Almanac – March '10

“Rushing into action, you fail. Trying to grasp things, you lose them. Forcing a project to completion, you ruin what was almost ripe.”
-Dao De Jing

Tips for almanac use: All the aspects can be felt in advance of the date of occurrence. It is good policy to view these as due dates for various energies and prepare accordingly for one’s context. Some slower interactions can be felt a month in advance, so it wise to read ahead and ritual up. When we proactively manifest these symbols then the world doesn’t have to do it for us.

Okay, well March is ready to keep grinding away at us; abrading the extraneous while shaping the core. This grind has been ongoing and we should be rather aware of whether we have been helping or hindering this transformative process. But ultimately, that is beside the point. The theme is on staying focused on the tasks at hand and avoiding over-sentimentality towards things that have been around but may not serve our further development. We cannot make the journey to/into ourselves and take everybody with us at the same time. Be yourself and let others be themselves; just remember to take space if needed.

Mercury moves into Pisces on the 1^st, bringing recent ideas and contemplations into a more gestational space. Sometimes we have to stop thinking about things and let them go through their own processes before a fresh synthesis springs into awareness.

Venus conjoins Uranus on the 3^rd, ramping up our impatience for fabulousness and freedom. It is better to savor and relish what beauty we can than to bemoan some we supposedly lack.

Mercury sextiles Pluto on the 4^th, giving us a chance to choose between obsessive grasping and release of attachment. Some things cannot be held because they lack full physicality; but they can be contained if given their own space to develop.

Venus moves into Aries on the 7^th, getting our fires stoked for concrete action. The challenge is that it’s generally easier to want to see productive action than to personally create it. Seize the moments, but with patience.

Venus trines Mars on the 7^th, stimulating some fierceness and feistiness. This is our last chance to reaffirm those relationships and values that we authentically want to see continued. Much has needed purging and much needs affirming.

Mercury conjoins Jupiter on the 7th, urging us to take a big step back from our standard operating procedures and reassess the balance (or how we are bridging the gap) between the big and little pictures. Are we psyching ourselves out or into something that doesn’t really exist? Try to see through the morass.

Venus opposes Saturn on the 9^th, calling for more (re)affirmations of solidarity and resolve. Hopefully we haven taken responsibility for our parts in the unfolding and can use this opportunity to solidify the progress. Just remember to leave a lot of slack, for true progress can be rather counter-intuitive. Also, avoid any kind of blame.

Mars (finally) stations direct on the 10^th, bringing this long period of revising our desires and energies into the resolution period. If we have been self-challenging, but in balanced moderation, then this will get us moving more smoothly into what could be. If we have focused more on the problems outside of us as being beyond our control, then this is the last opportunity/challenge to fully claim our authentic selves and stop giving our energies away to other people and things. The focus should be on the self, and productive.

Venus squares Pluto on the 11^th, drawing more love and relationship remnants out for sorting and processing. The goal is to avoid any and all projections. Everything is meant to teach us something about ourselves, but it does not mean that the reflections are direct. Watch what comes to you; just don’t overly internalize it.

Mercury conjoins the Sun on the 14^th, marking the beginning of another cycle of mind/self development. Is our mind off doing its own thing in spite of ourselves, or is it serving the greater whole of our beings? Seek alignment.

The New Moon falls in late Pisces on the 15^th. This lunation is mixing all sorts of things up into a dichotomous mix of extremes that’s actually meant to push us into the middle. If we normally jump from one side back to the other, now is the time to rest and recuperate in the center. The difficulty is that that midpoint is hard to conceptualize or express, but that is not currently the goal, so let it be.

Mercury conjoins Uranus on the 15^th, pushing us to surrender to our lack of understanding. We are not designed to understand the vastness and intricacy of this creation, but we are well equipped to make proper sense of our own slices of the world. Acknowledge that what we pull is relatively unique to us and don’t confuse the individual with the collective.

The Sun conjoins Uranus on the 17^th, furthering this ‘get-over-and-in-yourself’ push. These combinations are not easily expressed or navigated because our vision is highly limited. Therefore, focus on what can be seen and grasped: the road right in front of you.

Mercury moves into Aries on the 17^th, putting the gestating energies into a concentrated singularity. Still, we cannot yet see what these seeds will become for they have only just broken through the surface of the soil. Be patient but resolute.

Mercury also trines Mars on the 17^th, challenging the patience that is being asked of us. We long for external recognition/demonstration of our progress and growth and can suffer discouragement when the world does not play along. However, we alone are meant to play our games; it is dangerous to expect others to play along and even more questionable to push ours.

Mercury opposes Saturn on the 18^th. This could be the external confirmation we’ve been looking for, or it could present more obstacles to be cleared or avoided. Progress, more than maybe anything else, can be very counter-intuitive for we cannot know the deeper karmic purposes.

Mercury squares Pluto on the 20^th, stirring up more mental conundrums. This pits our plans and desires against the fears and the memories of the past. The danger is projecting past experiences into the future instead of leaving room for improvement. It definitely does not serve us to see problems where they don’t yet exist; especially if it means we are preparing for things that don’t happen.

The Sun moves into Aries on the 20^th, initiating spring for the Northern Hemisphere. Hopefully the ‘spring cleaning’ is basically done by this point and we can begin to infuse fresh energies into the newly cleared space. The idea is to maintain our innocence despite all the things we have been through.

The Sun trines Mars and then opposes Saturn on the 21^st, more or less repeating the same theme of optimism versus doubt, action versus patience, what we want versus what is wanted of us. Finding the balance/tipping point is not easy, but our other options are less exciting.

Mars sextiles Saturn on the 22^nd, hopefully finding us more invigorated and eager to do what we need to. However, the daunting nature of the present call to arms is ever present. Having courage does not mean that we lack fear, just that we are not ruled by it.

The Sun squares Pluto on the 25^th, bringing more personally-resistant energies up for analysis. Again, we can try to indulge projection onto others or we can resolve to work on changing the only thing we have any real control over–ourselves. The choice is ours, but the push is strong.

Venus sextiles Neptune on the 29^th, lending a more relaxed and wistful dynamic to the mix. This could open us up to more faith and trust in the universal unfolding or we could swing the other way and relish our disillusionment with things not living up to our own mythologies of perfection and ‘should.’ But what do we really know?

The Full Moon falls in Libra on the 29^th. This lunation will be rather intense, somewhat like getting slapped back to the center of things. The simple idea is to slap ourselves out of extremism and find the middle. Either that or the world may do it for us. Self-actualization is the key.

Venus moves into Taurus on the 31^st, slowing the pace down a little bit. Taking breaks from people and getting into nature is good therapy and brings a necessary calm. Patience, practicality and enjoyment are healthy antidotes to the hustle of these times. So, relax.

Mercury sextiles Neptune on the 31^st. This is not a good time to chase pies in the sky, but is good for giving the mind a rest and allowing our deeper selves to digest things and send what is needed to where it will serve us best. This cannot be done with full consciousness, so trust in the under layers; all will be revealed in due time.

So, yeah, March is kneading us into a greater whole, in preparation for the oven to come. It is ultimately futile to resist this mixing process for it will only pull more intense forces into the fray. Surrender to the confused harmony that can be had now in the between space. This means that we should let go of ‘figuring out’ and relax into the process; the mind cannot lead the way to this center because it is founded on relativity and polarity, so seek and find peace in the heart, at the eye of the storm.