If you’ve never heard the expression, “May you live in interesting times,” it certainly fits the unpredictable nature of 2022. The urban legend behind this seemingly positive wish is that it’s an old curse. Translation? Maybe it’s better to be bored and peaceful than to live in the fiery angst of unpredictability.
Jinx or not, as we enter our second month of the Lunar Water Tiger Year, it’s clear that restless times of change have cycled around again. And on cue: The Tiger is ruled by freedom-fighter Uranus, the planet of surprises and radical shifts—an autonomous animal that roams at night.
We’re still feeling the effects of the United States’ Pluto Return.
March begins still in the effect of the United States’ February 20 Pluto Return, an astrological moment that hasn’t occurred for Americans since July 4, 1776. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—and the shocking resistance by Ukrainian military and civilians—unfolded right in step with this seismic transit.
We are now in the last month of the Western astrological calendar, leading up to the spring equinox on March 20. Pisces season is a time of closure, one that’s been deceptively pegged as compassionate and spiritual, the opposite of warmongering. To be sure, these are among Piscean traits: artistry, imagination, and deep empathy are all this Neptune-ruled sign’s highest vibration.
The Pisces zodiac sign symbol (glyph) may hold the greatest metaphor for these “interesting times.” It’s an icon of two fish, which represent our unconscious motives. These fish are bound together by an energetic cord, yet swimming in opposite directions.
Seen in that light, Pisces is the ultimate symbol of conflict, not peace. That conflict may be deeply internal, hidden from even our awareness. The duality of Pisces also reminds us of our oneness, even with our “enemies.” Pisces is the ultimate paradox: the more we struggle to escape each other, the tighter our binding rope becomes.
The first week of March brings these Pisces themes from the deep sea to the surface.
We have a Pisces new moon on March 2, which will unfold a six-month cycle between now and the September 10 Pisces full moon. And on March 5, the Sun and Jupiter will make their annual conjunction (meetup) in Pisces.
During less interesting times, the Sun-Jupiter conjunction is heralded as the Day of Miracles, even called the luckiest day of the year. While we have zero objections to that idea, in 2022, some other views are in order. The Sun represents strength, vitality, and selfhood. Jupiter is the globalist, ruler of expansion, growth, and optimism.
At best, the Sun-Jupiter meetup might bring more world powers into conversation, putting agendas into the open. At worst, it could inflate egos and self-serving demands to epic levels.
On March 3, the skies feature a three-way mashup between Mars (the god of war), power-hungry Pluto, and diplomatic Venus—all in Capricorn.
Capricorn is the sign of governments, structures, and leaders. The intensity and single-mindedness of a Mars-Pluto conjunction may be too hot for Venus to handle. But any valiant attempts from the cosmic mediator to broker peace are welcome.
The skies quiet down a bit (though we can’t vouch for this planet) until March 18, when the Virgo full moon could bring a moment to look at everything under a fine lens. Two days later, the March 20 spring equinox kicks off Aries season and the astrological new year.
Will we see some hopeful beginnings, or will the world just get more fired up? That answer may be determined by the March 22 intensity of a Mars-Uranus square. As hotheaded Mars (in Aquarius, the sign of groups and society) locks into a showdown with volatile Uranus (in rooted Taurus), it sets the stage for a revolution. With both planets in stubborn fixed signs, compromise is not the order of this day.
Here’s hoping we can lean into the progress-driven energy of Aquarius and Uranus, and find new pathways to change that don’t continue to destroy human lives and the structures that actually do hold us together rather than holding us down.
