Full Moon in Virgo

This is exact later today, the 19th February, just before 4 pm GMT.

The moon and sun will be at 0 degrees of Virgo and Pisces, respectively. 0 degrees of any sign is very concentrated and potent energy. In addition, the rulers of Virgo and Pisces – Mercury and Neptune – are nearly exactly conjunct in Pisces at this time.

It's a beneficial melding of Virgo and Pisces themes. Virgo is about cleanliness, order, health, routine and painstaking attention to detail, and Pisces is about spirituality and ego loss. So under this full moon we should be trying to find the holiness in the everyday – ordinary tasks like washing the dishes and taking out the garbage are inherently spiritual. Instead of hating and avoiding these everyday chores, you can approach them with attention, care and mindfulness. Getting your external house in order is a prerequisite to making internal spiritual progress – these things aren't separate.

There's a very transformational vibe to this full moon -- recall that we are still under the influence of the new moon in Aquarius two weeks ago, which was all about breaking free. It's no accident that Marie Kondo's show about decluttering is one of the most-watched things on Netflix at this time, and it fits the symbolism of this full moon precisely.

Now is a perfect time for internal or external spring cleaning and you can make great progress in whatever you set out to do. The full moon is beneficially aspecting Mars and Uranus, which are conjunct. This is like having some rocket fuel behind you, and as Mars is in Taurus, it's a slow and steady burn. Once you get started, you can carry through to the end and achieve a transformation, however enormous the task looks at the beginning. Just start.

We also have Venus, Saturn and Pluto conjunct in Capricorn at this time, which is about solid value in love and money matters. It's not an easy or feel-good influence, but it's definitely something you can use. All this Capricorn can be pretty ruthless about weeding out what is not essential, be it a possession, a situation, a habit or a relationship. Focus on keeping and maintaining only what supports your constructive growth. Remove your energy from what you know to be toxic or stagnant, and if that means allowing certain relationships to die, so be it.

At this full moon, it's important to remember that the motto of the Virgo-Pisces axis is “serve or suffer” - both signs need to serve something larger than the ego or they're prey to a lot of self-involved angst. With Virgo, the angst takes the form of endless worrying and nitpicking; with Pisces it's emotional turmoil and addiction. The way out of this angst is to do something practical and/or to help someone else. It's a pretty foolproof formula.

We are heading into some heavy Pisces influence over the next month, so please keep this formula in mind. Also, it's a good idea to avoid boundary-dissolving substances such as drugs, alcohol and fairy-tale romance. We'll have a new moon in Pisces on the 6th of March, with Uranus re-entering Taurus on the same day for extra weirdness. We'll also have a Mercury retrograde in Pisces beginning the day before the new moon, and running till the end of March. The Mercury retrograde will end on the 28th March, with Mercury exactly conjunct Neptune as he is now.

I think you put it all together and March looks like a real head-melting scenario, with a lot of weirdness going down around Mercury themes especially (that's thought, communication, travel, vehicles, appliances, trade, infrastructure, Brexit talks, etc). So the more you can get things streamlined, clear and functional at this time, the better prepared you'll be for the topsy-turvy weirdness ahead.

New Moon in Aries

This is on Wednesday the 28th March, around 4 am GMT.

There's a lot of pep in it! We have a stellium in Aries, sign of birth and raw energy: the sun and moon, plus Venus, Mercury and Uranus.

New moons signify new beginnings, and Aries is the start of the whole zodiac – the kickoff point. So a new moon in Aries is always a fiery new beginning, and a great time to set your intentions for the year ahead.

What do you really want, going forward? Where is your desire leading you? What's of value to you; where do you find your happiness?

It might take a bit of radical honesty with yourself to find out, and please be aware that there might be some major hurdles and blockages on the road toward it. There's a real need for caution and looking before you leap here: Venus is retrograde, Saturn will be retrograde as of next week, and we are also headed into a Mercury retrograde – and all these retrogrades have to do with clarifying our desires and values before heading off into uncharted territory. A radically new direction is called for, but that doesn't mean you can just shoot off heedlessly. You'll have to think about what you really want and lay in some practical foundations for the new life you want to build.

So it's worth asking yourself: exactly what is driving you and where do you want to be going? Where would you like to be this time next year? What practical measures will you need to put in place now so you can get there?

The new moon will be at 7 degrees Aries with retrograde Venus in Aries conjunct at 3 degrees. Venus is about what we love and value – so this really is all about desire.

But with Venus retrograde till mid-April, getting what we want is not so straightforward, and will likely involve some soul-searching and adjustment. Venus retrograde is not a time to rush after anything. It is more a time for careful reconsideration of what we actually love and value – especially re. relationships and money. Planning and long-term thinking are called for here. (And please hold back on major purchases until she stations direct on the 15th April!)

For this new moon, we'll also have Mercury conjunct Uranus in Aries (exact 26th March) – this is about new ideas, shocking information and communication, radical and abrupt departures from the status quo, sudden brilliant clarity. It might be that what you once valued no longer means a damn to you, or people / scenarios you've invested in prove not to have been worth your energy. Whatever form this takes for you, the value-shift will be brought home with abrupt force – and the necessity of figuring out what makes YOU happy instead of rushing around pleasing others will be highlighted.

All this Aries energy is very fierce and impatient, but it is currently disposited by Mars in Taurus, which grounds the reckless forward drive and stabilises things. This is useful! With Venus in Mars-ruled Aries, and Mars in Venus-ruled Taurus, we are looking at a very beneficial mutual reception between primal desire and pragmatism. New ventures and relationship / money prospects can be undertaken with patience, realism and an eye to the long-term.

We also have a Mercury retrograde in Taurus coming on the 9th April. Again, this is about pragmatism and rethinking our love / money / values – it really is a huge theme this month. Mercury will station direct on the 3rd May, conjunct Uranus... So this retrograde has to do with new directions opening up, followed by a period of  practical consideration, and later, resolution / insight.

Give yourself time to process new ideas and information this month – don't rush into new commitments until you've thought slowly and deliberately about the practicalities involved. Be content with slow, incremental progress. And remember, you definitely don't want to be finalising anything or signing contracts until after Venus stations direct in mid-April. Hold off.

For this new moon, we also have retrograde Jupiter in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn (exact 30th March). Again, this speaks of a deep restructuring of our value systems, especially around love and money. There is a need for fairness and reciprocity in our dealings with others, and it will be pretty obvious when that need isn't being met: it's harder than usual these days to maintain relationships based on unbalanced power or energy dynamics. Jupiter in Libra wants a fair exchange, and Pluto in Capricorn intensifies this into an issue of resources and survival. You have to be getting back something equivalent to what you're giving, otherwise it's an unsustainable drain on your resources.

It's not exactly a recipe for light social interaction. And let's not forget, Jupiter in Libra is stressed to the max right now. He is part of a cardinal t-square involving Mercury, Uranus and Pluto. It's pretty hard to stay even-tempered and civil under these circumstances – our politeness and forbearance with others will be severely tested, especially as we head up to the full moon in Libra on the 11th April.

Another test: Saturn will station retrograde on the 5th April, in square to Venus and Chiron in Pisces. This looks quite painful – there's a real sense of poverty and loss here. What we most want will feel desperately out-of-reach, and this sense of deprivation will be in effect till the end of the month.

But after that, the Saturn retrograde brings us to a much sunnier place: we will have a grand fire trine between Saturn, Uranus in Aries and the north node (which moves to Leo in early May). This is a big energy shift, and it will hold for much of the rest of this year – an easy flow between creativity, self-determination and new visions for the future. Brilliant ideas, amazing new options, and we will NOT be doing the same old shit again, no thanks!

So there's a new world under construction, kicking off under this new moon in Aries. Just keep in mind that things don't always work out as fast as expected or stay within the budget. There will be severe blockages, and these will be pretty apparent over the next month. But they're not going to be around forever - a shift is coming. And for now, blockage will give you a chance to lay in some careful groundwork.

Remember anything worth building takes time and consideration. Patience is a virtue, have it if you can. With so much Aries in the sky, patience will be hard to come by! But it's absolutely necessary this month. However edgy and impatient you may feel, you can't rush this kind of major change.

New Moon Eclipse in Pisces

This is on the 20th March, 9:30 am (GMT). It's a total solar eclipse – symbolic of a supercharged new beginning – and it takes place at the very last degree of Pisces, the final degree of the whole zodiac, symbolic of the very end of a cycle. So it's beginnings and endings again. Death and rebirth. It's a scenario very reminiscent of the new moon in Aquarius last month – a reiteration of that theme.

But that was the prelude. This, coming just after the final Uranus-Pluto square on the 16th March, is about life in the aftermath zone. Uranus (shock, upheaval, revolution) and Pluto (death, rebirth, transformation) are only a few seconds past their exact square in the chart of this new moon, so although the square will be loosening from now on, we are looking at a month colored by the high intensity and pressure of the final square.

It's like after a big earthquake - the aftershocks keep rolling through for a while. The shocks may be interior ones, or they may be in your external life – or both! But we are looking at unsettled situations that remain in flux for the next month, amid a sustained pressure for radical change. The dust won't really settle till mid-April.

Here's a link to hexagram 51 from the I Ching – all about shock, and how it wakes us up.

If you're feeling almost insane with the internal and external pressure, hang in there. Pay attention to the wake-up calls and revelations you're being hit with – and they're coming thick and fast these days, right? Don't tune out. Keep working to shoot yourself clear of your old patterns. We don't get this kind of opportunity for deep, systemic change – really ever. Ever. Many of us will never have it again.

Think about the last few years – the years of the Uranus-Pluto square (2012-2015). What can you never go back to? Where are you standing now, after the hurricane has dismantled your old life? What are you moving toward?

(NYC post Hurricane Sandy)

We have a big stellium in Pisces right now, and dreamy longing, blurred vision, regret and addiction to the past will be cheap and easy fixes for the next month. Let's not indulge in that stuff too much, tempting though it may be! It's one thing to process and release old pain – another thing entirely to wallow in it.

Try to keep the focus on where you're headed, not on what you've lost. There's no going back. But what's ahead of us could be very interesting...

The sun hits zero degrees Aries – the Aries Point, the start of the zodiac –  around 10:45 pm (GMT) on the 20th. And suddenly it's spring! Anything could happen. We'll have Jupiter in Leo beneficially aspecting Uranus in Aries for a good while – all through the summer. All kinds of happy accidents and sudden windfalls are possible. So keep the faith, keep moving forward... even if things feel kinda hopeless and stuck right now. Remember life can turn on a dime.

Mercury in Pisces is just past exact conjunction with Neptune right now – this is a dreamy, poetic, otherworldly mental influence. He will move to conjunct Chiron in Pisces on the 24th March, and this can be about painful but necessary thought and communication. It can be great for dissolving old mental habits and conditioning - but it can also be the hangover to end all hangovers.

It's a brief influence anyway – Mercury moves fast. He will enter Aries on the 31st March, and this should be clarifying, as far as our mental processes and communications are concerned. The Piscean veils of insinuation, illusion and doubt fall away and we'll be able to see and communicate the obvious with blunt simplicity. (And with Mercury moving into the Uranus-Pluto square during the second week of April – well it looks like the obvious is damn well going to get communicated. Like it or not!)

Venus entered Taurus on the 17th March, and this is a stabilizing, grounding influence, especially in relational and money matters – something has been decided at the root level, even though it might not entirely feel that way yet. Stick to your values, whatever happens. Hold to what makes you feel happy, satisfied and secure in a deep-down way.

Mars will enter Taurus on the 31st March, and that should further stabilize and ground our energy and will, and help us to stick to our guns. With Mars and Venus in calm, steady Taurus – the explosive relational issues we've been dealing with over the past few months should start to settle.

We'll have a very fraught full moon eclipse in Libra on the 4th April, and this looks like a point of closure for those issues to me. It will probably come as a relief on some level, but Jesus - it doesn't look fun. Aaargh. I'll write about it closer to the time.

Anyway, nothing to do (ever) but keep moving forward. May the force be with us all.

Some dreamy Pisces songs for ya:

A "checking out & moving on" song:

And here is some cheese! Hair metal & power ballads will pull us through, if nothing else can!