Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

Full Moon in Leo March 6

At the time of this writing, March 6, 2004, the Moon has just passed its exact point of fullness, joining closely with retrograde Jupiter in Leo. Jupiter and the Moon are nearly exactly opposite the Sun and Mercury in Aquarius, marking the crux of the current lunar cycle that began with the new Moon on February 20 in Aquarius. As the Moon waxed, by February 25, it had entered into Aries, where it was exposed to the energy of Mars in conjunction with Rahu. This Rahu-Mars conjunction, which was discussed briefly in last month's forecast, has leaked some of Mars' penchant for passionate, aggressive action to our celestial weather in the past couple of weeks. The waxing Moon, having encountered that meeting in late February, seems to have carried that enhanced Martian energy through each of the signs it's visited since.

The first week of March seemed turbulent to some people that I've spoken with: generally there are reports of increased activity on all fronts, especially with work, which Mars loves. The engineering skills of Mars combined with Rahu's ability to amplify events to the scale of the masses is represented in increased virus/worm attacks on the community of internet users this past week. I associate the Internet with Mercury's domain, and the attacks seemed especially fierce as the Moon passed through Mercury's sign of Gemini, which currently houses retrograde Saturn, the significator of hardship and disease. Saturn and Mercury are actually in a relationship known as parivartana yoga, or mutual reception, meaning that they are each located in a sign ruled by the other: in this case, Saturn is in Gemini and Mercury is in Aquarius. This relationship can bring to the fore situations described by combining the indications of the two planets involved. Gemini and Mercury bring us communication, exchange of ideas, practical intelligence, and rapid movement, while Saturn brings us a constant reminder of life's responsibilities and physical limitations. This configuration could represent the impediment to the communication network provided by worms and viruses, and it shows a potential difficulty with clear communication in general. While the current combination promotes practical thought and business planning, it doesn't necessarily help us to communicate our ideas.

Saturn Stations Direct March 7

This configuration is slated to shift soon, however, but not necessarily to a position that will encourage clear and effortless communication. Saturn, our slow moving planet, has been retrograde for us during the past 4.5 months. On March 7, Saturn will "come to a halt" and will appear to resume forward motion. When a planet "stations direct" like this, it is during the part of it's orbit that brings its path closer to that of our Earth, and can exert it's influence more markedly than at other times. Between now and then, Mercury will move out of mutual reception with Saturn and into Jupiter's watery sign of Pisces on March 8, followed by the Sun on March 14. While Saturn resuming forward motion in Gemini may make communication a bit easier, the fact that Mercury moves to Pisces makes it all a bit wishy-washy. Our current situation of getting the message across while speaking through a wind tunnel will be transformed into attempting to speak through a tank of water; different, but not necessarily better. While the past few weeks have supported idea generation and planning, the next few may be better spent in other ways.

Venus and Mars Exchange Signs March 12 - March 29

Venus has joined Mars in Aries as of March 1. As Venus and Mars are the planets that represent the feminine and masculine aspects of human passion, their location can often indicate how hot or cold our collective passion may run. The signs that these two planets rule are four in number: Aries (Mars), Taurus (Venus), Libra (Venus), and Scorpio (Mars). In the zodiac, Aries and Taurus are adjacent to one another while on the opposite side of the zodiac Libra and Scorpio are adjacent. The push and pull between Venus and Mars is felt in the opposition of the signs Aries and Libra as well as Scorpio and Taurus. With both Venus and Mars located in one of these passionate signs, certain intensity will arise, which will transmute slightly when Mars moves into Venus' sign of Taurus on March 12. This will put Venus and Mars into the above-mentioned relationship of parivartana yoga (my literal translation of which is the "yoga of switching positions") through the end of March, when Venus joins Mars in Taurus on March 29.

In short, our upcoming weeks have a rather passionate potential. The passion that is expressed in creative pursuits whether artistic, practical, or scientific in nature should be found in abundance. As the Moon wanes and winds down this current lunar cycle, I recommend shifting gears from abstract thought and planning to hands on creation and expression. Pursuits that require the precise exchange of ideas may be impeded while Mercury and the Sun take a cruise through Pisces, so it may be a better time to hole up in the studio or office and bring to life some of the ideas that may have sprouted recently. Communication in relationship may seem difficult, but passion will certainly not be lacking. This has the potential for both fun and trouble, as we all know that miscommunication can lead to conflagration. Mercury, the communicator, cruising the watery, expansive sign of Pisces, which represents the great sea of consciousness, can become a bit overwhelmed. When one experiences the massive totality of the cosmos, it's sometimes difficult to express observations or to distill the information into a useable form. Creation and enjoyment of music is one way that I find Mercury has success in translating the expansive nature of Jupiter's watery realm to us.

Mercury Enters Aries March 26

Mercury emerges from the drink on March 26 and begins his jaunt through Aries, which should dry him up quickly and allow us all a chance at precision in communication once again. While the cosmic ocean overtones will be carried through the next lunar cycle which begins with the new Moon in Pisces on March 21, at least we may be able to use the practical, organized intelligence of Mercury a bit more potently as it transits through the active, fiery realm of Mars next month.

The next few weeks are great for getting down to earth and enjoying the creative energy of Mars and Venus and of the season of spring. Try to find some kind of outlet for expression, like the creation or enjoyment of art, music, film, etc. Long, fruitful conversations about the abstract nature of the universe will most likely be scarce or at least soggy. I recommend choosing more sensual outlets to match the upcoming planetary transits.