Planetary Illuminations for March 2024 💖
At the equinox and eclipse season, a balancing point between light and dark.
“Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.”
― Lewis Grizzard
Dear friends,
With apologies to my friends Down Under for the northern-hemisphere-centric title for whom the equinox is actually the autumn, in March we find ourselves once again suddenly at the doorway between the dark time of winter and the light season of summer. The Sun entering Aries marks the equinox and the beginning of spring, and a fresh new start at the first degree of the first sign of the zodiac. No wonder this has been a time of resurrection holidays throughout history! Even the Christian churches time their Easter celebrations around the equinox.
This is the time to slough off the dead skin of winter and the past and emerge fresh into a new day and a new season. ☀️ In this time of renewal, what new beginnings do we want to create? How will we envision our lives reborn? These are good questions to ask during the equinox season.
Before moving on to this month’s forecast, here are some blog articles you may have missed in February:
Read on for the March illuminations from the planets, and watch for the weekly forecast every Monday. 💖
DATES AND TIMES ARE FOR EASTERN TIME ZONE, please adjust for your locality. You'll find the full planetary calendar towards the bottom of this post.
Retrograde update. We are in an extended period right now of no planets in retrograde motion. This is a relatively rare event when time seems to speed up and intentions come to life more quickly.
The first planet to turn retrograde will be Mercury, on April 1st. Mercury will be in Aries, the sign of fiery action, and I’ll be writing more in the weekly forecasts about what to watch for. Mercury is not happy when retrograde in Aries where unbridled action is preferred and the stops and starts of the retrograde period can be a challenge. 👉🏻 But for now, it might be a good idea to get those projects you’ve been putting off underway so you have some momentum when Mercury turns retrograde.
Venus and Mars square Uranus March 9. Normally I leave the faster moving planetary cycles for the weekly forecast since they last only a few days, but when Venus and Mars are activated by the impulsivity of Uranus a caution is warranted, especially where Mars is concerned. This is an ungrounded Mars anyway, and the challenge from Uranus can trigger a great deal of excitement which can be great if we are focused, but could lead to unexpected outcomes.
Uranus is the boss planet during this period as it is also supporting Mercury and the Sun with a sextile aspect. We maybe flooded with new ideas which guide us in the direction of something new, or we could find ourselves making a rash decision which we may regret. In any case, it’s a good idea to think twice during this Uranian period especially since it’s also a Piscean period where things are not always clear.
Mercury enters Aries March 9. Mercury is the first planet to break out of the Pisces mists when it enters the fire sign of Aries. The element of fire can stir up conflict and disagreements, but sometimes that’s the only way towards resolution. Mercury presides over the mind and communication, and while we may find ourselves more argumentative and willful, we may also be more easily able to express ourselves. There is less politeness under Mercury in Aries, and it may be more difficult to compromise and collaborate as Aries tends to act more willfully and with less regard for the needs of others. If we have trouble taking care of ourselves and our own needs, this could be a good time to work on that.
Mercury will be in Aries for an extended period of time - until May 15 - because of the retrograde, so we have plenty of time to fire up the mental engines.
New Moon SuperMoon, March 10. Pisces season explodes in a burst of enchantment and wonder at the New Moon on March 10th. First of all, it’s a SuperMoon (™Richard Nolle) because it is at perigee - the closest point to Earth. SuperMoon events have a strong effect on the Earth, raising tides and awakening dormant volcanoes and earthquakes, and they can also awaken dormant emotional volcanoes, especially if you are particularly sensitive to the Moon or have planets in the mutable signs (Pisces, Virgo, Gemini, Sagittarius).
This New Moon conjoins Neptune, the transformational ruler of Pisces, for an extra burst of faery dust and glamour. We might completely dissolve in bliss and illusion under these influences, but for the grounding effect of Jupiter, ruling the lunation and very grounded in comfortable Taurus. This is a wonderful time to surround yourself with beautiful things that will make you happy and help you to feel abundant and supported. We do have that challenging Mars/Uranus square though, so some care will be required.
Venus enters Pisces March 11. Extending the enchantment of the Pisces New Moon just a little longer, Venus will leave detached and impersonal Aquarius for the empathic sensitivity of Pisces. Venus is exalted in Pisces where she inspires us to connect from the deepest heart. Rather than the perspective and analysis of our relationships and interactions, we now have an opportunity to enhance and deepen our connections with others with greater compassion. We may be flooded with creativity under this influence, especially during the week before the Sun enters Aries and encourages action rather than reflection.
Sun enters Aries March 19-20: The Spring Equinox. With the Sun entering the sign of Aries at 11:06 pm EST, the season of Spring has officially begun in the northern hemisphere. On this day, the light and dark have achieved equal status: day and night are in balance. Aries is the first sign in the zodiac and as such it is the sign of initiation and the point of beginning. There is a burst of energy now: an unbridled explosion of pure potential and action, and this is the energy that we are experiencing when we talk about “Spring Fever.”
In the chart for the equinox, the reborn Sun is in an auspicious trine to the Moon, but the Moon is stressed by Pluto (opposition) which suggests some arduous times ahead. (When I set the equinox chart for Washington DC we have Jupiter and Uranus straddling the descendant, suggesting a potential change in the schema of the U.S. allies and enemies.)
Lunar eclipse March 25: Eclipse season begins. The first eclipse of the season occurs at the Libra Full Moon. This is a penumbral eclipse and is not particularly powerful astrologically. Still, it’s a Full Moon and will come with all of the heart-opening lunar power that we need right now.
The time of the Full Moon, when the Sun in the sky is exactly opposite the Moon from our vantage point on earth, is always a time for balance. The Sun is our conscious Self – our goals, our visions, our ideas that combine to create our lives. The Moon illustrates our instincts and our subconscious needs and desires – the emotions that can be murky but always real and true. When the Moon is full in Libra, the need for balance is even more pronounced since Libra IS the sign where we struggle with polarities in order to come into balance and achieve a sense of harmony.
This Full Moon is well aspected, with harmonious aspects to Pluto, the power planet, and harmonious aspects of Venus, ruler of this Full Moon. Venus is the bestower of beneficial things - she infuses us with a desire to connect with others, but also the appreciation of fine things, belongings, luxury, and beauty of all kinds. Venus is the artist, the lover, the collector of money. This is a time to heal not only our relationships with others, but also to give ourselves the gift of presence. 💖
This eclipse season is short, with only two eclipses. However, the eclipse on April 8th is a total eclipse in Aries and it looks like a doozy. And, in news only relevant to me (and perhaps my husband!), it sits right on my Sun. Perhaps I will explode like a supernova! In any case, watch for news about that in next month’s forecast.
That takes us to the end of the month! In March we continue the pattern without any outer planet alignments, but eclipse season begins with the lunar eclipse in Libra at the end of March. I hope you have a good month; see you in the weekly forecast. 💖
Thank you for joining me in this exploration of the planetary cycles! If you'd like to know more about how your own personal chart is affected by these planetary events, consider having a personal consultation with me.
Planetary Calendar
(dates and times are for the Eastern time zone, please adjust for your locality)
3/1 Sun sextile Jupiter
Venus sextile Chiron
3/3 Venus square Uranus
3/4 Mercury sextile Uranus
3/6 Mars sextile Chiron
3/8 Mercury conjunct Neptune
3/9 Mars square Uranus
Sun sextile Uranus
Mercury enters Aries
3/10 Mercury sextile Pluto
New Moon SuperMoon 20 Pisces, 5:00 am
3/11 Venus enters Pisces
3/13 Saturn sextile Ceres
3/16 Mercury square Ceres
3/17 Sun conjunct Neptune
3/18 Mercury conjunct North Node
3/19 Sun enters Aries - spring equinox
3/20 Mercury conjunct Chiron
3/21 Sun sextile Pluto
Venus conjuct Saturn
3/22 Mars sextile Pisces
3/23 Venus sextile Ceres
3/24 Venus sextile Jupiter
3/25 Full Moon lunar eclipse 5 Libra, 3 pm
3/28 Venus sextile Uranus