Current Transits for March 2012 Current Transits for March 2012Here's some of the important astrological news this month ...
Full Moon at 18Vi13, 3-8
Mercury Retrograde Station at 6Ar49, 3-12
Jupiter Trine Pluto, 3-12
New Moon at 2Ar22, 3-22
Juno Retrograde Station at 7Sa06, 3-24
Saturn Quintile Pluto, 3-28
An online ephemeris for the month is available.
If I had to pick one planet to focus on this month, it would be Pluto. After a year's worth of talking about "the outer planet group" which usually left Pluto out of the picture, he's starting to take center stage again. This emphasis is amplified by the upcoming Pluto retrograde station on Apr 10 -- he's already slowing down, which is not always the kind of news you want from him. You'll probably be hearing a lot less of the outer planets for awhile, at least as one big, united grouping. Overall, the energies are more potent than in February. There's a fairly hefty storm pattern from the 9th to the 16th that even reaches Koz Quake status (614 units) at one point, focused clearly, of course, right at Pluto. Fortunately, there are other planets like Venus and Jupiter that soften the blow from this storm, but we haven't seen anything this powerful for many months now. I suspect this storm will challenge your ability to handle it, but will reward you well if you can hang on. In terms of the typical astrological news, there are a pair of "big aspects" this month, involving the social planets Jupiter and Saturn tapping into the deeper Pluto undercurrent. And there's a Mercury retrograde period starting on the 12th, so get your mental work done early in the month before your brain turns to mush. In the long term, start paying attention to the subtle shifts on the inner planes, as Pluto gains prominence this spring. Big changes and stresses are slowly building up and the sooner you start working with them, the easier the transition will be. Big demands are being made of us -- time to gear up!
In traditional terms, there's not much news in March. Mercury and Juno both go retrograde. There are two "big aspects", both involving Pluto.
The full moon is a kind of "in between" chart. It seems that all the major patterns of planets are either falling apart or yet to come together. Everything's a bit out of sync and not working together smoothly. The most significant planets are Venus and Pluto. They both occupy "sweet spots" between groups where they gain strength from both sides. Most of the planets are in the signs of Pisces, Aries and Taurus, making for a very lopsided chart.
The full moon is in Virgo, widely conjunct Mars. This is a good influence for attending to some form of practical work, especially if you're experiencing problems and setbacks. Rather than barge ahead with the same strategy that caused the snafus, it's best to stand back and reassess the situation. You need to work smarter, not harder, and a change in approach may be the best decision. Of course, there may be reasons for you not seeing the obvious here. Between the fuzziness and misguided optimism of Pisces and the impetuousness of Aries, including a Mercury about to go retrograde, you may not be thinking too clearly to begin with. Once your mind is focused in one direction, it's hard to see the bigger picture anymore. Venus (conjunct Jupiter soon on the 13th-14th) in Taurus hints that slowing down and relying more on your intuition may be a good tactic. And Pluto indicates that new solutions may have to bubble up from within, that the conscious mind is missing some vital clues. Pay attention to your hunches and gut level feelings more, as they are entrances to your inner wisdom that must emerge from the shadows. With so much of the situation in transition, it's best to put off decisions awhile until things seem clearer. That probably won't happen for 3 or 4 days, when the big planetary storm takes off. Sometimes waiting is the best course of action...
Mercury reaches his retrograde station of 6Ar49 on the 12th, starting 3 weeks of retrograde motion. This continues until Apr 4, when he hits his direct station of 23Pi50 and resumes normal motion. Mercury is the thinking, symbol-using and storytelling part of the mind, the part of us that tries to understand the world and explain it to us. Normally he's quite good at making sense of life and helping us navigate through our daily encounters, but no story can fully capture the world in all its quirky detail. Sometimes, the world surprises us. When Mercury is backing up like this, the thinking mind is particularly prone to messing up. The world looks strange, our typical stories don't work well, we're more confused than certain. I suspect this retrograde cycle will be more disorienting than the typical one due to Uranus. The Mercury station is only 3 degrees past lumbering Uranus, so Mercury repeatedly conjuncts Uranus in coming weeks (Mar 5, Mar 18, Apr 22). Uranus is the more subtle intuitive mind, but he's also a prankster with an anarchic bent. If it's possible for your plans to screw up, Uranus will conspire to make sure it does so in grand style. These planets also have a lot to do with our electronic devices that we increasingly rely upon. Don't be surprised if your computer or cellphone fails you or acts in a contrary way -- it's a good time to back up your hard drive a couple of times. On the other hand, you can probably use your intuition to tell you when rational thought is failing you, that feeling of "something's fishy here" that tells you to be cautious. The first half of this retrograde cycle is in the sign of Aries, so acting in an impetuous or hasty manner is sure to get you in trouble. The second half is in dreamy Pisces (after the 23rd), which only compounds confused or ungrounded thinking. As always, the best usage of these cycles is to examine the workings of this part of the psyche, how it gives the illusion of "reality" to daily living, and how it can fail you if you expect too much from rationality. You are much more than the sum of your beliefs and stories. Get through the mental fog and move on -- it's only 3 weeks...
Jupiter is trine Pluto later on the 12th, the last of 3 such contacts. The previous contacts were 2011-7-7 and 2011-10-28. Jupiter relates to the "big structures" in our lives, especially the large institutions such as the government, politics and the economy. Pluto deals with the breaking down and composting of structures that no longer serve a useful purpose, the need to let go and move on. The first two passes of this trine coincided with the breakdown of our governmental bodies in the face of dealing with the federal budget and the economy in general. It appears that Congress has simply ceased to function in the face of politics as a blood sport. In both of these passes, Pluto was opposite the US Jupiter, one of the key indicators in the US chart for the onset and continuation of the Great Recession. At this final pass, Pluto has moved on and released his stranglehold on the US Jupiter, so the economic numbers are actually showing some upturn in the economy after 4 years of bad news. The political scene is still crazy, however. We are deep into the GOP primary process with no clear leader and a political dialogue that is becoming increasingly absurd in tone and substance. The chances of getting anything useful done in an election year are nearly zero. You'd think with a good luck planet like Jupiter that the outcome would be more positive, but I guess Pluto isn't done with his wrecking ball yet. Oh well. At least in your private life you have more control over the results than does society at large. Focus on eliminating anything in your life that is holding you back or no longer serves a purpose. Clear some room for a better foundation for your future. This is a trine, after all. A little work now will pay off handsomely later on.
Compared to the waffling nature of the full moon, the new moon chart looks very direct and forceful. The most obvious eye-catcher is the tight conjunction of Mercury, Sun, Moon and Uranus in the first 4 degrees of Aries (Vesta and Ceres are also in Aries). Neptune and Pluto are connected to this knot by aspect. The other planets are mostly background noise.
First of all, Mercury and Uranus, both mental planets, are also both within 2 degrees of the Sun, a condition known as a combust planet. Further, Mercury is in retrograde, just past a conjunction with the Sun. All this points to a very peculiar state of mind. The thinking mind is eclipsed or rather directed towards being of service to your higher nature. Whether this is the so-called higher self or more the ego depends upon your level of spiritual awareness; it's probably a bit of both. You may be full of intriguing ideas and inspirations that tend to dazzle you or feel pregnant with meaning somehow. We need such contact with our inner nature from time to time, if only to kick us out of our ruts and make us see life anew. The question becomes one of what to do with these grand ideas. Aries is an action sign, so his first reaction to inspiration is to jump up and start doing something about it. The trouble is the unconscious and the ego often don't agree on the best course of action, especially when there are real world consequences. It requires some discipline and insight to handle urges like this, traits that Aries is not known to possess in abundance. Curiously, Mars and Chiron are in a nearly exact opposition right now, so effort that isn't mindful is likely to be derailed along some familiar dysfunctional pathways. If you "lose your way", that's a signal to stop and reconsider your direction. However, if you're clear about what you're doing, this is an excellent time to polish off some old projects and clear your desk. Solutions to problems can seem obvious now (hopefully you're correct) and you have the will and energy to carry through. Awareness is the issue now, not power. It will be interesting to see what becomes of your efforts.
Juno goes retrograde at 7Sa06 on the 24th. She will back up to her direct station of 21Sc24 by Jul 16. Juno is the Queen of Relationships, so you can bet when she starts backing up that shaky relationships are up for review. Juno demands that her partners treat her with respect and committed love, a relation of equals looking out for each other. If she gets that kind of fair treatment, she responds by being warm and loving back. But if she feels slighted in any way or suspects her partner is not living up to his end of the mutual bargain, it hits all of her emotional buttons. She responds with such negative emotions as anger, rage, jealousy, bitterness, withdrawal, mistrust -- all the feelings that sabotage a loving relationship in short order. Given the two zodiac signs covered by this retrograde cycle, Scorpio and Sagittarius, this time can be quite an emotional roller coaster. Sagittarius is an easy-going, give-people-their-freedom sign, one that loves freely and without a lot of strings or commitments. Scorpio is an emotionally intense sign, where trust must be earned and resentments can grow quickly to be big problems. If you find yourself bouncing back and forth between such extremes, it's important to examine your own expectations first before blaming the whole situation on your partner. The unbearable insult or slight may be in your imagination -- your partner may not even know something is wrong until the negative feelings pour forth. Give your loved ones the benefit of the doubt before assuming the worst, as you are likely to be seeing the dark side of their motivations and overlooking their good intentions. On the other hand, sometimes there are legitimate reasons for mistrust, such as a fling on the side or other indiscretions. If the relationship is truly based on a lack of trust and mutual respect, it's unlikely it will survive the coming months. Juno retrograde can sometimes cause breakups in unhealthy relationships, so don't be surprised if that happens. Even then, it's not worth the effort to hold a grudge. Juno can be a drama queen sometimes, even when it doesn't serve her own purposes. Clean up the mess and move on without making a big scene. After all, you are buying back your own freedom, which is what Sag truly desires. Above all, practice being as loving and open hearted as possible. At least that you have some control over.
Saturn is quintile Pluto on the 28th, the 2nd of 3 such contacts. Their first contact was on 2011-11-11 and the last one will be on Aug 19 this summer. Saturn rules over the forms and structures of our lives, all the rules and limitations that tie us down to the physical plane. He turns us into responsible individuals, whether we want to or not, a teacher through adversity. Pluto, on the other hand, is known for tearing down those structures, especially the ones that have outlived their usefulness. He's an irresistible force for change and transformation when life becomes too cozy and comfortable, quite at odds with your higher spiritual path. Aspects between these two difficult planets are often an unpleasant time when things break down no matter what we do to hold them together, as we've seen many times in recent decades. The main bright spot in all this is that the aspect is a quirky quintile. Unlike most aspects, quintiles can't be easily pinned down as good or bad in their influence. The way they work is by widening your perspective on a problem, looking at it from a different point of view, so that it no longer looks like a problem. You don't solve the issue so much as transcend it. When you no longer hold onto some part of your life so intently, you can gently let go and build something new in its place. This is a good time to redefine yourself and approach your troubles from a new direction that removes its sting. This is obviously much easier to do in your private life than in society at large -- society has too much inertia for change to happen easily. It's curious that this aspect spans the entire primary season up to the conventions. Pushing the status quo doesn't work well this year. Anyway, experiment and have fun with making changes in your life -- growth doesn't have to be a chore. Approach this time with a positive attitude and the results will be more to your liking.