earth facing off. Are we combining these powerful energies to make bricks, laying new foundations? Or pursuing a scorched earth policy, destroying everything?

Then, the cool Aquarius Moon flows energy in sextile with Uranus in Aries. Uranus rules Aquarius, so we might see the radical trickster talking to himself in infinitely reflecting mirrors. But we also have the chance to align our emotions and our passions. Aren't these two the same? Yes and no, and the Aquarius Moon opens a window on the complex dance between what we deeply want, our passions, and the network of emotions and judgments surrounding those primal desires.

Monday evening, the Sun and Moon reach their waning sextile, a time of deep insight and understanding. The light of Aries' fire can illuminate the sometimes chilly Aquarian landscape, highlighting what we most need to know, right now.

Tuesday continues the theme of clarity and insight, as the Moon flows energy in trine with Saturn in balanced Libra, then flows energy in sextile with exuberant Jupiter in Aries. Different points of view, different ways of experiencing the world––what does each offer?

Meanwhile, Venus, newly arrived in Pisces, joins Chiron the wounded healer. Venus is the Lesser Benefic, a gentle messenger of beauty and grace. Joined with Chiron in the sign of dreams and visions, these two offer healing.

Wednesday morning, the Moon flows energy in sextile with Mercury in Aries. This moment of clear thinking comes early in the morning, 7:16am EDT, offering incisive insight in the last hours before Mercury turns retrograde, where he'll remain until the end of April.

In late afternoon, the Moon joins Neptune at the last degree of Aquarius, an emphatic reminder of the importance of dreams and visions, before swimming into Neptune's own sign of Pisces at 6:38pm EDT.

Clarity is not always comfortable; sometimes we prefer dim lights and fuzzy outlines. Given the magnitude of the changes swirling around, though, everything might be feeling a little too murky. This Moon transit through Aquarius offers a time to turn on the brightest lights, illuminating where we are and what we need to know.

Moon in Capricorn

Friday evening through Monday morning

Tonight at 9:57pm EDT, the Moon steps into dour Capricorn, just as the weekend begins. Bummer, right? 'Cause Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, is the sign that blows the whistle, yelling "everybody out of the pool." This is the energy of work, so not what we want on a Friday night.

But the cosmos, amazingly enough, is not geared to the human work week, and here we are with a Capricorn Moon for the weekend. What do we do now?

steam engine

We can look at the whole "work" thing, which we have some funny ideas about in the US of A. Americans work hard, with less vacation than anyone else in the developed world, but many of us put in the time to pay for a life we may not even like. Work is admirable but boring, regrettable but required. In a perfect world, we'd all be following our bliss, not working at all. Maybe.

The first thing the Moon does in Capricorn is square Uranus in Aries, cardinal Earth squaring cardinal Fire, where flaming radicalism meets the laws of physics. Mechanical work is a force acting through distance, a transfer of energy. Uranus in Aries has certainly been transferring a lot of energy lately.

Energy is transformed into work when it encounters an object, which has its kinetic energy changed as a result. We are being worked on––maybe worked over––by Uranus, and this weekend's energy may help us connect with the feelings we have about that (Moon) and figure out what to do about it (Capricorn).

We humans need work, and not just to pay the bills. As physical beings, we need to express who we are through action in the physical world. Somehow, we need to find meaningful work.

The connections the Moon makes during this Capricorn transit bring this up again and again. Saturday, the Moon squares the Aries Sun, the last quarter of this waning cycle. This is the time when pigeons come home to roost, and we reap the harvest. The Moon joins Pluto later that morning; we see how this cycle has transformed us.

Later, the Moon squares Jupiter in Aries and Saturn in Libra. We are asked to look squarely at the work we do, and why we do it. What is our praxis? In ancient Greece, praxis was work done by free men. In philosophy, praxis is the process of making ideas real. With this Moon transit through Capricorn, we look at the connection between our ideas and what we do, between our values and how we act.

Capricorn is not much associated with values, usually, just with goals and how they can be pragmatically achieved. But the Moon is about our emotions, and about our traditions, what we value. Saturday, Venus calls our attention to values, as she joins Neptune and then swims from Aquarius into Pisces, a transition from big ideas to deep feelings.

Sunday, the Moon squares Mercury in Aries, keeping us in that space of questioning what we want, what we do to get it, and how we feel about it. The tension between action and values is sounded again, as the Moon flows energy in sextile with Mars (the actor) who is still in visionary Pisces, her last aspect. The Moon will be void of course overnight, stepping into the bright light of Aquarius early Monday morning.

So, this could be a serious sort of weekend. You might decide to stay home, find yourself getting into philosophical discussions, or feel the urge to clean the basement. Here's one way to work with this energy: If your taxes aren't done, do them. Mercury turns retrograde on Wednesday, March 30, and doesn't turn direct until April 23. So this is the time to get important paperwork taken care of, and the Capricorn Moon can help that feel like the right thing to do.

Moon in Sagittarius

Wednesday afternoon through Friday evening

The Moon in Sagittarius throws open her doors this afternoon and invites the world in, flowing energy in trine with Uranus and the Sun in early Aries. The waning trine between the Sun and Moon, the disseminating phase of the lunar cycle, is a time of understanding and insight. Sagittarius is the sign of the philosopher, so this trine with Aries offers an opening for us to process the many changes coming at us.

The Center of the World by Gregorio Prieto

Thursday, the Moon trines Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius, emphasizing the chance to integrate recent experiences into our philosophy of life. The Moon also flows energy in sextile with Saturn in Libra, the physically manifest world in all its balance and beauty connecting with the fiery enthusiasm of Sagittarius.

Friday morning, the Sagittarius Moon trines Mercury in Aries, sounding the same note of exploring the philosophy behind the sometimes fierce Aries energy now erupting. What messages are we receiving? What do they mean for ourselves and our world?

The Moon will square Mars, a challenge that again focuses on understanding the broader context (Pisces and Sagittarius) and gaining clarity on what we feel (Moon) and what we need to do (Mars). Flowing sextiles with Venus, and then Neptune, in late Aquarius, bring the Moon's transit through Sagittarius to a close. Mutable Fire and fixed Air together, end this time with a chance to approach our big ideas with a new flexibility.

The Moon moves into reliable, determined Capricorn at 9:57pm EDT Friday, ready to put into practice what was learned in Sagittarius.

Moon in Scorpio

Monday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon

The Spring Equinox arrived in a bright blaze of Aries energy, ushering in an Aries stellium––in the sky now, we have Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and the Sun, a powerfully exuberant quartet up for anything. This afternoon, seeking respite from the relentless fire, the Moon slips into shadowy Scorpio.

shadows in Sun

When the Moon enters Scorpio, she will form inconjunct angles-of-adjustment with the Sun and Uranus at 0 Aries. Now we explore the darker side of the energies swirling around us. What has been cast into shadow? What emotional undercurrents have been stirred? How has the deep landscape of the psyche been altered by the events of the past days and weeks?

The Scorpio Moon will also flow energy in trine with Chiron at 0 Pisces at this time, connecting with where we've been wounded, and where healing can be found. Scorpio can be suspicious, even paranoid, seeing plots and conspiracies everywhere. At its best, Scorpio is incisive and insightful, getting to the heart of the matter and understanding the dark as well as the light. Which path will we choose?

Tuesday, the Moon flows energy in sextile with transformative Pluto, checking in with the relentless power, looking here as well for insight and understanding.

Wednesday morning, the Scorpio Moon trines Mars in Pisces. Experiencing Mars in Pisces, the planet of direct action in this most diffuse of signs, provides an intriguing contrast to the powerhouse of planets in Aries, Mars' home sign. At times, we feel tremendous energies swirling around us, while our own actions are muted or suspended. This communication with the Scorpio Moon offers a look at what's happening here.

As the Moon reaches the final degrees of Scorpio, she forms challenging squares to Venus and then Neptune, at the end of Aquarius. The sign of Aquarius is about the big idea, the compelling concept that draws us forward into the future. The Scorpio Moon challenges us to examine big ideas from all angles. Where's the catch? Time to read the fine print.

At 4:45pm EDT Wednesday, the Moon emerges into the bright enthusiasm of Sagittarius, ready to join the Aries party. Use the these early days this week to reflect, introspect, and understand what's really going on.

Moon in Libra and the Spring Equinox

Saturday afternoon through Monday afternoon

The Moon slipped into Libra soon after yesterday's magnificent Full Moon, opposing Uranus in Aries with a reminder that balance is beautiful and just. As more planets move into the blazing light of Aries, the Moon touches us gently, a reminder we're not alone in this cosmos.

tulips blazing

Sunday morning, the Moon carries the same message––remember the other souls who walk with us––as she challenges powerful Pluto in Capricorn with a square, and opposes Jupiter in Aries.

In the afternoon, the Moon joins Saturn in Libra. All this Aries fire could burn out quickly, and us with it, unless we recognize our limits and work (and play) within them. In art, the limits of form call out the creative impulse, shaping it into something of grace.

Sunday at 7:21pm EDT, the Sun shines into Aries, joining Uranus the Awakener at the Aries point and igniting the Spring Equinox. This conjunction between the Sun and Uranus at 0 Aries is rare, last seen in the early 1600's, and signals a new beginning of great power. What will be born, or reborn, for you this year?

The Libra Moon opposes Mercury, giving depth, shape and color to Mercury's cry in Aries, "I am!"

Monday morning, the Libra Moon trines Venus, and then Neptune, in Aquarius. These flows of energy among the Moon's depth of feeling, Venus' commitment to relationship, and Neptune's dreams, bracket the Sun's exact conjunction with Uranus. What wakes up in us this morning will be touched with the magic of the Moon, Venus and Neptune, the muses. Monday afternoon, the Moon slips into introspective Scorpio to explore the depths of this new world we find ourselves in.

Wikimedia's Media of the Day captures the energy of this fiery Equinox time of shaping and making, with Kuo Chang Shi, last professional sword maker in Taiwan, in a video from the Al Jazeera Creative Commons Respository:

Full Moon in Virgo

Saturday, March 19, 2:10 pm EDT

At each Full Moon, the Sun and Moon face each other across the wheel of the zodiac, illuminating the pair of signs they inhabit.

At this Full Moon in Virgo, they sit in the final degrees of mutable Earth and mutable Water, shining their light to the fullest extent possible on the transitional, flexible mode of the two yin elements.

And surely part of our response to the incomprehensible events of this week––a powerful earthquake so close to land there was little chance to escape, even in a very prepared nation––is the realization that sometimes all we can do, is bend, accepting what is. The events in Japan are only the latest, and perhaps most widely documented and reported, of cataclysms.

One question asked of us at this particular Full Moon is, how do we bend? The Sun is in dreamy Pisces, sign of cosmic connection but also of escapism. Will we embrace our oneness with all, allowing our compassion to encompass the world? Or will we drift in a lovely cloudscape where we commune with angels but never really look at humanity?

The Moon is in practical Virgo, who can roll up into a tight ball of anxiety when all control is lost and organization is impossible––or instead roll up her sleeves and start with whatever is in front of her, focusing on helping and healing wherever she happens to be standing.

It's easy to feel afraid at what we see in the world, and become either paralyzed or withdrawn. This Full Moon presents us with what J.R.R. Tolkien called "the doom of choice." Will we serve, as best we can, with the tools we have, in the knowledge that we are small and yet somehow vitally important to the whole?

Sometimes it's not clear where we are meant to serve. Checking the houses in which this Full Moon falls in your birth chart, and which of your planets are touched, offers clues to where this question is focused for you now. These are the areas in life in which we may want to be prepared, for something may be asked of us.

And that "something," already blowing through our lives like a strong wind, comes into focus in a new way. This Full Moon is squaring the Nodes of the Moon, the karmic axis that points from where we've been to where we're going. That axis is now aligned with the Galactic Center, likewise asking us where we're headed, and why.

Uranus the Awakener, new in Aries, joins the Sun at the Full Moon. This yin Moon in the transitional signs is lit with the fire of courage, the zeal of the pioneer and the warrior, the blazing certainty of the radical revolutionary. Uranus is also a trickster, master of the unexpected, challenging the Virgo Moon to even greater acceptance of whatever comes.

In the guided journey I've recorded for this Full Moon (note the link to the recording in the upper right), the energy of Pisces and Virgo come together in the figure of the weaver, the wise woman who knows that weaving cloth is a spiritual as well as a practical craft, and that the threads that bind us together must be beautiful as well as strong.

If Uranus in Aries is the unexpected flash of color that delights the eye, then Pisces and Virgo are the warp and weft that hold the cloth together. Perhaps our task at this Full Moon is to pick up the threads of our lives, and weave them into the design that is uniquely our own.

Moon in Virgo

Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon

The Moon moves into careful Virgo at 4:53pm EDT exactly (Virgo likes to be precise). After the intense emotions swirling around the disastrous earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the ongoing nuclear crisis, we turn our thoughts to what must be done.

4-month-old girl found

We're now reading about disaster preparedness (a Virgo topic). Poignant stories are emerging too, from the sacrifice of a young woman who would not leave her post announcing to her town that all must leave immediately, to the miraculous discovery of a baby girl in the rubble. Virgo finds healing and comfort in knowing the details.

Very early Friday morning, the Moon trines Pluto in Capricorn, placing herself in humble service to the great forces of transformation. There is much work to be done. Mercury in Aries opposes Saturn in Libra this morning, as the impulse to do something, anything, right away struggles for balance with the need to take things step by step.

Friday evening, the Virgo Moon opposes Venus in Aquarius, and we feel the need to balance everyday details with the larger, creative, radical vision that Aquarius holds out for us.

Saturday brings us to a hinge in the year, a turning of the spiral. We enter into a cascade of events that begins with the Full Moon in Virgo, with the Moon at perigee, close to the Earth. Because this Full Moon happens at the very end of Virgo, the Moon moves quickly into Libra, where she opposes Uranus the Awakener in bright Aries. Sunday, the Spring Equinox arrives as the Sun joins Uranus for a blaze of new fire.

With this great turning on its way, we use theses days of the Virgo Moon to prepare ourselves. Virgo is a sign that loves ritual ... the rituals of daily life, of healing, and of spirit. Find comfort in what is familiar, in the practices which sustain you. Offer healing to others and to our world. We know, in Virgo, that we are small, and yet we are needed. We offer ourselves in service, and hope to be ready.

Moon in Leo

Tuesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon

Leo Moon! Passion, playfulness, creative drive, drama ... the Moon in Leo wants everyone to know how she feels, which is great when she feels good, and sometimes not so great. The challenge for this Moon is, can she express true feelings, depth of emotion, creating the insight and catharsis of wonderful theater? Or will we get a lot of melodramatic thrashing around?

on stage

Whether we see (and experience) the highs or the lows of feeling, this Moon transit through Leo will be intense. Just after entering the sign of the fiery lion, the Moon flows energy in trine with Uranus in Aries, taking the world by storm. Later on Tuesday, Mercury reaches Jupiter, mind and communication expanding in Aries.

If you have something to say, today's energies will give great heart and passion to your words, but be careful (tough to do with a Leo Moon and all that Aries) not to go overboard. Today might be a day for writing letters saying exactly how you feel––and not sending them.

Wednesday, the Leo Moon continues adding fuel to Aries' fire as she trines Jupiter and Mercury. Later, the Moon sextiles Saturn in Libra, a creative dynamo, and later still, opposes Venus in Aquarius. This challenging mix of energies makes Wednesday an inspired day, when the muse might not be content with whispering. Again, watch your urge to speak out freely. Instead, write, draw, sculpt, sing, dance, love, all with an open heart.

Thursday, the Moon reaches the end of Leo where she opposes Neptune, poised at the end of Aquarius. The Moon closes her Leo transit with another creative connection with the planet of dreams and visions, in the sign of intuition and insight. After the heady emotions of Leo, the Moon moves into careful, organized Virgo, at 4:53pm EDT Thursday.

Moon in Cancer

Sunday morning through Tuesday afternoon

nesting

The Moon steps into Cancer––her castle, her nest, her home––at 10:29am EDT Sunday. Cancer's ancient name was the Gate of Man, the door through which souls incarnated on Earth. Cardinal Water, this sign carries the archetype of the Mother, the opening through which we all enter this existence.

When the Moon enters Cancer, we want to draw our loved ones around us and snuggle in, reveling in the comforts and safety of home. In these times of tumult, this might feel more like an intense desire to hunker down. But the pace of change is too great; it's not a time to stand still, or clinging to the status quo. The question is, what's the best way to move?

The Moon's first aspect in Cancer is a challenging square to Uranus, newly born in Aries. Will the impulse to act move forward unchecked? Or will we allow feeling and intuition, as well as respect for tradition, to guide us?

Sunday's aspects explore this question fully, as Mercury in Aries squares Pluto in Capricorn, the Moon opposes Pluto, and the Moon squares Mercury. Pluto in Capricorn continues step by step with his deep transformation. Mercury in fiery Aries is ready to move, fast, now. The Cancer Moon can resist, digging in her heels; Cancer is a traditionalist who does not welcome change. Or, this Moon can acknowledge that change is also part of life, with traditions of its own, and open our hearts to intuitive guidance as we search for the best way.

On Monday, the Moon continues asking tough questions as she squares Jupiter in Aries (how much is too much?) and Saturn in Libra (where can we find beauty and balance?). Mars in Pisces asks Saturn a similar question, forming an inconjunct angle-of-adjustment. Then, the Moon and Mars join energies in a flowing trine, cosmic vision and the wisdom of the body, together. Perhaps Venus can help Saturn find the place of balance, as they form a flowing trine Monday evening.

Tuesday morning brings a flowing trine between the Sun and Moon, Pisces and Cancer communing in a moment of understanding. Then, the Moon moves into inconjunct angles-of-adjustment with Ceres the Grain Mother, and with Neptune, at the end of Aquarius. How will our understanding of the past (the Moon in Cancer) be changed by the unfolding future (Neptune in Aquarius)?

The last few days have seen incredible upheavals in the world we know; earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis of devastating power. These days of the Cancer Moon are likely to intensify our feelings about what we've witnessed. We can choose whether to retreat into fear, or reach out in compassion, finding moments of grace in the midst of tragedy. As the Moon moves in Leo on Tuesday afternoon, the time to act arrives.

Moon in Gemini

Thursday night through Sunday morning

The Moon sprints into Gemini, mutable Air, tonight and gets ready for busy times. Just after midnight, 12:31am EST Friday, the Moon arrives in Gemini. At 6:55am Friday, she flows energy in sextile with Mercury, Gemini's ruler,  newly arrived in Aries. We might hear ripples of magical sound as this meeting, heralding a seismic arrival.

Friday's energy is one of opening the ways, of connecting, easing, burnishing, and smoothing. The Gemini Moon, always open to new experiences, and Mercury in Aries, pioneering in thought and communication, want everything ready. Today's the day for clearing away the last bits of whatever is left undone, not necessarily finishing it, more sweeping it away with new brooms.

Moon Girl, Superhero

Tonight, the Awakener arrives. And if that sounds like a scifi movie spoof, well, Uranus is a trickster as well as a revolutionary. Having somebody standing there with a goofy grin on his face saying "BOOM!" doesn't make the explosion less shattering. Friday evening at 7:49pm EST Uranus arrives in Aries for good, ready to rumble.

The Moon connects the dots, beginning with a sextile to Jupiter in Aries, to say, look! Jupiter the expander is here too making everything bigger! The Moon trines Venus in Aquarius, urging us to embrace Uranian revolution in our relationships, finances and creative lives. Then, the Moon squares Pluto overnight, drawing attention to the Jupiter-Pluto square shaking our world to its foundations.

Early Saturday, the Gemini Moon trines Saturn in Libra, where we're reminded that sustainable change requires balance and strength. Later in the day, the waxing square between Sun and Moon arrives, the Half Moon challenge where our commitment to New Moon intentions is tested. If our intentions take a new, unexpected form, do we still want them? No? Yes? It's decision time.

Even time moves faster, as we spring ahead into Daylight time Saturday night. Will we notice the missing hour?

Sunday morning, the Moon flows energy in trine with Neptune in Aquarius. This connection may offer a vision of what is coming, which may or may not prove helpful in the tumultuous times ahead. At 10:29am EDT, the Moon steps into Cancer, her safe home. A note to the wise, though: Sunday will not be quiet.

Moon in Taurus

Tuesday morning through Thursday night

After the emotional sensitivity of the Pisces New Moon, and the fiery energy of Aries, the Moon slips into comfortable Taurus on Tuesday morning, and we can take in a deep breath and slow the pace down for a day or so.

Italian garden

Taurus is fixed Earth, the energy that prefers not to move, allowing everything to unfold in its own time. On Tuesday, the heavens are quiet, with no significant aspects, making this a wonderful day to relax. Quiet mediation, sensual massage, aromatherapy, soothing sounds ... all of these comfort the Taurus Moon.

Wednesday, the Taurus Moon makes her presence felt as she flows energy in trine with Pluto, supporting transformative change in peaceful ways. The Moon will challenge Venus in square, reminding Venus that not all the radical idea her time in Aquarius might suggest need to be implemented. The Moon sextiles Mars in dreamy Pisces, adjusting her course to flow with the energies of the cosmos.

While the Moon revels in a peaceful garden, Mercury jumps from visionary Pisces into impetuous Aries. Against the backdrop of a calm emotional state, the mind sparks with new ideas, new goals, new plans. Mercury in Aries can be direct, even blunt, in speech, so maintain your awareness of Taurus as this shift takes place.

Thursday, the waxing crescent Moon forms a flowing sextile with the Sun, allowing a clearer glimpse of our emerging New Moon wishes. This is an auspicious day for relationships, creativity and finances, as Venus and Jupiter, the two planets of good fortune and blessings, also form a sextile. May our intentions be fulfilled in the most beneficial possible ways!

Thursday evening, the Moon reaches the last degrees of Taurus, where she will square Neptune at the end of Aquarius and sextile Uranus poised at the end of Pisces. The Moon jumps into bright and busy Gemini just after midnight, at 12:31am EST Friday. Dreams tonight will be full of messages.

Moon in Aries

Saturday night through Tuesday morning

A world made new! If the New Moon in Pisces gave us a ringside seat at Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, then the waxing Moon in Aries plops us down at the Big Bang Burger Bar as another cosmic cycle begins.

The Moon moves into Aries just after midnight, 12:14am EST Sunday, which could make sleep challenging for those sensitive to Moon shifts. Be sure to have pen and paper at your bedside tonight, because the combination of an Aries Moon with the remaining strong stellium in Pisces promises a night of active dreaming.

The Flame!

Sunday, the Moon pushes boundaries as she sextiles Venus in Aquarius, a flow of energy with the oomph to make the radical changes in our relationships and creative lives that Aquarian Venus loves to see. Then the Moon activates the tense Jupiter-Pluto square, as she squares Pluto in Capricorn and joins Jupiter in Aries. Our feelings are on fire, aligning with forces of change, ready to take on the world.

Meanwhile, the ripening inconjunct angle-of-adjustment between the Sun and Saturn comes exact on Sunday, Piscean dreams and visions needing to accommodate Saturn's clear understanding of the limits of time and space. Monday, the impetuous Aries Moon opposes Saturn, as again we're reminded that our actions have consequences.

The Moon has pulled ahead of Jupiter now, heralding the Aries week to come. Although the Moon leaves Aries Tuesday morning, Mercury will enter Aries on Wednesday, and revolutionary Uranus enters Aries on Friday. Uranus dipped into Aries last July as part of the dramatic Cardinal Cross, and now returns for seven years. At the end of which time, we can expect the world, and ourselves, to be radically, unexpectedly different.

Now, in these early days of the new lunar cycle, is the time for making wishes and setting intentions. While our intentions remain aligned with the flowing visions of Pisces, we plant them in the vigorous new ground of Aries. This is a time to be careful what we wish for, as we're likely to see great things emerge.

Moon in Pisces

Thursday morning through Saturday night

The Moon swims into Pisces' cosmic ocean at 11:46am EST Thursday, moving toward the New Moon in Pisces on Friday, March 4. There is strong focus on Pisces in the right now, that carries through the New Moon: Six planets span the sign from Chiron at 01 Pisces to Uranus at 29. The lineup also includes Mars and Mercury, as well as the Sun and Moon.

Pisces is visionary, empathic, and intuitive, with a felt sense that we are all part of each other, and of the cosmos. With the intensity of Pisces energy over the next few days, we're likely to feel more emotionally sensitive.

Thursday night brings Mars and the Moon together, and each one into a flowing sextile with Pluto. During this Moon transit, we may find ourselves ready to act (Mars) on intuitive guidance, or in following a creative muse, to do something transformative (Pluto).

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, a place of endings, of releasing what no longer serves us back to the cosmos. Having Mars active at this time can also make it easier for us to let go, readying ourselves for the new cycle that begins in Aries.

The usual approach for setting intentions and making wishes at the New Moon, is to wait until after the New Moon has occurred, when the last of the waning energy is past. This month, however, offers a special time before the New Moon, beginning Thursday night. The Hindu holy day Maha Shivaratri, described in this blog post by Ellen Longo, makes this the most auspicious New Moon of this year, a time when millions of Hindus worldwide will chant the name of Shiva, offering prayers and asking for blessings. In fact, the celebration of Shiva has already begun and will continue in waves through the many time zones of the world.

Shiva is a Piscean figure, the awareness the animates the universe, and one who sacrificed himself to save the world. He carries a trident, the Ganges flows from his head, and his third eye is open. Whatever our individual beliefs, we can merge with the energy of this special time, realize we are all one, and call on Shiva to help us.

The New Moon arrives Friday at 3:36pm EST, at 13 degrees of Pisces. Astrologer Hiroki Niizato sees emotional intelligence as the key theme for this New Moon, a time when we can tune in with our emotional antennae, live in the moment, and release the need for control. Solitude is powerful now, allowing us to connect with what is within.

Checking your birth chart for where the New Moon falls offers guidance on which areas of life most need release, or emotional intelligence, or both. Check also which of your birth planets are being aspected by the New Moon. Wishes and intentions can be made any time within about three days after the New Moon, as we plant our wishes like seeds in the new waxing cycle. If you create a personal ritual at this time, include water, a time for quiet meditation, and perhaps some creative expression, to honor the energy of Pisces.

Saturday morning, the Moon reaches the last degrees of Pisces, joining Mercury, and the Uranus in the very last degree, where he is poised to move into Aries in a few days. The Moon leads the way, entering Aries at 12:14pm EST.