The New Moon in Pisces is a Total Eclipse of the Sun. It is exact at 18 degrees Pisces 56 minutes, on March 8, 2016 at 8:54 PM EDT
Pisces is the sign of two fish eternally swimming in opposite directions. Binary reality is overcome in this sign. Dividing lines are softened here. Black and white, here and there, you and me, good and bad, right and wrong, straight and gay, light and dark, Christianity and Buddhism, bleed, blend, and morph into one another.
One way to frame Pisces is to say the sign is boundary-less. That would be looking at the sign in non-Piscean terms. Understanding Pisces in its own terms is to consider that a fish does not experience itself as being in water. It simply is in water, it breathes water, it lives in it, the fish moves through the water and water moves through the fish. Water and the fish are inter-woven entities.
In waters such as the ones we are in now, it is easy to see how a tidal wave, of water, of time, of emotion could glide in and carry us away. Especially in a moment when the emotion is quantitatively plentiful, and when the barometer on energy available is so high.
The subconscious is more easily receives impressions at this time. The fragment of a song heard, the images that flash across your field of vision, the last thoughts before bed, the first thoughts upon waking, the thoughts and emotions repeatedly entertained imprint a more impressionable mind. The effect of creative will is more potent in this New Moon moment. That is a good argument for being intentional about the experiences you have control over being intentional about. Those would be your personal responses to a tidal wave of emotion, the thoughts you entertain, how you engage with others. This moment (and moments beyond this one) is especially responsive to the qualities put into it. Consider yourself as the origin of those qualities.
Chiron, the South Node, the Sun, and the Moon, meet together in a sunlit salon in Indonesia. When the Moon passes over the Sun, momentarily eclipsing its light, they will all be sitting in the twilight, feeling the intensity of the moment. All of them are in the same place, they all have the same perspective, and each planet and point is infused with the qualities of every other planet or point.
Judith Hill writes that the blocking of light for several moments – a light that was previously streaming steadily – then removing the block (in this case the Moon’s movement across the Sun) – produces a surge effect. Additionally, she writes, because eclipses always take place near the nodal axis, there is an entry point and exit point of celestial forces. The node polarity at which the eclipse takes place determines whether energy is predominantly coming in, or going out. Our eclipse is at the South Node – a celestial exit point.
The emotional barometer is turned up high at this eclipse. More than that, the emotions coming up now can be excruciating. The general direction of the energy now is toward a great emotional release. What is very easy is to want to not be with the vastness of emotion. It is easy to want to escape life altogether or numb the ironic sharpness of emotion through alcohol, drugs, binge watching tv, overworking, over analyzing, finding a hook to hang the pain on – a person, an outcome, the past, a personality trait.
If it’s not too intense for you, consider sitting with challenging emotions in the space of fully lit awareness. And, importantly, if you are feeling this acute emotional tidal wave, get support. From friends, from family, from a trusted advisor.
Also importantly, express what is within, outwardly. This might take the form of making your worries bigger. Create an altar to them. Paint them out. Decide you have an entire afternoon, or a whole day to ruminate fiercely. The Sun and Moon square Saturn in this eclipse formation, exact some days preceding the eclipse.
A grim option is to wallow in a Piscean inward spiral of emotional possibility. This inward spiral tendency is compounded by the negating quality of Saturn, that feels like a gloomy vortex of enoughness-evaluation criticism. The only resistance that is helpful at this time is resisting Saturn’s tendency toward coldness and death. These are dramatic old world significations of Saturn that are true – because fruits from crops do not grow in the frigid cold weather.
So, take note of what comes up for you and summon the discipline and determination and work ethic to first know it, then to get through it via the real force of your own personal energy and effort. Support from others is essential in a Piscean vortex of possible hyper-subjective illusion. Others see things from a perspective that is different than yours. This provides a check against blind spots, and an aid in movement toward clarity. Although, ultimately your experience is your own.
Clarity, work-ethic, and generosity are shown by Jupiter at the far end of the sky at this Eclipse. Jupiter is 180 degrees away from the salon of planets in Pisces, near the North Node in Virgo.
An oceanic outflow of emotion is happening around the Pisces planets. And because Jupiter is involved in this eclipse, major energetic inflow of grounding arrives at the North Node in Virgo. Clarity comes through grace, activated by giving for giving’s sake. Through doing things the long way, by hand – copiously. Through a commitment to a self-improvement routine, whether that is prayer, applying daily disciplined effort to improve at your craft, or reading from an inspirational text and living its tenets.
Clarity comes through making a meal from scratch, from preparing the earth for seed, from releasing perfectionism, and from feeling the energetic opening that comes from a decluttering session. That opening leads back to Pisces, as Jupiter is many times over the ruler of this eclipse.
Jupiter’s presence adds tempered fortune to an eclipse that is primarily about release. Let go of what it is time to let go. Renunciate. Look inward for truth. Unload burdens. Work smart. Get help. Expect luck.
More than ever, it is a time to be aware about the emotional source of all thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. They could be horrible, depressing, painful, or they could be intentionally directed. It does not matter. What matters is knowing the source. From there, decide where you want to go. That decision is an act of power. Repeatedly remembering that decision guides the flow of life in that direction. Ask yourself what you want to commit to. What needs to be released – a habit, an attitude, a way of living, a way of being, an emotional pattern. Ask yourself what you need to commit to doing daily, in humility, etymologically being low to the earth – the weight of water brings it downward – What do you need to commit to doing daily to imprint and affirm your commitment into the ethers. Consider doing that every day from the New Moon to Full Moon. If you’re serious, perhaps do it every day for a longer interval of time. Challenge yourself. Be stronger than your strongest objection. Get the help you need.
Follow the vague whisper of your desire because it will lead you to places you’ve only dreamed about. Feed your mind images you have not seen before. Expand the palette of your imagination and use this as the enlarged toolset of images from which to create.
Blessings of the New Moon Eclipse,
With love,
Ichrak
You may also be interested in: 5 Ways to Utilize the Energies of the Pisces Eclipse
Sign up for the Atlas Astrology Newsletter