Emotions will be continually surfacing during the first half of March as Saturn approaches the end of its annual retrograde cycle. Throughout this entire fall-winter-spring season, Saturn is in a yod (elongated triangle) formation with Jupiter and Neptune. (See end of forecast for yod formation dates.)

Now, as Saturn goes direct, Jupiter retrograde makes the second of three waning inconjuncts to Neptune. Society is asking us to adjust our emotions and our beliefs as we face reality yet again.

As Saturn transits Cancer June 3, 2003 through July 16, 2005, we are offered the chance to achieve a deeper level of emotional self-reliance. Initially and through this first Saturn in Cancer retro cycle (October 25, 2003 through March 7, 2004), the opposite may be our reality. Our emotional co-dependencies and their corresponding fears are in our consciousness and daily life to be addressed and healed.

Add on Uranus in Pisces and we may feel more emotionally exposed and vulnerable then we have been for quite awhile. Saturn thrives on boundaries in order to feel secure. Saturn retro throws down the boundaries and reveals what is unconscious.

What emotions have been surfacing this winter? Where are you finding yourself in resistance? Chances are emotional outbursts are revealing the fears underneath the surface. Unconscious projections onto our relationships may be mirroring all those emotions back to us.

It is almost impossible to hold on to any emotional control. The more you are able to allow your feelings and emotions to flow, the easier you will understand the next self-reliance lesson. Whatever is emotionally unconscious needs to surface in order to be understood, processed, healed and evolved. There is always another level of emotional self-reliance.

March starts off on the 3rd with the second (of three) Jupiter waning inconjuncts to Neptune at 13/14 degrees Virgo-Aquarius. This time Jupiter is retrograde. This aspect asks us to adjust our beliefs to what fits the larger circle. Jupiter is our personal belief structure while Neptune is the collective beliefs.

There is a need to adjust to more natural spiritual beliefs here. Consensus state souls will attempt to demand we conform to the status quo. A common example is the current U.S. movie Passion utilizing mainstream beliefs and patriarchal conditioning to convince others they know the truth concerning Jesus.

At this point in time, Neptune in Aquarius is aligning with more natural spiritual laws and principles. For the last few years it has been passing over its own south node (past) in the natal chart of most souls upon the planet. It is dissolving many conditioning factors and liberating souls. Many are remembering times when they lived in greater harmony with nature and natural laws. Wars, rape and murder have not always been the norm.

Consensus state souls will feel threatened and attempt to counteract with even more rigid control of our beliefs. This will happen with all religions. There are those who want to return to the past, those who want to radically liberate us, and the majority who will flow back and forth.

These three Jupiter waning inconjuncts to Neptune will bring a year (summer 2003 to summer 2004) of religious/spiritual messages. Evolving souls will find themselves becoming more conscious of all the ways they judge and criticize themselves and others (Jupiter in Virgo) via thousands of years of patriarchal conditioning. They will also become more aware of how society judges those who do not conform.

The adjustment Neptune in Aquarius asks for is a return to more natural laws versus conditioning beliefs. Time and time again, the messages will be released and deep memories will pop up. During this transistioning time from the Piscean to Aquarian Ages, many will be disillusioned enough to hear a different message. The wakeup calls are coming through.

Natural law Jupiter in Virgo is about healing, discernment versus judgment and the step-by-step process we can make in evolving our souls. Natural law Neptune in Aquarius teaches unity in diversity. Natural law is inclusive and community based.

Where is all of this happening for you? What is the next layer of conditioned beliefs that has been revealed? Where do your beliefs no longer support you in your world? What is your next spiritual step? What is your next step in society to integrate and live natural spiritual laws and principles?

The Sun is passing through Pisces and the Evolutionary Astrology mantra is: I am in wholeness with my reality. We are asked to have one foot on the ground and one foot in the sky. We are asked to live our beliefs. Our reality is the example of what we do believe.

As the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces is everything. It is completion and release in order to begin anew with Aries. Sometimes it just seems too much and we look for escape, hence the Pisces association with drugs and escaping reality.

Pisces is also the element of water, or the emotions. As Pisces dissolves all boundaries, Piscean emotions can be overwhelming. We are asked to experience universal and unconditional love on the broadest levels. As Uranus has entered Pisces on December 30, 2003 for the next seven years, this year is initiating a strong emotional flavor.

With Saturn just finishing up its first of two retrograde cycles in Cancer, honor all those emotions. What is your next step in loving yourself? It is your key to moving forward. Inner self-reliance is the theme.

Mercury makes a superior conjunction to the Sun on March 3 as well at 13/14 degrees Pisces. This aspect signifies the answers and completion to the last Mercury retro cycle (December 17, 2003 to January 6, 2004) in Capricorn-Sagittarius.

Mercury is not comfortable in dreamy, wishy-washy Pisces. Here Mercury is asked to intuit the whole and then fill in the pieces. What is intuitively coming through? We want to cling to rational thought processes and it just doesn’t work.

On the same day, March 3, Mercury makes an opposition to Jupiter retro at 13/14 degrees Pisces-Virgo, putting the larger picture together. This aspect can be the battle of left-brain versus right-brain. Its message is to allow our intuition to just come through.

Jupiter, the planet of intuition, is in one of Mercury’s signs – Virgo, the analyzer. Mercury, the planet of keeping track of all the details, is in Pisces. So, here is a sort of mutual reception, and the whole is always larger than the parts that make it up.

Another example is our ego always wanting to be in charge instead of allowing answers from the depth of our soul. Quest to realign yourself with your next step of truth. Answers can always come from within when we align ourselves with natural laws and what is right for ourselves.

The Sun also enters the picture on March 3 by making an opposition to Jupiter retro as well at 13/14 degrees Pisces-Virgo. We are building up to a Full Moon in a few days and it already seems to be here. There are repeated messages of the Virgo-Pisces polarity archetypes.

At the ending of the Piscean Age, the Virgo-Pisces polarity represents the height of patriarchal conditioning via religious dogma and societal customs. The worst in these archetypes brings out judgments, superiority-inferiority complexes and impossible standards of perfection.

What circumstances in your life follow these types of patterns? Can you unconditionally love yourself in those areas? Sun in Pisces asks for unconditional love, starting with you. Patriarchal unconditional love gives one’s self away. Natural law unconditional love still creates healthy boundaries.

The annual Sun-Jupiter opposition is an opportunity to recognize our own beauty and faith in ourselves. It is about trusting the intuition that just comes through. It is about the courage to be who we are in society. Right now, in Pisces-Virgo, it is about searching for our own beliefs that work for us and then implementing them, living them.

On March 5, Venus enters Taurus for a four-week visit. Taurus is one of the two signs Venus rules so this is where Venus really feels comfortable. The ultimate lesson is self-reliance. We have a tendency to substitute the material world here to feel secure.

Money, possessions, food, shelter – Taurus energizes the physical world. Venus may bring a shift in values through Taurus, and therefore a shift in desires. How do you want to create your world? Utilize the physical world to deepen your ability to take care of yourself, and recognize that it is not a substitute for self-reliance.

The Full Moon of Virgo is March 6 at 16/17 Pisces-Virgo. Moon in Virgo can provide some balancing to all this deep emotional energy we find ourselves in. What is reality for you? Can you be OK with it? Can you reach for your dreams in the reality of your world? Can you accept yourself just as you are right now?

Even though this is Full Moon energy, it can provide the means to balance all these deep Pisces emotional waves with some sensibility.

Saturn turns stationary direct the next day on March 7 at 6/7 degrees Cancer. We have spent the last four months releasing all the old emotions that do not work anymore. Now it is time to move forward from a new emotional foundation.

Saturn likes control and it is forced to relinquish it when it is retrograde. Saturn relates to the individuated consciousness and when it is retro it opens up to the unconsciousness. So during its passage through Cancer, the opposite sign of its rulership (Capricorn), we get to find a reality based upon inner security versus outer.

Saturn feels more comfortable with the outer world and forcing it to conform. So, this passage through Cancer is not a place Saturn likes. And yet, as the polarity of Capricorn, Cancer is exactly where Saturn needs to look for answers. The outer world is a reflection of the inner world. When we truly get an inner, emotional, self-reliance, then we can create so much more so much easier in that outer world.

The consensus state wants to return to more traditional family values and ideals when Saturn moves through Cancer. Today’s coming Aquarian Age, is forcing Saturn in Cancer to accept all the variations of family.

What has been happening in your own family of origin? What memories have been coming up? Can you understand them from a different level of awareness? Can you see your family relationships as the lessons you need in order to evolve?

Quest to create your own family of love right inside of you. Then share giving and receiving love in the ways that are healthy for you, with people you discern to be healthy for you. Saturn direct is about taking charge of our lives in a self-reliant, self-responsible, self-determining way.

Share your love with your community, as you would like it to be. Healthy Saturn in Cancer realizes we are all one family. Visualize societal laws and customs supporting all families and children, supporting individual beliefs, circumstances and choices. We change the world by example, one example at a time, Saturn.

Also on March 7, Mercury makes the first of three waning sextiles to Mars at 21/22 degrees Pisces-Taurus. Here are more ideas on how to move forward with this evolving sense of inner abilities. Strive for healthy closures with whatever needs to be released in order to grow. Watch out for the tendency to want it all your way, as compromise is a theme for most of this year.

Mercury then makes a waxing square to Pluto on March 8 at 22/23 degrees Pisces-Sagittarius. The messages can be quite strong here on the next steps to take in creating our new Saturn realities. Mercury is very strongly influenced with intuitive messages, pay attention.

Watch out for any righteous tendencies, there is always a deeper truth when you are emotionally charged in wanting your own way.

Venus makes a waxing sextile to Uranus March 8 at 3-4 degrees Taurus-Pisces. These two planets bring us cycles of wakeup calls regarding love. We may want that next possession in order to feel loved. We may wakeup to understand outer love never satisfies as much as inner love, self-love. Our connection to universal love comes through our own ability to love ourselves first on deep inner levels.

Venus then makes a waning sextile to Saturn direct on March 11 at 6/7 degrees Taurus-Cancer. The deeper your self-love, the more you can accept your own family karma around giving and receiving love. Then you can walk through learning those family lessons in order to move on in whatever ways are highest and best for you. May you be successful.

Mercury moves into Aries March 12 for almost three weeks as it begins to slow down for its next retrograde cycle starting April 6, 2004. The initiation of a new mental cycle. After moving through deep, emotional Pisces, Mercury cannot slow down here, and it isn’t meant to.

All kinds of new ideas are popping through. Communications are all over the place and we change subjects in mid-sentence. Pay attention to what feels right as you are bursting to get your message out. This passage is for sparking new ways of looking at things, followed by initiations in communicating and acting upon the new.

Utilize this Mercury in Aries energy as Saturn has turned direct to initiate new levels of inner security.

The Sun makes a waxing square to Pluto at 22/23 degrees Pisces-Sagittarius on March 12 as well. This is about moving forward with a new sense of purpose from the depth of our soul. With a Pisces-Sag flavor, it can be living our beliefs, and desiring to have meaning in our lives. It is an opportunity to break free from those obsessions we create.

What makes you excited these days? What desires are asking for manifestation? Do you have the willpower to move forward with your next step in creating your life?

Mercury makes a waning square to Saturn on March 15 at 6/7 degrees Aries-Cancer. Saturn is barely starting to move and Mercury has come along to help release old emotional patterns that are holding us back. Are you going to reinvent old patterns in order to remain secure or are you ready to grow and do something different?

Saturn in Cancer is helping create a strong inner security so that we can go out into the world and manifest our desires. Give Mercury a chance here to help you look at the emotional fears keeping you stuck. Let go. Go for it.

Venus makes a waning trine to Jupiter retrograde on March 16 at 12/13 degrees Taurus-Virgo. This is a rewarding aspect with two of the most pleasurable planets. Watch the manifestations in your life to know your alignment with natural laws. Society or work may bring you a new level of acceptance. Financial or material rewards may come through.

If you feel things are worse instead of better, you are ignoring lessons of self-reliance. Be careful of being swept away with promises of someone else doing your work for you. This is a manifestation aspect that then brings “been there, done that” energy. You may be stuck in holding on, when you need to let go.

On March 18, the Sun makes its final Pisces aspect with a waning sextile to Mars at 28/29 degrees Pisces-Taurus. This could be another reward aspect if we are in alignment with our evolutionary lessons. We could also feel stuck in the middle of something. There is a need for bringing desires to completion, and walking through karma.

Manifestation of new desires is wanting to come through, and it can happen if you are willing to face your past and bring it to resolution. What is there for you to let go of and resolve as the Sun finishes up it annual solar cycle through the zodiac? What old emotions need to be healed and released?

Venus makes a waxing square to Neptune on March 18 at 14/15 degrees Taurus-Aquarius. Here is the opportunity to create new levels of self-reliance from our evolving beliefs. For thousands of years, patriarchal conditioning has led us to believe everything lies outside of ourselves, including god.

One of the most basic observations of natural spiritual laws and principles is that our outer world is a reflection of our inner world, not the other way around. To release lifetimes of patriarchal conditioning to look for security inside of ourselves is a deep process that can also take lifetimes. Evolving souls are always questing for more and more self-reliance based upon a deep inner connection directly to the Source, God/Goddess, pick your term.

Venus waxing square Neptune is about recognizing this Source connection at our next level, and Venus in Taurus, living it. May you be successful.

The next day on March 19, Mercury makes a waxing sextile to Neptune at 14/15 degrees Aries-Aquarius. Needing some ideas on how to manifest that next level of self-reliance? Mercury is full of them. Just be patient with the communications part. Mercury is stepping down the big picture into something manageable.

The Sun enters Aries on March 19/20 this year, initiating an entire new zodiac cycle. The Evolutionary Astrology mantra is: I initiate with consideration of others. We are meant to begin anew. And it is through initiation, and the feedback from our environment, that we can discern if it is the right direction for us.

Sun in Aries is instinctual, and it needs to operate from what feels right. We have been realizing so much from all this Piscean energy over the last few months. Now it is time to rebirth. It is time to act.

The New Moon of Aries immediately follows on March 20 at 0-1 degree Aries. The intuitive sparks are strong. New Moons are initiations. Aries is about initiation. What instinctively feels like the next step at this point?

This is a time for initiating and yet, Mars and Pluto will get involved in reassessing our desires and how exactly we will go forward.

Mars moves into Gemini on March 20/21 for the next seven weeks. It can interact with the new Aries energy via wanting to initiate everything! It can help with opening up to the new; however, listen to your gut. Be willing to go with the flow.

Mars represents the conscious desires of the soul. Pluto represents the actual desires of the soul; however, for most of us those desires are unconscious and only known through what is conscious via Mars. This is why Pluto can correlate with obsessions, compulsions and the intensity of emotions over anything. It stems from those deep desires that we may or may not be aware of.

As Mars enters Gemini we are opening up again to all the many possible desires and their manifestations. It is an impulse to grow and learn and explore. By sign and aspect next month, Mars is approaching opposition to Pluto. This is like a full moon phase of our desires – achieving them, understanding them and realizing what motivates us on the deepest levels.

Pluto turns stationary retrograde on March 24 at 22/23 degrees Sagittarius for a five-month journey (through August 30) of reassessing our evolving desires. When Pluto is retrograde it is about throwing off old desires that no longer serve us. It is about de-conditioning from the past. It is a sense of dissatisfaction that there must be something more.

Pluto retrograde is the evolutionary pulse. Almost half the people at any time on the planet were born with Pluto retro, and therefore are breaking out of deep soul conditioning in order to evolve.

Most of us find the Pluto retrograde cycle too deep to notice except when it changes direction. We will be feeling a growing sense of unrest as the month of March moves along, like something deep is rumbling to the surface. What is ready to be released on the deepest levels?

This may combine with the solar Aries energy to help us figure out what desires are really important to us. If things do not want to go forward during the last half of March, then we may be trying to redo the past. Open up and inwardly ask what is your next evolutionary step?

Pluto’s long journey through Sag (1995-2008) is about questing for truth in every area of our lives. Sagittarius is philosophy, religion, spirituality, higher education, and intuition. Every 248 years, as Pluto transits through this sign, we evolve to another level of understanding about life. As Sag makes a waning square to Pisces by sign, it is about letting go of old beliefs, old Piscean Age patriarchal conditioning.

Where is this happening for you? What beliefs are you holding on to that do not serve your best interests? Let them go and new Arian thoughts will pop in.

Mercury also makes it first of three waxing trines to Pluto the same day, March 24, at 22/23 degrees Aries-Sagittarius. Here is opportunity to make some great mental leaps of growth as Pluto is releasing everything from the deep recesses of our soul. Huge awareness is surfacing about everything.

The end of March is a great time to do some soul searching and discover what we are all about. As Pluto releases, Mercury in Aries wants to initiate, so no void will be left unfilled. The bottom line is to just evolve into your next step coming through! As Pluto travels so slowly, you cannot miss the messages coming up at its stationary retrograde.

Sun makes a waning square to Saturn on March 26 at 6/7 degrees Aries-Cancer. One more chance to release old security patterns that are trying to hold us back. If we have been doing that inner security work, then this can be the ability to move into new ways of structuring our world.

Inner self-reliance gives us the courage to initiate the new because we will be OK no matter what. Saturn is still on its stationary-direct degree so here the Sun can help us release any old emotional limitations, and old beliefs we may still be trying to cling to.

Then Mars makes a waxing square to Uranus on March 28 at 4/5 degrees Gemini-Pisces. This has a tendency to be a volatile aspect with lesser-evolved souls. Here issues of honesty can come up. Some souls can attempt manipulations in order to get things their way.

The Mars-Uranus intent is to help us break free into new actions, new beliefs and ideas in this case. New information can come through to help us look at thing differently, and from that to make new choices of action. See how well you can detach and really listen to what others are saying. It may save you some time and work.

Truth wants to come out here, see if you can pick up on it.

Finally Mercury enters the first two degrees of Taurus for a brief week on March 31. Taurean energy will initiate the next Mercury retrograde cycle (April 6 to April 30, 2004). This is a chance to ground all the ideas that have been in our head. What is real? What can you manifest?

Pay attention to your values the beginning of April. Mercury in Taurus will help us focus on what is really important to us versus all the mental possibilities we will review during its retro cycle next month. Watch any tendencies to go overboard financially. Let those big purchases and agreements wait out the next Mercury retro cycle to see if they are really worthwhile.

We may still feel emotionally vulnerable as the month closes. Pluto is bringing up deep soul issues right now turning retro, as Saturn works to create a stronger emotional foundation. Honor your emotions, as they are the closest barometers to your soul. Evolution takes place through the emotional body. Emotions bridge the metaphysical into the physical.