New Moon in Pisces

There are a lot of things happening in the sky heading into the new moon in Pisces tomorrow (1^st of March - 8 am GMT). It's potentially a very magical, compassionate and idealistic new moon...but it could be very draining and disillusioning for some. Neptune (dreams and illusions) and Chiron (wounding) are involved with the sun and moon in sensitive Pisces, and this is tough. Furthermore, there is still a very jagged, raw cardinal t-square in effect: Uranus vs. Pluto vs. Jupiter. So there is always the possibility of emotional shock and upheaval, and this is a long-term influence which shouldn't be minimized.

(lightning scars: see here)

First, a word on Pisces. Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, a mutable water sign signifying the undifferentiated sea we (and all forms) originated out of and will return to. It is about the dissolution of the personal, the dissolution of ego. Self-sacrifice, self-transcendence, spirituality. Compassion: because if we are all one, then anyone's pain is my pain as well.

But there is a fine line between egoless self-sacrifice and abject masochism. Pisces can be very dark. The imperative to transcend the self can translate into self-destruction and an inability to cope with mundane reality. Addictions are the characteristic mechanism of shadow Pisces: they represent the need to blur out reality because it's too painful otherwise. There can be a real difficulty with personal boundaries...an inability to maintain them. A lack of emotional security or grounding.

(Pisces cake)

The planet Neptune is the modern ruler of Pisces - the ancient ruler was Jupiter. Neptune was discovered in 1846, during an era of romantic artistic and literary movements, and also the development of modern anaesthesia. It is the 8^th furthest planet from the sun, a gas giant. Here's a picture of it taken by the Voyager 2 space probe. They named it after the god of the sea before anyone knew it was colored deep blue by methane clouds.

The sun in Pisces was conjunct Neptune all last weekend, and this was a double whammy of Pisces energy...like being deep, deep underwater. Neptune dissolves boundaries. Conjunct the sun, energy and drive gets dissipated and physical boundaries are weakened, rendering people more sensitive and impressionable... and also more confused and illness-prone. The words 'dissipation' and 'dissolution' are used to describe self-dissipation via drunkenness and drug use, and this is another facet of Neptune you may have been exposed to last weekend.

Thankfully, that influence has waned as the sun has moved on through Pisces...but it's still in effect and will remain so for the new moon. There is a lot of emotional and bodily sensitivity involved, so we should all probably try to go easy on the drink and the drugs, yo... and generally avoid influences that we know to be harmful. Our defenses are low at the moment. And as stated, there is a cardinal t-square in effect and things are tense.

Mercury is currently stationing at 18 degrees Aquarius, getting ready to go direct later today (28^th February), ahead of the new moon tomorrow. This lends intellectual clarity and detachment to the proceedings...and we will need this, with all the dreamy Piscean influence. It is a great gift to be able to think and communicate clearly, especially when our life energy and emotions are underwater.

(by Ivan Bilibin)

Ok, new moons are supposed to be about new beginnings...so what is this one representative of? In the best-case scenario, this is a situation where you find the inner strength to cut free of crappy old conditioning and to forgive others... and yourself. To wipe the slate clean, dissolve hard feelings, and forgive the fallible human beings who've wounded you.

Maybe you'll have a chance to really offer aid or support to someone who needs it, or to commit to a spiritual path. Jupiter in Cancer is trining the sun and moon exactly. This means the kind of attitude supported by the sky is one of compassion and generosity. If you set an intention to aid and nourish others in whatever way you can and to be bigger than your petty little grievances, you should be protected.

There is a wrong way to approach this as well, though, and it involves the shadow side of Pisces. This is like, get really drunk and collapse weeping on the floor like a wet noodle. “Look what so-and-so has done to me!! They ruined my life!! I'll never get over it!”

Victim shit. It's not all that supportable at the best of times, but certainly not now.

That said, there's an aspect of falling apart that can be necessary and beautiful – because it breaks us open. And compassion comes out of our own experience of suffering. It is through our brokenness that we relate to others on the deepest levels...

(This song pretty much ends at 7 minutes; Leonard is just schmoozing around after that. Couldn't find a shorter live version though!)

“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.”

I found out the other day that there's a Hindu goddess of being a complete mess: her name is Akhilanda, meaning “never not broken”. She rides around on a freaking crocodile. More here:

I nominate Akhilanda the patroness of this new moon. Power and resilience coming out of brokenness.

Feeling the suffering of existence and resolving to act with compassion for all beings because of it...That's the highest expression of Pisces, and that's the theme here. It's like the bodhisattva vow:

“However innumerable sentient beings are, I vow to save them. However inexhaustible the defilements are, I vow to extinguish them. However immeasurable the dharmas are, I vow to master them. However incomparable enlightenment is, I vow to attain it.”

Absurd, impossible vow! But it's the sentiment behind those declarations that is the important thing: the intention to serve and to help. “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

I think in practice it would probably be OK to just vow to make cookies for a few sentient beings this new moon, or to resolve to be a better friend, or to give money to charity or donate some time to a good cause....etc. There are plenty of people stressed to breaking point under these skies, and if you find yourself in a position to help anyone, you're pretty fortunate. 

Something quite amazing: the new moon is bookended by big planetary shifts. Mercury goes direct (sudden clarity and mental illumination) the day before, and Mars goes retrograde (action and initiative withheld) the day after. And Saturn goes retrograde (karma delayed) on the 3rd of March – until July.

It's like...you will probably be able to see and feel and communicate your plan for the way forward; you'll know what's wrong, what needs to change...but it's probably going to be hard to actually initiate the changes that must be made until after Mars goes direct again. In freaking May. Expect delays and setbacks, blockages and reconsiderations. Don't go on the warpath or the offensive...review and solidify your tactics. You probably won't have much choice.

I'll try to write some more on the Mars and Saturn retrogrades later...it is crazy stuff. Very aggravating. But you can save yourself from complete exasperation if you accept that your plans are not likely to go off without a hitch for the next while. Don't get too hung up on having things go your way.

Another amazing planetary shift in the works: right now we also have Jupiter stationing at 10 degrees Cancer, getting ready to go direct on the 6^th of March. This should be nice! A big jolt of faith and luck. Venus enters Aquarius the same day, and this is another zingy influence – electrical and brilliant.

It's like, all of a sudden it's spring! Time to step clear of the past...it's really finally OVER. Time for something radically new.

This changeover is not without potential jolts and difficulty: Jupiter is stationing and will go direct exactly square to Uranus in Aries (personal revolt) and opposite Pluto in Capricorn (rotten power heirarchies). This is some shock and awe all right. Look to what just happened in Ukraine for an example of what these energies might mean on a collective scale...

(Kiev protests)

The Mars and Saturn retrogrades mean there will be likely be long, exhausting rounds of negotiation, behind-the-scenes diplomacy and passive-aggressive posturing before the new order takes hold. The ghosts of the past are going to take a while to let go, and karma is going to take a while to be the ruthless bitch we need her to be...Justice will have to wait a while before being served, most likely.

But overall, things are shifting, however stuck they may feel. You can have faith in that.

You know how in AA they say “let go and let God” or something like that? It's cheesy, but with Mars and Saturn going backward till the 20^th of goddamn May and the 20^th of freaking July respectively, that's exactly what we have to do. Just replace “God” with “Jupiter” in that sentence. With Jupiter direct and Mars going backwards, matters will really be in heaven's hands, not ours. There's a surrender of will involved for the time being.

Surrender is another theme of Pisces, so here's another idea for the kind of intention you'd do well to set this new moon: the intention to have some faith in the grand scheme of things, even when your personal progress seems stalled and you can't push forward toward what you want. Know that you are part of everything, and the grand scheme is unfolding exactly as it has to, even when it feels inimical to your personal goals. Try to go with the flow of things instead of wasting your energy by fighting against it...however frustrating this might feel.