Astrology of March 2009 by Henry Seltzer (www.astrograph.com)

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The Astrology of March features Saturn, Venus, Mars and Uranus, plus Neptune. Saturn is singular, on the other side of the Zodiac from all the other planets, and highlighted at the time of the March 10th Full Moon, which conjuncts it. This Full Moon also majorly triggers the Saturn and Uranus opposition (now separating) since the Sun conjuncts Uranus. This intense collision of antithetical energies will become relatively inactive after this point in time until their next exact pass of their opposition in September. Saturn in Virgo is isolated and industrious, holding up his solitary lantern, good for learning the hard lessons. Uranus adds a good dose of extra pizazz to this stodgy isolation and the old hermit will peer out from behind his crusty shell from time to time, to grant us a dazzling smile of wisdom. We can expect surprising mental breakthrough at this time, and the call to freedom as well as tradition.

Venus is also extremely active right now, and turns retrograde on the 6th. Leading into this retrograde period is a time when Venus moves slowly and therefore becomes a more powerful force, for reviewing the way that we relate to others and also for tuning in with our own internal concept of art and value. Venus remains in Aries, or within one degree, for a total time of an amazing 12 weeks as she moves all the way back to the very beginning of the sign, briefly dipping back into Pisces, before straightening out in April. Venus enters Taurus on June 6th. As Venus slows during the first part of the month, our relationship energy correspondingly slows and becomes more purposeful. She will disappear as the Evening Star around the time of the Spring Equinox, on March 20th, to reappear as the Morning Star with her Heliacal Rise on April 3rd. The period of time before reappearing as the Morning Star was known to Mayan astrologers as Venus’ symbolic descent into the underworld, and affairs on earth assumed a reckless and ungoverned aspect during this time. This coincides with the approaching end of President Obama’s first 100 days in office, and this period may well bring surprises and disappointments along with hoped-for progress. This only makes sense as we as a nation still have a lot of work to do, and many missteps to set right, before we can hold our own within a changing world society.

Mars also has a prominent role in this month’s configurations, as indeed he did also last month, beginning with the rulership of Venus as she slows down and then retrogrades through Mars’ sign of Aries. Mars represents the outward trending counterpoint to Venus’ gentle in-taking, and currently resides in visionary Aquarius, where he joins Chiron, Neptune and Mercury in a quadruple conjunction, also semi-sextile Uranus, which is nearly exact from the 3rd to the 8th. This first full week of March is therefore full to the brim of ideal and promise, illusion and potentially confusion, a time when each one of us may come closer to understanding his or her own individual and unique vision for the world. On the collective level the society may embrace what President Obama referred to in the inaugural as “our patchwork heritage,” which we must each somehow make our own.

The Pisces New Moon that kicked off the current cycle in the final week of last month has as its backdrop the powerful Aquarius line-up, which includes the North Node, as well as Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Chiron and Neptune,. The Full Moon of March 10th also supports this Aquarian energy since the Sun conjuncts Uranus. Then in the following week, the Spring Equinox taking place on Friday, March 20th, makes another powerful chime with these same themes, since Jupiter is coming to conjunct Neptune/Chiron while Mercury conjuncts Uranus. The Spring Equinox is especially powerful this year because it ushers in the period of Venus’ departure from the evening skies as indicated above. When Venus reappears as the Morning Star on April 3rd a new Venus cycle begins. Since Venus is in Aries, these next eighteen months signal a time of increased power and prominence for the feminine. One sign of this would be the ascendancy of Barack Obama and his appointment of several powerful women to high-ranking positions within his administration. Another is the increasing acceptance of the way of peace over the waging of war to solve problems. We can look for other indications within our own hearts and minds. Only by balancing the feminine and the masculine sides of our natures, restoring a societal balance that has been long suppressed, can we collectively move forward into the new truly 21st Century world that is emerging.

Transits to the U.S. Chart

In my last column I noted that Neptune and Mars in the US chart were powerfully affected by the February 9th Lunar Eclipse indicating further possibilities for illusion and confusion with national direction at this time, and in particular with regard to the US military. The following story, involving deception and the military – or at the very least a startling lack of clarity, came out just one day after the February 9th Full Moon and eclipse: truthout story.

In another emerging story these days that speaks to illusion and deception with regard to the bank bail-out, on February 16th there was a discussion on Bill Moyers Journal involving the financial restrictions supposedly imposed on the banks. A partial quote by MIT economist Simon Johnson speaks to the actual lack of restrictions: “And, basically, it means that, at the end of the day, these people are going to walk away with tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars paid for by basically, insurance policy that you and I are providing.” For more commentary on this issue – see the following link: Michael Winship on the oligarchy.

The generality unclarity of what is going on in Washington these days with regard to the recession is definitely a bit frightening. Although this is perhaps only to be expected, since the chart of the inauguration itself was problematic. For more information on this and other political issues, see my zodiactivism blog


In the current month, the period of time from March 3rd to the 10th would be the most startling, and for similar issues, since the Full Moon of the 10th challenges Neptune and Mars in the US chart even more directly. We could see similar themes to the above developing further.

March 3rd First Quarter Moon
This First Quarter Moon is extremely powerful, with the Moon trine Jupiter and Mars conjuncting Chiron and Neptune. This is the beginning of a two-month long period of time when the painful process of recognition of where we feel that we are separate from being able to fully articulate our ideals. This First Quarter traditionally represents a “crisis in action” as we come to see what can and cannot be fulfilled in the arc of our development stemming from the previous New Moon.

March 10th Full Moon
This Full Moon highlights the Saturn – Uranus opposition once more, since the Moon and Sun conjunct the separating axis of the opposition within two degrees. This brings up again as did the Full Moons of previous months the polarity of the urge to leap ahead without restrictions and the contrary pulling back of necessary limitations, and consciousness of the past. Venus is retrograde as well at this time, beginning on the 6th.

March 18th Last Quarter Moon
This Last Quarter Moon comes close to conjuncting Pluto, and represents the consolidation phase of the cycle, a time when we will gather up the wisdom we have gained from the prior three weeks. With the Moon close to Pluto, although out of sign, we may well see further stages of the metamorphosis represented by this archetypal energy for powerful transformative action that is ultimately in our own best interest. The trials of Pluto are difficult to assimilate in the moment, but with the perspective of time we can see where we have been and where we have been transformed, utterly.

March 20th Spring Equinox
This is an important transition, when the Sun enters Aries. There it squares Pluto more directly, from a corresponding Cardinal Sign. The energy of Pluto in Capricorn, active since the beginning of 2008 but really much more powerful since last December, has been interesting to watch. Capricorn represents structure, and Pluto means massive change. All over the world, responsibility and honoring the social contract have become the watchwords. In each of our individual lives as well, the structural changes demanded of us, and ultimately in our own best interest, have been very much in the forefront of our awareness. With this powerful Spring Equinox even more so.

March 26th New Moon
The Aries New Moon squares Pluto and conjuncts retrograding Venus. This is therefore a time when we will feel quite strongly the transformation of structure that Pluto, newly in Capricorn, represents, and also a time when relationship will be on our mind. Venus retrograde is a time when we make a move toward the inside to feel out what our values really are, and what the relationships in our lives truly mean. At this juncture we are looking beneath the covers of the way we do relationship, attempting to find how they serve our highest purpose.