Astrology for Saturday, March 13 - new Moon in Pisces

Early in the morning, the Moon will be new, at 23 degrees Pisces. The Sabian symbol for 23 degrees Pisces is "On A Small Island Surrounded By The Vast Expanse Of The Sea, People Are Seen Living In Close Interaction." In the middle of the vastness of the sea, Pisces ruler, Neptune, knows that paradoxically, we only succeed because of a closely knit web of people. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." What affects one, affects the whole. Certainly true of COVID - we all have to work together; if anyone is sick somewhere, the sickness will spread.

The Sun, Moon, Neptune and Venus hover tightly together in the sign Pisces. Pisces can be a romantic and dreamy sign, but it is highly creative, too. The will to create is expressed by Mars in Gemini which is trine Pluto in Capricorn. We are starting a growth cycle for the next 14 days, so it a good time to manifest deeply hidden parts of yourself or projects that you have been dreaming about for a long time. People likely to be most affected are those with planets in the mutable signs of Pisces, Sagittarius, Virgo and Gemini.

We all live under one sky, so the personal impact of planets making contact with your natal planets and houses, determines the range of your personal response to events happening now. But that impact also affects worldly events, so I'd like to write about what has struck me about the United States this week.

A momentous, paradigm shifting event has occurred. The signing into law of the American Rescue Plan Act marks a sea change for the US. For the last 50 years, wealth was funneled upward to create an ever increasing wealthy class. Reaganomics followed the trickle down, business-friendly path of giving tax cuts to the wealthy in the hope that this would result in more job creation and better wages for the poor. The markets were supposed to take care of everything - Hoover thought so at the beginning of the Great Depression, and he refused to intervene. This is the philosophy of the GOP - a weak federal government with state rights being local and supreme.

The pandemic exposed, with ever increasing urgency, the plight, the literal hunger, of the working class. The ARPA will, with the stroke of a pen, cut child poverty in half, deliver a stimulus, help state governments whose budgets have been bankrupted by covid and get children back safely in school. This bill is wildly popular. 76% of Americans want it. But the GOP didn't help its passage by one vote. Nevertheless, some are taking credit for popular provisions, even though they voted against the bill. Increasingly, GOP support is tied to business, not the will of the people.

A hugely important fact is the upcoming demographic shift toward people of color that will happen over the next decade. Resistance to that fact accounted for a lot o the things that went wrong in 2020, as whites sought to hold onto their power. In 2021, we see a more inclusive cabinet than we have ever had.

So how does this relate to astrology? It does, it does! Pluto is in Capricorn, revealing the need for reform in politics. With Pluto headed for a rendezvous with the place it occupied in 1776, many of the themes that were heard at that time are similarly surfacing now. We are going to get a 2.0 remake of our original intention in founding this country. What form will that take? Could be a more inclusive democracy. Could be fascism. Everything is subject to free will, so transiting Chiron, the wound, lies in the sign of identify, Aries, as it was at the founding of this country. Who do we individually choose to be? Like drops of water filling up the bucket of our collective identity, we get to decide where our individual droplet goes.

The divide we are in has a long history. Early on, there was a difference of opinion - are state rights paramount or federal rights? This was a bone of contention during the Civil War, and it remains one today. Republicans are anti-government and pro-business. Their party supports state rights (like Governor Abbott in Teas spurning federal help). The last thing they want is to see a strong federal government. They have refused to compromise or work with the Democrats for years, even saying if a Democrat won the Presidency, it had to be by fraud. As a result, we have gridlock in Congress, with little compromise to pass legislation. The power of the Executive branch has grown as Congress gridlocked - the only way to get things done was by Executive Action. If we want a consistent reaction toCOVID, state rights need to bow to a stronger federal government. A balance must be struck between individual freedom (Uranus) and the collective good (Saturn in Aquarius).

We entered a new cycle when Jupiter and Saturn entered Aquarius on 2020's winter solstice - a cycle of ideas, equality and revolution (there was one in 1776!), leaving behind the material earth cycle we were in before. This is going to be in place for a couple hundred years. Jupiter in Aquarius squared Uranus in Taurus in January, 2021; Saturn squared Uranus in Taurus a month later. Saturn is a symbol that karma is catching up - all the negative consequences of the Industrial Revolution and unbridled capitalism. Saturn demands reform. Uranus in the staid and traditional sign of Taurus shakes up the status quo - hence the infighting in the GOP. Behind it all stands Pluto in Capricorn - a need to transform and reform from the very top on down.

The currently transiting south node (where we have been) is very near the ascendant of the United States Sibley chart (viewpoint & beliefs). The north node (way of the future) is in Gemini, conjuncting the descendant of the Sibley chart (descendant = allies; Gemini = facts & information). Karma has caught up with the US. A necessity for change. Old beliefs are outmoded; new facts require a changed way of thinking.

There is much more information to process from the planets currently transiting the United States Sibley chart, but for now, we have a new moon in Pisces. Under its compassionate light, people will begin this weekend to receive help. We have a New Deal administration in office, to the benefit of individuals (Jupiter & Saturn in Aquarius), not big corporations (Pluto in Capricorn). This week, compassion wins. We needed the actions of big government to intervene, and we have it. Let's celebrate during this 14 day period begun by the New Moon in Pisces.