On your mark, get set, DREAM! This New Moon features Sun, Moon, Neptune and Vesta all conjoined in Pisces. Once a year the Sun conjoins Neptune, but this year, there is a New Moon at the same time, giving us an entire lunar cycle within the realms of Neptune’s depths.

With an overwhelming emphasis upon the energies of Neptune, Pisces’ ruling planet, we are steeped this month in the great waters of the sea of the unconscious, that universal pool of archetypal energies, some  unknowable, and some not-yet known. Neptune’s realm is otherworldly, its presence in our known world is mostly perceived only after the fact of our experiencing of it. Dreams, nightmares, visions, inspirations, deep feelings of all sorts, but most importantly, stirrings of connection with all of Creation’s works, both light and dark, are the result of Neptune’s impact upon us.

Orbiting at the furthest reaches of our solar system, sometimes even further out than Pluto, Neptune is a beautiful dreamy blue planet, but cold, very cold, not only physically, but spiritually, in that its depths  are in many ways as fathomless as deep space. Neptune also rules visions, but also illusion, and hence drugs, alcohol, poisons, and the like. Neptune’s watery realms may be hard to bear for any very solid and rational ego structure that is fearful of change. And yet we seek release from our very measured and controlled lives, and so we desire Neptune’s guidance, Neptune’s feelings of unlimited possibility. We want to dream beyond the known, we long for release from limitation.

Several things happen at the same time as this New Moon. The Sun, Moon and Neptune in Pisces are also conjoined with the asteroid Vesta (see chart).

Vesta is the goddess of the hearth, and the keeper of the sacred element of fire. As our planet heats up more and more, threatening life as we know it, our society’s love of fire in all its forms (war, nuclear power, coal, etc.) must once again be transformed into a sacred respect. We can no longer simply be “consumers” we must be conservers of energy, knowing we live on a planet with limited resources.  Vesta also represents our life force at its most sacred, that which must be guarded against corruption by outside forces. This includes our sexuality, the desire for sacred communion with another, and thus paves the way for compassion, the quality Pisces can embody more than any other sign. 

Mercury has just the day before gone retrograde in Pisces, causing us to feel ever so dreamy, spacey, even out of touch with our bodies. For those who are born with Mercury in Pisces, you will be in home territory here. But we all have to watch that we are careful with our communications with others during this three week period. (Mercury goes direct March 28th, when it conjoins Neptune exactly, so don’t expect clarity to suddenly emerge. It will still be in Pisces until April 16th.) This is not a time to rely upon our left brain rationale too heavily. In fact, many of us may begin to receive important insights, messages, and dreams to pay attention to. Stay strongly attuned to your intuition in all matters.

The emphasis for all this Neptunian energy is the element of water, which rules our deepest feelings. Swimming in the sea of the currents of our imagination, we experience feeling tones that can liberate us from the fixity of our thoughts and beliefs, that open our hearts and allow us to feel transcendent. But when we re-enter our physical reality day to day world, we encounter our judgements, our fixed ideas, our habits. Then comes the work of letting go, grieving what has been, releasing shame, guilt, and owning and learning from our past errors, forgiving our trespasses.

Uranus has just at this New Moon entered Taurus, where it will remain until 2025. This is another important milestone, as Taurus governs our Earth and the environment, but also monetary systems and how we use them. Last in Taurus during the era of the New Deal of FDR (1930s), we are now in need of a Green New Deal to save our planet from the ruthless destruction of corporate hegemony. Uranus being the ruler of revolution and sudden changes, the next 6 years will be ones of significant changes on the world stage.

On a global level, this configuration gives strong visionary energy to those whose time has come to take a stand against the forces of corruption and misrepresentation. But with all this Neptune energy, there may be quite a muddle created of any attempts to clarify and edify. The “fake news” people will have even more illusionary impetus to spread deception. But Saturn is also in strong sextile to the Pisces planets, lending support and a strong container for all the insight that we may receive. In other words, the truth will appear as such, and the deceit will expose itself, fall flat on its face, if we are quiet enough inside ourselves to listen for the truth. It will come from within us, using the magnificent sensing of the heart, as we allow the rational mind to take a back seat. Venus now in Aquarius also supports the beauty of seeking the truth, free from the constraints of convention.

Explore, dream, imagine a world of resolution and revolution, the kind that is supportive rather than destructive. And most of all, stay as centered as possible this month, meditating, pausing and breathing deeply as often as possible, so that you can take advantage of all the visionary possibilities that are orbiting around us now.