March should come with a giant warning sign: The path to paradise begins in hell. It is one of Dante’s more compassionate quotations. His Inferno seems an appropriate text from which to quote given the energies awaiting us. And while, abandon all hope ye who enter here, feels a bit too drastic a quotation, its sentiment does capture the essence of March 2025 rather effectively.
For anyone who knows me, I am a glass half full type
of person and astrologer. Yet, the month
ahead is a cosmic minefield, a veritable battering ram of activity. We will not be the same come April. So in the
vernacular, I’m going to give it to you straight:
March isn’t messing around. It pounces from the get go on Day One with
Valuable Venus turning retrograde motion on Saturday, March 1st. This is a continuation of the interior
planets (Mercury, Mars and Venus) back-to-back retrogrades that began in late
November 2024 with Mars and Mercury shifting into reverse gear. Our journey inward plundering our psyche
continues now through March.
Venus is a helper wherever she cycles. She rules the good life: love, money, beauty and relationship,
qualities we seek more of. Her
retrograde passage lasts six weeks, 40 days and 40 nights. Ring a bell? This is the same number of days as Jesus’
wandering in the desert, his temptation by Satan and the season of Lent with
which Venus retrograde is closely associated.
And it just so happens that Lent occurs on nearly the same days this
year (March 5-April 17) as Venus retrograde (March 1-April 12).
This cyclical overlap rarely occurs; and it serves to
underscore a primary theme of Venus retrograde:
temptation. Temptation on all
fronts: relationships, values,
resources, talents, and worth. It is a very seductive time. So a word to the wise: use the following phrase when feeling tempted.
Start by asking: what and whom do you
value, in yourself, in others, in life?
For the next six weeks, watch for old relationships
surfacing, including memories of past relationships. This is a classic time for your childhood
friend to reach out or an old flame to reconnect. It is also a time of buyer beware in capital
letters. This is especially true given
Venus turning retrograde in fiery Aries an impulsive sign to begin with and
typically lacking self-control. So ask yourself
whether you really need that luxury item, that designer handbag? That very expensive, latest gadget? Venus retrograde is the most notorious time
of buyer’s remorse, whether for actual material goods or relationships that
were better left on the back burner. Better
to think about it and see how you feel come late April.
To be clear, it is not
the best time to: start a business;
make new investments; buy homes, cars or luxury items; go on a first date or
initiate new relationships. Generally
avoid or delay anything to do with resource investment in general, whether
money, relationship or skill development.
This is the time to ask: how do I want to spend my time, energy,
money or talents?
It is the perfect time for Spring cleaning and to
practice the RE words including:
research, review, retreat, renew, recalibrate, restore, rest, and more, especially
the second half of March when Messenger Mercury is also retrograde.
Which is where we head next: into the middle of the month and the heart of
darkness. Good to remember now that it
is always darkest before dawn. Control
what you can and surrender anything else. The first eclipse of 2025 occurs on
Friday, March 14th. A total
Full Moon lunar eclipse in Virgo opposite the Sun in Pisces, its themes are
control vs. surrender, expectation management, and deep cleansing with healing
potential.
A reminder that eclipses are neither bad nor good;
however, if the coordinates impact your astrology chart, you will feel the
effects. With Sun and Saturn aligning to
Motivating Mars during the eclipse, trust
your intuition. It is a saving grace
and will show you the way forward.
We need all the guidance we can handle as the very
next day, Messenger Mercury turns retrograde on the Ides of March, Saturday,
March 15th. This is a one-two
cosmic punch. The planets do indeed have
our attention now. In the wake of the
total lunar eclipse, expect some very big messages.
The stretch between eclipses is a notorious time with the
energetic quality of a black hole. Trust
me, you do not want to go in there alone or without a light by which to
see. The darkness is magnified and
intensified by the overlapping Venus-Mercury retrogrades. Think Mississippi mud. We are spinning our wheels now. Expect little to no traction.
How to best make use of the second half of March? Plan and prepare; surrender what you cannot
control; double down on the RE words; add music to your life, in your home, car
and at work; use water therapy of all kinds:
steam, frozen, or liquid. Combined with exercise, such as walking around
water, swimming or boating, use water as a tool to mitigate excess energy or
change your scenery.
Now is the time to clean house, both literally and
physically. The Virgo Full Moon eclipse directs us to look at our health,
wellness, work and lifestyle routines and habits. Where do you need to clean up your act? Aligned helpfully to change-agent Uranus in
Taurus, this practical moon keeps our efforts grounded and real. Dream. Vision forward. Then prepare to build.
What are you building?
A few days later the Spring Equinox occurs on
Thursday, March 20th. Always
a time of fresh starts, this is especially true now as the Aries Sun is tightly
wedged between Venus-Mercury, Neptune,
the lunar north node and taskmaster Saturn in Pisces. The latter mandates a deep clearing and
clarifying to make way for the brand new to unfold. We are at a tipping point, the threshold of a
portal. There is no going back,
returning to old days or previous ways.
March is aptly named for our perpetual march forward.
Thursday, March 27th Valuable Venus rolls
back into Pisces, joining dreamy Neptune, the north node and Saturn. Here Venus shines compassion to unify
disparate forces. Heading into the New
Moon eclipse in Aries on Saturday, March 29th, we need all the love
we can get. Watch for illusion and the delusional as well as pristine insight
and understanding. There are those who are irretrievably lost
along with those who guide, guard and protect us. Take care with whom you align yourself with
now.
Words and language have rarely mattered more. With Messenger
Mercury at an attention-getting degree, choose your words wisely as you will be
heard now. Set your intentions. Handwrite three to five goals that you aim to
work on over the next month, season or year.
Be sure to include prayers for peace and calm in your community and the
world at large as we are in great need both individually and collectively.
As if the cosmic stew of March were not enough, the
month departs with a swan song, an epic crescendo. Notably, spiritual Neptune shifts into the
sign of Aries. An outer planet, Neptune
moves from one sign to another about every 15 years or so. The last time it changed signs was in 2011, when
she turned from Aquarius into Pisces. Think
about where you were, who you were, what
occupied your life back then. How far
you have come!
Post Covid pandemic, you are probably living a
different life based on choices you may not have ever conceived of in
2011. Imagine where and who you might be
in 2038 when Neptune changes signs again, into Taurus.
A spiritual, watery planet in a fiery sign of action
at 00 degrees Aries, Neptune makes a statement.
Take heed. This is not a time for
the faint of heart. April holds the
light at the end of the tunnel. But we
do indeed have miles to go before we sleep.
As Winston Churchill said: If you
are going through hell, keep going.
Of Special Note:
The 3
Wise Women is off and running! Join us! We are three
veteran metaphysical practitioners offering community, conversation and
connection via zoom every first Tuesday of the month @6 pm
eastern. For just $10/session, feel safe among like-minded seekers
to ask your wildest woo questions and learn from each other. To
enroll: www.cathyripleygreene.com
Mystical
Messages features
my monthly astrology forecasts if you prefer listening via
podcast. Also featured are cutting edge healing arts
practitioners. Tune in and listen through Youtube, Apple or Spotify
or hear previous episodes: www.hilaryharley.com
