New Moon in Pisces
We have a new moon in Pisces tonight, as the Sun and Moon align in the sign of the fishes (28th Feb, 00.46am UK time). This water sign connects us to the deepest aspects of our soul life, where we embrace the deeper mystery of how we are connected to one another, and to other realms of being. We have to surrender to the mystery in this sign, and recognise that there are things in life that we cannot control, and things that cannot be grasped through logic and reason alone. This is the sign in which we process our losses, move through grief, forgive those who have caused us pain, and find our way way back to compassion, both for ourselves and others. A new moon is a time to set our intention for the month ahead, and at this time, we are best served by setting intentions that serve our inner, spiritual life, rather than our material ambitions.
A Starry Adventure!
On a personal note, it is under the auspices of this potent lunar cycle (which includes the lunar eclipse at the next full moon) that I will be guiding a group of 16 people through the land of ancient Egypt. It is a trip that we have been cooking in the alchemical pot for the past year, and it is timed for specific astronomical alignments which have particular astrological significance. Ably supported by my dear friend and colleague, Mags Mackean, we will gather on the Giza plateau between the paws of the Sphinx, pre-dawn, on the morning of the Spring Equinox, looking through the eyes of the Sphinx, due east, to the stars of Aquarius that herald the shift into the new astrological age. We will be there at Giza as Venus disappears from the evening sky, and ‘enters the Underworld’. Then we will be at the temple of Hathor, at Dendera, (birthplace of Isis) on the morning of the mystical Sun-Venus ‘star-point’ conjunction, and the following day honouring Thoth at Luxor on the day of the inner Sun-Mercury conjunction. And we will be at the Temple of Isis at Philae on the morning when Venus returns from the Underworld and reappears as the morning star. We have quite the starry adventure awaiting us! I will be posting updates of our journey, so keep an eye out for those.
The Square Aspect to Jupiter
Tonight’s Sun-Moon conjunction occurs at 9˚ Pisces, and it is in a very wide applying conjunction to Saturn at 20˚ Pisces (11˚ orb). Then we also have Mercury at 24˚ and Neptune exactly conjunct the north node at 28˚ Pisces. It’s a real ‘pile-up’ of Pisces placements in the chart, which really adds to the sublime sensitivity and otherworldiness of this time. Probably the most significant aspect that is made to the new moon, though, is the applying square aspect to Jupiter (traditional ruling planet of Pisces), which is at 11˚ Gemini (2˚ orb). This can make us feel hopeful, optimistic, even exhuberant about what is ahead of us - we might get carried away in our excitement, or we could feel over-stretched and unable to manage it all, especially if we have planets or angles between 8-12 degrees of Pisces or Gemini or the other mutable signs (Virgo & Sagittarius). Jupiter is super-energised here, but being in Gemini, is also potentially compromised, having to juggle different options. There is a warning here not to over-estimate what is possible, especially with so many planets falling in Jupiter’s sign.
With Jupiter in Gemini, there are likely to be lots of loose ends to tie up and conversations to be had before a clear way ahead presents itself. We may be inspired to take a leap of faith, but we should guard against taking on too much, and check in with our energy levels and resources. The conjunction of the new moon to Saturn is wide and thus Saturn has weaker influence at this moment, so the Jupiterian ‘surge’ can take over if we don’t remain mindful of boundaries and the necessities of time and structure. There are likely to be consequences if we try to escape certain responsibilities, or over-step our own code of ethics, during this new moon: in two weeks time time we have a full moon lunar eclipse which lines up closely with Saturn, who holds us accountable for our actions.
Neptune Conjunct North Node in Pisces
It seems very significant that Pisces modern ruler, Neptune is making an exact conjunction to the north node, over this new moon. The nodal axis recently shifted into Pisces after its 18 month journey through Aries, ushering in a time, over the next eighteen months when the mysteries of the Divine Feminine are more accessible to us; when the power of love, compassion, transcendence and divine union will call more strongly to our soul, and support the next phase of our evolution.
The north node hasn’t aligned with Neptune in this way since 1858. My colleague, Divine Harmony, has done a very beautiful piece of research on this, recognising that 1858 was the year of the first Marian apparition at Lourdes. She also notes that the last time Neptune aligned to the north node at 28˚ Pisces, on a new moon was in March 1204, the year when a very influential female Cathar parfait, Esclarmonde, is documented as having received the consolamentum sacrament. The Cathars honoured the Divine Feminine in a profound way and were rooted in the kind of mystical compassion that perfectly characterises Neptune on the Pisces north node. [There is a very interesting presentation on this topic by Divine Harmony, available on youtube, if you are interested in exploring this theme further].
The Major Lunar Standstills of 2025
When the north node is around the beginning degrees of Aries / end degrees of Pisces, we experience the major lunar standstills. This is when the moon reaches its most extreme latitutde above and below the ecliptic, when it goes ‘out of bounds’, and reaches farthest beyond the scope of the Sun. This has been occurring during the past year and will happen at various times this year when the Moon is in Cancer (highest latitude above ecliptic) and Capricorn (lowest latitude below ecliptic). In Britain, many of our stone circle temples, such as Stonehenge, have alignments built into them that pick up the major lunar standstill, and on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, there is the egg-shaped Callanish circle, believed to have been constructed in the 3rd millenium BCE, which aligns to the major lunar standstill in such a way that when the moon is in Capricorn, it will reach only a few degrees above the horizon, and will ‘walk the land’ as it glides along a range of hills in the shape of a woman, at Cailleach na Mointeach. So if you’ve ever wanted to visit the Callanish circle, this is the year to do it. The moon will be full in Capricorn this year a week or so before the Summer Solstice, on 11th June, so that would be an ideal time to go.
The Medicine of Pisces
We can take the opportunity that this new moon offers us to move away from ideological structures and mechanisms of control, and let ourselves be guided more by our feelings, recognise all the ways in which we are related - far more deeply so than we can easily imagine - and let this open our hearts to a more compassionate way of being; through the admission of suffering, the sharing of grief and through surrendering to the sublime aspects of existence. We can grow spiritually at this time through letting go of what we don’t need, relinquishing control of situations, and setting some time aside to retreat from worldy matters. This is a time when the heart can be broken open through the recognition of another’s pain, where love can deepen and grow in the recognition that our souls are joined in deep and mysterious union.
Here is an extract from my book Your Zodiac Soul to help us connect us with this medicine.
'Like all the water signs, Pisces stirs deep emotions, connecting us to the yearning or sorrowful aspect of the human condition. Yet when we allow ourselves to actively grieve our losses, expressing them as art, poetry, music and ritual, our grief moves and transforms. It becomes a sacred act of compassion, for ourselves and for those we love, those we lose, those who hurt us and those we hurt. It begins with forgiveness, of ourselves and others, and it is entirely different from pity; it cuts much deeper into the soul. Pisces medicine reminds us that our joys and sorrows are connected. If two souls have been drawn together in a tryst of love or conflict, deep friendship or through a family bond, they are carried on the same current: finding each other, losing each other, finding each other again, like the two fishes forever tied by that silver thread of longing.
Compassion is the active encounter with suffering, and it can only arise through a deep acknowledgement of what is shared between us. The word implies that we suffer together, and that we come together to passionately praise life. We have reached the last zodiac sign and so must love the end as we loved the beginning, be as willing to let go of the stuff of life as we were to seize hold of its arrival. It is said that the fertile, life-giving waters of the Nile were first filled with the tears of Isis as she wept for her murdered husband, Osiris. When we hold space for our sorrows and walk together in our shared grief, what is revealed is our shared joy. When we surrender ourselves to the compassion that is present, there we will find grief and the praise of life dancing side by side in the deepest of our hearts, carried by the music of the wheel that turns within us, around us and beyond us.'
As complicated a sign as Pisces is, my Piscean mantra is expressed simply as this:
“I am not separate. I am one with all beings”
New moon blessings to all.
John