Faced with the savagery unfolding in Ukraine, astrology curdles. Finding a planetary signature for current events isn’t so hard – Mars, bringer of war, strong in Capricorn, approaching Pluto, lord of the underworld (the conjunction is exact on March 3) is an appropriate fit – but the suffering overshadows the study of charts. Things are complicated by there being an assortment of charts for Russia – June 12 1990 is among the most favoured (with Virgo ascending). There are a couple for Ukraine independence; August 24 1991, Capricorn ascending and December 1 1991, Leo ascending).
It’s perhaps more useful to take the longer perspective described by the transit of Pluto through Capricorn, which began in January 2008 and concludes in March 2023. This period coincides with the rise of the super-rich plutocracy, not least in Russia, where the rule of Vladimir Putin goes back to 1999. Putin has pursued a ruthless, expansionist foreign policy in the east – Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea, Ukraine – while destabilising Western governments through information wars. In Britain Russian oligarchs have been allowed to use London as a ‘laundromat’ for dirty money, while being courted by successive governments and a Tory party happy to accept massive donations.
The plutocracy is not going away, but Pluto’s transit through the last degrees of Capricorn looks like a finale of sorts. Sanctions are replacing cuddling up to murky oligarchs, and the chart for the Bank of Russia – July 13 1990 with 29 Virgo Ascending – looks to be in melt down over coming months as Prometheus transits its Venus-Pluto opposition). For those interested in political astrology, Marjorie Orr and the Oxford Astrologer remain values interpreters.
March starts with the grisly conjunction of Mars, Venus and Pluto in Capricorn, then lightens up as Mars and Venus move onto Aquarius. Jupiter in its own sign of Pisces is a bright omen, after which the spring Equinox arrives to quicken our step, at least in the northern hemisphere. But these are dark days for the world; take your pleasures where you can.
Celestial Events
- March 2 – New Moon in Pisces at 17.35
- March 3 – Venus and Mars conjunct Pluto at 8.43
- March 6 – Venus into Aquarius and Mars into Aquarius
- conjunct at 6.30
- March 5 – Sun conjunct Jupiter in Pisces
- March 10 – Mercury into Pisces
- March 13 – Sun conjunct Neptune in Pisces
- March 18 – Full Moon in Virgo at 7.18
- March 20 – Sun into Aries – Spring Equinox – at 15.33
- March 27 – Mercury into Aries
- March 28 – Venus conjunct Saturn
All times are GMT
Pisces
Thanks to Jupiter’s presence in The Fishes, optimism and the feel good factor are baked into the Pisces new Moon of March 2 (the month’s top birthday) but you should also be looking for actual success in the here and now and the kind of result you can take to the bank. March is the perfect time to launch schemes and push ahead with those in hand. March 5 and the weekend of 12th are giddily starred for questers, lovers and party animals – steady as she goes Bosun! – while the full Moon of the 18th brings a long-standing issue to resolution, one way or another, especially if that’s your birthday. Talking of which, Happy Birthday.
Aries
Until the mighty Sun does its annual trick of re-igniting your fires at the Equinox, slow but sure remains the modus operandi. Planets are behind the scenes, gone AWOL or – if your birthday is 16 March onwards – putting you under pressure (perhaps considerable). Trusted chums and reliable team players are where your advantage lies Even your birthday season shouldn’t be approached at flat-out speed; organisation and dialogue should precede your bid for glory, which takes off in May and lasts long into summer. One step at a time.
Taurus
Your stars are not pulling their punches in March and the configuration as the month begins (Venus/Mars/Pluto trine the North Node in the Bull) looks a game changer for birthdays after May 16. One situation may simply prove beyond your control. With ruler Venus and Mars then moving into your midheaven, you have more agency, as the current saying puts it, but you will have to be on your mettle to maximise high-profile, high-responsibility opportunities presented to you – or perhaps forced on you. It’s no time to be a Bull stuck in the mud.
Gemini
Let’s hope that February hasn’t left you with a pain in the financial tender parts – here there’s a potential challenge in the first few days of March. After which, with Venus and Mars beaming from a fellow air sign, frisky and playful is one mood to pursue, providing you can find time from public duties. Your ‘scope’s midheaven – career, and other places you can claim the limelight – is inspirationally lit by Jupiter and a new Moon, with a downright lucky streak involved (the 10th looks good). Events and offers around the 13th may, however, be too good to be true. Once into the new astrological year at the Spring Equinox, you’re rocking.
Cancer
An issue from Christmas time may need resolution before you can move on, especially if your birthday is 19-22 July. Caving into blackmail is not a good idea, however it’s dressed up. For the most part, however, March and the season of Pisces look full of delight and big plans, with only the tug of financial rectitude to hold you back. With Saturn involved in money matters, your chances of winging it are slim, though Jupiter may offer you a free ride in March. There’s a lighter, more creative feel to the month in any case, and once you cross the Equinox border into Spring, you’re on parade.
Leo
The long march through 2022 continues, and along the way you will doubtless need to shed unwanted baggage, whether it’s the psychic variety or actual physical stuff. Nothing wrong with a Lion being lean and mean. The arrival of Venus and Mars in opposition from the 6th on the one hand raises the stakes with one or more relationships – that’ll be the red planet – while offering generous support or a hot date on the other (that’s Venus). It may prove an emotionally intense month, but with Jupiter strong in the mix not without rewards, perhaps even of the financial sort. The Spring Equinox, when your Sun ruler moves where it most likes to be (exalted in a fellow fire sign), lifts the mood and increases your options.
Virgo
A somewhat intense mood may prevail at the beginning of the month, at least if your birthday is circa September 20-22, when Mars and Pluto mix it up in your solar fifth house. Friends and lovers may be found wanting. For other reasons, March is very much about relations with significant others. The Sun and Jupiter in opposition promise enriching times as a duo, and a cheering date or three for singletons. Mercury in opposition suggests you keep people who wind you up – they may or not be ‘friends’ – at arm’s length. This is a time when it’s easy to give or take offence. The year’s Virgo full Moon arrives on the 18th for celebration.
Libra
The first week of the month may hold a bump in the road, an issue with self or home that goes back to Christmas time and may call for an abrupt decision – birthdays after 20 October are those most in line. Don’t let an issue become a war. More generally, March looks benign. Ruler Venus in airy Aquarius is hungry for joy and entertainment, Mars for hot dates, while Saturn enables an orderly dispatch your hydra-headed agenda. The weekend of the 19th finds a fat Moon in your skies to help you live it up. With the arrival of the Equinox, and the Sun in opposition, rest and recuperation come into the frame.
Scorpio
Free and easy isn’t exactly Scorpio’s default disposition, and likely not to be the case as March opens and your Mars ruler bumps into uncompromising Pluto; could be a disinformation issue. Thereafter, Mars and Saturn return you to the long haul of career path and domestic security. The good news is that the lunation in Pisces, a fellow water sign, is full of cheer, back-slapping chums, and creative bright ideas. Romance even. You may need to loosen up and go with the flow, however – change is not your enemy.
Sagittarius
If there is a long-standing gripe about money, the first few days of March are a likely peak moment for crisis. In general, however, your ‘scope is less concerned about cash-flow than your lovely home – or lack of same – thanks to the lunation in Pisces. For some Centaurs, domestic arrangements have been an ongoing mystery for some time (we are talking years), and while March has an element of puzzlement to it at mid-month, when the Sun meets Neptune, the presence of ruler Jupiter in your home zone makes this a month for fresh resolve about where and how you want to live. May the full Moon of the 18th bring clarity. As ever for you, the Spring Equinox is a refresher. Chase that rabbit!
Capricorn
The long, four-month transit of Venus through your skies comes to an end at the start of March, when it meets both Mars and Pluto. That’s quite a pile-up and likely to signal resolution to at least one issue that’s been bugging you during the darkest months of the year, be it romance, money or a workplace power struggle. Hold steady. The Pisces lunation in March hits a more upbeat note, with communications paramount; time to commit to your support group, to phone friends, re-join the book club and frolic. The worlds of academia and IT are highlighted. Romance of the unexpected variety is also in the mix, not least at the Virgo full Moon of the 18th.
Aquarius
The requirement to stay serious and concentrate on long term plans isn’t going away – if anything, the pressure to succeed intensifies in March. But since Venus and Mars arrive in your skies on the 6th, so does your chances of pushing along your agenda, bending others to your formidable will, attracting support from kindly strangers and good friends, and stumbling upon a surprise romance. Dress up and socialise. For you, the month’s lunation in Pisces is primarily about money, both getting more and spending it more freely, which is Jupiter’s way. Decide what is truly valuable to you, and don’t get fleeced. The Spring Equinox provides fire for your air to keep your pulse racing.