And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

-Anais Nin

Pisces New Moon, Thursday, March 10, 1:10 AM PST

Where were you on 3/04 when Mercury tumbled out of Pisces long dream and announced the first call of spring? Were you asleep and dreaming or did you hear Aries ram hooves shuffling outside your door of consciousness? In the Bay Area, we could sense the change with the weather. A co-worker pinpointed the exact hour his hay fever appeared, to the tune of Mercuryís entrance into Aries. It was an instant shift when this antennae planet changed our perceptions. With parting clouds, sensations of springtime appeared: urgency, quickening, warmth in the air, on your ideas, a sudden and gradual awakening. The irritation of hay fever comes too, typical Aries style.

The Sun is in Pisces for another 10 days, things continue shifting and changing. The impetus of the New Moonís call is longing. But this is longing of Odysseus, the longing for that singular journey only you are called to make. As a Siren calls the voyage off course, so we are challenged to course-correct to the alluring dreams and goals of Pisces. Jupiter and Neptune both rule Pisces; Jupiter is the believer, knowing all things are possible. Neptune is the enchanted dark forest where things are not what they seem. You look at your reflection on the surface of water, your image dances with light and water. These are changeable impressions, color, light, water shift and move, and you realize these are perhaps more true than the solidity of your body. The longer you reflect, the less solid you feel, and the less certain you are about the nature of your well-constructed reality. A piece of music starts playing in the back of your mind, you canít get it out of your head and you really donít want to. The song is so pure and true for you, so connected to this experience of yourself right now, in fact, you feel more alive and connected to yourself than ever before. This is who I am, you think. But who are you?

The truth is you are far bigger than you. Pisces is infamous for their lives of sensory overload–existing in one body but taking on the nature of many other subjective realities all in the course of a day. Pisces copes by diffusing these experiences, blurring the lines to protect the mind from the temptation to believe & the temptation not to believe, in all of it. Jupiter watches over Pisces by offering a belief system, God or guru to protect the fragile mind from exploding all over the place in chaotic grasping. Meanwhile, Neptune lurks like a voluptuous mermaid vulture with an ethereal beauty, songs hopeful and melodic. Neptune is your Siren, a beautiful distraction with hurricane force power to crash your dreams into the rocks. The Neptune aspect of Pisces is strangely serene and benign, as the atmosphere right before a hurricane. Like Odysseus, you are on your journey and so heed the navigations of Mercury in Aries, the only clear-headed one around. Too good to be true, he says. Of course it is. You recognize the song of your demise. Meanwhile your crew has been lulled into a Neptunian coma; reality has abandoned ship.

Awaken yourself. The harbingers of reality: Saturn opposing Mars in a t-square to Jupiter. This troop contrasts dreamy visions to the hard work of staying on course. Jupiter at the helm will direct the crew to keep personal goals in focus, while Mars and Saturn are unruly crewmembers, the workhorse course-correctors. But Mars is always on sex-drive default and Saturn has a reputation for both school-marmish discipline and bad-boy duplicity. It’s a tricky proposition: we must be wary of the beautifully evil Sirens, yet allow for enchantment of the shimmering dream. Thereís a subtle difference between escapism and enchantment and we must carefully, reverently walk this threshold or risk total peril.

Venice is a sinking city, but I still dream on Venice. Ironically, the word Venice means serenity. The city knew it was sinking and so chose serenity. For Pisces, life is like this, an island of artistry, enchantment, mystery on constant verge of submersion by the great collective sea. I don’t buy real estate there, but I visit. I go to Venice in my imagination, this island of knowing. Maybe I’ll listen to the Sirens song from safely afar, dipping in for brief and ecstatic glances. Enigmatic, soulful, she re-fuels my devotion to the dreaming, to the emanation of everything.

These are the days

3/10 Possibilities are no longer potential, but tangible goals even as you watch them morph. Yet, frustration kicks in around the same time. But thereís room to move as Venus graces us with, well, grace. Saturnís cohorts remind you to honor your current commitments as overextension looms large. Responsibility is a worthwhile pursuit this evening when Saturn trines the Sun/Moon, letting us know that with careful planning and time/risk management, we can achieve some goals. Moon in Aries whispers more promise of spring in your ear into tomorrow.

3/12 Moon squares Saturn, Mars and trines Pluto all before the early afternoon. Your mood is cranky and restless but turns out to be a tour de force in emotional stamina. The evening has us settled down for the exactitude of Jupiter trine Neptune 3/14. Moon in Taurus is oriented toward the practical whilst the latter two are elusive dreamers. Mutual reception between Venus and Jupiter thru 3/22 opens us to artistic and creative pursuits. Since early March, Artists find these times exceptionally prolific & experimental.

3/14 What starts out mellow, easy even, by mid-afternoon has changed course.
This can animate you with an intensity of purpose and exacting executive abilities, or produce a heavy hand that forces your hand to the deeper demands of an issue. Venus trine Saturn suggests the solution that moves everyone forward is best accomplished by cooperation and responsibility to one another. Financial resources may need re-allocating today as we look at the bottom line of everything.

These planetary currents reverberate to 3/17. This first quarter square is busy networking in Gemini, but the environment may not be yielding the information you seek. The true issue may surface when evening brings us to our buried needs. Venus square Pluto shows up as experiences of power/lack of power in relationships, self-worth and questionable availability of resources. Combat loneliness and depression with some good Cancerian self-care. Cathartic activities heal; if feeling especially vulnerable be sensitive to your need for self-protection.

3/19 & 3/20 what a weekend! The big event of the day is Mercuryís retrograde in Aries. Mercury will retrograde in the sign of the ram until 4/12, creating extra potential and possibility for head-butting and courageous new ideas, perhaps even simultaneously. The usual instructions: communications and transportation are all subject to problems. Be careful with contracts and long-term plans made during this time period. If a plan is put into motion, it may change or fall apart by 4/12. Old friends reappear. Outstanding issues come back to haunt in an attempt toward reconciliation. However, itís a great time to tackle projects on the back burner, things youíve put off. Continuing what you’ve started and tying up the loose ends results in more mettle than muddle. Sun sextile Mars both in the last degrees of their respective signs prepare us for the burst of new energy tomorrow.

3/20 welcome spring equinox! Some of us don’t actually feel the strength and promise of 2005 until this day. Sun in Aries is the urge for life, all things in their seed potential, awaiting pollination. This is a heady fullness that doesnít quite know its power or force. Weíre renewed by this stamina, but yet unfamiliar with what it all means. Here’s an Aries suggestion: be a pioneer in anything you do.

Enter Mars into Aquarius. For the next month and a half, energy is especially focused on what doesn’t work to make way for expressions of individuality and uniqueness. Overlap with Mercury retrograde, watch out for aggrandizement of both self and others. As life is filled with contradictions, there is a subtext working here. We feel the newness but we don’t see it yet. Saturn’s got spring by the ankle, time is moving slowly as the planet changes pace to the tune of molasses.

3/21 Leo moon wants self-fulfillment in whatever form that may take, and with Saturn’s station to direct tonight, self-confidence means getting on with well-laid plans. The machinery has been in the shop all year and now the oiled gears shift and turn. This planet rules professionalism and social roles, expect some career restrictions to loosen up.

3/22 Venus enters Aries. Now we’re really cooking as the planet of relationship joins Sun and Mercury in Aries. Relationship tastes and preferences are hot and sudden, new and exciting. This Venus is about the thrill of the chase, stalking her prey to culminate in an erotic conquest. Wait; is this a relationship or a car show? Used constructively, Venus is really about taking a chance, finding the courage to love again or renew love with the fresh eyes of springtime. The thrill of this love involves risk-taking and even a little ego-stroking, vroom-vroom!