What do you really want? That’s the question posed by Venus’s current retrograde in Aries. In particular, what do you want in the area of life represented by the Aries house of your chart? As Mercury makes a conjunction with Venus (March 11, 2025, 3:55 pm PDT, at 08º47’ Aries), it might be just that much easier to figure out the answer.
The Sabian symbol for the conjunction is 9 Aries, A crystal gazer. Some of the clues to our desires may be as direct and to the point as we might expect from Mercury in Aries. But some will come about as hunches, as they do to the crystal gazer. Although we don’t usually think of the fire signs like Aries as being particularly intuitive, they really can be – or at least, instinctual. Theirs is not the fathomless knowing of the water signs, but comes through the fire of the spirit.
Spirit Made Visible
Alert readers will recall that my late father, a textbook Capricorn, was a farmer. He was never happier than when he was riding a tractor, tilling soil in neat rows. He loved the dirt, the heat, the humidity, the bugs, all of it. When he came home for supper, he was exhausted and as tranquil as a Capricorn ever gets.
I don’t mean to romanticize hard labor. But one thing’s for sure – humans aren’t designed to sit still indoors for hours every day under artificial light. We may enjoy what we’re doing during those hours, and may not even consider ourselves very physical beings; but our bodies beg to differ. Just think of the glow of well-being and relaxation that follows a vigorous workout.
As the Sun makes its annual conjunction with Saturn this week (March 12, 2025, 3:29 am PDT, 22º05’ Pisces), we may feel confined, regimented, achy, tired, or disgruntled – especially in the day or two leading up to the exact aspect. The physical body can be an uncomfortable, Saturnine container for the bright spirit of the Sun, especially when it’s suffering from disuse. But the Sun’s union with Saturn reminds us that our bodies are spirit made visible, that it’s a privilege to be alive, and that we owe it to our bodies to give them as much use as we give our minds.
Untangling
Each year as the winter solstice approaches, I think, “Hey – let’s wrap some twinkly lights around the front porch posts!” So, I pull open the drawer in the hallway that contains a giant rat-king tangle of strand lights, so jumbled and hopelessly knotted that my heart sinks at the sight of them. And I close the drawer for another year.
At each Full Moon, we’re revealed to ourselves. This Virgo Full Moon (March 13, 2025, 11:55 pm PDT, at 23º56’ Virgo and Pisces) is an emotionally challenging Lunar Eclipse, opposed the Sun, Saturn, and Neptune; and what is revealed is the ways in which we’re stuck and hiding out, overwhelmed by the disarray of both our external and internal worlds.
Look to the Pisces house of your chart. And then, look across the wheel to Virgo’s house, because that’s where you’ll find the key to untangling the knots. Taking a big old amorphous, Pisces/Saturn/Neptune blob of overwhelm and patiently picking away at it, soothing it into order, is one of Virgo’s superpowers.
Of course, the world itself seems to be hopelessly tangled and overwhelming some days. But often, the key to breaking your deadlock around overwhelm is to just take one small, easily measurable action toward order.
A Change is as Good as a Rest
Once upon a Daylight Saving Time morning, I emerged somewhat groggy and in the mood for a little something different for my breakfast. What sounded good? A quick mental scan finally produced a result: “bagel.” I toddled off to the bagel shop and came home with a nice, big sack full. When I texted my neighbor to offer her one, she was delighted: “I just couldn’t face my usual breakfast this morning,” she said. “Now, it feels like the sun has come out!”
“A change is as good as a rest,” as the old saying goes. And it really is amazing how much energy can be unleashed by the tiniest alteration in routine. It doesn’t need to be anything dramatic; perhaps a different breakfast, a new route to work, takeout for dinner – just something outside the usual.
The Sun’s sextile to novelty-loving Uranus (March 14, 2025, 2:16 am PDT) is a reminder to embrace change. This needn’t descend into chaos, but there’s little doubt that we can feel cheered and enthused by even the smallest, sesame-crusted change.
How Far We’ve Come
One of my oldest friends sent me some blurry photos from our grammar school days. Although my memory is generally not what it used to be, I recalled the names of every classmate in those photos with no effort. But who was that long-haired, fierce-looking, awkward girl with my name scribbled underneath? I remembered her, too, how she struggled to feel good about herself and to fit in. Looking at her made my heart catch, made me feel protective of that girl. And for a moment, I realized how far I’ve come in the decades since then, and also how much I’m the same.
Mercury turns retrograde this week (March 14, 2025, 11:46 pm PDT, at 9º35’ Aries). Particularly when it’s in Aries, where it’s impatient and tends to skip a step here and there, Mercury retrograde can be aggravating for all the usual reasons – technical and electronic snafus, communication problems and misunderstandings.
But when we step away from Mercury’s usual terrain, it can also be a good opportunity to return to the past to mine for inspiration, to remember our reckless, youthful selves and to appreciate who we are now, and how far we’ve come.