New Moon Eclipse in Pisces

This is on the 26th February at 3 pm.

It's an annular (“ring of fire”) solar eclipse - the second and final eclipse of this eclipse season. The next round of eclipses won't be till August. Eclipse season represents a time of supercharged change.

Pisces, as the last sign of the zodiac, has to do with endings – and we have a big stellium in Pisces right now. But new moons are symbolic of new beginnings, and we also have a very charged-up stellium in Aries, which is about birth.

So the symbolism here is very much about death and rebirth – endings and beginnings. We are looking at permanent endings here, but we are also looking at fiery, supercharged new beginnings. One door shuts for good, another door opens.

OK, that's all very well, but the death-and-rebirth process this new moon ushers in is unlikely to feel clear-cut. There may be intense delusion / nostalgia / confusion / deception going on, making it hard to know what the hell is happening.

Or else the true import of what's happening may be clouded or hidden – we'll look back and say “this marked the turning point!”, but it'll be impossible to understand it in the moment. The meaning will only come clear in hindsight.

That's because the eclipse is happening close to the south node. And the south node in Pisces is very swamplike – we are vulnerable to all kinds of self-deception, delusion and addiction here. Also illness: Pisces dissolves boundaries, allowing energy to leak out and contagion to leak in.

Having the sun and moon near the south node in Pisces indicates delusive egotism (sun) joined up to emotional hypersensitivity (moon). Plus the sun and moon are conjunct Pisces' ruler Neptune, which further confuses matters. And Mercury, which has to do with our minds and communication, is newly in Pisces too, and tied up with the eclipse. Meaning our brains are going to be underwater, and not too helpful in reasoning us through this or parsing truth from falsity.

Put it all together and it's a recipe for mind-fuckery, victim shit, deceit, muddled thought, addiction, self-delusion, stagnation, depleted reserves and generally feeling like crap. I could try to put a better spin on this – Pisces can be beautiful, dreamy, magical, spiritual energy. But in the context of this new moon, it doesn't look so pleasant. It looks like a big leaky mess.

Don't believe everything you hear. We are sure to be lied to and emotionally manipulated on a grand scale this month, and it's going to be hard to know whose version of reality to trust. Focus as much as you can on what you know to be factually true – and steer clear of reasoning that is informed by wounded emotion, unverifiable beliefs or sentimental nonsense. I expect it'll be easier said than done.

Don't believe everything you think or feel either. Try to fact-check yourself and to take a broader view than the personal. The risk of self-delusion here is high. (One particular danger is of using victim shit as a smokescreen: people will be taking on the mantle of outraged victimhood in order to minimise or excuse their own bad behaviour.)

Also, please be very careful with boundary-dissolving substances (alcohol, drugs) and addictions – you can fuck yourself up much more severely than usual at this time – and maybe irreparably.

That's because in addition to the Pisces south node stuff, we have some ultra-violence going on in the sky: a cardinal t-square between Pluto in Capricorn, Jupiter in Libra and Mars and Uranus in Aries. Sudden shocking accidents are likely. Things can turn in a second and there'll be no going back – remember we are dealing with permanent endings here. So unless you want to blow-torch your life, extreme caution is advised.

This cardinal t-square is tough. Mars conjuncts Uranus the day after the new moon, and both exactly oppose Jupiter in Libra. It looks like an abrupt breaking point – for relationships especially.

I could view this more positively, as a psychological breaking point for relationship hangups and dysfunctional patterns. I do want to look at it positively! Maybe you'll get free of something that's been weighing you down forever.

Positive or negative though, it looks uncomfortable. It involves Mars, who is impetuous and violent, and Uranus, who is abrupt and shocking. Jupiter in Libra may moderate these two or inflame them, we'll see. But the scenario reminds me of the story about the straw that broke the camel's back.

“Don't push me cause I'm close to the edge...”

Not pushing people when they're close to the edge is a good idea here!

Anyway, please be careful this month. Be careful driving. Be careful drinking. Be careful drinking and driving. Be careful with machinery and electricity. Don't plug anything in while you're sitting in the bath. Keep your wits about you and try to avoid stupid drama. That won't be so easy, with Mercury zoning out in Pisces – but please try. These are dangerous days. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, etc.

This emphasis on caution is reiterated by our Venus retrograde, which starts on the 4th March. She'll move backward from 13 degrees Aries toward 26 degrees Pisces, resuming direct motion on the 15th April.

This is a rare enough event – it happens about every other year. It's a time for evaluating our relationships and thinking about what we really value. Powering full steam ahead in love or money matters is not advised until the retrograde ends.

Because this retrograde takes Venus back into square aspect with Saturn in Sagittarius, it will probably involve a depressing sense of blockage, delay and deprivation – especially around mid-April. Don't try to push your way though. Blockage, delay and deprivation are absolutely real here, but also unavoidable. Also relatively temporary, so there's no point freaking out! You can work with the reality instead of getting depressed about it.

OK, and while we're talking about working with reality - I know I've been harping on about the north node in Virgo for ages, but it's very important - especially at this confusing mess of a new moon. This is no time to slack off on the Virgo stuff.

Virgo stuff is about taking care of everyday tasks, sticking to routines and health regimens, attending to details, doing the mundane stuff that needs doing daily. Also helping others as much as possible, and keeping our minds on what's practical. Right now, that's our path through the fog.

Service, discrimination, humility, pragmatism, attention to reality! Virgo stuff can actually be lifesaving as we head into the atmosphere of swirling deception and rage that characterises the month ahead – so please keep doing your Virgo, as much as you can. Even if the most you can do is wash a few dishes. It's not nothing. It's grounding and it helps.

New Moon in Sagittarius

This is later today, the 29th November, around 12:15 GMT.

Sagittarius is about hope, optimism, open vistas, new possibilities. Moving forward, basically.

And moving forward looks like the theme of this new moon all right. Getting on with life and moving into the future with a renewed sense of purpose, even though you're still reeling and you'd rather lie in bed with the covers over your head.

I think this past November has ripped our faith in business-as-usual from us. Everything has changed, right? There are new realities to be attended to now, and there's no going back.

Helpfully, the way forward and the way backward are clearly mapped out for us here. This new moon tightly squares the north and south nodes, which are about the path of growth (north node) vs. the path of stagnation (south node).

The north node has been in Virgo for the past year. This means the path forward is about intense pragmatism. Attending to daily reality and doing what needs doing, however routine and mundane it may feel. Staying grounded and focused on the little tasks and details.

The south node is conjunct Neptune in Pisces. This means the path backward is toward delusion, fantasy, misguided romanticism, self pity, addiction, emotional ungroundedness. Drowning your sorrows or trying to evade reality.

It's easy to illustrate! Way forward:

Way backward:

Easy to illustrate, but maybe not so clear-cut in reality. Having Neptune on the south node means we are all dealing with some level of delusion these days. It's easy to think you're on the right track when you're actually on the exact wrong one. There is a lot of misinformation and self-deception swirling around.

This is where Saturn in Sagittarius can help us. At best, this is about honesty, integrity, walking your talk and having a solid plan. It's about having a moral compass that helps you distinguish right from wrong, truth from falsity.

Saturn is loosely conjunct Mercury in Sagittarius for this new moon, which will hopefully be a sobering influence on our minds and speech. Sagittarius can be bombastic and rigidly ideological – and that's a danger here. And it's something we've all had enough of at this point, lord knows.

Luckily though, the dispositor of all these planets in Sagittarius is Jupiter in Libra – sign of balance, fairness, social grace and seeing the other's point of view.

What this means is, reciprocity and moderation are favoured. Fact-checking and thinking before you rush to judgement are favoured. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes is favoured. Tact and peacemaking are favoured.

These Libran qualities will be severely tested, though. Jupiter in Libra is involved in a cardinal t-square right now: squaring Venus and Pluto in Capricorn, opposing Uranus in Aries. Aaargh.

With this, you can expect shake-ups and power struggles, in relationships especially – and abrupt endings in some cases. Things are not going to stay static, no matter how hard we try to maintain the status quo. Deep-seated issues will be brought to the surface – and this is not a comfortable process. Arrangements that have outlived their usefulness will be battered at till they break.

This is in effect for the rest of the year, so it's a good idea to drop your cherished notions of how things ought to be, and focus instead on working with what's at hand.

It isn't about resignation and despair though - that is Neptune-south node swamp stuff. Sagittarius is about hope and enthusiasm, and new moons are about beginnings. So this new moon in Sagittarius is a great time to begin something you find inspiring and uplifting, or to seize a new opportunity.

But as this sky is also relentlessly practical, your dreams must be able to work in the real world. No pie-in-the-sky stuff here, no escapist bullshit. There are big possibilities, but you have to keep your head screwed on and be willing to put the boring work in to make things happen. Nothing is just going to be magically handed to you. You have to keep on being a grown-up and doing your Virgo.

The nice thing is, you'll be a lot happier these days if you do your Virgo. It's not drudgery at all. Focusing on routine, boring, everyday tasks is how you get to feel like a functional human being instead of a confused mess.

And we are all a bit of a confused mess right now. This is a crazy time, and it won't be getting any less crazy for a while. So please try to remember your Virgo (humility and attention to reality). And your Jupiter in Libra (civility, fairness, ability to compromise) to boot.

Full Moon Eclipse in Libra

Kuan Yin, goddess of mercy and defender of the oppressed

This is tomorrow, the 23rd March, 12 noon GMT.

We had the spring equinox as the sun moved into Aries on the 20th March. And as of today, the 22nd March, Mercury has also moved into Aries...and with that, we are leaving the heavy, draining suckage of the past month's Pisces stellium behind.

There are only 3 planets left in Pisces now – Venus, Chiron and Neptune. Chiron and Neptune will stay in Pisces for the next million years. (Kidding. It's three years till Chiron shifts signs, ten years for Neptune. Long enough though!)

But Venus will only be there for the next couple of weeks. She's the last holdout from the mega Pisces party at the new moon eclipse in Pisces two weeks ago.

And she is highlighted for tomorrow's full moon. This is an eclipse in Libra, a sign ruled by Venus. So we have to look at what Venus is doing to understand the themes at play here.

Venus is actually very happy in Pisces. She's "exalted" there. Venus in Pisces represents a perfect, blissful, angelic kind of ideal love – too pure and beautiful for this world. And conjunct Neptune (as she is now), the effect is magnified. It's spiritual, compassionate and sacrificial - like Kuan Yin above.

OK, Kuan Yin is great, and a good patron goddess for this eclipse. She defends the suffering, the powerless and the unjustly accused. This is a perfect combination of Libra (justice) and Pisces (compassion).

But please recall that the south node of the moon is currently in Pisces – meaning Pisces is where we are liable to get stuck. There is potentially a very dark, addictive undertow at work here, pulling us backward into dangerous illusion.

I don't want to be negative about beautiful, dreamy Venus in Pisces. We all need a dose of otherworldly loveliness now and then.

But exalted or not, for the next few weeks she also represents the kind of destructive fantasy and romanticism we are trying to move away from. And I think she is likely to bring suffering in her wake, especially as she moves to conjunct Chiron and the south node next week. Chiron is about wounding.

This looks like the stuff of romantic tragedy, and it is a useless waste of life, no matter how pretty it might look on screen (or in a song or a painting).

Romeo and Juliet not being proactive.

Please remember: beautiful nostalgia for what never was and exquisite longing for what can never be are dangerous drugs. They degrade the value of ordinary, everyday reality; they suck the life out of the present moment.

And they are deceptions. It's worth asking: what is being obscured with all this dreamy sweetness and loveliness?

It's likely to be a reality that is deeply corrupt, unfair or dangerous.  Cruelty and exploitation often hide under pretty platitudes about equality and respect and love, and protestations of innocence.

“Sentimentality is the superstructure erected upon brutality.”

Jung said that. It's quite true. And it's  worth remembering for the next couple of weeks.

And here's James Baldwin on “innocence”:

“People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state on innocence long after that innocence is dead turns himself into a monster.”

“It is not permissible that the authors of devastation should also be innocent. It is the innocence which constitutes the crime.”

I'm thinking also of the dangers of “idiot compassion” - or enabling. Which looks like love, but is really just a way of avoiding unpleasant reality and staying comfortable.

So these are things to be aware of right now, with Venus nearing the south node in Pisces!

I wrote a bit about the dark side of Pisces and Neptune at the new moon in Pisces a couple of weeks ago. The full moon is the culmination of the themes opened up at new moon - information will likely come to light that will shift perspectives. There will be revelations, conflicts, ruptures.

Full moons are intense in their own right – but this one is an eclipse, meaning it's supercharged. And it involves cardinal signs – the sun and Mercury in blazing, shoot-from-the-hip Aries, the moon in fairness-seeking Libra.

Aries is Mars-ruled and likes a good fight; Libra is Venus-ruled and likes peace, but will enter the fray to enact justice. Both these signs are cardinal – they mean action!

So I think - something will get decided here. Anger will be voiced, injustices will be aired, a balance will shift.

It looks to be about relationships (Libra), and it looks like it has to involve some straight talk and plain dealing (Mercury in Aries). Mars in Sagittarius beneficially aspects the sun, moon and Mercury. This reinforces the theme of truth-telling and plain dealing.

Basically, people are not going to be able to hide reality under a cloud of pretty lies. Expect to get called out on your shit if you try to do this, and please don't be all indignant and outraged about it. We all delude ourselves in countless ways, and sometimes we need to be set straight. So maybe it's a blow to your ego – big deal.

And if you're the one called upon to set someone else straight or establish fairness – well you can use Venus in Pisces to do so with kindness and compassion. But sticking to the facts and standing your ground quietly, without emotionalism, is probably your best strategy in this.

There is likely to be a smokescreen of bullshit and sentiment involved, and that stuff is confusing. But with the north node and Jupiter in reality-based Virgo – quietness, humility and strict attention to the facts are the way forward. Don't let yourself be diverted.

Everyday, mundane reality is where it's at right now. Keeping our feet on the ground and our minds on the tasks at hand. Overblown emotionalism will get you nowhere.

But if you see wrong-doing, rottenness and delusion, you're well placed to speak out about it. You don't have to become some kind of asshole crusader, and you definitely don't have to be cruel. But you're allowed to open your mouth and say what you think, and in fact you should probably do so.

Shutting up, keeping the peace and smoothing things over won't do anyone any favours right now. Lying to protect people's egos won't do them (or you) any good.

It looks like there's a fight to be had, so you might as gird up your loins for it. Remember the point of the conflict is, there's a wrong to be righted or a balance to be re-established. It's not about “winning”, it's about fairness and right relation (Libra).

It's also pretty important to pick your battles and have a sense of perspective. Jupiter in Virgo is currently squaring Saturn in Sagittarius – to the minute. This influence can make for pedantry and an inability to see the larger picture.

For example, it's probably not worth instigating a major relationship bust-up because someone doesn't agree with your politics or keeps leaving the toilet seat up. These things are relatively trivial in the grand scheme.

It's the larger, more systematic injustices and cruelties that demand attention here – the dirt that we usually prefer to sweep under the rug. I think under the light of this full moon eclipse, it's going to become a lot harder to keep sweeping it under the rug. Anyway, it's not advised. Air that shit out and rev up the dustbuster.

Poor dustbuster. It's definitely acting out some sacrificial Venus-Neptune stuff.

OK, so I have talked about Venus moving through karmic doomed romance territory for the next couple of weeks. She hits 0 degrees Aries – the start of the whole zodiac – on the 5th of April, just ahead of the new moon in Aries on the 7th. And then we open a new chapter. A fiery, energetic, go-getting one!

But you know – with the usual blocks, setbacks and disappointments. Nothing is ever perfect, ha.

It's a tricky summer ahead, marked by an interplay between Mars (action) and Saturn (limits). These two planets are currently in Sagittarius, which has to do with outward expansion, learning, travel, and enthusiasm. They will both be retrograding through the summer, making for plenty of delay, reconsideration and frustration in our plans for the future. They meet up again in Sagittarius in August, and it looks like a pain in the ass. Blockage and frustration galore.

Mars-Saturn aspects are known for their cruelty – but also for their endurance. Sustained work. It looks like that's what this summer will require of us.

Look at Bananarama busting their poor little butts there. Working on cars, climbing fire escapes, dancing on trucks, fleeing cops, dancing with cops. Hard graft! I suppose we'll all have to bust our butts as well.

OK, the Saturn retrograde starts in a couple of days, on the 24th March. He grinds backward from 16 degrees Sagittarius to 9 Sagittarius, and won't resume direct motion till August.

This is about delay and reconsideration in regard to our vision for the future. There are some more details to be hammered out, I guess. I know we're all sick of this stuff by now, but it is what it is.

Then we have Mars stationing retrograde on the 17th April. He'll move backward from 8 degrees Sagittarius to 23 Scorpio, stationing direct on the 29th June.

This is again about blocked energy, blocked forward motion – but this time in the context of what we most want. And it goes deeper than simple delay. It's a matter of looking deeply at what you actually desire, why you desire it, what you are willing to do to get it. Mars will be retrograding through Scorpio, and this involves some depth psychology.

So it's not enough to wonder if you've thought your plans through properly. Have you felt them through? Do you know what this is actually going to cost you? I don't mean monetarily, though that's a factor. I mean energetically. You will likely have to look at how much you can afford, how much you can invest in your deepest obsessions – on an energy level.

The Mars retrograde is kind of epic – it only happens every two years, roughly. Normally he transits a sign in about two months. But this year he'll spend a disproportionate amount of time – and the whole summer – in Scorpio and Sagittarius. Scorpio is inward-looking and psychological, Sagittarius is outward-looking and enthusiastic - and Mars is about will and desire. I suppose the message here is about looking inward and determining what we really want before moving forward into action. In any case action will likely be blocked or constrained in some way.

Hexagram 39 from the I Ching - about temporary obstructions and how to deal with them.(The advice is to focus inward and refine your character. Very relevant here.)

This Mars retrograde follows on the heels of last summer's Saturn retrograde through Scorpio – which was some dark and ugly psychodrama. This could very well be the blowback... We'll see.

At the same time, we'll have Saturn and Neptune squaring off during the summer, dissolving (Neptune) the solid ground from underneath our feet (Saturn). It'll be hard to know what to believe.

And we'll have Jupiter and the north node in Virgo involved with the Saturn-Neptune square. Jangled nerves and a lot of juggling.

see here

I'll write more about it all as we approach the new moon in Aries, the astrological new year. But suffice it to say, it'll be an interesting summer! Not easy, but interesting.

New Moon Solar Eclipse in Pisces

Yumiko Kayukawa

This is tomorrow night: 9th March, around 2 am GMT.

We have a lot in Pisces at the time of this new moon – sun, moon, Mercury, Neptune, Chiron and the karmically weighty south node. And Venus moves into Pisces on the 12th of March.

I don't want to be all doomy, but the month-long cycle this new moon ushers in looks like a real swamp of head-fuckery to me. For the next two weeks especially – until we reach the spring equinox, as the sun moves into Aries – we are in some deep, chaotic and dangerous waters.

Substance alert: be careful with the drink and drugs, please. They'll hit harder than usual. Pisces dissolves boundaries, so you can really lose yourself when you combine this influence with boundary-dissolving substances.

That may sound like fun! But with so much Pisces / Neptune involved, the hangover will be miserable.

I think if you have any kind of addiction or propensity to addiction, you should be real careful this month. It will be so easy to get sucked back in. The temptation will be strong.

--With Venus in Pisces, that includes an addiction to idealistic romance. If you find yourself gushing about how some poor fallible schmuck is your perfect dream soulmate twinflame whatever and oh my god, it's just like a fairytale! – please take a step back. This is the kind of thing that precedes massive disillusionment and loss.

Keep in mind that when you are dealing with heavy Neptune energy like this, and things seem too good to be true – it's usually because they're not true.

Anyway, the substance alert applies to medications / foods / chemical exposures / cultural products as well -  people are just a lot more sensitive and porous right now. Be careful what you take in. Try to take good care of yourself physically, because we're all likely to have lower physical immunity at this time. It's much easier to become physically drained and / or ill.

With Mercury in Pisces – and conjunct the sign's ruler, Neptune – we will also be more mentally porous than usual. This can make for really vivid dreams, creative inspiration and psychic revelations. It can also make for brain-fog, delusion and full-on mental breakdown.

So take care of your mental and physical health, please. Eat well and try to get some fresh air and exercise every day – and also try to have some kind of positive daily interaction with other sentient beings. It could just be your cat, if that's all you can handle.

You might feel like being a complete hermit, lying around on the couch eating potato chips and watching boxed sets for 14 hours a day. There are times when that sort of thing can help you feel better. Not now, though! Seriously.  

Pisces south node vs. Virgo north node

Please try to keep a grip on the practical, healthy, utilitarian Virgo stuff that I have been harping on about for months, because it's really important to hold onto everyday reality and to keep your ship afloat and help others keep their ships afloat too. I think it will be so easy to sink, physically and mentally, under this sky.

For this eclipse, we'll have the sun and moon in Pisces conjunct the south node and Chiron. This just looks very painful and draining to me. Chiron is an unhealable wound, and the south node in Pisces is about being pulled backward into addiction, emotional overwhelm and delusion.

Plus we have Mercury (mind and communication) conjunct Neptune (dreams, delusions, addictions, lies). So basically, our brains will be underwater or off in cloud-cuckoo land at a time when it'd help to have them working properly. This is exact the 11th March, the same day as the sun makes a painful-looking conjunction to Chiron, but it's in effect now.

Maybe I'm being overly negative, but I just don't like the look of it. Pisces and Neptune can be beautiful, transcendent and spiritual influences, sure. But they can also represent the worst, most insidious traps human beings get themselves into. There are so many ways you can fuck yourself up with this stuff. I keep thinking of fairytales that turn into horror stories. And addiction in all its guises – how every means we use to evade suffering can become a trap and source of suffering.

That's Neptune – that's the reversal he engineers. He makes you feel like you're in fairyland for a little while, gives you a big rush of magic – then dumps you back into grim reality. The reversal is acutely painful, and it's the cycle underlying any form of addiction – we keep trying to get back into fairyland, and fairyland keeps receding.

The denial / avoidance of reality that underpins the whole process is also Neptunian. Denial is a hallmark of any kind of addiction.

The only way out of the whole mess is surrender. You give up trying to avoid or control reality. You let yourself feel the pain you feel, and be undone by it. It's a kind of death. But people resist death with all their might.

Maybe some people will hit rock bottom and surrender to their higher power under an eclipse like this one. Eclipses are about supercharged new beginnings. But as the last sign in the zodiac, Pisces is also concerned with dissolution and endings – and every new beginning is also a death. I'm sure we'll see some actual endings.

Anyway, it's not all dire. It's really what you make of it – whether you sink or swim.

These influences can be great for artists and musicians and intuitive types. You can channel inspiration from the beyond and give it a concrete form.

In fact this eclipse is great for anyone trying to give a dream concrete form. You can articulate your dream, set your intention, and then work toward it in a practical, incremental way.

The eclipse opposes Jupiter and the north node in Virgo (pragmatism, attention to detail), and squares Saturn in Sagittarius (realistic vision, perspective). And all this represents a tremendous amount of tension that you can use to pull yourself out of the doldrums and make necessary changes in your life. Pluto (death, rebirth, transformation) is also beneficially aspecting the eclipse – so there is a lot of transformative potential and raw power here. It's a great set-up for letting go of influences or habits that drain or destabilise you. Also great for cutting your losses, forgiving and forgetting, moving on.

Saturn is trining Uranus – so there really are new horizons opening up. And Mars has just entered Sagittarius, reinforcing this theme of an open road.

Just, the future will have to be worked for.

The sun enters Aries on the 20th March – that's our equinox! I think it'll be a relief. A burst of energy and fire.

Then we'll have a full moon eclipse in Libra on the 23rd, and Mercury will be in Aries by then too.  I'll talk about it closer to the time – but I think the atmosphere should feel a lot less heavy and confused by then. Things will start getting all zingy and dynamic!

So keep in mind, we only have a little over two weeks of heavy Pisces / Neptune influence to get through. If you find yourself sinking and you feel like this is a permanent state – rest assured, it's not. Please don't commit suicide for a couple of weeks, anyway!! Wait and see what the full moon brings to light.

Some songs by Townes Van Zandt. He was born under Pisces, and he's a good illustration of what this sign is about. Sensitive, suffering, dreamy, spiritual, artistic. He was also alcoholic and self-destructive.

Kurt Cobain too, while we're at it. Another Piscean. Look how he became this Christlike cultural icon via suicide - there's your Neptune, throwing a shimmery veil of glamour and romance over a horribly sad, sordid reality.