March Transits

Spiraling out of Control or Leveling Up?

Oh, where do I begin? There is so much to discuss as we enter this eclipse season! I’d like to focus in on just a few.

The cosmic energies we are currently navigating are heavy. And by heavy, I mean we are still carrying the weight of unnecessary emotional baggage. Aren’t you tired of lugging it around?!? It’s time to unpack and settle in for the long haul with yourself.

Cycles and Spirals

Astrology is the art and science of studying cycles. Everything in nature is cyclical and observable and therefore allows us to recognize patterns. The sun rises every day, the moon waxes and wanes, the constellations appear different according to the seasons-we see all of this. The planets in our Solar System also move in recognizable patterns. As an astrologer, I can take the understanding of the archetypes and synthesize them into digestible stories. At times, I feel like I have even ‘watered-down’ the meanings, but I always attempt to make my posts relatable and offer some sort of guidance for our continued revolutions.

We aren’t simply going in circles though! We are moving in a spiral. (see Helical Model).

This meme is a good reminder that changing our perspective can give us new insights. How I think of cycles and the spiral is this: we can get caught in a mental spin when we recognize the same patterns arising within us and within our environments. It can feel terribly frustrating when we can’t seem to break out of behaviors or habits, patterns in relationships or jobs, or even repeated stories we tell ourselves. When the same, familiar, frustrating pattern arises in our lives, we can feel like we are going in circles. What we often miss is the spiral. We have leveled up! Yes, the pattern might be familiar, but we are changed. Or, at least, that is the opportunity. This is our evolution.

Virgo/Pisces

So, let’s talk about the cycles of and archetypes within the signs of Virgo and Pisces. The South Node of the Moon represents an indicator of where we are coming from, what we are most familiar with-currently transiting Virgo. The North Node of the Moon represents what we are drawn to, the arc of our trajectory-currently transiting Pisces. The nodes shifted in January of this year and will remain in this axis until Summer 2026. Often, when myself and other astrologers look at the lunations, we are looking at a shorter cycle-two weeks or so. When we speak of eclipses, we are looking at longer cycles-around five to six months for the focused energy. The extended cycles are nine and eighteen years. These were the last times the nodes were in these signs. Nine years ago, they were reversed, but the themes hold. Ponder on what was occurring in your life around 2015-2016 and then further back, 2007-2008.

As you become aware of and recognize patterns in your life now as compared to the previous times, notice how you have grown and changed in those areas.

For further focus, I’ll discuss the themes you may want to concentrate on.

Evolutionary Astrology looks at the Natural Zodiac from a holistic view. The Natural Zodiac begins with Aries and the First House and ends with Pisces and the Twelfth House. Polarities (opposite signs) are also quite important. There is an understanding that the archetypes of the polarities are contained within and merge with each other. We study the individual archetypes as a foundation and later build on the synthesis. I say this to explain that I cannot fully share about Virgo without also sharing about Pisces. The lunar nodes are always opposing each other in a chart and, therefore, show the trajectory between the two.

For further reflections on Virgo/Pisces, I will refer back to some of my prior posts.

Virgo-The Crucible Pisces-Inception

I like to describe this axis this way: Pisces contains the All-That-Is, The Oneness. We experience it as transcendence, connecting to something higher/beyond, and completion of anything that separates us from Source. Virgo is, then, the mundane and the everyday details and routines of life.

When we have challenging Piscean experiences, because it forces us to become unbound and lose our grasp on what we believe to be real and meaningful, it translates as overwhelm. The beautiful transition becomes surrender and acceptance when we stop resisting the letting go and drop into the freefall. This is why faith and hope are keywords associated with Pisces.

When we have challenging Virgo experiences, because it creates challenge and requires adjustment, it translates to feeling ‘less than’, not enough, and something to be “fixed”. The beautiful transition becomes mastery and resilience. This is why analysis and self-improvement are keywords associated with Virgo.

Because we all have these signs somewhere in our natal chart, whether or not there are placements within them, we are evolving within these energies in our own ways. The transiting nodes in these signs are bringing focus to these themes for the Collective.

Can you, then, begin to recognize and understand the general reactivity, the rise of escapism (substances, etc), the would-be saviors and habitual victims? These are some of the coping and protective mechanisms we develop in the face of these experiences. Becoming aware of, working to challenge our prior patterns, and learning to develop healthy responses is our evolution. It is the greatest work we will ever do, in my not-so-humble opinion!

What houses do Virgo and Pisces occupy in your birth chart? This will give you added information on where these themes will be showing up for you specifically.

Retrogrades

The general rule with retrogrades are the “re-’s”: reviewing, reaccounting, readdressing, reworking, reacclimating, and… you get the idea. Astronomically, the retrograde and subsequent direct motion can be pictured as an elongated “S”.

(Image credit: starwalk.space)

There is a period of time when the planet appears to be moving over the same place in the sky as it had previously traversed. In a chart, we see the changing of degrees. It is also indicated by the color red in this system.

(Cloudware: LunaAstrology.com)

We currently have Venus and Mercury, both retrograde in Aries, moving ‘back’ across their prior paths and back into Pisces. This back and forth between the ending and beginning of the zodiac is fairly self-explanatory. Endings and beginnings, completion and renewal for all things Venusian and Mercurial in our lives.

Mars was recently retrograde in Cancer and is still slowly gaining traction across its previously charted course. It also remains in a challenging aspect to Chiron in Aries. I talked about this square in my Pisces New Moon post. The evolutionary intent of this cycle is to become aware of areas of your life that are too familiar bordering on complacency and take steps to begin to respond to life in new ways, to show up and advocate for yourself in places you have faced rejection.

Aries

The Sun will move into Aries on March 20th and begins the astrological new year. As this marks the beginning of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, there is newness in the air. The new growth and reproduction of life is observed in nature.

I think we can feel almost a surge of renewed energy as we begin Aries season each year. And as we also can often feel new motivations, this won’t yet be the time to move full steam ahead. There may still be something for us to notice, recognize, integrate during this retrograde period.

We will also have Neptune moving into Aries on March 30th. If you are even remotely following astrology, you will not have missed discussions on this topic. I won’t go to deeply into it here for sake of time and space. I also want to emphasize the importance of considering cycles. Neptune is an outer planet, a transpersonal archetype-meaning its transits are prolonged and deeply impact the Collective over time. This cycle will not be integrated immediately, even though we may feel its effects. Neptune will retrograde back into Pisces once more before fully entering its fourteen-year Aries journey. I will say, in respect to cycles, it is important to consider the prior cycle(s) when looking for themes. Aries is about freedom at its core - freedom to be and to become. The last Neptune through Aries cycle began in 1861. This coincided with the beginning of the American Civil War. I do not say this to create fear, moreso to make correlations. Freedom was a central motive during that time and a nation was divided on beliefs and ideals.

The themes are coming full-circle, but remember, we are in the spiral.

We have changed, evolved. We can respond differently.

On an individual level, I would advocate for this to be the focus of your meditation:

Can you allow yourself to accept and embrace being in a state of becoming?

What does this look like? What does this feel like?

I always end my posts with this line: “Until next time, take care of you”. I do this with intention-to offer the gentle reminder that you are in your own care. It is a call to treat yourself well, especially as you navigate the challenges of being human.

I will also leave you with a song from another one of my favorite bands.

Catharsis-Motionless in White