Astrologically Speaking

March 2002 edition ...

Embrace the moment. Life is made up of moments linked together like a string of pearls, there are breaks between moments yet there are those pearls along the way. When we look back on life we remember moments, we forget the parts that aren't worth remembering, and in almost every memory there is someone there to share it with us. It needn't be a person - do you recall seeing an eagle soar without moving its wings? Do you remember a beautiful sunset? Is one of your favourites watching a bird build a nest? It's all about moments, so this month create yourself more of them. Moments make memories, and when it is time to look back .

Rejoice the emotion! Life is about relationships and whatever they spark in us is a gift. Feel like crying - tears are cleansing. Feel like laughing - laughter is the best medicine. We have a scope of emotions and each one serves a purpose. We need a variety - we need to feel. Sun and Venus in Pisces can evoke powerful emotions. Pisces is sensitive and gentle energy it has helped mellow the last week of February. The shift is coming.

March is upon us and some of those heavy planetary influences have shifted we have experienced are subsiding. From the winter solstice through February 19 we have the Sun in a saturn-ruled sign when using traditional rulers. Both Capricorn and Aquarius are ruled by Saturn, which we know to be a taskmaster who demands that we meet our responsibilities. In most countries this is when you have to pay the piper, i.e. the taxman or at least plan it. Here in Canada we have to buy any RRSPs to be applied against the tax year by March 1, 2002. I never manage a decision until the Sun shifts into Pisces an energy, which is more willing to accept what is and what needs to be than Aquarius or Capricorn. Kind of helps as typically budgets get released during January and February as well. After all the realities of our worldly existence and those bills from Christmas that seems to have taken place eons ago, it is nice to have a shift to a mood that is more accepting.

In March we have no eclipses, no inner planet retrogrades, or even an outer planet turning retrograde. Pluto has been moving backwards for a while and travels that way almost half the year anyway. In short we get reprieve. Venus has been in Pisces since 11th of February changing into Aries on the 7th of March and stays there until April begins with Venus in Taurus. Venus in Pisces is dreamy and sensitive to our needs, it is accepting and accommodating. It is less judgmental than the preceding sign of Aquarius. When Venus shifts into Aries we have more impatience, more activity and more inspired starts. What a perfect time to go and get that red (or just colourful) outfit for the spring. Instant gratification is what Venus in Aries desires, so impulsive decisions reign supreme.

The Universe is wise as it adds the influence of Mars into our actions, and throughout March he is in steady, reliable and conservative Taurus. I received one of those picture e-mails today, it had a road sign with words "Slow down or die" - to me that in an odd way says it all about this sign change. Taurus does not give in to impulses (unless it is food), it likes to weigh the pros and cons of decisions. Taurus is also the gardener sign, we might see some beautiful gardens around later this spring and in the summer, as the Mars in Taurus coaxes us into beautifying our yards. Mars is our actions, it is what we do. Ready, steady and ah so comforting in Taurus where we can tune into mother Earth a little bit more and do less hectic running around that Mars in Aries tends bring to us. Remember also that Mars in Taurus will put its foot down, it won't be pushed into action. If you had in mind getting someone else to do something that they need to be talked into, wait until Mars gets into Gemini. Mars in Taurus is stubborn.

Mercury travels from 15°Aquarius to 6° Aries during March. Intellectual, conceptual thinking shifts to emotion - and feeling based thought patterns and then late in March we have action. Mercury in Aquarius is logical, analytical and has a penchant for studying the outcome from an investigative perspective. Mercury in Pisces is emotional, sensitive and caring, communication is more compassionate and understanding. Mercury in Pisces can be touchy whereas in Aquarius it can be very detached. Mercury in Aries really speaks its mind, sometimes without thinking it through first. The Piscean tunes are muted and soft, whereas the Aries tone can be aggressive, assertive and insistent on being right.

The big event we do have every March is the Spring Equinox. March 20th around 11 A.M. just in time for a good lunch. The Sun shifts into Aries to mark the beginning of a new season. We get more daylight and with the Aries shift for the Sun (Mars is a totally different kettle of fish) we can celebrate the increasing daylight - this is the month to start coming out of hibernation. In the Equinox chart we have Sun moving toward a square aspect to Jupiter and chasing Venus toward who is an assertive morning star. Any aspect from Jupiter tends to be good, and Venus in the same sign as the Sun helps take the edge off the driven Aries energy. Mercury is in Pisces in this chart ensuring communication remains caring and compassionate. There are no heavy clusters of energy in one solitary sign which always allows us to encompass more experiences and be less driven to do just one thing.

With the planets scattered around more evenly around the wheel we have a more balanced feast of energies. We can branch out a little bit more, and maybe tune into our needs a little better. Perhaps it is possible to rejoice tears just as we rejoice laughter, emotions are what makes us humans. We are leaving the overly logical behind, and shifting toward sensing.

I sense a great month coming, and I have been waiting for March 1st to arrive as if it were Christmas.

Astrologically Speaking

March 2002 edition ...

Archived Columns: