It is dark at night and it is time for the new moon. On the 13th of March, 10:20 UK time, we have the New Moon at 23 degrees and 03 minutes of Pisces. Venus is said to be exalted on her chariot in Pisces through dignity, and protected, despite being combust, under the rays of the Sun. Neptune is there too for the long term, but now he’s furthermore intoxicating with moods and desires, because of all the transits that affect him. He’s already powerful enough in Pisces before all the planetary aspects that enhance his influence. Mercury soon joins up. Unlike Venus, he loses dignity in Pisces, and becomes foggy and confused, just in time to mess things up (in case we thought we would be getting anything done, better go with the flow). Mars in Gemini, would want to do everything, everywhere, with everyone, and back again. Mars would want to take action and be productive in communication, in decision-making, in money making, in the community. But he will have to rely on his host Mercury for a supportive environment in his activities, and Mercury is not very cognitive at the moment. The need to go all out into the field and act will be diluted and dispersed. That’s in a broad way the astrological weather and the cards seem to be perfectly in agreement.

The Moon card is an apt reminder of what we are dealing with. It is also an invitation to a certain approach. Not just because we are talking about a moon movement in the sky, but because of all that the moon signifies. For a start, it is our body and everything about us, our immediate environment, our situation, the events that take place, our habits, patterns of the way we do things, our home and family, our emotional world, our history and ancestry. It is our unconscious. The moon was already there before we existed doing its own thing. And because it moves so fast, we look to the moon both in regards to our past and in regards to our future. Now the Moon card comes to portray an emotional world in which the desire to be taken care of and to care for others is a fundamental human need. Nurturing connects us to everyone and everything. It is essential to our well being. Giving and receiving through the eternal waxing and waning permeates our life experience. The moon is the luminary of the night. It brings light in dark places. But during the new moon, it is total darkness. The inception of something new that hasn’t materialised yet happens in the dark. For this we are now thinking about taking stock of the present and planning for the future. The moon is the nearest heavenly body to the earth and our connection to the ebbs and flows affect us in a practical, physical sense. Symbolically, it is the fundamental cycle of planning and manifestation.

So while we are in the dreamy world of magic making, a word of caution: there comes the 4 of Pentacles. It is a warning against possession. The principle of the moon is also the principle of changeability. Possession of gold, as of earthly goods, of material things, of anything that will in return posses us, as we try to hold on to whatever we find ourselves attached to, will bring quite the opposite result. Eventually, it means loss. By holding on, we lose and waste. By grabbing, we slip and slide. Just as the ebbs and flows of the moon cycle are forever in motion, fixity is not a feasible reality for us. Gains and losses are also in motion. They come and go. They might just be dragged away from us as time goes signified by the burning candle. This is the lesson of the 4 of Pentacles that sits so menacingly in the middle of the spread. It is a card with conservative connotations that underpin a scarcity mindset. In addition, a desperate attachment to materiality in which there is no humanity or human dignity, will lead to loss of control and will bring nothing in return. In most decks the 4 of Pentacles is a bit more generous to the miserly person it depicts, as it offers a mixed bag of positive and negative interpretations. But here it is a very clear cut which is the narrative the author has chosen, and which we have to follow. Our vitality will be low. Our grip on things will suffer. Things will be lost. We have to accept the passing of time.

But surely in a world of choices, we are going to have to take a stand. We need to decide what to do with the material world around us. And March looks set to offer plenty of opportunities for that. If we can not grab on to things successfully, then what should we do? If passivity is not an option, then how do we act?

It is obviously a case of looking at the 2 of Swords for direction. Normally, swords represent the element of air, of thought, of mind. But this is a Piscean outlook that the card represents, for the sense of indecision and inability to judge a situation. For when we are trapped and forces around us are just too great to deal with. There is lots of water in the picture, thunderstorm and rain, elements of the outdoors. Even in the light of day, there’s so much mist and fog around that distorts everything. Reality is itself fantastical and slippery. It is practically a tempest that our heroes depicted on the 2 of Swords card find themselves in. And the heroine is even blindfolded. Emotions will overtake, and will override everything that is grounded in logic. Feelings will overflow. Our perception of reality will be linked to our internal senses. For better of for worse, higher powers are sweeping. The source of knowledge comes from darkness. Comes from within. It’s an instinct. A felt awareness. Fluidity is our guide. Our heroine probably already knows what she’s going to decide. In fact her mind is made up, though she doesn’t have to think. The abundance of water and a lack of the ability to see, means that, ultimately, it will be an instinctual choice that will liberate. And this is us. March is a dream month. It is not a month of action or of doing. It is a month of letting ourselves be who we are meant to be, away from habit and away from history. When everything dissolves, something new will take form. In March the energies are more about being in the moment and trusting the dark, the higher powers, destiny, and the sublime, rather that making conscious decisions to act upon that follow prescribed rules and processes. It is a month of faith. A month for releasing and cleansing. We shall be infused with spirit and sentiment. In March, with the new moon, any exercise we do to help us stop thinking and start feeling is the the way to go. In the double bodied sign of Pisces, we are not going to be alone. We shall feel the presence. And we shall get to our goal. The flow of the ocean and potent waves will bring us there.

Flavia