Stellar Insights: March 4 - 10, 2019

U-Turns and You Turns: this feels like one of the poignant themes for the week.

It is mirrored in Mercury beginning its three-week retrograde cycle on Tuesday, a time when it appears to shift directions, doing a U-Turn of sorts when the retrograde begins. And as the planet of communication orients in a new direction* so should we. When Mercury does a U-Turn, it also seems to behoove us to do the same: to look at things from a new angle, to retrace our steps, and to appreciate that we are in a period where things are moving in a different direction.

Also remember, that when a planet shifts directions, the days before and after the planet appears to move very slowly and even stand still in the sky; this is referred to as a planetary station. It’s thought that the archetypal energy of the planet is more concentrated and really catches our attention. As such, information may seem to come towards you everywhere you look, which may lead to overwhelm.

To help navigate through this, connect again to the As Above, So Below axiom, mirroring the planet: as it goes slow, so should we. Take the time to pause and reflect; instead of going into overwhelm should there be lots of news, facts and figures being served to you, breathe and steady yourself. Look to each to see whether in fact they each need to be reacted to in the moment, or rather if you’re able to better able to assimilate and embody the total tale of what is to be understood by finding a place of stillness.

When Mercury is direct, its focus is forward and outward; when retrograde, back-reflective and inward. Given that Mercury is doing this current retrograde dance in Pisces—a sign associated more with the intuitive and imaginative right brain than the logical and rational left brain—it does feel like the invitation truly is to open to a more feminine and flowing way of connecting to awareness and wisdom. It’s a time for understanding things more from a feeling-oriented place, a place where things appear to not “make sense” and yet completely make sense, a place where we find how to orient based upon being in flow, a place where compassion rules. That said, stay grounded, so that things don’t drain you, or drain away, and so that you can discern between connecting to your imagination and dreams, rather than thinking something is real when it is something that you imagined. (For more on how Mercury Retrograde may inspire your sleep and dreams, see this article.)

Now all this is amplified because on Wednesday not only do we have the New Moon in Pisces, but this year it connects to watery and dreamy Neptune (the modern-day ruler of Pisces). Something may seem like it wants to emerge and begin, something related to ways of knowing how to embody empathy, be open to feelings that move you, and find ways to nourish your soul. All the while, we may get more insight into how to navigate the realm of boundaries: experiencing how feeling connected to others and to the universe infuses us with peace and ease while also seeing times in which not standing in our boundaries actually dissipates our sense of self in a non-constructive way.

What is real and what is a dream is a question for this week. And knowing how to feel inspired by our dreams—both our longings and nightly visions—while maintaining a sense of clarity also may be in prominent focus.

For more on the New Moon, including wellness strategies, see here.

I started this piece talking about U-Turns and You Turns, and seem to have drifted from directly addressing that theme, which itself feels very of the go-with-the-flow streaming Piscean times. (I have to laugh too because my long meandering sentences also feel like they too were infused with the Piscean influence.) So, let me directly return to it in speaking of yet another significant occurrence this week, one that is sandwiched right in with these others.

That is of Uranus moving into Taurus on Wednesday, where it will reside for the next seven years, marking the opening of a new chapter in the kairos/zeitgeist, wherein we may find innovations and shake-ups in our relations to the earth and what has value. While this will be a multi-year unfolding (some of which we may have gotten glimpses of when it did its temporary stay in Taurus May 15 – November 6 of last year), its significance this week feels like it is encompassed in U-Turns and You Turns.

Until Wednesday, Uranus is at the very end of Aries, and with this we may want to be open to breakthroughs and breakdowns that are fiery and highly charged. We may see an upswing in acts of courage, or acts of aggression, or an influx of impatience that could catch us off guard (especially if we hadn’t been anticipating them).

With Uranus shifting signs, we are closing one chapter and opening another; and yet given that it’s Uranus--the planet that inspires change yet doesn’t necessarily give you a memo beforehand of exactly how that will be inspired—this may come through the unexpected. So be open to U-Turns, which could possibly have us feel unsettled—or, alternatively a great sense of liberation and breakthrough, with a deeper connection to and understanding of what bravery means and how we can embody it.

And with that, see how You Turn: to which route do you orient, to what within yourself do you turn because you know that’s your trusted compass, and to whom you look when you want to connect to a sense of greater security.

Considering how U-Turns inform how You Turn can yield marvelous insights this week, a week when we turn within while also turning to the connection we feel with the all.

* Planets don’t actually change direction in their paths but appear to be doing so from our vantage point on Earth owing to planetary orbits.

Astrological Highlights

March 5

Mercury Retrograde Begins

March 6

Uranus enters Taurus
Pisces New Moon
Sun/Neptune Conjunction

March 8

Sun/Saturn Sextile

March 10

Mars/Neptune Sextile

Dates noted reflect Eastern Standard Time