March 2025; Venus and Mercury retrograde and Neptune enters Aries

 

This month Mars continues its direct station and begins to move forward on March 10^th, ending many delays, anger and misguided direction since its retrograde that began December 6^th. It’s been a difficult retrograde for many and Mars won’t retrograde again until January 2027 in the sign of Virgo. Mars will remain in Cancer all month

As Mars turns direct however, Venus turns retrograde March 1^st-April 13^th shaking up relationships and our personal and collective values. Mars rules men and Venus rules women.

March 15^th Mercury turns retrograde joining Venus in the sign of Aries most of the month. Mercury turns direct April 7^th in Pisces.

We experience the first two eclipses of the year this month in Virgo and Aries. All in all this is one of the most significant months of the year astrologically and as above, so below.

Lastly , this month Neptune enters Aries. This is a major, world changing astrology event that will change our world and lives over the next 14 years.

Now, the details:

Lady love takes a step back

Venus turns retrograde March 1^st at 10 degrees of Aries. March 27^th it re-enters the sign Pisces where it will turn direct on April 13^th at 24 degrees of Pisces.

As Venus retrogrades we have an opportunity to rethink and re-access our relationships with others and those closest to us. Love energy may be harder to come by during this period, but we may compensate for this by loving ourselves more. Feelings become more defined giving us a clearer picture as to what is important and what is not in terms of any Venusian activity, especially relationships.

If you begin a new relationship on a retrograde Venus it is said the love energy is never fully expressed. If this is the case, things could also change after Venus turns direct again and energy shifts again. Venus retrograde is sometimes associated with those we have known in the past. At times we can reconnect, or take many trips down memory lane.

Some relationships that are tottering on the edge may well end during this time. Some will change partners, and others may connect with someone from the past they have known previously. To an extent, Venus retrograde is a wild card.

Venus retrogrades repeat themselves by sign every 8 years

Venus retrogrades every 18 months and the retrograde period lasts about 42 days. Venus repeats it’s retrograde in the same sign every 8 years. You could experience something similar to the Venus retrograde March-April 2016 when it retrograded in Aries-Pisces.

Venus retrograde and its karmic affect

Venus retrograde affects love, money, personal values and our social lives most importantly. When it is retrograde all of these things can become more difficult in some way, but at the same time we can gain more clarity as to where we are going and who we are going there with. Venus retrograde is a karmic period and at times our love lives can take dramatic shifts one way or another.  If a relationship comes back together it was meant to, and if one ends at this time, it is granting you the freedom to find someone more appropriate. There is a heavy fated quality to retrograde Venus.

Love, money and values

A retrograde Venus can affect money and for some it may slow down a bit during this period or money issues or matters may come to light in a more direct way at this time.

Sometimes we are put in positions where we have to determine what our personal values actually are. We could experience a moral or ethical crisis that could bring these issues to light.

A retrograde Venus is not the time to;

-begin a new relationship-it might not last after Venus turns direct and if it does it may never be quite satisfactory in some way.

-do not have elective cosmetic surgery.

-do not buy big ticket items connected to art, jewelry or beauty.

-do not get married or engaged

-do not release projects connected to art, music or entertainment

We may reconnect with others and this is not limited to romantic relationships. You could meet up with old friends, clients or acquaintances you have known before.

Venus retrograde will affect our personal lives and it will play out in the world as well. The collective will be affected by Venus retrograde. During this time we will be forced to re-evaluate what is working, what is not, and what we value as individuals as well as a collective, and make changes toward those ideas that do not serve the majority well.

Mars stations direct

Mars is in its direct station through the first 9 days of March. This means it is still ‘waking up’ from the retrograde but not yet moving forward. After March 10^th as it inches forward things that have been delayed start to move forward. The station of Mars or any other planet is when it is at its most powerful point. If it makes a positive aspect in your chart expect forward action. If it makes a negative aspect, expect challenges. Mars will be in its retrograde shadow period until April 21^st.

March 3^rd Mercury enters Aries

Aries is ruled by Mars the planet of action and aggression. Thinking will pick up speed and shift toward a style of getting straight to the point, sometimes to the point of even seeming abrupt or rude to others, so it is important to watch our words and tone.

For the Fire signs this will seem very natural and comfortable, and for others (especially Water signs) this type of communication may seem too harsh or outside their comfort zone.

Conveying information and ideas will be faster, sharper and without beating around the bush but we must watch out for overly assertive communication with others or getting carried away with ideas that have not been thoroughly vetted as our mind is moving so fast.

At its best Mercury in Aries can provide us with a mental state that is optimistic, encouraging, on point and self-confident. At its worst Mercury in Aries can come across as thoughtless, aggressive, impatient and without respect as we can sometimes forget to approach conversations in a thoughtful manner. Details can be missing in conversations and communication as Aries is prone to streamlined thinking and does not like to get bogged down too much in details.

Mercury retrogrades

It seems like we just got past a Mercury retrograde but here we are again. Mercury retrogrades 3-4 times a year and this time it is retrograde  March 15^th-April 7^th contributing to the confusion once again. It retrogrades at 9 degrees of Aries and re-enters Pisces on the 31^st. It will turn direct at 26 degrees of Pisces April 13^th.

Mercury is in its retrograde station March 15-18^th. Mercurial energy changes at this point dramatically. The stations of Mercury including the direct station April 7^th-10^th are the most likely times things can go haywire.          

The Virgo eclipse         

The first lunar eclipse of the year falls in the sign of Virgo at 23 degrees on March 13th/14th depending on where you are located. Virgo rules the 6^th house of health and work and its planetary ruler is Mercury, the planet of communication.

Virgo is associated with work and workers, worry, and critical thinking. This can be a positive and sharpen your perception or it can be a negative in terms of being critical of yourself or others.

The Sun sextiles Uranus today which is prone toward new approaches and new ideas.

I hate to say this is a difficult eclipse but for many it will be along with the US. This eclipse makes several aspects;

-The Moon opposes the Sun as it does on every lunar eclipse/full moon. This amps up our emotions.

-The Moon sextiles Mars which is an energetic transit and can create an urge to move forward.

-The Moon opposes Neptune which is like a cloud that is difficult to see through. It creates confusion and misinformation will be rampant. It can relate to vivid dreams, psychic experiences and enhance creativity

-The most significant aspect this Moon makes is its opposition to Saturn and it is almost exact. Saturn rules our responsibilities and obligations. This aspect is prone to delays, endings and is tiring and basically negative.

The eclipse occurs within hours of Mercury’s retrograde which can delay events and cause confusion.

This eclipse makes a powerful aspect in the chart of the US. This eclipse falls on the Government funding deadline and sets off Saturn’s opposition to Neptune and square to Mars in the US natal chart.

  The Aries solar eclipse

Eclipses fall in pairs and the first solar eclipse of the year falls at 9 degrees of Aries. Aries is ruled by Mars, the planet of action, war and men. This eclipse sextiles Jupiter which is a positive and will be a great deal different from the lunar eclipse we experienced.

This new moon eclipse is also a Super Moon. Super Moons appear brighter and closer to the earth and are associated with weather related conditions such as tsunami’s and earthquakes.

Since Mercury is still retrograde we can expect delays and confusion. Mercury enters Pisces today and conjuncts Neptune which will greatly increase the confusion as well.

Mercury-Neptune transits are associated with confusion, lies, misinformation and lack of direction.  They can be associated with creativity and psychic feelings or vivid dreams.

Mercury enters Pisces March 30-April 15th

  The image of Pisces is two fish swimming in opposite directions and there is a good reason for this as this sign is a double edged sword. You can soar to the highest places under a Pisces transit or sink to the lowest depths. Pisces ruler Neptune is associated with faith, creativity, intuition, art and cinema, as well as drugs and drug addicts, lies, deception misunderstandings, propaganda, and the seamy side of life.

While Mercury is in Pisces we can expect communication to become flakier, and miscommunication to be a common theme. Rather than being focused on facts, we may be swayed more by the mood and tone of thinking and conversations. We tend to operate more on intuition, and spend time reflecting on the past.  Our instincts often drive thinking and communication, dreams and fantasies can become more vivid and remain on our minds.

Pisces is a mutable water sign. While all water signs are sensitive and emotional, a mutable sign is changeable, so our thoughts and feelings will be constantly shifting and changing over the next 20 days just like the ocean which Pisces/Neptune has dominion over.

With Mercury in Pisces we can become more attuned to idealism, fantasy, creativity, art and particularly our feelings. We often reach deep into the recesses of our subconscious mind to find creativity and find fresh and new ideas. At times we may discover or understand things to a greater depth than we have before, and we could even feel a certain illumination. Dreams typically become more vivid while Mercury is in this sign as well as more frequent. During Mercury’s transit through Pisces we will sense and feel things we don’t normally pay attention to, and sometimes know things that cannot be explained because our subconscious mind is being triggered.

Neptune enters Aries March 30^th

Like Pluto’s entrance into Aquarius last year, Neptune’s entrance into Aries will change the world and change our lives. This year it dips its toes into this sign until October 23rd when it returns to Pisces at 29 degrees until it re-enters Aries late January 2026 where it will remain until March of 2039.

Neptune rules the unconscious both individually and collectively. It is the planet of creativity, spirituality, compassion and humanitarianism but it also rules lies, deception, misinformation and confusion along with addictions and drugs.

Neptune was last in Aries from 1862-1875. Of course this period covered part of the US Civil war. It also led to advances in chemistry and drugs. Spiritualism was prevalent during this time, but how much of it was real and how much an illusion is hard to know.

Aries is ruled by Mars the planet of war and aggression, action and it also rules men. Men could suffer collectively from some sort of identity crisis through this period.

Aries rules the first house or the self. We will all be driven to accomplish our personal goals. Neptune in Aries will put impulsiveness in the sign of service and spirituality and even with Neptune’s veil we may see more clear cut actions in our daily lives. We could see those who are pioneers, religious zealots and extremists determined to carry out their goals, but others who aren’t will be just as determined. Wars are possible with Neptune in this sign as it is ruled by Mars. We must be careful not to develop a war like and aggressive mentality as Neptune rules the collective mindset.

During the parts of the year Neptune is not in Aries it will be at 29 degrees of Pisces from March 4^th onward. Neptune has been in Pisces since April of 2011 with a short foray back into Aquarius for a few months. This is how the outer planets operate; we get a preview of what the sign will bring before it enters for a long period of time.

The 29^th degree is considered a critical degree and is significant. We may be seized with an urgency we have only a short time to correct something and critical events may well occur during these periods. Critical events are likely to occur.

In May Saturn will team up with Neptune in Aries but that will be the focus of another newsletter.

Other transits of interest:

March 2^nd, Mercury conjuncts Neptune and this will occur several times with the upcoming retrograde. This is prone toward lies, confusion and deception. It can increase dreams and psychic experiences. On a broader level it can related to water related weather events. At best this can represent compassion or creativity.

March 12^th, the Sun conjuncts Saturn. This happens every year for a day depending on where transiting Saturn is. This can be a day of critical events in the world and sometimes our lives. Generally it deals with responsibility, delays and can be negative and depressing.

March 27^th Venus conjuncts Neptune. This transit is like a double edged sword. On one hand it can bring fun and reverie and on the other hand it can create a great deal of confusion especially in matters concerning love or money. Take nothing for granted especially if it is an important matter. If this is the case make no significant decisions on this day since you may not have all the facts.