You don’t need an astrologer to tell you that we’ve entered a time of heightened concerns, mounting uncertainty and potential economic pitfalls.  Pisces is renowned for its nebulous, meandering fog, and Mercury retrogrades are notorious for the miscommunications, technological snafus and vexing delays they bring.  The next Mercury retrograde, mostly in Pisces, gets underway on February 16th, and the Sun will enter Pisces on the 18th for a month-long-stay.  Adding a deeper dimension, and muddling matters up even more, unfathomable, oceanic Neptune is presently at home in Pisces.  Pisces is the sign of mystics, addicts and artists.  It’s fluid, not solid.  Its language is symbolic, not straightforward.  And its emphasis is on spiritual rather than material.  For a couple of weeks n March, Mercury will back into scientific Aquarius, where it will station direct on the 9th.  Overall however, these kaleidoscopic conditions will continue from now throughout March.  When the Sun heads into Pisces, the moon will be in Capricorn.  This may be a subtle indication that as the Sun, Mercury and Neptune stir waves of ambiguity, higher, drier ground is attainable in the sign of the mountain goat.

In addition to the moon’s presence, from February 18th-20th, motivated Mars will make its Capricorn entrance on February 16th.  In Capricorn, both will be in the capable company of Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto and the South Node.  Mars will remain in the ambitious and enterprising sign until March 30th, escorting us, not only into the Aries Sun cycle, but also through the end of the Mercury retrograde shadow period.  It will conjoin Jupiter on March 20th and Pluto on March 22nd.  Capricorn is the sign of institutions, systems and government, and stoic, sober Saturn is its ruler.  Mars and its Capricorn compatriots will be fighting to keep the economy on track, markets stable and business moving forward.  Interestingly enough, early in this unfolding Sun cycle, a substantial and favorable alignment takes place when Jupiter sextiles Neptune on February 20th.  This may be our best opportunity to combine Capricorn pragmatism with Pisces insight, to bring practical and creative solutions to pressing issues.  Back on January 12th, it was of course in Capricorn where Saturn and Pluto formed their exact conjunction.  Many astrologers would attribute that meeting to the current turmoil.  Dozens of cases of coronavirus, COVID-19, were certainly known to authorities then.  At any rate, we’re in the aftermath of the outbreak now, and successfully navigating the confusion is the task at hand.

On March 4th, when Mercury retrogrades back into Aquarius, Venus will move home to Taurus.  Taurus is astrology’s fixed earth sign.  As such, raw materials, real estate and financial markets are under its domain.  Venus will be in dependable Taurus until April 3rd.  From there it will make supportive trines to Jupiter and Pluto on March 27th and 28th.  While this will bring some stability to the equation, chaotic, global game-changer Uranus is also in Taurus.  The erratic gyrations of Uranus are ill-suited to the security-oriented sensibilities of astrology’s Bull.  Venus will conjoin Uranus on March 8th, the same day when the Sun and Neptune combine forces in Pisces, and one day ahead of the full moon and the conclusion of Mercury’s retrograde.  Translation, more than a few of the wheels may fall off the wagon around March 8th-9th.  Ride it out and see where things land.

Pisces completes astrology’s wheel.  It takes us right up to the start of the new astrological year, the Aries Sun cycle and the beginning of the spring season.  The problem in 2020 is that Q2, which encompasses most of that season, includes retrogrades of money-makers Venus and Jupiter, the aforementioned Saturn and Pluto, and Mercury (again).  In fact from June 17th-24th all five planets will be retrograde simultaneously.  Spring 2020 will also see the Nodes and eclipses shift from the Cancer/Capricorn axis to Gemini/Sagittarius. And perhaps most significantly, Saturn will leave the familiarity of industrious Capricorn for the experimental space of Aquarius, from March 21st-July 1st, all of Q2.  Astrology is lining up with the spread of,  confusion about and inevitable economic repercussions of COVID-19.

 In mid February, as I complete this article, I do not see the disease taking hold in the United States to any massive extent.  However, it is already clear that the supply chains of US companies/employers are and will continue to be effected, and we’re already seeing disruption in the travel industry and commodity prices.  Pisces tends to bring its seasonal perplexity, and this year that is definitely further complicated by Mercury’s long stay in Pisces (with the Rx).  The mutable water sign’s ability to permeate boundaries and infiltrate also speaks to the spread of this virus via water droplets.  Looking ahead, Q2 is when we can expect to see the wider consequences of the lost productivity and supply disruptions hit balance sheets, production lines and stock portfolios.  Domestically, that March 8-9th hot spot occurs very close to Super Tuesday, March 3rd.  This also means that Democratic primary voting is taking place during the retrograde.  In related news, the Presidential Election will occur on the final day of Mercury’s October/November retrograde.  For those of you old enough to remember the hanging chads of 2000, that election took place at the start of a Mercury retrograde.  Unfortunately, Pisces and Neptune (conjuct the Sun on March 8th) are infamous for deception. Recounts, tech malfunctions, suspicions about voting results and technology, and a rearrangement of the candidate field are the most likely outcomes for the March contests.  In short, these conditions indicate a contentious process and contested outcomes.

For now, the Sun is heading into Pisces.  One of this sign’s finest attributes is its limitless compassion.  That is a calming lens through which to see our world, current events and one another.